CSO Plopeni
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| Full name | Clubul Sportiv Orășenesc Plopeni | ||
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| Nickname(s) |
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| Short name | CSO, Metalul | ||
| Founded | 1947 asMetalul Plopeni 1967 asRapid Plopeni 2006 asIntersport Plopeni | ||
| Ground | Gheorghe Șilaev | ||
| Capacity | 9,000 (5,000 seated) | ||
| Owner | Plopeni Town | ||
| Chairman | Radu Perpelea | ||
| Manager | Daniel Dumitrache | ||
| League | Liga III | ||
| 2023–24 | Liga III, Seria IV, 7th | ||
| Website | https://csoplopeni.ro/ | ||
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Clubul Sportiv Orășenesc Plopeni,commonly known asCSO Plopeni,or simply asPlopeni,is aRomanianamateurfootballclubbased inPlopeni,Prahova County.The club was originally established in 1947 under the name ofMetalul Plopeni.
Metalul merged withRapid Mizilin 1967, was enrolled directly in the third tier and was for decades a constant presence at the level ofLiga IIandLiga III.In 2004 the club was dissolved due to financial difficulties and re-established only in 2006, after two years of inactivity, this time under the name ofIntersport Plopeni.
Despite its good financial conditions for the fourth level, Intersport failed to promote in the next three years, then in 2009 the football club was included as a section of themulti-sportentity CSO Plopeni. Intersport was renamed as CSO Plopeni and promoted back toLiga IIIafter only one year. In the third season after promotion, CSO Plopeni withdrew due to financial problems and enrolled in theLiga IV,where is currently playing.
History
[edit]Metalul Plopeni (1947–2004)
[edit]CSO Plopeniwas established in 1947 under the name ofMetalul Plopeniand played for 20 years only at county level, fourth tier. In the summer of 1967, third-tier side Rapid Mizil merged with Metalul Plopeni, the new formed entity was namedRapid Plopeniand continued the legacy of the football club based inPlopeni,but at the level ofDivizia C.[1]
In the summer of 1968, after a first season ended on the 4th place,Rapid Plopeniwas renamed asMetalul Plopeniand won its Divizia C series at the end of the season, but failed to promote in theDivizia B,after it was ranked only 3rd in a promotion play-off group consisting ofMetalul Târgoviște,Știința Bacăuand IMU Medgidia. Next season, Metalul won again its series, but failed to promoted for the second consecutive year, after a new 3rd rank in the promotion play-off group, this time a group consisting ofȘN Oltenița,CFR PașcaniandAutobuzul București.[2]
Metalul Plopeni finally promoted in the summer of 1971, after obtaining again the best ranking in its series with nine points ahead the second place, Șoimii Buzău.[2]"The Metal Workers" remained a constant presence at the level of the second tier for the next decade, period in which were ranked as follows: 8th (1971–72and1972–73), 4th (1973–74,1976–77and1979–80), 6th (1974–75), 12th (1975–76and1980–81) and 3rd (1977–78and1978–79).[3]The two third places obtained in 1978 and 1979 will be the best performance in the history of the club fromPrahova County.Metalul relegated toDivizia Cat the end of1981–82edition, as a result of the weakest rank obtained in the second tier, 16th place.[3]
The period between 1978 and 1981 was by far the most fruitful in the history of the team based in Plopeni, apart from the best performances, Metalul had a very stable financial situation.Plopenariiwere allowed by thecommuniststo take part in training camps abroad, thing that was very rare in that period, especially for a second-tier team. Metalul played matches inCuba,LibyaandSyria,sometimes even in front of 50,000 people.[4]In that period for Metalul also played Marian Spiridion, nicknamed "Jair",Divizia Ball-time goalscorer. In the squad were also players such as Ghițescu, Ștefan, Dobrescu, Gruber, Anghelescu, Istrătescu, Savu, Andrei, Florea, Negoiță, Roman orMocanuand manager was the famousVirgil Dridea.[4]
Prahoveniipromoted back after only a season spent in the third tier, but this time they had a spell of only three years in the second division, with no notable results.[3]Subsequently, Metalul proven that it was a team too strong for the third tier, but not enough prepared for the second one, promoting back in the summer of 1987, but relegating again in 1989.[3]After this relegation, the team based in Plopeni remained in the third tier until 1993, period in which was ranked 1st or 2nd, but succeed to promote only at the end of the 1992–93 season.[2]Metalul spent next five seasons in theDivizia B,but again with no notable results, finally relegating at the end of the1997–98season.[3]
During the1998–99edition, Metalul almost relegated in the 4th tier after it was ranked only 16th, worst ranking since 1967, but had an almost incredible comeback next season, when it promoted once again in the Divizia B.[2]After another four seasons in the second division, in which Metalul had honorable rankings (6th –2000–01,5th –2001–02,9th –2001–02and 6th –2003–04), the club opted to withdraw from the second tier and sold its place toDinamo II București,subsequently being dissolved.[3]In this last period spent in theDivizia B,Metalul was also, for a short period, the second squad ofAstra Ploiești.[5]
Lower leagues (2006–present)
[edit]| Name | Period |
| 1947–1967 | Metalul Plopeni |
| 1967–1968 | Rapid Plopeni |
| 1968–2004 | Metalul Plopeni |
| 2004–2006 | *not active |
| 2006–2010 | Intersport Plopeni |
| 2010–present | CSO Plopeni |
After two years of inactivity, Metalul Plopeni was re-founded, this time under the name ofIntersport Plopeni.[6]Intersport was far from Metalul's performances and never played higher than the 4th tier, despite the good conditions it had, compared to the rivals from the league.[7]
In the summer of 2009, Inersport Plopeni was included in the newly formedmulti-sportclub CSO Plopeni.[8]In this way, Intersport started to be the football section of CSO Plopeni, also changing its name during the summer of 2010, fromIntersport PlopenitoCSO Plopeni.After only one season, with a proper funding from the Town of Plopeni, CSO promoted in theLiga III,performance that was considered an important comeback for the small town, after 6 years of absence from the national leagues.[9]But the financial status of the former "metal workers" was not so good as it was in the past,plopenariifinishing 12th (2010–11) and 10th (2011–12), before withdrawing in the first part of the2012–13season.
In 2013 CSO Plopeni, which was not dissolved this time, enrolled in theLiga IV,but never promoted again until now, obtaining the following rankings: 6th (2013–14), 4th (2014–15), 7th (2015–16), 5th (2016–17and2018–19) and 9th (2017–18).[10]At the end of the first part of the2019–20season, CSO Plopeni is the leader of the series, with important chances of promotion, but the battle seems to be tough, teams such asTricolorul BreazaandPetrolistul Boldeștibeing right behind.[10]
Ground
[edit]
CSO Plopeniplays its home matches onGheorghe Șilaev StadiuminPlopeni,with a capacity of 9,000 people. The stadium's is amulti-purposeone and has main stand that was built on a concrete structure, with a vintage roof, sustained by pillars and 5,000 seats. The rest of the stadium was built on metal frame and it is quite degraded.
The stadium was opened in the 1940s and was renovated and expanded for several times, especially during the communist period (before 1990). The arena is named after former director of the Plopeni Factory between 1952 and 1978, Gheorghe Șilaev.
Honours
[edit]- Winners (7):1968–69,1969–70,1970–71,1982–83,1986–87,1991–92,1992–93
- Runners-up (3):1989–90,1990–91,2022–23
Ploiești Regional Championship
- Winners (5):1954,1957–58, 1959–60, 1961–62, 1963–64
- Runners-up (1): 2015–16, 2018–19
Other performances
[edit]- Appearances inLiga II:25
- Best finish inLiga II:3rd(1977–78,1978–79)
- Best finish inCupa României:Round of 16(1965–66)
Players
[edit]First-team squad
[edit]- As of 6 September 2023
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules.Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
[edit]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules.Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Club Officials
[edit]
Board of directors[edit]
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Current technical staff[edit]
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League history
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Notable former players
[edit]The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level and/or more than 50 caps for CSO Plopeni. Players selected that had no international cap(s) or didn't play more than 50 matches for CSO Plopeni could be considered notable, if they played in the top-flight, considering that CSO Plopeni never achieved that level.
Gheorghe Andrei- Iulian Apostol
- Tiberiu Argăseală
- Petre Babone
- Sergiu Bar
- Daniel Bălașa
- Csaba Borbély
- Romulus Ciobanu
- Ștefan Ciobanu
- Stelian Cismaru
- Virgil Dridea
- Marin Dună
- Nicolae Florea
- Gheorghe Gruber
- Nicolae Ionescu
- Gheorghe Matei
- Marcel Marin
- Florin Matache
- Cornel Mihart
- Bujorel Mocanu
- Mihai Negoiță
- Dumitru Pisău
- Ilie Poenaru
- Ion Radu
- Valeriu Răchită
- Viorel Roman
- Valentin Sandu
- Cornel Savu
- Vasile Sfetcu
- Marian Spiridon
Notable former managers
[edit]- Gheorghe Bărbulescu (1967–1971)
- Virgil Dridea(1977–1983)
- Mircea Dridea(1991–1993)
- Virgil Dridea(1995–1996)
- Bujorel Mocanu(1996–2000)
- Virgil Dridea(2003–2004)
- Romulus Ciobanu(2009–2010)
- Valeriu Giba
- Eduard Iuhas
- Adalbert Marossi
References
[edit]- ^"PAGINI MEMORABILE DIN ISTORIA FOTBALULUI PRAHOVEAN: Anul competiţional 1965/66: Metalul Plopeni, un nou baraj"[MEMORABLE PAGES FROM THE HISTORY OF FOOTBALL FROM PRAHOVA: 1965/66 season: Metalul Plopeni, a new promotion play-off]. ziarulprahova.ro.Retrieved24 April2020.
- ^abcd"Sezoane Liga III"[Liga III seasons]. romaniansoccer.ro.Retrieved24 April2020.
- ^abcdef"Sezoane Liga II"[Liga II seasons]. romaniansoccer.ro.Retrieved24 April2020.
- ^ab"PAGINI MEMORABILE DIN ISTORIA FOTBALULUI PRAHOVEAN: Golgheterul din toate timpurile al Diviziei B de fotbal – Marian" Jair "Spiridon (II)"[MEMORABLE PAGES FROM THE HISTORY OF FOOTBALL FROM PRAHOVA: The all-time goalscorer of the Divizia B - Marian “Jair” Spiridon (II)]. ziarulprahova.ro.Retrieved24 April2020.
- ^"2001-02 Divizia B"[2001-02 Divizia B]. romaniansoccer.ro.Retrieved24 April2020.
- ^"ASOCIATIA SPORTIVA INTERSPORT PLOPENI"[ASOCIATIA SPORTIVA INTERSPORT PLOPENI]. totalfirme.ro.Retrieved24 April2020.
- ^"Stadionul Gheorghe Silaev"[Gheorghe Silaev Stadium]. plopeni.wordpress.com.Retrieved24 April2020.
- ^"Clubul Sportiv Orășenesc Plopeni"[Clubul Sportiv Orășenesc Plopeni]. firme.info.Retrieved24 April2020.
- ^"CSO Plopeni reușește promovarea + POZE"[CSO Plopeni promoted + PHOTO]. sportulph.wordpress.com.Retrieved24 April2020.
- ^ab"Sezoane CSO Plopeni"[CSO Plopeni seasons]. frf-ajf.ro.Retrieved24 April2020.
External links
[edit]- CSO Plopeniat frf-ajf.ro
- CSO PlopenionFacebook