FC Voluntari

Early years edit

FC Voluntari was founded in the summer of 2010 and enrolled directly in the Liga III, after acquiring the berth of Petrolul Berca.^[2]

During their debut season in the third league, Ilfovenii finished in sixth place with Romeo Bunică as a head coach, and repeated the performance the next season with Bogdan Andone in charge. The 2012–13 season began with poor performances and after five rounds Andone was replaced by Bunică, who led the team to the seventh place.^[3]

Adrian Iencsi led Voluntari to winning the 2013–14 Liga III en fanfare, but despite the Liga II promotion, Iencsi was sacked and replaced for the next year by Ilie Poenaru.^[4] There, they had notable performances against Farul Constanța and CF Brăila, and then qualified to the Liga I from the first place via the promotion play-offs.^{[citation needed]}

Promotion to the first division edit

Voluntari earned promotion for the first time in their history to Liga I, the highest tier of Romanian football, at the end of the 2014–15 campaign. Its debut season was difficult, as many technical and administrative changes led the club to the relegation zone. Finishing 12th, the team faced a promotion/relegation play-off against UTA Arad, which it won 3–1 on aggregate and maintained its place in the Liga I.^[5]

With experienced players such as Vasile Maftei, Florin Cernat or Laurențiu Marinescu in the starting eleven, Voluntari improved itself in the 2016–17 season, finishing in ninth place and avoiding a second consecutive promotion/relegation play-off. During that year, the club achieved its biggest achievement so far by winning the Cupa României over Astra Giurgiu, being the first major trophy in its brief history.^[6]

The club plays its home matches at the 4,600-seater Stadionul Anghel Iordănescu in Voluntari. Attendances are usually modest, as Voluntari is considered a suburb of Bucharest and many of its citizens are inclined to support clubs from the capital instead.^{[citation needed]}

Domestic edit

Leagues edit

• Liga II
  • Winners (1): 2014–15
• Liga III
  • Winners (1): 2013–14

Cups edit

• Cupa României
  • Winners (1): 2016–17
  • Runners-up (1): 2021–22
• Supercupa României
  • Winners (1): 2017

First-team squad edit

As of 25 March 2024^[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ROU Octavian Vâlceanu 2 DF  ARG Cristian Paz 4 MF  CRO Ljuban Crepulja 5 DF  MDA Igor Armaș (Captain) 6 MF  CZE Lukáš Droppa 7 DF  ALB Naser Aliji 8 MF  ROU Mihai Răduț 9 FW  ROU Andrei Dumiter 10 MF  ROU George Merloi 11 FW  ROU Daniel Florea 12 GK  ROU Bogdan Ștefan 14 MF  POR Marcelo Lopes 17 MF  ROU Doru Andrei 19 FW  ROU Robert Mustacă 20 FW  ROU Robert Popescu 21 FW  ROU Andreas Niță

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 MF  MDA Vadim Rață (4th captain) 23 FW  ROU Nicolae Carnat 24 DF  POR Ricardinho (Vice-captain) 25 MF  ROU Angelo Cocian 26 DF  ROU Grigore Turda 28 MF  ARG Bautista Cascini 29 FW  ROU Eduard Lambrinoc 34 DF  ARG Patricio Matricardi 38 MF  SUR Yahcuroo Roemer 72 MF  ROU Roberto Voican 77 FW  SVK Adam Nemec (3rd captain) 80 MF  ROU Andrei Ciobanu 88 GK  ESP Jesús Fernández 90 MF  ROU Alexandru Munteanu 99 FW  ROU Andrei Dima

Other players under contract edit

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  ROU Victor Rîmniceanu

Out on loan edit

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  ROU Valentin Mărgărit (to Tunari) — GK  ROU Daniel Paraschiv (to Progresul Spartac) — DF  ROU Radu Zamfir (to Gloria Buzău) — DF  ROU Vlăduț Andreș (to Unirea Slobozia) — DF  ROU Mario Bărăitaru (to CSM Deva)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ROU Alin Lazăr (to Afumați) — MF  ROU Florin Bălan (to Gloria Bistrița) — FW  ROU Alexandru Stoica (to Vedița Colonești) — FW  ROU Antonio Stan (to Vedița Colonești)

The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level and/or more than signifiant caps for FC Voluntari.

Romania

• Official website (in Romanian)
• FC Voluntari on Facebook
• FC Voluntari on Instagram
• Club profile on UEFA.com
• Club profile on LPF.ro