Cupa României

Cupa României

The Cupa României trophy on display at the 2006–07 season final played in Timişoara. This file is a candidate for speedy deletion. It may be deleted after Monday, 17 October 2011.
Founded	1933
Region	Romania
Number of teams	202 (2010-2011)
Current champions	Steaua Bucureşti
Most successful club	Steaua Bucureşti (21 titles)
Television broadcasters	PRO TV Sport.ro Dolce Sport
Website	Official website
2011–12 Season

The Cupa României (English: Romanian Cup) is a football competition which was held annually since 1933-34, except during the World War II. It is the country's main cup competition, and it is open to all clubs affiliated with FRF (Romanian Football Federation) and the county football associations regardless of the league they belong to. Currently, the winner of the competition is granted a place in the play-off round of the Europa League. The cup is sponsored by the Timişoreana beer brand, hence the name Cupa României Timişoreana.

Most finals have been held at the Stadionul Naţional (formerly known as "23 August"), and occasionally at other stadiums in Bucharest. During the construction of the new Stadionul Naţional, the final was staged each year in a different major city of the country. In 2007, the final was held in Timişoara at the Dan Păltinişanu stadium, this being the second occasion when the last game was played outside Bucharest (the first occurrence taking place in 1989, when Braşov hosted the event). Then, the next three finals were staged in Piatra Neamţ, Târgu Jiu, Iași and again in Braşov.

The 2012 final is due to be staged on the newly-finished Cluj Arena.

The competition has been dominated by Bucharest-based teams, the most successful performers being Steaua Bucureşti with twenty-one trophies, followed by Rapid Bucureşti with thirteen and Dinamo Bucureşti with twelve. Steaua Bucureşti are the current holders, having triumphed in the final against Dinamo.

Sponsorship

On 22 July 2005, FRF and Samsung Electronics signed a one-year sponsorship deal. The name of the competition was changed to Cupa României Samsung.^[1]

On 9 October 2006, FRF and Ursus Breweries (part of the SABMiller group) signed a sponsorship agreement for the next three seasons. Ursus Breweries changed the name of the competition to Cupa României Timişoreana, after the Timişoreana beer brand.^[2][3]

Competition format

The competition often suffered minor changes in format over the last seasons. The following format came in use in the 09-10 season. The main differences between the current system and the last one are the dates at which rounds take place, and the two-legged format of the semifinals.^[4]

County phase

The competition at this phase is organized by the county football associations. 42 teams (one from each county) will advance to the next phase.

National phase

The Romanian Cup trophy

The competition at this phase is organized by the Romanian Football Federation. For the first five phases, teams are paired using geographical criteria in order to avoid long travel distances. The teams from a lower division or with a lower ranking in the last league season host the games.

• First round - 140 teams (42 teams qualified from the county phase and 98 Liga III teams)

• Second round - 80 teams (70 winners from the first round and the remaining 10 Liga III teams)

• Third round - 40 teams (winners from the second round)

• Fourth round - 56 teams (20 winners from the third round and all 36 Liga II teams)

• Fifth round - 28 teams (winners from the fourth round)

• Round of 32 - (14 winners from the fifth round and all 18 Liga I teams)

Starting with this round a seeding system is used for the draw, as follows:

• Pot A: Teams 1 - 6 from last seasons Liga I final table (6 teams)
• Pot B: The remaining Liga I teams (12 teams)
• Pot C: Teams from the lower divisions (14 teams)

Teams from Pot A will be paired with teams from pot C, then the 8 remaining pot C teams will be paired with pot B teams, with the lower league clubs hosting the games. The 4 remaining pot B teams will play each other, with the host club determined by means of a draw.

• Round of 16 (winners from the Round of 32)

• Quarterfinals

• Semifinals

• Final

Every year, based on the national and international football calendar, FRF's executive committee may choose a two-leg or one-leg system for the Round of 16, quarterfinals and semifinals.^[5] Games at these stages are, when played using a one-leg system, hosted by a neutral venue. The final is held at a pre-established venue, normally in Bucharest.

List of champions

Main article: List of Cupa României finals

Performance by club

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Winning Years
Steaua Bucureşti	22	7	1948–49, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1961–62, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1975–76, 1978–79, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1991–92, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 2010–11
Rapid Bucureşti	13	5	1934–35, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1941–42, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2005–06, 2006–07
Dinamo Bucureşti	12	8	1958–59, 1963–64, 1967–68, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05
Universitatea Craiova	6	5	1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1990–91, 1992–93
CFR Cluj	3	0	2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10
Politehnica Timişoara	2	6	1957–58, 1979–80
Ripensia Timişoara	2	2	1933–34, 1935–36
UTA Arad	2	2	1947–48, 1953
Petrolul Ploieşti	2	1	1962–63, 1994–95
Arieşul Turda	1	0	1960–61
CFR Turnu Severin	1	0	1942–43
Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea	1	0	1972–73
Gloria Bistriţa	1	1	1993–94
Jiul Petroşani	1	1	1973–74
Metalul Reşiţa	1	0	1954
Progresul Bucureşti	1	4	1959-60
Progresul Oradea	1	1	1956
FC Universitatea Cluj	1	3	1964-65

Performance by cities

The following table sorts cities by the number of Cups won by local teams. Bucharest, hosting the three most decorated sides in the competition and having staged the majority of the Cup finals, is easily the most prolific city.

City	Cups	Winning Clubs
Bucureşti	47	Steaua (21), Rapid (13), Dinamo (12), Progresul (1)
Craiova	6	Universitatea (6)
Timişoara	4	Politehnica (2), Ripensia (2)
Cluj-Napoca	4	CFR (3), Universitatea (1)
Arad	2	UTA (2)
Ploieşti	2	Petrolul (2)
Bistriţa	1	Gloria (1)
Drobeta-Turnu Severin	1	CFR (1)
Oradea	1	CAO (1)
Petroşani	1	Jiul (1)
Râmnicu Vâlcea	1	Chimia (1)
Reşiţa	1	CSM (1)
Turda	1	Arieşul (1)

Records

Top Five Goalscorers^[6]

Player		Period	Club	Goals
1	Florea Voinea		Steaua Bucureşti, Prahova Ploieşti	40
2	Gyula Barátky		Rapid Bucureşti, Crişana Oradea	37
3	Ionel Dănciulescu		Electroputere Craiova, Dinamo Bucureşti, Steaua Bucureşti	35
4	Ion Alecsandrescu		Steaua Bucureşti, CA Câmpulung Moldovenesc	34
5	Ştefan Dobay		Ripensia Timişoara	33

References

1. ^ "Cupa şi Supercupa României - Samsung" (in Romanian). Gazeta de Nord-Vest. 2005-07-23. http://www.gazetanord-vest.ro/arhiva/2005/iulie/23iul/index_files/page0006.html. Retrieved 2008-04-04. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ "Cum au ajuns Bergenbier, Timisoreana si Burger titulari pe terenul de fotbal" (in Romanian). Ziarul Financiar. 2007-07-04. Archived from the original on 2008-05-11. http://web.archive.org/web/20080511155908/http://www.zf.ro/articol_126922/cum_au_ajuns_bergenbier__timisoreana_si_burger_titulari_pe_terenul_de_fotbal_.html. Retrieved 2008-03-10. 
3. ^ "Parteneriat FRF-Timişoreana" (in Romanian). FRF. 2006-10-06. http://www.info.frf.ro/index.php?news=55&start=50. Retrieved 2008-04-04. 
4. ^ "Regulament" (in Romanian). FRF. http://www.info.frf.ro/index.php?articol=225. Retrieved 2008-03-20. 
5. ^ "Regulamentul de desfasurare a activitatii fotbalistice" (in Romanian). FRF. http://www.frf.ro/?c=52&a=23. Retrieved 2008-03-20. 
6. ^ "La trântă cu recordurile şi în Cupă!" (in Romanian). ProSport. http://www.prosport.ro/fotbal-intern/cupa-romaniei/la-tranta-cu-recordurile-si-in-cupa-danciulescu-cel-mai-bun-marcator-al-lui-dinamo-8181297. Retrieved 2011-06-06. 

External links

• Official site
• The Romanian Cup on the FRF's official site

Romanian football portal