# FC Hermannstadt

Asociația Fotbal Club Hermannstadt (German pronunciation:), commonly known as FC Hermannstadt, Hermannstadt, or familiarly as Sibiu (Romanian pronunciation:), is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Sibiu (German: Hermannstadt), Sibiu County, that competes in the Liga I.
The team was established in 2015 and introduced in the fourth division, with Hermannstadt being the equivalent of the city's name in the standard German language (i.e. Hochdeutsch). Roș-negrii achieved successive promotions and in 2018 reached the Liga I, the highest level of the Romanian football league system.
During the same year, Hermannstadt also played a Cupa României final, which they lost 0–2 to Universitatea Craiova.

## History

AFC Hermannstadt was founded in 2015 to continue the long tradition of football in the city of Sibiu, started in 1913 by Șoimii Sibiu and continued through other teams such as Societatea Gimnastică Sibiu (German: Hermannstädter Turnverein - HATV), Inter Sibiu, FC Sibiu, or Voința Sibiu. Even if Hermannstadt is not a "legal" successor to any of these clubs, we can consider it a moral one, as it is currently the only representative of Sibiu in the first three leagues. Hermannstadt is the equivalent of the city's name in the German language, which has sometimes stirred controversy.
Immediately after the 2015 founding, the club was enrolled in the Liga IV. It finished first in the league table and subsequently qualified for the Liga III promotion play-offs. Hermannstadt won the phase without major difficulties, after 6–1 on aggregate against the champion of Gorj County, Gilortul Târgu Cărbunești. Sibienii were also winners of the Liga III – Seria V in the next season and promoted to the Liga II, the second level of the Romanian league system.
Hermannstadt played its first Liga II match on 5 August 2017, a 3–0 home victory over CS Balotești. It finished the campaign as runner-up, and thus achieved promotion to the Liga I after only three years of existence. The club also managed a notable performance in the Cupa României, being the first in 36 years to reach the final despite not playing in the top flight. Hermannstadt upset four Liga I teams en route to the last game of the competition—Voluntari, Juventus București, FCSB and county rival Gaz Metan Mediaș, respectively. It lost the final 0–2 to Universitatea Craiova, on 27 May 2018.
On 21 July 2018, Hermannstadt won its first ever Liga I match after Ștefan Blănaru scored the only goal of the opening fixture against Sepsi OSK.

## Ground

Hermannstadt's home ground, Stadionul Municipal, was built in 1927 and previously used by several other teams from the city. Its demolition started in 2018 to make room for a modern stadium, with Hermannstadt having since played matches at the Stadionul Gaz Metan in Mediaș.

## Support

In its beginnings, Hermannstadt enjoyed the interest of about 4,000 fans. The team also has an ultras group, named D'acii, which appeared for the first time at a match against ASU Politehnica Timișoara in September 2017. Their name is a pun on the words dacii ("the Dacians") and d-aci, a contraction of de aici (meaning "from here").

## Rivalries

Hermannstadt had a local rivalry with Gaz Metan Mediaș, referred to as the "Derby of Sibiu County".

## Honours
### Domestic
#### Leagues

* Liga II
** Runners-up (2): 2017–18, 2021–22
* Liga III
** Winners (1): 2016–17
* Liga IV – Sibiu County
** Winners (1): 2015–16

#### Cups

* Cupa României
** Runners-up (1): 2017–18

## Players
### First-team squad

    As of 12 February 2025
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 2 | DF | LUX | Vahid Selimović |
| 4 | DF | ROU | Ionuț Stoica (Captain) |
| 5 | DF | ROU | Florin Bejan (Vice-captain) |
| 6 | MF | GAM | Kalifa Kujabi |
| 7 | FW | ROU | Ianis Stoica |
| 8 | MF | ITA | Alessandro Murgia (on loan from SPAL) |
| 9 | FW | ROU | Aurelian Chițu |
| 10 | FW | ROU | Cristian Neguț |
| 11 | FW | ROU | Sergiu Buș |
| 15 | DF | POR | Tiago Gonçalves |
| 17 | MF | ROU | Dragoș Iancu |
| 20 | MF | ROU | Ianis Gândilă |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | GK | ROU | Ionuț Pop |
| 23 | MF | ROU | Ianis Mihart |
| 24 | MF | BUL | Antoni Ivanov |
| 25 | GK | ROU | Cătălin Căbuz |
| 27 | DF | ROU | Valerică Găman (3rd captain) |
| 29 | MF | ROU | Ciprian Biceanu |
| 30 | DF | GHA | Nana Antwi (on loan from FCSB) |
| 31 | GK | ROU | Vlad Muțiu |
| 45 | FW | ROU | Robert Popescu (on loan from Voluntari) |
| 51 | MF | ROU | Alexandru Oroian |
| 66 | DF | ROU | Tiberiu Căpușă |
| 96 | MF | ROU | Silviu Balaure |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 21 | DF | ROU | Răzvan Călugăr (to Unirea Alba Iulia) |
| 32 | GK | ROU | Călin Grecu (to Sănătatea Cluj) |
| 33 | MF | ROU | Alexandru Luca (to 1599 Șelimbăr) |
| 97 | MF | ROU | Alexandru Jipa (to Gloria Buzău) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 98 | DF | ROU | Kevin Ciubotaru (to Unirea Ungheni) |
| 99 | DF | GHA | Saeed Issah (to Metaloglobus București) |
| — | MF | ROU | Luca Mitrică (to Progresul Spartac) |
| — | MF | GHA | Emmanuel Ayinie (to 1599 Șelimbăr) |

## Notable former players
### Romania

* Claudiu Belu
* Ștefan Blănaru
* Mihai Butean
* Andrei Cordea
* Alexandru Curtean
* Răzvan Dâlbea
* Alexandru Dandea
* Lucian Dumitriu
* Gabriel Iancu
* Srdjan Luchin
* Alexandru Mățel
* Ionuț Năstăsie
* Raul Opruț
* Petrișor Petrescu
* Alexandru Răuță
* Bogdan Rusu
* Daniel Tătar

### Brazil

* Jô Santos
* Romário Pires

### Bulgaria

* Plamen Iliev

### Congo

* Juvhel Tsoumou

### Croatia

* Gabriel Debeljuh
* Karlo Letica

### Côte d'Ivoire

* Ousmane Viera

### Ghana

* Baba Alhassan

### Japan

* Sota Mino

### Portugal

* Cristiano
* David Caiado
* Yazalde

### Switzerland

* Goran Karanović

## Notable former managers

* Rubén Albés
* Liviu Ciobotariu
* Costel Enache
* Vasile Miriuță
* Eugen Neagoe
* Alexandru Pelici

## Statistics and records
### League history

| Season | League | Level | Pos. | Notes | Cupa României |
| 2024–25 | Liga I | 1 | TBD | | TBD |
| 2023–24 | Liga I | 1 | 9th | | Quarter-finals |
| 2022–23 | Liga I | 1 | 11th | | Quarter-finals |
| 2021–22 | Liga II | 2 | 2nd | Promoted | Round of 16 |
| 2020–21 | Liga I | 1 | 14th | Relegated | Round of 32 |
| Season | League | Level | Pos. | Notes | Cupa României |
| 2019–20 | Liga I | 1 | 8th | | Quarter Finals |
| 2018–19 | Liga I | 1 | 12th | Play-off winner | Quarter-finals |
| 2017–18 | Liga II | 2 | 2nd | Promoted | Final |
| 2016–17 | Liga III (Seria V) | 3 | 1st | Promoted | County Phase |
| 2015–16 | Liga IV (SB) | 4 | 1st | Promoted | |