# CSF CFR Timișoara

Club Sportiv de Fotbal CFR 1933 Timișoara, commonly known as CFR Timișoara (Romanian pronunciation:), is a Romanian football club based in Timișoara, Timiș County. The club currently competes in Liga VI – Timiș County, the 6th tier of Romanian football.
Founded in 1933, the railway team from Timișoara shares a fierce rivalry with city rivals Politehnica Timișoara. The club's best moment came in the 1947–48 season, finishing 2nd in Divizia A and reaching the Romanian Cup final.
In recent years, the club has become better known for its futsal team and women's football team.

## History

Originally founded in 1919 as Sparta CFR Timișoara, the club merged with Unirea Timișoara in 1926, adopting the name Sparta Unirea CFR Timișoara. In 1927 it was dissolved only to be founded again five years later in 1933 as CFR Timișoara.
The team made only two national divisional appearances until World War II, finished 5th in the 1937–38 season in the Western League of Divizia C and 6th in the Series I of Divizia B in the 1940–41 season. It also participated in Series I of the Heroes Cup, a competition that replaced Divizia B during the war, finishing 2nd in 1942–43 and 3rd in 1943–44.
In the 1945–46 season, CFR finished 2nd in the Timișoara City Championship, and in the summer of 1946, after a play-off against Politehnica Timișoara, won 4–2 on aggregate (1–1 and 3–1), securing promotion to Divizia A. The squad led by player-coach Rudolf Kotormány was composed, among others, of Ciopraga, I. Barna, Munteanu, Covejdeanu, Volariu, I. Ritter, Raniță, Csapo, Gh. Moniac, P. Cojereanu, N. Reuter, Bandu, E. Avasilichioaie, P. Bădeanțu.
In the first post-war season of Divizia A, CFR finished in 3rd place under the guidance of coach Balázs Hoksary. In the 1947–48 season, Hoksary led the Railwaymen to finish as runners-up, five points behind ITA Arad, and reached the final of Cupa României, losing 2–3 to the same ITA at Venus Stadium in Bucharest. The squad included A. Boroș – I. Barna, Șt. Rodeanu – P. Cojereanu, I. Ritter, C. Woronkowski – Gh. Moniac, N. Reuter, I. Kovács, E. Avasilichioaie, P. Bădeanțu.
In the following season, CFR finished 5th and reached the quarter-finals of Cupa României, suffering a narrow 0–1 defeat to CSU Cluj. Renamed Locomotiva in 1950, the Railwaymen secured 4th place and once again fell in the quarter-finals, this time losing 1–2 to Flamura Roșie Arad. The 1951 campaign brought an 8th-place finish, along with a heavy 0–4 loss in the Round of 16 of Cupa României against city rivals Știința Timișoara.
In the 1952 season, Balázs Hoksary returned to the team, and the Railwaymen finished 7th while making another quarter-final appearance in Cupa României, bowing out 0–3 to Progresul Oradea. Iosif Lengheriu was appointed as the next coach, but a slight decline followed with a 10th-place finish in 1953 before rebounding to 4th place in 1954. That same year, another deep cup run ended in the quarter-finals, this time with a 0–2 defeat to Metalul Reșița. In the 1955 season, relegation was narrowly avoided with a 10th-place finish, just one point above the drop zone.
The struggles continued in 1956. Lengheriu was dismissed midway through the season and replaced by Dumitru Pavlovici, but the campaign ended with an 11th-place finish and relegation to the second division. Despite this setback, Cupa României once again provided a bright spot, as the team reached the quarter-finals before falling 0–1 to Energia Câmpia Turzii.
Following relegation, the team at Gara Mare (lit. 'Big Station') was renamed CFR Timișoara and spent the next eight seasons in Divizia B. Former player Iosif Kovács led the Railwaymen for the next three years, guiding them to a 9th-place finish in Series I of the 1957–58 season, a runners-up spot in 1958–59, just two points behind Minerul Lupeni, and 6th place in the 1959–60 season, with the Railwaymen placed in Series II after Divizia B was expanded from two to three series of 14 teams.
Adalbert Androvits took charge for the next two seasons, leading the White and Burgundies to consecutive 4th-place finishes in Series III in 1960–61 and 1961–62, the latter under the name CSO Timișoara after a name change in the summer of 1961. The club reverted to the CFR name at the start of the 1962–63 season and, under new head coach Vasile Gain, finished as runners-up, seven points behind Crișul Oradea.
The 1963–64 season saw another format change in the second division, reducing it to two series of 14 teams each. Competing in Series II, the Railwaymen secured a 3rd-place finish. The following season ended in an unexpected relegation to the third division after finishing last in Series II.
The White and Burgundies managed to bounce back the following year, winning the West Series of Divizia C under the leadership of coach Nicolae Godeanu and securing promotion.
In 1969–70, an action to reorganize Timișoara football took place, on which occasion CFR assigned some of its players to Politehnica Timișoara. Although lacking the chance of promotion, CFR produced a big surprise by returning to Division A, after 13 years, at the end of the championship 1969–70. The happiness of the CFR lasted only one year (1970–71), as the team returned to Divizia B, where it remained until 1979, when it was relegated to Divizia C. From here, after only one year, it returned to the second tier where it remained until 1986. It spent another two years in the 3rd division (1986–1988) and still had an honorable participation in Divizia B, which ended, at the end of the 1996–97 championship, with another three years in Divizia C, where, at the end of the 1999–2000 championship (17th place in the IV series), it was relegated to the county championship.
In the 2003–04 season it returned to Divizia C, and in 2004–05 it was promoted to second division, where it evolved until the 2009–10 season, when it was excluded from the championship due to financial arrears to two former players, but also because they failed to pay arbitration fees.

## Honours
### Leagues

Liga I
* Runners-up (1): 1947–48
Liga II
* Winners (1): 1969–70
* Runners-up (3): 1958–59, 1962–63, 1990–91
Liga III
* Winners (4): 1965–66, 1979–80, 1987–88, 2004–05
Liga IV – Timiș County
* Winners (3): 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03
Liga V – Timiș County
* Winners (1): 2010–11

### Cups

Cupa României
* Runners-up (1): 1947–48

## Notable former players

The footballers mentioned below have played at least 1 season for CFR Timișoara and also played in Liga I for another team.
* Adalbert Androvits
* Alin Artimon
* Petre Bădeanțu
* Florin Bătrânu
* Aurel Boroș
* Ion Dumitru
* Adorian Himcinschi
* Adalbert Kovács
* Iosif Kovács
* Daniel Mutu
* Cicerone Manolache
* Dumitru Pavlovici
* Iosif Ritter
* Nicolae Reuter
* Simion Surdan
* Aurel Șunda
* Gabriel Torje
* Valentin Velcea

## Former managers

* Rudolf Kotormány (1946)
* Balázs Hoksary (1946–1949)
* Balázs Hoksary (1952)
* Iosif Lengheriu (1953–1956)
* Dumitru Pavlovici (1956)
* Iosif Kovács (1957–1960)
* Vasile Gain (1962–1969)
* Dumitru Macri (1971)
* Cicerone Manolache (1971–1972)
* Iosif Lengheriu (1974–1976)
* Ion V. Ionescu (1976–1977)
* Leonida Nedelcu (1987)
* Alin Artimon (2007)
* Octavian Grigore (2008)