# 2016–17 Liga II

The 2016–17 Liga II was the 77th season of the Liga II, the second tier of the Romanian football league system. The season began on 6 August 2016.
A total of 20 teams contested the league. It was the first Liga II season with a single series. The season was played in a round-robin tournament. The first two teams promoted to Liga I at the end of the season and the third-placed team played a play-off match against the 12th-placed team from Liga I. The last five teams relegated to Liga III.

## Team changes
### Excluded teams

After the end of the last season, Petrolul Ploiești was dissolved.
On 21 July 2016 Rapid București was excluded from Liga I after the club went into dissolution. Their place was taken by Poli Timișoara.
Farul Constanța withdrew from Liga II due to financial difficulties and enrolled in Liga III.
SC Bacău withdrew from Liga II due to financial difficulties and enrolled in Liga III.
Baia Mare withdrew from the championship due to financial difficulties.

### Teams spared from relegation

Foresta Suceava, Unirea Tărlungeni and Metalul Reșița were spared from relegation due to lack of teams.

### Renamed teams

Rapid CFR Suceava was renamed as Foresta Suceava.

### Moved teams

ACS Berceni moved from Berceni to Buftea.
Unirea Tărlungeni was moved from Tărlungeni to Ștefăneștii de Jos and took all the players and the staff of CS Ștefănești which was dissolved.
Metalul Reșița was moved from Reșița to Snagov and took all the players and the staff of Voința Snagov which was dissolved.
Șoimii Pâncota was moved from Pâncota to Șiria.

## Stadiums by capacity

| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| Academica | Clinceni | Clinceni | 2,800 |
| Afumați | Afumați | Comunal | 3,000 |
| ASU Politehnica | Timișoara | Știința / Dan Păltinișanu | 1,000 / 32,972 |
| Balotești | Balotești | Central | 3,780 |
| Berceni | Berceni | CNAF / Orășenesc | 1,600 / 1,500 |
| Brașov | Brașov | Silviu Ploeșteanu | 8,800 |
| Chindia | Târgoviște | Eugen Popescu | 6,500 |
| Dacia Unirea | Brăila | Municipal | 20,154 |
| Dunărea | Călărași | Ion Comșa | 10,400 |
| Foresta | Suceava | Areni | 7,000 |
| Juventus | Bucharest | Juventus | 6,000 |
| Luceafărul | Oradea | Luceafărul / Iuliu Bodola | 2,200 / 11,155 |
| Metalul | Snagov | Voința | 2,000 |
| Mioveni | Mioveni | Orășenesc | 7,000 |
| Olimpia | Satu Mare | Olimpia | 18,000 |
| Râmnicu Vâlcea | Râmnicu Vâlcea | Municipal | 12,000 |
| Sepsi | Sfântu Gheorghe | Municipal | 5,000 |
| Șoimii | Șiria | Otto Greffner | 1,100 |
| Unirea | Ștefănești | Dumitru Mătărău | 1,200 |
| UTA | Arad | Motorul / Otto Greffner | 2,000 / 1,380 |

## Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Academica Clinceni | Erik Lincar | Florin Matache | Joma | Salerm Cosmetics |
| Afumați | Vasile Neagu | Răzvan Patriche | Nike | — |
| ASU Politehnica | Sorin Brîndescu | Cristian Gălan | Westiment | Alexandrion |
| Balotești | Augustin Călin | Ionuț Sandu | Joma | — |
| Berceni | — | — | — | — |
| Brașov | Cornel Țălnar | Florin Iacob | Acerbis | Maurer Imobiliare |
| Chindia Târgoviște | Nicolae Croitoru | Dragoș Pătru | Joma | Regata |
| Dacia Unirea Brăila | Alin Pânzaru | Laurențiu Ivan | Joma | Comision Trade |
| Dunărea Călărași | Adrian Mihalcea | Cezar Lungu | Jako | Condorul, Prosol |
| Foresta Suceava | Marius Lup | Daniel Lung | Givova | Primăria Suceava |
| Juventus București | Daniel Oprița | Valentin Bărbulescu | Joma | — |
| Luceafărul Oradea | Alexandru Kiss | Constantin Roșu | Adidas | — |
| Metalul Reșița | Mihai Stoica | Cristian Munteanu | Nike | — |
| Mioveni | Iordan Eftimie | Roberto Ayza | Legea | Primăria Mioveni |
| Olimpia Satu Mare | Bogdan Andone | Cosmin Iuhas | Joma | Consiliul Judeţean Satu Mare |
| Râmnicu Vâlcea | — | — | — | — |
| Sepsi OSK | Valentin Suciu | Attila Hadnagy | Adidas | Gyermelyi |
| Șoimii Pâncota | — | — | — | — |
| Unirea Tărlungeni | — | — | — | — |
| UTA Arad | Laurențiu Roșu | Alin Gligor | Saller | Pletl |

## Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Luceafărul | Marius Popa (caretaker) | End of tenure as a caretaker | 31 May 2016 | Pre-season | Florin Farcaș | 9 June 2016 |
| Unirea Tărlungeni | Daniel Bona | Mutual agreement | 17 June 2016 | Pre-season | Laurențiu Tudor | 2 August 2016 |
| Râmnicu Vâlcea | Adrian Dulcea | Mutual agreement | 26 June 2016 | Pre-season | Ionel Gane | 27 June 2016 |
| Mioveni | Iordan Eftimie | Mutual agreement | 26 June 2016 | Pre-season | Alexandru Pelici | 27 June 2016 |
| Foresta Suceava | Daniel Bălan | End of contract | 2 July 2016 | Pre-season | Adrian Iencsi | 2 July 2016 |
| Brașov | Adrian Szabo | End of contract | 3 July 2016 | Pre-season | Cornel Țălnar | 25 July 2016 |
| Olimpia Satu Mare | Mircea Bolba | Resigned | 25 July 2016 | Pre-season | Bogdan Andone | 28 July 2016 |
| Metalul Reșița | Carol Gurgu | Mutual agreement | 5 August 2016 | Pre-season | George Dumitru | 5 August 2016 |
| Șoimii Pâncota | Zsolt Muzsnay | End of contract | 5 August 2016 | Pre-season | Călin Petrică (caretaker) | 5 August 2016 |
| Berceni | Răzvan Rotaru | Mutual agreement | 5 August 2016 | Pre-season | Marcel Abăluță | 5 August 2016 |
| Foresta Suceava | Adrian Iencsi | Mutual agreement | 16 August 2016 | 17 | Cristian Popovici | 17 August 2016 |
| Luceafărul | Florin Farcaș | Resigned | 27 August 2016 | 16 | Erik Lincar | 29 August 2016 |
| Metalul Reșița | George Dumitru | Mutual agreement | 8 September 2016 | 18 | Mihai Stoica | 9 September 2016 |
| Academica | Mugur Bolohan | Resigned | 27 September 2016 | 15 | Adrian Ene (caretaker) | 28 September 2016 |
| Șoimii Pâncota | Călin Petrică (caretaker) | End of tenure as a caretaker | 28 September 2016 | 20 | Nikola Jovanić | 29 September 2016 |
| UTA Arad | Roland Nagy | Sacked | 9 October 2016 | 8 | Laurențiu Roșu | 10 October 2016 |
| Șoimii Pâncota | Nikola Jovanić | Resigned | 11 October 2016 | 20 | Călin Petrică (caretaker) | 11 October 2016 |
| Berceni | Marcel Abăluță | Mutual agreement | 13 October 2016 | 19 | Mugur Bolohan | 14 October 2016 |
| Șoimii Pâncota | Călin Petrică (caretaker) | The team was dissolved. | 28 October 2016 | 20 | — | — |
| Unirea Tărlungeni | Laurențiu Tudor | Mutual agreement | 31 October 2016 | 16 | Adrian Matei | 1 November 2016 |
| Luceafărul | Erik Lincar | Resigned | 8 November 2016 | 11 | Cristian Lupuț (caretaker) | 9 November 2016 |
| Berceni | Mugur Bolohan | The team was dissolved. | 13 November 2016 | 19 | — | — |
| Râmnicu Vâlcea | Ionel Gane | Mutual agreement | 8 December 2016 | 14 | Adrian Dulcea (caretaker) | 9 December 2016 |
| Balotești | Cornel Nica | Mutual agreement | 22 December 2016 | 16 | Augustin Călin | 27 February 2017 |
| Unirea Tărlungeni | Adrian Matei | Mutual agreement | 28 December 2016 | 17 | — | — |
| Luceafărul | Cristian Lupuț (caretaker) | End of tenure as a caretaker | 31 December 2016 | 8 | Cristian Lupuț | 9 January 2017 |
| Academica | Adrian Ene (caretaker) | End of tenure as a caretaker | 31 December 2016 | 13 | Adrian Ene | 20 January 2017 |
| Râmnicu Vâlcea | Adrian Dulcea (caretaker) | Signed by Atletic Bradu | 13 January 2017 | 14 | — | — |
| Luceafărul | Cristian Lupuț | Mutual agreement | 14 March 2017 | 9 | Alexandru Kiss | 14 March 2017 |
| Foresta Suceava | Cristian Popovici | Mutual agreement | 29 March 2017 | 11 | Marius Lup (caretaker) | 30 March 2017 |
| Mioveni | Alexandru Pelici | Sacked | 28 April 2017 | 5 | Iordan Eftimie | 28 April 2017 |
| Academica | Adrian Ene | Mutual agreement | 11 May 2017 | 14 | Erik Lincar | 11 May 2017 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Juventus București (C, P) | 34 | 27 | 3 | 4 | 77 | 18 | +59 | 84 | Promotion to Liga I |
| 2 | Sepsi OSK (P) | 34 | 21 | 8 | 5 | 62 | 29 | +33 | 71 | Promotion to Liga I |
| 3 | UTA Arad | 34 | 20 | 6 | 8 | 64 | 32 | +32 | 66 | Qualification to promotion play-off |
| 4 | Mioveni | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 51 | 30 | +21 | 59 | |
| 5 | Chindia Târgoviște | 34 | 18 | 4 | 12 | 57 | 37 | +20 | 58 | |
| 6 | Brașov (D, R) | 34 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 49 | 35 | +14 | 56 | Relegation to Liga III |
| 7 | Dunărea Călărași | 34 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 52 | 40 | +12 | 56 | |
| 8 | Afumați | 34 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 56 | 36 | +20 | 56 | |
| 9 | Olimpia Satu Mare | 34 | 16 | 6 | 12 | 53 | 34 | +19 | 54 | |
| 10 | Luceafărul Oradea | 34 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 48 | 38 | +10 | 47 | |
| 11 | Dacia Unirea Brăila | 34 | 14 | 4 | 16 | 37 | 56 | −19 | 46 | |
| 12 | Foresta Suceava | 34 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 49 | 69 | −20 | 41 | |
| 13 | Balotești | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 44 | 56 | −12 | 40 | |
| 14 | Academica Clinceni | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 47 | 69 | −22 | 39 | |
| 15 | ASU Politehnica Timișoara | 34 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 48 | 59 | −11 | 38 | |
| 16 | Metalul Reșița | 34 | 6 | 3 | 25 | 35 | 77 | −42 | 21 | |
| 17 | Râmnicu Vâlcea (D, R) | 33 | 4 | 6 | 23 | 16 | 67 | −51 | 18 | Disqualified |
| 18 | Unirea Tărlungeni (D, R) | 33 | 2 | 5 | 26 | 15 | 78 | −63 | 1 | Disqualified |
| 19 | Berceni (D, R) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Disqualified |
| 20 | Șoimii Pâncota (D, R) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Disqualified |
* 1 2 3 1. BRA 7P.; 2. DUN 7P.; 3. AFU 3P.
* ↑ CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea withdrew from the championship during the winter break and lost all matches from the second part of the championship by forfeit.
* ↑ Unirea Tărlungeni were deducted 10 points and withdrew from the championship during the winter break and lost all matches from the second part of the championship by forfeit.
* ↑ ACS Berceni withdrew from the championship in the first part of the season and all their results were canceled.
* ↑ Șoimii Pâncota was excluded from the championship for unpaid debts and all their results were canceled.

## Season results

| Home \ Away | ACA | AFU | ASU | BAL | BRA | CHI | DUB | DUN | FOR | JUV | LUC | SNA | MIO | OLI | RMV | SPS | UNI | UTA |
| Academica Clinceni | | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 3–3 | 0–7 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–6 |
| Afumați | 3–2 | | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 6–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 5–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 |
| ASU Politehnica Timișoara | 0–1 | 2–1 | | 4–1 | 1–1 | 3–4 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–3 |
| Balotești | 1–3 | 0–1 | 3–2 | | 2–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 2–4 |
| Brașov | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–2 | | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–2 |
| Chindia Târgoviște | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 |
| Dacia Unirea Brăila | 1–0 | 1–5 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | | 2–1 | 4–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| Dunărea Călărași | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Foresta Suceava | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 3–0 | 2–4 | 3–0 | 0–2 |
| Juventus București | 3–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 | | 2–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 6–0 | 1–2 |
| Luceafărul Oradea | 1–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 |
| Sportul Snagov | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | | 0–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 |
| Mioveni | 3–2 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 5–1 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Olimpia Satu Mare | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 7–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1–0 | | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 |
| Râmnicu Vâlcea | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 5–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 |
| Sepsi OSK | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 6–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | | 3–0 | 4–1 |
| Unirea Tărlungeni | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 4–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 0–2 | | 1–1 | | 2–4 |
| UTA Arad | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | |

## Liga I play-off

The 12th-placed team of the Liga I faced the 3rd-placed team of the Liga II.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| ACS Poli Timișoara | 5–2 | UTA Arad | 2–1 | 3–1 |
Notes:
* ACS Poli Timișoara qualified for 2017–18 Liga I and UTA Arad qualified for 2017–18 Liga II.

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

    Updated to matches played on 3 June 2017.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Bogdan Chipirliu | Juventus București | 30 |
| 2 | Attila Hadnagy | Sepsi OSK | 28 |
| 2 | Adrian Petre | UTA Arad | 28 |
| 4 | Cristian Cherchez | Chindia Târgoviște | 19 |
| 4 | Marian Vlada | Afumați | 19 |
| 6 | Marius Matei | Foresta Suceava (9) / Luceafărul Oradea (9) | 18 |
| 7 | Claudiu Herea | Balotești | 17 |
| 8 | Ștefan Blănaru | ASU Politehnica Timișoara | 16 |

### Clean sheets

    Updated to matches played on 3 June 2017.
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets$^*$ |
| 1 | Bogdan Miron | UTA Arad | 16 |
| 2 | Relu Stoian | Juventus București | 15 |
| 3 | Roland Niczuly | Sepsi OSK | 13 |
| 4 | Teodor Meilă | Chindia Târgoviște | 12 |
| 5 | Iulian Anca-Trip | Olimpia Satu Mare | 11 |
| 5 | Flavius Croitoru | Mioveni | 11 |
$^*$Only goalkeepers who played all 90 minutes of a match are taken into consideration.

## Attendances

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Chindia Târgoviște | 34,050 | 4,000 | 250 | 2,003 | n/a$^†$ |
| 2 | Sepsi OSK | 27,700 | 4,000 | 700 | 1,847 | n/a$^†$ |
| 3 | Foresta Suceava | 27,250 | 4,100 | 300 | 1,603 | n/a$^†$ |
| 4 | ASU Politehnica Timișoara | 26,050 | 11,800 | 400 | 1,532 | n/a$^†$ |
| 5 | Brașov | 13,800 | 2,900 | 300 | 920 | n/a$^†$ |
| 6 | UTA Arad | 13,900 | 1,900 | 300 | 818 | n/a$^1$ |
| 7 | Râmnicu Vâlcea | 6,450 | 1,200 | 150 | 645 | n/a$^†$ |
| 8 | Mioveni | 11,600 | 2,000 | 200 | 644 | n/a$^†$ |
| 9 | Olimpia Satu Mare | 8,400 | 1,200 | 150 | 560 | n/a$^†$ |
| 10 | Juventus București | 10,500 | 1,500 | 150 | 553 | n/a$^†$ |
| 11 | Luceafărul Oradea | 6,900 | 800 | 200 | 460 | n/a$^†$ |
| 12 | Dunărea Călărași | 6,780 | 1,000 | 120 | 399 | n/a$^†$ |
| 13 | Dacia Unirea Brăila | 6,370 | 1,200 | 70 | 354 | n/a$^†$ |
| 14 | Balotești | 4,630 | 700 | 100 | 257 | n/a$^3$ |
| 15 | Afumați | 4,310 | 750 | 50 | 227 | n/a$^†$ |
| 16 | Metalul Reșița | 2,610 | 600 | 50 | 174 | n/a$^2$ |
| 17 | Academica Clinceni | 2,160 | 400 | 40 | 127 | n/a$^†$ |
| 18 | Șoimii Pâncota | 590 | 400 | 40 | 118 | n/a$^2$ |
| 19 | Unirea Tărlungeni | 1,080 | 150 | 50 | 108 | n/a$^2$ |
| 20 | Berceni | 750 | 180 | 50 | 107 | n/a$^2$ |
| | League total | 215,880 | 11,800 | 40 | 673 | n/a$^†$ |
Updated to games played on 3 June 2017 Source: League matches: Liga II 2016/2017 Notes: 1: UTA Arad played all matches out of its stadium, which is under construction. 2: Berceni, Metalul Reșița, Șoimii Pâncota and Unirea Tărlungeni were moved from their settlements and played all matches out of their stadiums.