FC Voluntari

FC Voluntari
Fotbal Club Voluntari, commonly known as FC Voluntari or simply Voluntari, is a Romanian professional football club based in Voluntari, Ilfov County, which competes in the Liga I.
Founded in 2010, it has been playing since the 2015–16 season in the Liga I, the highest tier of the Romanian league system. Voluntari claimed its first major honour the following campaign, after defeating Astra Giurgiu in the penalty shootout of the Cupa României final, and went on to win the Supercupa României the same year.
Voluntari's home ground is the Anghel Iordănescu Stadium, which has a capacity of 4,600 people.
History
Early years
FC Voluntari was founded in the summer of 2010 and enrolled directly in the Liga III, after acquiring the berth of Petrolul Berca.
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.
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. 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.
Promotion to the first division
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.
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.
Stadium
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.
Honours
Domestic
Leagues
Liga II
Winners (1): 2014–15
Liga III
Winners (1): 2013–14
Cups
Cupa României
Winners (1): 2016–17
Runners-up (1): 2021–22
Supercupa României
Winners (1): 2017
Players
First-team squad
Other players under contract
Out on loan
Club officials
Board of directors
Last updated: 6 September 2022
Source:
Current technical staff
Last updated: 19 September 2023
Source:
Domestic records and statistics
Notable former players
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
Cosmin Achim
Florin Acsinte
Ionuț Balaur
Dragoș Balauru
Adrian Bălan
Mircea Bornescu
Marius Briceag
Mihai Căpățînă
Florin Cernat
Cristian Costin
Costin Curelea
Gabriel Deac
Ion Gheorghe
Petre Ivanovici
Costin Lazăr
Vasile Maftei
Laurențiu Marinescu
Florin Maxim
Daniel Novac
Daniel Pancu
Mihai Popa
Alexandru Răuță
Gabriel Tamaș
Dinu Todoran
Alexandru Tudorie
Alexandru Vlad
Mihai Voduț
Argentina
Nicolás Gorobsov
Brazil
Eric
Bulgaria
Bozhidar Mitrev
Cape Verde
Hélder Tavares
Croatia
Hrvoje Spahija
DR Congo
Wilfred Moke
Greece
Thanasis Papazoglou
Haiti
Jean Sony Alcénat
Ivory Coast
Ulrich Meleke
Moldova
Vitalie Damașcan
Netherlands
John Goossens
Spain
Pablo de Lucas
Jefté Betancor
Tunisia
Aïssa Laïdouni
Notable former managers
Bogdan Andone
Cristiano Bergodi
Liviu Ciobotariu
Adrian Iencsi
Florin Marin
Gheorghe Mulțescu
Ilie Poenaru
Mihai Teja
References
External links
Club profile on UEFA's official website
Club profile on LPF's official website
Association football clubs established in 2010
Football clubs in Ilfov County
Liga I clubs
Liga II clubs
Liga III clubs
2010 establishments in Romania