page_title: CSM Jiul Petroșani
section_title: Ups and Downs (1985–2002)
hierarchical_section_title: CSM Jiul Petroșani / History / Ups and Downs (1985–2002)
caption_attribution_description: English: Jiul Petroșani squad 1995-1996 Divizia B season.
context_page_description: Clubul Sportiv Municipal Jiul Petroșani, commonly known as Jiul Petroșani, or simply as Jiul, is a Romanian amateur football club based in Petroșani, Hunedoara County, founded in 1919 under the name of CAM Petroșani.
  Jiul Petroșani is one of the oldest clubs in Romania that is still active. Founded before teams such as Steaua București, Dinamo București or Rapid București, Jiul, at its best, was ranked 2nd in the top-flight, but despite the ups and downs, Jiul was for most of its existence, a constant presence in the first two tiers of the Romanian football league system, fact that made it a traditional club in the country.
  After 1990, the miners had their moments of brilliance, but the closure of the mines in the Jiu Valley, the main engine of the local economy led to the decay of the team, being almost annually in danger of bankruptcy.
context_section_description: In the next 15 years, Jiul struggled, not a few times between sublime and ridiculous. In the 1985–86 edition of Divizia B Gheorghe Mulțescu, a very important player in the club's history, returned, this time as a coach-player, and promoted the team to Divizia A after only one season. The miners will return to the second league for two other seasons (1987–1989). The ecstasy erupted again for two years (1989–1991) when jiuliștii will be in the Romanian football elite. It was the generation of Viorel Păuna, Sorin Ghițan, Florin Stoica, Ioan Varga, Marian Bâcu, Silviu Popoviciu, Horațiu Lasconi, Aristică Cioabă, Marcel "Rico" Cristea, Ion Sburlea, Ion Radu or Damian Militaru. The 1991 relegation threw Jiul in "B" for five years long darkness with submitted developments, such as 1993–94 season (7th) or 1994–95 (13th). Only after the energetic intervention of Miron Cozma, the 1990s Miners Union League of the Jiu Valley leader and also a very controversial public figure in Romania, especially for the 1990s mineriads. The white and blacks returned to the first league in 1995–96 season, with Ion "Liță" Dumitru as coach and some talented footballers as Leontin Toader, Liviu Baicea, Mircea Cristescu, Aristică Cioabă, Marin Tudorache, Dan Neiconi, Fănel Țîră, Vasile Matinca or Toni Sedecaru in the squad. They were later joined by Ion Bivolaru, Cristian Pușcaș, Romulus Bealcu, Tudorel Zamfirescu and Tiberiu Csik who kept the team in the first league for two years (1996–1998), the 1998 relegation being the most embarrassing in the club's history, with 10 points and only three victories in 34 matches. The disorganized situation of the club from that moment has been accentuated in the next seasons of Divizia B by driving the management of the club from one person to another. After three weak years in the second league (1998–2001), the president of the club was named the young and ambitious Alin Simota and as coach was named the experienced Ioan Sdrobiș, the one nicknamed as The Father. But 2001–02 season was a disastrous one, Jiul finished on 15th place and relegated for the first time in its history to Divizia C.
caption: Jiul Petroșani (1995–1996), team that obtained the 1996 historical promotion.
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