Colegiul Naţional” Teodor Neş” SALONTA

Lucrare de atestat de competențe

lingvistice la limba engleză

Profesor coordonator: Elev:

Țirban Laura-Patricia Sîrb Ioan-Bogdan

Salonta
2018

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 Colegiul Naţional” Teodor Neş” Salonta

F.C. Steaua București

Profesor coordonator: Elev:

Țirban Laura-Patricia Sîrb Ioan-Bogdan

Salonta
2018

2
 Contents

Motivation……………………………………………………………………4
What is Steaua Bucuresti ?...............................................................................5
History………………………………………………………………………..5
Historical controversies……………………………………………………….8
Crest and colours……………………………………………………………...9
Stadium……………………………………………………………………….10
Support………………………………………………………………………..11
Club rivalries………………………………………………………………….13
Ownership………………………………………………………………….....13
Statics and records………………………………………………………….…15
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….16
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………..17

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 Motivation
I have liked football since I was a child. I started practicing this sport with much
joy and all this is due to my father who led me to the beautiful world of football.
Being passionate, I had to choose a favorite team. I have chosen FC Steaua
Bucharest, because it is a team that I love and it represents proudly the
Romanian football in the European competitions. Steaua is a team that is able to
bring thousands of people to stadiums or in front of the TV screens, amazing
and unifying them into one person. Steaua sends me emotions and keeps me out
of breath when I watch a football match. I'm happy that I have chosen Steaua
Bucharest because it is the only team that is able to lead Romania to the highest
peaks of this sport.

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 FC STEAUA BUCURESTI

Fotbal Club Steaua București is a Romanian professional football club based in

Bucharest. They currently compete in Liga I, the division in which they have
spent their entire history. Domestically, Steaua have won Liga I 26 times, Cupa
României 22 times, Supercupa României 6 times and Cupa Ligii one time – all
competition records. In UEFA competitions they have won the European
Cup and European Super Cup, both in 1986. They have also reached
the European Cupfinal in 1989, the final of the Intercontinental Cup, quarter-
finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup and the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup.
The club is historically known as the Romanian Army sports club, though the
football department separated in 1998.
Steaua currently play their home games at Arena Națională, having moved there
from their former home, the Ministry of National Defence-owned, Stadionul
Ghencea. Initially, the club played in the colours of the Romanian tricolour –
blue, yellow and red – but yellow soon lost its importance, and the team became
associated with the red and blue colours. Since 2008 away kits have begun to
reintegrate the yellow colour. Except 2012–13 when the away kit was blue.
The club has a long-standing rivalry with Dinamo București, matches between
the two being commonly referred to as "The Eternal Derby" or "The Romanian
Derby".
HISTORY

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Steaua was founded on 7 June 1947, at the initiative of several officers of the
Romanian Royal House and with full support from the communist
government.The establishment took place following a decree signed by
General Mihail Lascăr, High Commander of the Romanian Royal Army. The
club's first name was ASA București (Asociația Sportivă a Armatei București –
Army Sports Association). It was formed as a sports society with seven initial
sections, including football, coached by Coloman Braun-Bogdan. ASA was
renamed CSCA (Clubul Sportiv Central al Armatei – Central Sports Club of the
Army) in 1948 and CCA (Casa Centrală a Armatei – Central House of the
Army) in 1950.
In 1949, CSCA won its first trophy, the Romanian Cup, defeating CSU Cluj 2–1
in the final. Under the name of CCA, the club managed to win
three Championship titles in a row in1951, 1952 and 1953, along with their first
Championship-Cup Double in 1951. During the 1950s, the so-called CCA
Golden Team became nationally famous. In 1956, the national team of
Romania, composed exclusively of CCA players, took on Yugoslavia in
Belgrade and won 1–0. During the same year, CCA, coached by Ilie Savu, was
the first Romanian team to enterprise a tournament in England where they
achieved noteworthy results against the likes of Luton Town, Arsenal, Sheffield
Wednesday and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
At the end of 1961 CCA changed its name once again to CSA Steaua
București (Clubul Sportiv al Armatei Steaua – Army Sports Club Steaua). The
club's new name translates The Star and was adopted because of the presence of
a red star, symbol of most East-European Army clubs, on their crest. A poor
period of almost two decades followed in which the club claimed only three
championships (1967–68, 1975–76, 1977–78). Instead, the team won nine
national cup trophies, for which matter they gained the nickname ofcup
specialists. Also during this period, on 9 April 1974, Steaua's current
ground, Stadionul Ghencea, was inaugurated with a friendly match
opposing OFK Beograd.
Under the leadership of coaches Emerich Jenei and Anghel Iordănescu, Steaua
had an impressive Championship run in the 1984–85season, which they won
after a six-year break. Subsequently, they were the first Romanian team to make
it to a European Cup final, which they won in front
of Barcelona on penalties (2–0 thanks to goalkeeper Helmuth
Duckadam succeeding to save all four penalties taken by the Spaniards), after a
goalless draw. Steaua therefore became the first Eastern-European team to claim
the title of European champions. An additional European Super Cup was won in
1987 in front of Dynamo Kyiv. Steaua remained at the top of European football
for the rest of the decade, managing one more European Cup semifinal in 1987–

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88 and one more European Cup final in 1989 (lost 4–0 to Milan). This happened
next to their four additional national titles (1985–86,1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–
89) and four national cups (1984–85,1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89).
Furthermore, from June 1986 to September 1989, Steaua ran a record 104-
match undefeated streak in the championship, setting a world record for that
time and a European one still standing.
The Romanian Revolution led the country towards a free open market and,
subsequently, several players of the 1980s team left for other clubs in the West.
After a short pull-back, a quick recovery followed and Steaua managed a six
consecutive championship streak between 1992–93 and 1997–98 to equalise the
1920s performance of Chinezul Timișoara and also three more cups in 1995–96,
1996–97 and 1998–99. At international level, they also managed to make it to
the UEFA Champions League group stage three years in a row between 1994–
95 and 1996–97. In 1998, the football club separated from CSA Steaua and
changed their name for the final time to FC Steaua București (Fotbal Club
Steaua – Football Club Steaua), being led by Romanian businessman Viorel
Păunescu. Păunescu performed poorly as a president and soon the club was
plunged into debt. George Becali, another businessman, was offered the
position of vice-president, in hope that he would invest money in the club.
Becali eventually purchased the majority share in 2002 and turned the
governing company public in January 2003.
Because of his controversial character, he has been contested by the majority of
Steaua fans. The team qualified for the UEFA Cup group stage in the 2004–
05 season and further on became the first Romanian team to make it to the
European football spring since 1993 (also Steaua's performance). The next
season, they reached the UEFA Cup semi-finals in 2005–06, where they were
eliminated by Middlesbrough thanks to a last minute goal and thereafter
qualified for the following UEFA Champions League seasons after a ten-year
break. In the 2007–08 season Steaua have qualified again in the group stage
of UEFA Champions League. Nationally, they gained two titles in 2004–
05 and2005–06 and the Romanian Super Cup in 2006, the latter being the club's
50th trophy in its 59-year history.
In 2013, Steaua won its 24th national title, also reaching the UEFA Champions
League group stage. They repeated the same performance next year, in 2014,
winning the 25th championship.
The Ministry of National Defense took Steaua to court in 2014, claiming that
the Romanian Army were the rightful owners of the logo of Steaua
Bucharest. The Supreme Court found in the army's favour, and on 3 December
2014 stripped the football club of its badge. Steaua were forced to play their
next home game, against CSM Studențesc Iași, without it on the stadium
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scoreboard. The club unveiled a new badge in January 2015, an eight-sided star
containing the letters FCSB, and issued a statement to the effect that they had
reached an agreement with the Ministry of National Defense that would allow
them to retain the name Steaua București and the colours.
Historical controversies
Several controversies exist regarding Steaua's past and its ownership by
the Romanian Army before the Romanian Revolution, such as the club's
establishment, its activity exclusively inside the Liga I, means of transferring
players and involvement of the Ceaușescu family in the life of the team during
the 1980s.
The club was founded as ASA București, by the Romanian Royal Army, on 7
June 1947. Debates regarding this issue relate to Romania's form of
government, confronting the arguments that, on one hand, the government was
mostly communist and on the other hand that the country was still
a constitutional monarchy, with the king serving as the High Commander of the
Romanian Army. Nevertheless, at the beginning of their first season, even
though supposing to attend a play-off for 2nd league promotion, Carmen
București was disbanded out of political reasons, its place in the first league
being occupied therefore by ASA. Subsequently, the team never relegated and is
currently one of the 2 teams to have only played inside the first league, along
with Dinamo București.
The means players would transfer to the club link to the organization of sporting
activities inside former Communist countries. As of 1947, the new Communist
government instituted norms stating that every sports association was to be
linked to a certain form of trade union or governmental institution. As
professional football was therefore abolished, players would move between
teams as arrangements between the clubs' governing institutions, and not as
regular market economy transactions. Being the club of the Army, several
young gifted players would often be tempted by Steaua to join their ranks,
having the advantages of better conditions ensured by the club, the opportunity
of a more productive career, and also, among other, of being exempted from the
compulsory military service. Gheorghe Hagiwas borrowed this way
from Sportul Studențesc Bucureștifor the 1987 European Super Cup match
with Dynamo Kyiv and afterwards continued, at his will, to play for Steaua,
despite his former club's opposition. However, another famous example is also
the one of Gheorghe Popescu, transferred in 1988 from Universitatea Craiova,
apparently without the club's or player's consent and who returned to his former
club after one season.

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Crest and Colours
ASA București was founded by the Royal Army on 7 June 1947, at which date
the club had no official crest. During their first season, 1947–48, Steaua wore
yellow and red striped shirts with blue shorts, to symbolize Romania's tricolour
flag. Starting with the following season and with the Army's change of identity
from the Royal Army to the People's Army, the yellow was gradually given up,
so that the official colours remained, up to this day, the red and the blue.
As communists assumed total control of the country on 30 December 1947, the
Royal Army was transformed into the People's Army and ASA automatically
with it. Being inspired by the Red Army, the new Ministry of Defence decided
to create a crest for the club, along with the change of name to CSCA,
consisting in an A-labeled red star (symbol of the Red Army) on a blue disc.
Two years later, the change of name to CCA brought with it a new crest
consisting of the same red star labeled CCA surrounded by a crown of laurel.
The all-present star motif on the crest finally had its saying over the new name
of Steaua as up 1961. It was opted for a badge which, redesigned, remains up to
this day the club's symbol: the red and blue striped background with a golden
star in the middle, to symbolize to Romanian tricolour flag. The shape for the
emblem was redesigned in 1974, once the team moved to Stadionul Ghencea.
Following the Romanian Revolution, the Army decided to break all links to the
defunct communist regime, so, in 1991, CSA Steaua had a last change of crest
with an eagle also present on the Ministry of Defence coat of arms and also on
Romania's. As FC Steaua appeared in 1998, the club added two yellow stars on
top of the CSA Steaua badge signifying its 20 titles of champions won, along
with the Fotbal Club specification.
2003 was the year of the last change of crest, decided by the new Board of
Administration run by George Becali, which was a return to the old emblem of
1974–1991, redesigned with the two yellow stars on top.
Steaua has never had a standard playing kit. However, the most widely used
throughout time was the combination of red shirts, blue shorts and red socks.
Other variants have been all-red, all-blue and also shirts in vertical red and blue
stripes during the 1960s and 1970s. Other kit colours have very rarely been
used. Exceptions were the 1986 European Cup Final in which Steaua wore, for
the only time in their history, an all-white kit, the 1999–00 away kit (yellow and

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red), the 2005–06 third kit (yellow and black)and the 2008–09 away kit (all
yellow).

Stadium
Steaua played its three first matches in history at the defunct Venus stadium.
Opened in 1931, the venue had previously been in the property of Venus
București, a club disbanded in 1949. After the ground's demolition through
order of the Communist regime, Steaua had played its home matches on either
three of Bucharest's largest multi-use stadia, ANEF, Republicii (built in 1926
and put down in 1984 to make room for the erection of the Casa Poporului)
and 23 August (built in 1953). Of these two, 23 August (current Național) was
mostly used when two matches between Bucharest clubs were scheduled in the
same match day or for important European matches, while Republicii for
regular matches inside the championship.
Steaua plays its home matches at the Stadionul Ghencea,
a football stadium situated in South-Western Bucharest. Part of Complexul
Sportiv Steaua, it was inaugurated on 9 April 1974 when Steaua played a
friendly match against OFK Beograd, at which time it was the first football-only
stadium ever built in Communist Romania, with no track and field facilities.
The original capacity was 30,000 on benches. A general renovation occurred in
1991. This included installing seats, which dropped the capacity to
28,365, inaugurating a floodlighting system and erecting a VIP personal box
section.

After a second renovation, in 2006, which included refurbishing the turf,

Ghencea was able to host UEFA Champions League events, being a third

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category arena according to the UEFA classification system. Lately, there have
been talks for increasing the capacity to either 45,000 or 60,000.
Romania was also a tenant. The first game played by the national team at
Ghencea was in March 1977 against Turkey. 59 other games have been played
ever since, the last one occurring in October 2006 against Belarus. Also, several
matches from the 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship,
including the final, have been hosted by the arena.
The stadium, built through order of the Ministry of National Defence inside a
former military base and was long used by CSA Steaua.
From 2011, Steaua have played the European games and its most important
internal games on the newly constructed Arena Națională. From March 2015,
only at Arena Națională.

Support
Steaua has the largest number of supporters of any team in Romania. A survey
conducted in June 2007 suggested that the club accounts for approximately 42%
of all Romanian football lovers, far greater than the teams ranked second and
third, Dinamo București, with 12%, and Rapid București, with 9%.

The largest concentration of fans are in Bucharest, notably in areas adjacent to

the arena, covering the whole southern half of Bucharest, a city geographically
divided by the Dâmbovița River. Also, the club has an important fan base inside
the country, where several towns are renowned for counting vast majorities of
Steaua supporters, and outside the borders, among Romanian emigrants.

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The Steaua Ultras movement began in 1995, when the bases of Armata
Ultra (AU), the first Ultras group from Bucharest (and second in Romania
after Politehnica Timișoara's Commando Viola Ultra Curva Sud), were set. The
group quickly reached an impressive number of members, but, in 2001, they
dissolved due to internal problems. Currently Steaua's supporters are divided
into several groups, some of them being located at the Peluza Nord (North End)
(Titan Boys, Nucleo, Insurgenții 1998, Skins 1996, Combat, Armata 47 Vest),
while some other ones taking their place at the Peluza Sud (South End)
(Vacarm, Glas, E.R.A., Hunters, Outlaws, Shadows, Roosters, T.K., Tinerii
Sudisti). Several important groups such as Stil Ostil, Ultras, Banda Ultra' and
South Boys retired from attending Steaua's matches due to the club's constant
abuses towards them and, mainly, to the current ownership of Steaua.
More recently, as of 2006, the supporters have formed their own official
association, called AISS (Asociația Independentă a Suporterilor Steliști – Steaua
Supporters' Independent Association). AISS was formed as a legal entity with
its stated goals of protecting the interests and image of Steaua supporters, as
well as identifying and promoting the club's perennial values.
A heavy debated topic about the fans is the one related to racism. Stemmed
from their rivalry with Rapid București, whose fans are often envisioned
as Romani ethnics, the issue degenerated on certain situations in several
incidents between factions of supporters of Steaua and Rapid. Also, the UEFA
Champions League 2005–06 qualifying match against Shelbourne, resulted in a
one-matchday pitch suspension for Steaua during the same European season,
after racial chants were heard from the crowd.
Lately, crowd turbulence has been one of the club's main problems. During the
last three seasons,[when?] 11 Liga I match day suspensions and one in the UEFA
Cup have been dictated against the Ghencea-based club out of reasons such as
crowd trouble, racial chants or torch lighting.
In 2009, UEFA ordered Steaua to play two home games of the Europa
League behind closed doors due to their fans displaying racist banners in a
second qualifying round match against Hungarian side Újpest. Three further
incidents occurred in the 2014–15 season, with the club fined and ordered to
play further games in an empty stadium after displays of racist banners in games
against Dynamo Kyiv, Ludogorets Razgrad and Strømsgodset.

Club rivalries
Steaua's most important rivalry is the one against Dinamo București. Marele
Derby (The Great Derby) has been the leading Romanian football encounter in

12
the last 60 years, as Steaua and Dinamo are the two most successful football
teams in the country. There have been a total of 156 matches played so far
between Steaua and Dinamo, in Romanian League, Romanian Cup and also
Romanian Super Cup, with the following results: Steaua 55 wins, Dinamo 54
wins and 47 draws. With 43 titles won altogether (Steaua–25; Dinamo–18), the
two clubs have won 16 of the last 23 seasons. It is also a match between the
former clubs of the Romanian Army (Steaua) and the Ministry of Internal
Affairs (Dinamo). Several clashes between different factions of supporters have
often occurred and still occur inside and outside the stadium. The heyday was
reached before a match kick-off in 1997, when Dinamo's fans set a sector
of Stadionul Ghencea's Peluza Sud, where they were assigned, on fire. Between
October 1991 and April 2000, Steaua counted 19 undefeated official matches in
front of their rivals, both in the championship and the cup. Just as well, a period
of 17 years and 7 months has been recorded in which Dinamo did not manage to
win away against Steaua in the domestic league.
The second most important rivalry is the one with Rapid București. Several
matches in the last years between Steaua and Rapid have also ended in serious
clashes between fans. Rivalry has become even fiercer since Steaua outpassed
Rapid in an all-Romanian quarter final of the UEFA Cup 2005–06 season. The
local sports newspapers said that the 2 teams were linked up in this quarter final
by the line of the number 41 tram which links the Ghencea Stadium to
the Valentin Stănescu Stadium.
Milder and historical rivalries are also with non-Bucharest teams such
as Universitatea Craiova, Politehnica Timișoara, Petrolul Ploiești, CFR
Cluj, Universitatea Cluj and a recent one with Astra Giurgiu.
Ownership
Steaua has always been known as the club of the Romanian Army, who founded
it in 1947 as a sports society. The Army continues to own the society,
called CSA Steaua București at the moment.
The football department however, in order to comply with UEFA rules,
separated and turned private in 1998, owned and financed by a non-profit
organization called AFC Steaua București, chaired by businessman Viorel
Păunescu.
In January 2003, the club turned public, under the leadership of investor and
current politician George Becali, who had already purchased 51% of the
society's shares and later on acquired the rest to become owner of the club. At
present Becali has no official link to the club, as he gradually renounced his
shares. However, the facts that the current shareholders, that include several
nephews of his, are people loyal to him and that he is still in charge of Steaua
13
are obvious. An unofficial explanation for this situation is represented by the
heavy amount of unpaid taxes added up by the former governing company,
AFC Steaua București, whose payment towards the tax authority was avoided
this way by transferring its assets to the new-formed company, with the old
association going on liquidation bankruptcy.
George Becali is currently a highly controversial person, whose involvement in
the life of the club and the team has often been described as authoritarian and
dictatorial by both the media and the fans.
Steaua in popular culture
As Steaua is currently the most popular football team in Romania, a good
number of musicians or TV and film directors have inspired themselves from
ideas linked to the Ghencea-based club. Popular reference, however, appeared
only after the Romanian Revolution, as before, mass-media programmes were
mostly being controlled by the former communist regime. The 2002 Romanian
film Furia depicts scenes in which Steaua and Dinamo gangs of supporters are
fighting on the streets after a direct match between the two sides. Prima
TV comedy show Mondenii often airs sketches parodying Steaua owner George
Becali, the players and other representatives around the club. Pro TV series La
bloc aired an episode in which characters Nelu and Costel are displayed as
representing Steaua in a parking lot match against two other neighbours
representing Dinamo.
Several other examples from music can be attributed as Steaua-related. Apart
from club anthems played throughout time by Marcel Pavel, Bere Gratis, Gaz
pe Foc, an album was released in 2006 as a compilation by Mircea
Vintilă, Chicanos, Bogdan Dima and several other artists. Delikt and Ultras are
two former hip hop bands whose members ranked the defunct Armata Ultra'
brigade and would always show up displaying fan materials. Also, Voltaj, in
their song 'MSD2', make reference to the fans in the line Poți să fii câine sau
poți fi stelist (You can be a dog or you can be a Steaua fan).
One of the most famous pop-culture references about the club is the association
with Scooter's song Maria, first sung spontaneously in 2003 by the fans in
Peluza Nord after the team would score. Ever since, it has been adopted as an
unofficial club anthem and is being played at the stadium at every match, sung
together by the supporters. Nonetheless, the song is beginning to lose
popularity, mainly because it has become too commercial and many fans do not
feel bonded with it any more.

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Statics and records
Steaua currently boasts itself with the most impressive pedigree in Romania.
With 62 seasons spent in Liga I, they are one of only two teams to have played
only in the first national league, along with Dinamo București (61 seasons). At
the same time, the club is the current record holder for the number of national
championships (26), national cups(22), national super cups (6) and the national
league cup (1). Between 1993 and 1998, their run of six consecutive national
titles won equaled the one of Chinezul Timișoara from the 1920s.
Internationally, they are the only Romanian club to have won continental
trophies (the European Champions Cup in 1986 and the European Super Cup in
1986) and to have played in the final of the European Cup (in 1986 and 1989).
For three years and three months (June 1986 – September 1989), Steaua
counted a number of 104 unbeaten matches in the league, establishing, at that
moment, a world record and a European one still standing. Also inside the
national league, they counted 112 matches between November 1989 and August
1996 of invincibility at Stadionul Ghencea in Liga I. Their run of 17 straight
wins in 1988 is another record, equal to the one held by Dinamo as of one year
later.
Tudorel Stoica is the player with the most appearances for Steaua in Liga I, a
record unlikely to be broken in the nearby future, as none of the current players
have entered the top 10 so far. The club's all-time top scorer in the league
is Anghel Iordănescu with 146 goals, a record that also looks solid, out of the
same reason as above-mentioned. Other records are currently owned by former
players such as Dorinel Munteanu (most national caps – 134) or Gheorghe
Hagi (most goals scored for Romania – 35; most appearances of a Romanian
player in the European cups – 93).

15
 Conclusion
It is said that football is like a wheel that goes up and down. Since history
Steaua has had his own ups and downs with moment of glory as well as
disasters. It has had brilliant footballers like Gheorhe Hagi, Gheorghe Popescu,
Helmuth Duckadam, Adrian Ilie, Ilie Dumitrescu who by their play, filled our
hearts with joy and made us feel proud to say: “I am Romanian”. There were so
many moments when I wanted to become the new Hagi. Now, that I am towards
the end of my life as a high-school pupil, I realize that I will never give up
playing football.
I hope I will belong to my football club as long as possible, and who knows,
maybe one day you will hear about Alex Lezeu the football player or Alex
Lezeu the famous coach.

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 Bibliography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Steaua_București

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