CSM Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț

Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț was founded on 20 October 1919 in the town of Piatra Neamț. The squad of high-school players was strengthened with soldiers from the 15th Infantry Regiment who had returned from the World War I. In 1927, most of the club's players went to college and Ceahlăul went into a period of decline. It played in Divizia C during the 1937–38 season, but left the league due to financial problems.[2]

The 1960–1961 team, which was promoted to Divizia B for the first time in club history

Ceahlăul revived in 1947 with a team which included Vulovici, Bălănescu, Ciciuc (Popovici), Actis, Manoliu, Dăscălescu, Vasiliu, Georgescu, Mata, Butnaru and Chiper.[2] The 1950s were marked by instability, with changes to the team's name, structure and players. Piatra Neamț had three football clubs: Avântul (the present-day Ceahlăul), Hârtia, and Celuloza. All had mixed results, generally in the lower leagues. In 1956, Avântul, Hârtia and Celuloza merged to form Recolta Piatra Neamț. Recolta played one season in the 12-team Divizia C, finishing 11th. At the end of the season Recolta divided into two teams: Avântul and Rapid. After a poor season, the teams re-merged in 1958 to form CS Piatra Neamț. The team finished third in the 1958–59 Divizia C season.[2][3] CS Piatra Neamț, coached by Tiberiu Căpăţînă, was promoted at the end of the 1960–61 season to Divizia B for the first time in club history.

The 1964–1965 team, which was promoted back to Divizia B after one season in the third league

During the summer of 1961, the club also changed its name back to Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț.[2] It played three consecutive seasons in Divizia B, finishing eighth in 1961–62, 10th in 1962–63 and 13th in 1963–64.[4] Relegated to Divizia C, Ceahlăul was promoted back after one season; the club finished first, four points ahead of second-place Textila Buhuși.[3]

It played for many years in the second league, except for a Divizia C season in 1979–1980. Coached by Petre Steinbach, the team finished seventh in 1965–66, ninth in 1966–67, and fifth in 1967–68 and 1968–69.[5] After Steinbach's departure, the team finished 12th in 1969–70, eighth in 1970–71, 10th in 1971–72, 13th in 1972–73 and sixth in 1973–74.[4]

Coached by Al Constantinescu, Ceahlăul finished fourth in 1974–75 – one point behind third-place Gloria Buzău and four points behind second-place Progresul Brăila.[4] The team finished 13th in 1975–76, 10th in 1976–77 and 12th in 1977–78.

During the summer of 1978, the club changed its name from Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț to Relon Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț and had one of its weakest seasons since its last promotion in 1965. Finishing 15th out of 18 teams, it was relegated to Divizia C after 14 years in the second league;[2] six points separated Divizia B fourth-place FC Constanța from 17th-place Victoria Tecuci.[6]

Relon Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț changed its name back to Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț during the summer of 1979.[2] Ceahlăul finished first, seven points ahead of second-place Foresta Fălticeni, and was promoted back to the second league after one season in Divizia C.[3]

Coached by Dumitru Dumitriu, the team finished ninth in 1980–81, 10th in 1981–82 and seventh in 1982–83. Dumitriu was replaced by V. Copil in 1983, and the team finished fourth (a club record at the time) in 1983–84.[4] Ceahlăul finished 11th in 1984–85 and 1985–86, eighth in 1986–87, ninth in 1987–88 and 11th in 1988–89. The team finished 14th in 1989–90 during the Romanian Revolution, just avoiding relegation.[4]

The 1992–1993 team, which was promoted to Divizia A for the first time in club history

The 1989 revolution was the beginning of the end for teams such as Victoria București, Flacăra Moreni and Olt Scornicești, but was a restart for Ceahlăul. Long a mediocre Divizia B team, the yellow-and-blacks finished third in 1990–91 (three points out of second) and 1991–92 (three points behind second-place FC Baia Mare and 10 points ahead of Metrom Brașov.[4]

Ioan Sdrobiș ("The Father"), a coach known for promoting young players, was hired as manager during the summer of 1992. Gheorghe Ștefan became the club president, and FC Argeș, ASA Târgu Mureș, Gloria Buzău and Politehnica Iași were rivals for promotion. Two teams were related to the former political regime: Steaua Mizil (a Steaua București satellite team) and Flacăra Moreni. During the winter break, Sdrobiș left the team in first place after disputes with Ștefan and signed with Dacia Unirea Brăila. He was replaced by former Dinamo București and Fenerbahçe player Ion Nunweiller. The yellow-and-blacks were promoted to Divizia A for the first time in club history with 20 victories, seven draws, seven losses, 54 goals scored and 24 conceded for 47 points, six points ahead of Steaua Mizil, FC Argeș and Flacăra Moreni. The team consisted of coaches Sdrobiș (matches 1–17) and Nunweiller (matches 18–34) and players Anghelinei, Șoiman, Axinia I, Axinia II, Dinu, Alexa, Cozma, Gălan, Coșerariu, Enache, Bârcă, Ghioane, Grosu, Ivanov, Gigi Ion, Ionescu, Lefter, Ov. Marc, Mirea, Nichifor, Pantazi, Săvinoiu, Șoimaru, Urzică, Buliga, Oprea, Breniuc, Apachiței and Vrânceanu; the administrative leadership was ensured by: Gheorghe Ștefan, Gh. Chivorchian, Iulian Țocu, Liviu Tudor, Ioan Strătilă and Luigi Bodo.[7] For six months in 1993, it was known as Ceahlăul Simpex for sponsorship reason.[2] Contributions to the team during this period were also made by I. Iovicin, M. Crețu, Radu Toma, V. Rizea, Tr. Coman, N. Zaharia, T. Anghelini, Toader Șteț, M. Nedelcu, M. Radu and Fl. Hizo (coaches) and C. Acatincăi, Gh. Ocneanu, D. Lospa and M. Contardo (presidents).[2]

Ion Nunweiller (pictured in 1971), who coached the team to its first Divizia A promotion in 1993

At the start of the 1993–94 Divizia A season, Ceahlăul was a well-known second-league team but largely unknown to most of Romania's first-division teams. With former player Mircea Nedelcu as the new coach, the team finished halfway down the table in 10th place. It finished fifth at the end of the 1994–95 season and qualified for a European Cup.[8]

The club played in the 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup, winning a group consisting of FC Groningen, Beveren, Boby Brno and Etar Veliko Tarnovo (2–0 against Etar, 2–0 against Beveren, 2–0 against Brno and 0–0 against Groningen). In the round of 16, the nemțenii lost to FC Metz of France 0–2, with goals scored by Jocelyn Blanchard and Franck Meyrignac.[9] The club did less well during the regular season, finishing 15th (six points from the relegation zone).

Under coach Florin Marin, the yellow-and-blacks revived in the 1996–97 season to finish sixth. Florin Marin, Mircea Nedelcu, Nicolae Manea and Viorel Hizo coached the team to two consecutive ninth-place finishes in 1997–98 and 1998–99. Ceahlăul prepared for the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup, eliminating two teams: Ekranas (2–0 on aggregate) and Jedinstvo Bihać (5–2 on aggregate). In the third round, Ceahlăul played two home-and-away matches against Juventus. The team drew 1–1 at Piatra Neamț, with goals by Scânteie in the 28th minute and Alessio Tacchinardi in the 58th. In Italy, at Dino Manuzzi Stadium in Cesena, they played a scoreless draw and were eliminated.[10] Ceahlăul finished fourth in Divizia A for the best performance in club history. Coached by Viorel Hizo, its players were Eugen Anghel, Costel Câmpeanu, Radu Lefter – Angelo Alistar, Cristinel Atomulesei, Adrian Baldovin, Dumitru Botez, Codruț Domșa, Costel Enache, Leontin Grozavu, Constantin Ilie, Mihai Dan Ionescu, Ovidiu Marc, Mihai Nemțanu, Gheorghe Pantazi, Dănuț Perjă, Daniel Scînteie, Adrian Solomon, Tiberiu Șerban, Tudorel Șoimaru and Lavi Hrib.

Coach Viorel Hizo, who obtained Ceahlăul's best results

In 2000, Ceahlăul again played in the UEFA Intertoto Cup. After a 9–4 aggregate score against Estonia's Narva Trans in the first round, the team defeated Spain's Mallorca 4–3. In the third round, the nemțenii drew 2–2 in Piatra Neamț against Austria Wien before losing 0–3 at Franz Horr Stadium in Wien with goals scored by Wagner, Leitner and Dospel.

During the early 2000s, coaching changes (11 in four years, including from Mircea Nedelcu to Florin Halagian and from Florin Marin to Marin Barbu, Viorel Hizo and Marius Lăcătuș) led to poor results: 11th place in 2000–01, eighth in 2001–02, and 14th in 2003–04. Ceahlăul was relegated in 2004 after 11 years and 10 seasons in the first league, with Hizo coaching the first half and Lăcătuș the second half.[11] The team finished fifth in 2002–03 and again played in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, eliminated in the first round by Tampere United of Finland.[12]

Club president Gheorghe Ștefan (nicknamed "Pinalti" because of his demands for a penalty in Moldavian) was accused of conspiring with Jean "Tata Jean" Pădureanu (the Gloria Bistrița president), father of the "Football Cooperative": a group of teams known for match-fixing in the 1990s. In addition to Ceahlăul, teams such as Gloria Bistrița, FC Brașov, Steaua București and Dinamo București were involved. Despite the lack of an official investigation, statements by players, coaches, and presidents and eyewitness reports attest to strange matches during the period. "Reciprocities" included sharing points to win a championship, qualifying for the European Cups or avoiding relegation. Pressure on referees gave the city (and Ceahlăul) the nickname "Kosovo".[13][14][15][16] Another incident during "Ștefan's era" at Piatra Neamț occurred in 2000, before the first match of the third round of the UEFA Intertoto Cup against Austria Wien, when the president tried to offer prostitutes to the match referees; the club was suspended for a year from UEFA competitions, but "Pinalti" said that the girls were members of a folk ensemble.[17] The first signs of the "Football Cooperative" were noted in 1993, when it was suspected that Ceahlăul offered suitcases with money for teams in the first series to pull hard against opponents or ease up as desired. Gelu Crăcană, a passionate supporter of the team and a member of its entourage, said in 2016: "Mergeam cu genţi cu bani în majoritatea deplasărilor. Am mai cărat şi eu genţile, ţin minte că am purtat banii la mine când am mers la Autobuzul București" ("We went with money bags in most of the trips. I've also carried these bags; I remember that I took the money with me when we went to Autobuzul București").[18] Iulian Țocu, a director of the club at that time, described how many matches had been fixed that season.[19]

Ceahlăul logo from 2006 to 2016, featuring a Carpathian bear

During this time, Ceahlăul was known as an "ABBA team" (a nickname used in Romania for clubs that used to alternate the presences between the first and the second league). After relegation, Florin Marin was hired as the new coach. Although the squad kept most of its players, Ceahlăul finished in fifth place – 18 points from the promotion place (occupied by FC Vaslui) and 22 from the first relegation place, occupied by FC Ghimbav. Marin Barbu replaced Marin the following season; the team was promoted, seven points ahead of second-place Forex Brașov and eight points ahead of FC Brașov.[4] The club changed its logo, replacing the black goat against the Ceahlău Massif background with a Carpathian bear; orange became the primary color, and the team was nicknamed "Urșii carpatini" ("The Carpathian Bears").

With many managerial changes and uninspired play, Ceahlăul finished the 2006–07 Liga I season in 15th place and was relegated. During the summer of 2007, however, Delta Tulcea (second place in Liga II) could not obtain a license for the upcoming Liga I season and Ceahlăul was accepted in its place.[20] Coached by Hizo, the club was relegated after again finishing in 15th place.

With Marin again at the helm of a new generation which included players such as Andrei Vițelaru, Alexandru Forminte, Alexandru Ichim, Daniel Barna, Andrei Țepeș, Vlad Achim, Eugeniu Cebotaru, Vlad Achim, Ionuț Bădescu or Cristinel Gafița, Ceahlăul was promoted back to Liga I with 69 points (22 victories, three draws, five losses, 52 goals scored and 17 allowed. Second-place CSM Ploiești, two points behind, was also promoted.[4]

The Carpathian Bears were relegated for the third time in six years, finishing 17th out of 18 with 28 points in 34 matches. The club began the season with Florin Marin, continued with Gheorghe Mulțescu, and ended with ex-Benfica player Zoran Filipović.[8]

Eugeniu Cebotaru played in 136 matches and scored 32 goals for Ceahlăul between 2006 and 2011, and was captain of the 2011 promotion squad.

Ceahlăul was again promoted at the end of the 2010–11 Liga II season, this time with Marin Barbu as coach. The squad included Andrei Dumitraș, Andrei Marc and Sebastian Chitoșcă.[4] Due to its good financial situation, excellent training conditions, a combination of youth and experience and talented coaches such as Costel Enache, Vasile Miriuță and Constantin Ilie, Ceahlăul remained in the first league for four years and finished 11th in 2011–12, 14th in 2012–13, ninth in 2013–14 and 18th in 2014–15.

In 2014, the club began drowning in debt. Ștefan, who was the mayor of Piatra Neamț between 2004 and 2014, began to have legal problems and was arrested.[21] Without his or the municipality's help, 55 percent of the club's shares were sold to Italian businessman Angelo Massone in December of that year. Massone brought a number of players from the lower Italian and Spanish leagues, and hired coaches such as Zé Maria and Vanja Radinović to no avail.[22]

Returned to the Liga II, without money from TV rights, without the help of the municipality and with an owner who did not seem to invest in the team, the media called the club as "Massone's Camp".[23] With uncertain finances, unpaid players, six coaches changed in a season and a policy of transfers from the lower Italian and Spanish leagues, Ceahlăul ended the regular season in 12th place and barely avoided relegation. The club withdrew from the championship with a few matches before the end of the play-out round and was relegated to the county leagues.[24] Its financial problems were unmanageable, and the club began dissolution in the spring of 2016.[25]

On 22 July 2016, the media reported that the club would be re-founded as CSM Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț. Its founders were Mihai Bătrânu and Cătălin Roca, owners of former team sponsors Moldocor and Ro Com Central Companies. The RIFIL Company, another sponsor represented by Luigi Bodo and Ioan Strătilă, has indicated support for the new team.[26][27] On 17 August of that year, the new club was legally registered.[1]

Its logo was also changed, the black goat and Ceahlău Massif returning to the foreground in a restyled form, and the club colors returned to the original yellow and black. The team was enrolled in Liga V, and Toader Șteț was hired as the new coach. The squad was formed from players who grew up at the Ceahlăul Football Academy, and after one season it was promoted to Liga IV after a first-place finish: 16 victories, no draws or losses, 136 goals scored and five conceded for 48 points (13 more than second-place Olimpia Grințieș.[28]

In the 2017–18 Liga IV season, the nemțenii squad included Teodor Cîmpianu, Alexandru Smău, Marius Rusu, Andrei Apostol, Cristian Copoț-Barb and Andrei Mateiciuc. The team entered the winter break in first place, when Toader Șteț was replaced by Gabriel Rădulescu.[29] In June 2023, seven years after it was relegated, the team returned to Liga II.

Ceahlăul does not have important rivalries, most of them being regional, the so-called Derby-urile Moldovei (Moldavia Derbies) against teams such as: FCM Bacău, FC Politehnica Iași or Oțelul Galați and most recently against FC Vaslui or FC Botoșani.

In 2006, Gelu Crăcană, a fan of Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț created a 420 square meters (500 including the sleeves) Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț jersey shirt with Florin Axinia's name on it which entered the Guinness World Records Hall of fame.[35][36][37]

• Liga II
  • Winners (4): 1992–93, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11
• Liga III
  • Winners (3): 1960–61, 1964–65, 1979–80
  • Runners-up (1): 2022–23
• Liga IV – Neamț County
  • Winners (1): 2017–18
• Liga V – Neamț County
  • Winners (1): 2016–17

• Moldavia Championship
  • Winners (1): 1926

• Cupa României – Neamț County
  • Winners (1): 2017–18

• Appearances in Liga I: 18
• Best finish in Liga I: 4th place in the 1999–2000
• Place 22 of 98 teams in the Liga I All-time table

As of 10 August 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 3 DF  ROU Stejărel Vișinar (Captain) 4 DF  CPV Lorenzo Fonseca 5 DF  ROU Alexandru Fărăgău (on loan from Universitatea Cluj) 6 DF  ROU Bogdan Forizs 7 FW  ALB Azdren Llullaku 8 MF  ROU Cristian Copoț-Barb (Vice-Captain) 10 MF  ROU Patrick Petre 13 GK  LBR Boison Wynney 14 MF  ROU Alexandru Anton 15 MF  MDA Cristin Jalbă 16 DF  POR Pedro Albino 18 MF  ROU Matei Lungu

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 FW  ROU Matei Moraru (on loan from Universitatea Cluj) 20 FW  ROU Mihai Neicuțescu 21 MF  ROU David Apetrei 22 MF  GHA Wiredu Akwasi 23 MF  ROU Vasile Petra (on loan from Ungheni) 25 FW  ROU Alexandru Cătău 29 FW  ROU Marius Savu (on loan from CS Gloria Bistrița-Năsăud) 41 GK  AUT Stefan Krell 44 MF  ROU Mihael Onișa 55 MF  GNB João Jaquité 67 GK  ROU Alexandru Barna (3rd Captain) 96 DF  BUL Mario Petkov 99 FW  ALB Santiago Selmani — MF  PER Pier Larrauri — DF  ROU Tudor Oltean — FW  URU Sergio Cortelezzi

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ROU Denis Lăcustă (to Șomuz Fălticeni) — DF  ROU Alexandru Ștefănescu (to CSM Bacău)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ROU Răzvan Pîntea (to CSU Alba Iulia) — FW  ROU Robert Ciobanu (on loan at Bucovina Rădăuți) — MF  ROU Cătălin Ștefănescu (on loan at Minaur Baia Mare) — DF  ROU Daniel Moroșanu (on loan at CSM Bacău)