FCU Olimpia Cluj

Fotbal Club U Olimpia Cluj-Napoca, commonly known as FCU Olimpia Cluj, or simply as U Olimpia Cluj, is a women's football team from Cluj-Napoca in Romania. It is Romania's top women's football club, having won all league titles since its inception, and thus represents Romania year by year in the UEFA Women's Champions League. The club also gives a majority of the Romania women's national football team players.

U Olimpia Cluj
Full nameFotbal Club U Olimpia
Cluj-Napoca
Nickname(s)Studentele (The Students)
Founded7 July 2010 (2010-07-07)
GroundCluj Napoca / Cluj Arena
Capacity1,300 / 30,335
OwnerRadu Munteanu
ChairmanAlin Cioban
ManagerIoana Bortan
LeagueLiga I
2021–22Liga I, 1st
WebsiteClub website
Active departments of CS Universitatea Cluj-Napoca
Football Women's
Football		 Men's
Basketball
Women's
Basketball		 Men's
Handball		 Women's
Handball
Men's
Rugby		 Women's
Rugby		 Men's
Volleyball
Women's
Volleyball		 Water polo Athletics
Bodybuilding Boxing Chess
Fencing Figure skating Horse riding
Judo Scrabble Speed skating
Skiing Swimming Tennis
Weightlifting Wrestling

History

Founded on 7 July 2010[1] at the initiative of Mirel Albon, Clujana's coach, due to increasingly divergent views with his club's owners,[2][3] Olimpia started directly in Romania's top level women's league, as there was no second-level league at the time, and convincingly won the championship in its very first season. The team won all of its 24 matches which totaled a goal difference of 253–11 and wins as high as 26–0 and 27–0.[4] The title qualified them for the 2011–12 UEFA Women's Champions League. In addition they won the Romanian cup that year too.[5] They went on to win all of the league titles since, and most of the domestic cups.

Olimpia had a partnership with the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, its rector, Radu Munteanu being for a period of time also Olimpia's chairman (president).[6] This partnership reflected in the team's name between 2012 and 2015. Since the 2018–19 season, the teams signed a partnership with FC Universitatea Cluj and has rebranded as "U" Olimpia Cluj.[7]

Chronology of names
Period Full Club Name Short name
2011–2012Clubul de Fotbal Feminin Olimpia Cluj-Napoca[8]Olimpia Cluj
2012–2015Clubul de Fotbal Feminin Olimpia Universitatea Tehnică Cluj-Napoca[9][10]Olimpia UT Cluj
2015–2018Clubul de Fotbal Feminin Olimpia Cluj-NapocaOlimpia Cluj
2018–presentAsociația Fotbal Club Universitatea Olimpia Cluj[1]U Olimpia Cluj

Football Academy

Together with the club in 2010 the Olimpia Women's Football Academy was established, supported by a partnership with the city and the council.[11] The goal of south-east Europe's first female football academy is to advance women's football in Romania.

Honours

Leagues

Cups

Season by season

  Champions   Runners-up   Third place   Promoted   Relegated

SeasonDivisionTierPlaceCupWCL
12010–11Liga I11stW–
22011–12Liga I, Seria Vest11stWR32
32012–13Liga I, Seria Vest11stWR16
42013–14Superliga11stWGrp
52014–15Superliga11stWGrp
62015–16Superliga11stFR32
72016–17Superliga11stWGrp
82017–18Liga I11stQFR32
92018–19Liga I11stSFGrp
102019–20Liga I11st[lower-alpha 1]QFGrp
112020–21Liga I11stW2QR
122021–22Liga I11stW1R
  1. not crowned as Champions

Current squad
As of August 2021[12]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Romania ROU Mirela Ganea Pop
2 DF Romania ROU Sonia Bumbar
3 DF Romania ROU Cristina Botojel
4 MF Romania ROU Ioana Bortan (Captain)
7 MF Moldova MDA Carolina Țabur
9 MF Romania ROU Mihaela Ciolacu
10 MF Romania ROU Roxana Mirea
11 FW Romania ROU Mara Bâtea
12 GK Romania ROU Sara Câmpean
14 FW Romania ROU Adina Borodi
15 MF Romania ROU Andreea Pînzariu
16 DF Romania ROU Anamaria Salagean
17 DF Romania ROU Varo Helga
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 GK Romania ROU Alesia Moldovan
19 DF Romania ROU Noemi Vincze
20 DF Romania ROU Karina Bede
21 DF Romania ROU Simona Sigheartau
22 DF Romania ROU Maria Stamate
23 MF Romania ROU Oana Negrea
31 GK United States USA Erin Louise Seppi
44 DF France FRA Cloe Macuiba
77 MF Romania ROU Florentina Iancu
88 DF Romania ROU Daiana Onet
90 FW Romania ROU Carmen Marcu
99 FW Romania ROU Ioana Nicoleta Balaceanu

Club officials

FCU Olimpia Cluj in Europe
Further information: FCU Olimpia Cluj in European football

In their first participation they started in the qualifying round of the 2011–12 UEFA Women's Champions League. Already after two wins against Bosnian and Lithuanian opposition they qualified for the round of 32.[15]

UEFA Women's Cup / UEFA Women's Champions League
SeasonPreliminary stageRound of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemi-finalsFinal
2011–12Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo 1France Olympique
2012–13Portugal 1º Dezembro 1Austria NeulengbachItaly Torres
2013–14Serbia Spartak 1
2014–15Republic of Ireland Raheny 1
2015–16Slovenia Pomurje 1France PSG
2016–17Poland Medyk 1
2017–18Scotland Hibernian 1Sweden Rosengård

1 Group stage. Highest-ranked eliminated team in case of qualification, lowest-ranked qualified team in case of elimination.

Notable former players

The footballers enlisted below have been called up or had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level and/or more than 50 caps for U Olimpia Cluj.

References
  1. Despre noi. u-olimpiacluj.ro (in Romanian)
  2. "A câştigat 8 titluri cu o echipă feminină de fotbal şi are un mesaj pentru cei care trimit femeile la cratiţă. "Fetele obţin rezultate pentru că sunt mai ambiţioase"" [He won 8 titles with a women's football team and has a message for people who send their women to the kitchen: „Girls obtain results because they are more ambitious”]. adevarul.ro. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  3. "Olimpia Cluj, fabrica de fotbal feminin. Cu un buget de 750.000 de lei, campioanele sunt invincibile" [Olimpia Cluj, the women's football factory. With a budget of 750.000 lei, the champions are invincible]. prosport.ro. 3 August 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  4. "Liga 1 de Fotbal Feminin: Olimpia promovează fotbalul feminin în şcolile clujene" [Female Football League 1: Olimpia promote women's football schools in Cluj]. ziarulfaclia.ro. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  5. "Olimpia Cluj a castigat Cupa Romaniei la fotbal feminin" (in Romanian). ziare.com. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  6. "Archived official website. The President's message" (in Romanian). 22 October 2013. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  7. "Început bun de sezon pentru echipele U Olimpia Cluj". Monitorul.
  8. "Archived official website" (in Romanian). 18 February 2011. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  9. "Archived official website" (in Romanian). 24 June 2013. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  10. "Club page on the Romanian Football Federation's official website" (in Romanian). frf.ro. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  11. "Olimpia change goal: he wants the title and Champions League". fotbalfeminin.wordpress.com. 5 January 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  12. Echipa Archived 14 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine. u-olimpiacluj.ro (in Romanian)
  13. Board of directors
  14. Current staff
  15. "Rayo Vallecano and Olimpia Cluj celebrate". UEFA. 13 August 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
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