CS Minaur Baia Mare (football)

Minaur Baia Mare
Full nameClubul Sportiv Minaur Baia Mare
NicknamesMinerii (The Miners)
Băimărenii
(The People from Baia Mare)
Short nameMinaur, Baia Mare
Founded1947
GroundViorel Mateianu
Capacity15,500 (8,000 seated)
OwnerBaia Mare Municipality
ChairmanIustin Balaj
Managervacant
LeagueLiga III
2025–26Liga III, Seria VIII, 3st
Websitehttp://csminaur.ro/fotbal
Current season

Minaur Baia Mare, known also as Minerul Baia Mare, is a Romanian football club, based in Baia Mare, Maramureș County, northern Romania, founded in 1947. It currently plays in Romania's third division, Liga III. It played for seven seasons in Romania's first league, Liga I, last in 1995.[1]

History

Minaur was founded in 1947, after Phoenix Baia Mare merged with the old club also named Minaur. Following this merger, the new club was named CSM Baia Mare.

Timeline
  • 1950 — The name is changed to Metalul Baia Mare;
  • 1955 — Metalul Baia Mare is relegated in Liga III;
  • 1956 — The team become Energia Trustul Miner Baia Mare and win promotion in Liga II;
  • 1957 — The team become Minerul Baia Mare;
  • 1958 — Third name change in three years, this time back to CSM Baia Mare;
  • 1959 — CSM Baia Mare reach the final of Romanian Cup, only to be defeated by Dinamo București;
  • 1962 — Another name change, this time back to Minerul Baia Mare;
  • 1963 — Mircea Sasu become the first player ever to be selected from Minerul Baia Mare into the national team of Romania;
  • 1964 — Minerul Baia Mare win the second series of Liga II and win promotion into Liga I for the first time in their history, Phoenix / Carpati Baia Mare played before the World War II in the First League.
  • 1965 — As the team finish only 13th out of 14 in Liga I, they are relegated after only one year;
  • 1975 — The team become FC Baia Mare;
  • 1978 — FC Baia Mare win promotion into Liga I. It is the third in the history. The Golden Age starts;
  • 1979 — FC Baia Mare finish 5th out of 18 in Liga I;
  • 1980 — The best performance in Liga I as they finish 4th out of 18;
  • 1981 — A poor year followed by relegation back to Liga II, mainly due to internal issues;
  • 1982 — FC Baia Mare reach the final of Romanian Cup where they are defeated by Dinamo București. For the first time in their history FC Baia Mare play in Cup Winners' Cup, against Real Madrid of Spain.
  • 1983 — FC Baia Mare win the fourth promotion in their history into Liga I;
  • 1984 — A poor season in Liga I where the team finish 15th out of 18 but save themselves from relegation;
  • 1985 — FC Baia Mare is relegated back to Liga II. The Golden Era ends. The team become FC Maramureş Baia Mare.
  • 1993 — The Silver Era starts as FC Maramureş Baia Mare reach the semifinals of Romanian Cup;
  • 1994 — After a series of average and poor seasons in Liga II during the past decade, FC Maramureş Baia Mare win promotion in Liga I for the fifth time in their history;
  • 1995 — FC Maramureş Baia Mare reach the quarter-finals of Romanian Cup, but at the end of the season is relegated back to Liga II. The Silver Era ends.
  • 1998 — Another name change, this time back to FC Baia Mare;
  • 1999 — FC Baia Mare is relegated to Liga III for the second time in their history;
  • 2000 — The team promote back to Liga II;
  • 2001 — Second promotion in only two years, this time in Liga I, as FC Baia Mare win the promotion play-offs, however, the team's owner decides to trade the team's place in Liga I to another team, arguing the lack of financial resources to keep them over the competitional season. FC Baia Mare return to Liga II;
  • 2002 — FC Baia Mare qualify again for promotion play-offs but do not win promotion;
  • 2004 — Relegation in Liga III;

In the 2004–05 season, FC Baia Mare began with a seven-point deduction carried over from the previous campaign for failing to achieve the required points threshold. Coached initially by Ioan Tătăran, who left in November 2004 to join Unirea Dej, the team was subsequently led by Lucian Bălan until the winter break, when Adalbert Rozsnyai took charge and guided the side to a 9th-place finish out of 14 in Series IX.[2][3][4] Rozsnyai then led FC Baia Mare to promotion at the end of the 2005–06 Divizia C season, winning Series VIII. The squad included, among others, Bota, Han, Paul, Dărăbuș, Ciceu, Colar, M. Pop, Hodor, Bichiri, Negrea, Szentlaszloi, Petrovan, Fabian, Popan and Batin.[5]

The club soon encountered serious financial difficulties, and a hesitant start to the 2006–07 campaign resulted in Rozsnyai’s dismissal, with assistant coach Emil Kemenes taking over.[6][7] In January 2007, Leontin Grozavu was appointed head coach but resigned in May 2007, and assistant Florin Mureșan briefly led the team before Emil Kemenes returned to finish the season.[8][9] Despite these changes, FC Baia Mare finished 16th in Series II and was relegated. During this period, Brazilian Ayres Cerqueira Simão became the first foreign player in the club’s history.[10]

In the 2007–08 Liga III season, FC Baia Mare, considered a strong contender for promotion, suffered a poor run of results and a players’ strike caused by unpaid wages due to financial instability, leading to Emil Kemenes being replaced by Ioan Tătăran during the second half of the campaign, and despite the managerial change, the club finished only 3rd in Series VI, remaining in the third tier.[11][12][13] At the start of the 2008–09 season, former club player Florin Fabian was appointed head coach and strengthened the squad with experienced first-division players such as Daniel Rednic and Sorin Iodi. FC Baia Mare went on to win Series VI, finishing eighteen points ahead of Silvania Șimleu Silvaniei and securing promotion back to Liga II.[14][15]

In the 2009–10 Liga II Liga II season, coached by Florin Fabian in the first half and Ciprian Danciu in the second, the team finished 8th in Series II, with a squad that included Bota, Moțoc, Șomcherechi, Duruș, Hodor, Toma, Cornea, Hotico, Ernszt, Negrea, Rednic, Iațu, Drule, Vanca, Ardelean, Bumba, Pop, Chiorean, Pereș, Bichiri, Roszel and Tănasă. Despite this mid-table result, mounting debts and the withdrawal of financial support from the Maramureș County Council ultimately pushed the club into bankruptcy.[16][17][18]

The club was refounded in the summer of 2012 under the name of FCM Baia Mare. Baia Mare was inactive for one season after withdrawing from the upcoming Liga II season due to financial difficulties on 5 August 2016.[19] After one season of inactivity the club was refounded as Minaur Baia Mare, the historical name of the sports club, also used by the handball teams. The club was enrolled in the Liga IV – Maramureș County.[20] In contrast to the handball section, the football section is known unofficially as Minerul Baia Mare, one of the past names of the club and the most representative for supporters. Also the football section colours are different from those used for handball, if for handball squads the traditional colours are white, black and orange, for football they are yellow and blue.

  • 2017 – Refounded as Minaur Baia Mare in the Liga IV.
  • 2018 – Promoted to the Liga III.
  • 2020 – Loses Promotion play-off to Comuna Recea
  • 2022 – Promoted to the Liga II after beating Hunedoara in the promotion play-off final
  • 2023 – Relegation to Liga III. The team goes through its worst season, at one time, having just 1 point in 6 games.

Chronology of names

Name[21] Period
Clubul Sportiv Minaur Baia Mare 1947–1950
Metalul Baia Mare 1950–1956
Energia Trustul Miner Baia Mare 1956–1957
Minerul Baia Mare 1957–1958
Clubul Sportiv Minaur Baia Mare 1958–1962
Minerul Baia Mare 1962–1975
FC Baia Mare 1975–1985
FC Maramureș Baia Mare 1985–1998
FC Baia Mare 1998–2010
FCM Baia Mare 2012–2016
Minaur Baia Mare 2017–present
  • Note: 2 years of inactivity between 2010 and 2012, and the team was refounded as FCM Baia Mare in the Liga IV.
  • Note: 1 year of inactivity between 2016 and 2017, and the team was refounded as CS Minaur Baia Mare in the Liga IV.

Performances

FC Baia Mare was a finalist in the Romanian Cup in 1959 and 1982, while in the Liga I, their best performance was 4th out of 18 at the end of the 1979–80 season.

The club played in the Liga I in other few occasions: in 1964–65 (13th out of 14), 1978–79 (5th out of 18); 1980–81 (17th out of 18), 1983–84 (15th out of 18), 1984–85 (17th out of 18) and 1994–95 (17th out of 18).

The team played mainly in the Liga II where FC Baia Mare is ranked first in an all-time standing, obtaining the most points and scoring the most goals.

In 1982–83 FC Baia Mare played in Cup Winners' Cup against Real Madrid then coached by Alfredo Di Stéfano. After 0 : 0 in the first leg, FC Baia Mare lost 2–5 in the second leg. Koller and Buzgău scored for the Romanian side on Santiago Bernabeu.

In the summer of 1982, FC Baia Mare played a friendly game against AC Fiorentina in Italy and won 3 : 1. Giancarlo Antognoni and Francesco Graziani, both world champions with Italy at the 1982 World Cup, as well as Daniel Bertoni and Daniel Passarella, both world champions with Argentina at the 1978 World Cup played for AC Fiorentina in that game. This is, without doubt, the greatest achievement of FC Baia Mare to date.

The largest win in Divizia A is against FCM Galaţi, 7 : 1 in August 1979, however the club's finest hour in a Divizia A game came in June 1981 with a tremendous 5 : 0 win against Steaua Bucharest.

Team's records

Cups

International

* First Round (1): 1982–83

First leg

FC Baia Mare Romania0–0Spain Real Madrid
Report
Attendance: 25,000

Second leg

Real Madrid Spain5–2Romania FC Baia Mare
Juanito 16'
González 33'
García Hernández 45'
Santillana 47'
Metgod 71'		 Report Koller 12'
Buzgău 89'
Attendance: 20,200
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg


Baia Mare Romania 2–5 Spain Real Madrid 0–0 2–5
Competition S P W D L GF GA GD
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup / European Cup Winners' Cup 1 2 0 1 1 2 5 –3
Total 1 2 0 1 1 2 5 –3

Players

First team squad

As of 10 September 2024[22]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  ROU Denis Recean
2 DF  ROU David Băloi
4 DF  COL Jhon Mondragón
6 MF  ROU Raul Saroși
7 MF  ROU Sergiu Ciocan
8 MF  ROU Denis Matei
9 FW  ROU David Ciubăncan
10 MF  ROU Mircea Dionca (Captain)
11 FW  ROU Raphael Stănescu
12 GK  ROU Raul Dumitru
14 DF  ROU Abel Stan
17 MF  ROU Denis Buhai
19 MF  ROU Raul Vitan
20 MF  ROU Carlo Erdei
21 DF  ROU Marius Potcoavă
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 DF  ROU Darius Mureșan
27 DF  ROU David Simion
28 DF  ROU Ionuț Albu
29 FW  ROU Paul Batin
30 MF  ROU Alexandru Dulca
44 DF  ROU Denis Ispas
47 MF  ROU Andrei Orosz
77 GK  ROU Emanuel Breban
80 MF  ROU Antonio Suciu
81 MF  ROU Florin Chitaș
88 MF  ROU Mario Coza
93 FW  ROU Alexandru Pop
97 DF  ROU Laurențiu Achim
99 FW  ROU Rareș Babiciu

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
No. Pos. Nation Player

Club Officials

Notable players

The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level.

For a list of all former Minaur Baia Mare players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:CS Minaur Baia Mare (football) players.

Former managers

League and Cup History

See also: Romanian football league system
Statistics — Domestic Leagues

Up to and including the end of 2024–25 season

Pts Pld W D L GF GA
In Liga I (7 seasons) 284 230 83 35 112 267 370
In Liga II (50 seasons) 1625 1442 680 265 497 2308 1696
In Liga III (14 seasons) 266 170 113 30 27 353 122

References

  1. ^ "FC Baia-Mare". romaniansoccer.ro. Archived from the original on 1 August 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  2. ^ "Sport" (in Romanian). gazetademaramures.ro. 8 November 2004. Archived from the original on 28 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  3. ^ "Sport - Regruparea!" [Sport - Regrouping!] (in Romanian). gazetademaramures.ro. 24 January 2005. Archived from the original on 28 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  4. ^ "Setea de bani" [Thirst for money] (in Romanian). gazetademaramures.ro. 30 May 2005. Archived from the original on 28 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  5. ^ "„Ole, ole, FC-ul a promovat in B!"" ["Ole, Ole, FC has been promoted to B!"] (in Romanian). emaramures.ro. 3 June 2006. Archived from the original on 28 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  6. ^ "Start infernal pentru F.C." [Hellish start for F.C.] (in Romanian). gazetademaramures.ro. 31 July 2006. Archived from the original on 28 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  7. ^ "Nori negri in Dealul Florilor" [Black clouds in Dealul Florilor] (in Romanian). gazetademaramures.ro. 23 October 2006. Archived from the original on 28 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  8. ^ "În sfârșit, Grozavu!" [Finally, Grozavu!] (in Romanian). gazetademaramures.ro. 29 January 2007. Archived from the original on 28 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  9. ^ "Grozavu și-a dat demisia de la FC Baia Mare" [Grozavu resigned from FC Baia Mare] (in Romanian). emaramures.ro. 2 May 2007. Archived from the original on 28 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  10. ^ "Ultimul să stingă lumina!" [Last one to turn off the lights!] (in Romanian). emaramures.ro. 23 May 2007. Archived from the original on 28 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  11. ^ "FC Baia Mare, între a fi sau a nu fi" [FC Baia Mare, between being or not being] (in Romanian). gazetademaramures.ro. 3 September 2007. Archived from the original on 28 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  12. ^ "Împreună pentru Divizia B" [Together for Division B] (in Romanian). gazetademaramures.ro. 4 March 2008. Archived from the original on 28 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  13. ^ "Ioan Tătăran va fi de luni antrenorul echipei FC Baia Mare" [Ioan Tătăran will be the coach of FC Baia Mare from Monday] (in Romanian). emaramures.ro. 5 April 2008. Archived from the original on 28 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  14. ^ "Liviu Bala președinte, Florin Fabian antrenor principal" [Liviu Bala president, Florin Fabian head coach] (in Romanian). emaramures.ro. 27 June 2008. Archived from the original on 28 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  15. ^ "Sorin Iodi a ales Baia Mare" [Sorin Iodi chose Baia Mare] (in Romanian). prosport.ro. 23 July 2008. Archived from the original on 28 February 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  16. ^ "Retrospectivă: La un pas de colaps" [Retrospective: On the verge of collapse] (in Romanian). liga2.prosport.ro. 21 August 2010. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
  17. ^ "Consiliul Județean renunță la FC Baia Mare!" [The County Council gives up on FC Baia Mare!] (in Romanian). liga2.prosport.ro. 20 July 2010. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
  18. ^ "FC Baia Mare va intra în faliment" [FC Baia Mare will go bankrupt] (in Romanian). informatia-zilei.ro. 23 July 2010. Archived from the original on 22 February 2026. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
  19. ^ "FCM Baia Mare, abandon cu o zi înaintea startului; ACS Berceni rămâne în Ilfov". 5 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  20. ^ "Început de drum pentru Minerul Baia Mare". 13 July 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  21. ^ "Evolutia denumirilor echipelor de-a lungul anilor". Romanian Soccer. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  22. ^ "CS Minaur pleacă la drum cu 26 de jucători în sezonul 2019–2020" [CS Minaur starts the 2019–2020 season with 26 players] (in Romanian). minaur.ro. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Minerul_Baia_Mare