FC Petrolul Ploiești

Early years

Their first national title came after six years, as Juventus were champions in the 1929–30 season. After the reorganisation of the Romanian football's division structure, Juventus played 7 consecutive seasons in Liga I, from 1933 to 1940. Following World War II, the club was promoted once again to Liga I, having finished in 1st place in the final Liga II season prior to the outbreak of war. From 1946–1952 Juventus had 6 consecutive seasons in Liga I;

They also changed their name numerous times, being known as Distribuția, Competrol, Petrolul, Partizanul and Flacăra. In 1952 the club moved to Ploiești, and changed its name to Flacăra Ploiești accordingly.

They have won the Romanian top division 4 times, the last time in the 1965–66 season.

Their best European performance to date was reaching the quarter-finals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1962–63. After eliminating Spartak Brno (Czechoslovakia) and Leipzig XI (German Democratic Republic), they were finally defeated by the Hungarian side Ferencvárosi TC. In the 1995–1996 season they also managed to defeat Welsh side Wrexham FC narrowly over two games.

Recent history

Petrolul won the 2010–11 Liga II, and were promoted to Liga I following a 7-year absence.

2012–13 season

They finished third in the 2012–13 Liga I, as well as winning Cupa României for the third time in their history. The third-place finish earned Petrolul a spot in the second qualifying round of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, with the club playing a European match following an 18-year absence.

2013–14 season

After defeating Víkingur Gøta and Vitesse Arnhem, they were eliminated in the Europa League play-off round by Swansea City. During the winter transfer window, the team brought Adrian Mutu, a former Romanian international, which attracted media attention. In January 2014, German automobile manufacturer Opel became Petrolul's shirt sponsor. In April, Petrolul had the chance to qualify for their second consecutive Cupa României final, but lost the second leg of the semi-final against rivals Astra Giurgiu (2–1), after a 0–0 result at home. The fans blamed Petrolul's administration for selling two of their best players (Hamza Younés and Damien Boudjemaa), and bringing Adrian Mutu and Ianis Zicu, who did not live up to expectations. Some also considered that the new manager, Răzvan Lucescu, wasn't a suitable replacer for Cosmin Contra, who left the club for Getafe in March. Petrolul came third in the Liga I for a second successive season, thus again participating in the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round.

2014–15 season

Petrolul signed a one-year kit deal with American sportswear company Nike, after the association with Puma came to an end. The club confirmed on its official website that Opel would continue being the shirt sponsor until the end of the season. Acıbadem Healthcare Group also became the medical sponsor until the end of the season, with an extension option being available. Using many players that would normally be substitutes and having a player sent off in the second half, Petrolul was beaten by Universitatea Cluj in the Cupa Ligii (English: League Cup) round of 16, a competition which was reenacted after fourteen years of pause. After eliminating Flamurtari Vlorë, "The Yellow Wolves" confronted Czech side Viktoria Plzeň in the Europa League third qualifying round, a club which in the previous season took part in the Champions League group stage. After a draw at Ploiești (1–1), Petrolul impressively beat Viktoria scoring four goals and conceding only one. The Romanian side's captain, 35-year-old Adrian Mutu, played a big role in his team's qualification, scoring both home and away. However, losing both of the play-off legs against Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia, Petrolul yet again missed the chance of advancing to the group stage. On 16 September, coach Răzvan Lucescu was sacked. Gheorghe Mulțescu took his place one day later. After many rumours, Adrian Mutu eventually broke his contract with "The Oilmen", on the 26th. He was the best paid footballer, and was often criticised for playing bad. Cosmin Contra, Petrolul's coach from October 2012 to March 2014, said that the signings of Adrian Mutu and Ianis Zicu (both joined in January 2014) were a "failure". On 25 November, president Daniel Capră, general director Marius Bucuroiu and five other persons faced preventive detention for 24 hours, being suspected of tax evasion and money laundering. The loss would amount to 15.4 million euros. The press suggested that these criminal matters could cause serious financial problems for Petrolul and important players might want to leave the club. On 10 January 2015, ex-Standard Liège coach Mircea Rednic replaced Gheorghe Mulțescu on the bench. At the beginning of February, due to president Capră still being under detention, the club faced financial problems and entered insolvency, meaning that the participation in UEFA Europa League and UEFA Champions League is denied. During the winter transfer window, five footballers left Petrolul, including important ones like Juan Albín and Soni Mustivar. However, among others, Mircea Rednic convinced 31-year-old striker Mohamed Tchité, who spent most of his professional career in Belgium, with Standard Liége, Anderlecht and Club Brugge, and in Spain with Racing de Santander, to be part of the team until the end of the season at the least. He made his début on 5 March in the first leg of the Romanian Cup semi-final against rivals Steaua București, scoring his team's only goal in a 1–1 draw. On 3 April, Petrolul missed the qualification to the Cupa României final for the second year in a row, losing the semi-final second leg against Steaua at Arena Națională. However, only a week later, "The Yellow Wolves" defeated them in the championship, after more than 15 years. Curaçaoan winger Gevaro Nepomuceno netted the only goal of the match. On 5 May, it was announced that manager Mircea Rednic left "The Yellow-Blues". Assistant coach Valentin Sinescu continued as the caretaker of the team. Eventually, Petrolul finished the season on a disappointing place six.

2015–16 season

Due to the financial problems, the club had to terminate or not extend the contracts of seventeen players, including Pablo de Lucas, Victoraș Astafei and Jean Sony Alcénat. On 3 June 2015, Tibor Selymes became the head coach of "The Oilmen". On the 11th, the club's reorganisation plan was voted, therefore bankruptcy was avoided for the time being. Nike remained the kit manufacturer, while Superbet, a gambling company, replaced Alexandrion as the main sponsor of the team. "The Yellow Wolves" settled their pre-season training stage at Zlatibor, in the neighbouring country Serbia. The stage started on 21 June and ended on 4 July. The club tested and signed new footballers during this period, generally ones who played in the French lower divisions, like Abdellah Zoubir, Ismail Hassan or Nicolas Farina. Ex-Dynamo Moscow midfielder Adrian Ropotan returned to Romania, six years after he left Dinamo București. Petrolul also convinced Brazilian goalkeeper Peterson Peçanha to extend his contract. On 11 July, Petrolul played its first official game of the season against Steaua București, in the Liga I. The match ended goalless. However, the next seven matches brought three defeats, three draws and only one victory. Being last in the league table, also due to a deduction of six points for failure to comply with licensing requirements, Petrolul sacked Selymes and replaced him with its former player Eusebiu Tudor.

In the summer of 2016 the club was dissolved, but fans with club legends refounded the club and enroll it in Liga IV.

Grounds

Petrolul plays its home matches on the Ilie Oană Stadium. It can host UEFA Europa League semifinals and UEFA Champions League group matches, and is ranked as a UEFA Category 4 stadium. It was inaugurated in September 2011 and has a current capacity of 15,500 spectators. The construction is built on the site of the former Ilie Oană Stadium, which was completed in 1937. It is named after Ilie Oană, a famous player and coach.

Milestones

Rivalries

Petrolul's traditional, historic rival is Rapid București. Petrolul and Rapid fans have maintained a strong rivalry, despite long periods of not meeting when one or the other were playing in the second division. Petrolul won the 1965–66 Divizia A, while Rapid finished second. The following season, Rapid won its first national title after a match played on the Ilie Oană Stadium. These events are said to have started the rivalry.

Petrolul maintains a mild rivalry with Astra Giurgiu, its former local enemy. Astra promoted for the first time to the Divizia A in 1998. It played in Ploiești until September 2012, when it was moved to Giurgiu by its owner, Ioan Niculae. Even after the move, the rivalry continues between the governances of the clubs.

Rivalries with Steaua București and Dinamo București also exist.

Supporters

Petrolul has one of the largest number of supporters in Romania, since they are one of the traditional teams in the country. They have many supporters in Ploiești and the Prahova County, since they are the most successful team in the region.

The biggest ultras groups of Petrolul are Lupii Galbeni (The Yellow Wolves), which is also the oldest group supporting the team since 1996, and other smaller groups like Peluza Latină (The Latin Stand) or Knot.

Here comes some brigades from Petrolul:

Knot 04,Hooligans(former Lethal Gang),Aggresive,Young boys,Upp-Uniti pentru Ploiesti(united for Ploiesti),Nimeni in spate-NIS,Veteranii,Punks03 and many more.

Friendship clubs : Vitesse Arnhem, Genk .

Domestic

Liga I:

Liga II:

Cupa României:

Supercupa României:

First team squad

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

Club officials

European record

The club have participated in 8 editions of the club competitions governed by UEFA, the chief authority for football across Europe, and 12 editions of European competitions overall.