CS Pandurii Târgu Jiu
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| Full name | Clubul Sportiv Pandurii Lignitul Târgu Jiu | ||
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| Nickname(s) |
Alb-Albaștrii (The White and Blues) Minerii (The Miners) Gorjenii (The People from Gorj County) | ||
| Short name | Pandurii | ||
| Founded | 1962 | ||
| Ground | Municipal | ||
| Capacity | 20,054 | ||
| Owner | Târgu Jiu Municipality | ||
| Chairman | vacant | ||
| Manager | Petre Grigoraș | ||
| League | Liga I | ||
| 2015–16 | Liga I, 3rd | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Clubul Sportiv Pandurii Lignitul Târgu Jiu (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈklubul ˈsportiv ˈlignitul ˌtɨrɡu ˈʒiw]; Târgu Jiu Lignite Pandurs Sports Club), commonly known as Pandurii Târgu Jiu, or simply as Pandurii, is a Romanian professional football club based in Târgu Jiu, Gorj County, currently playing in the Liga I.
Founded in 1962,[1] following the merger of Flacăra-Unirea Târgu Jiu and CIL Târgu-Jiu, Pandurii is one of the four Romanian clubs that represent the country at the European Club Association. Domestically, Gorjenii have never won any major honour, but finished as runners-up in the League at the end of the 2012–13 season and lost a League Cup final in 2015. They qualified for the very first time in a European competition in 2013, playing in the UEFA Europa League and reaching the group stage.
The colors of the team are white and blue.
History
Founding and lower divisions (1962–2005)
Pandurii Târgu Jiu was founded in August 1962, after the merger of the two big rivals from the town, Flacăra-Unirea Târgu Jiu and CIL Târgu-Jiu. The club entered the fourth division of Romanian football, with a strong objective, to promote immediately in the third division. And the target was reached, Pandurii gaining the promotion to Divizia C in June 1963. Their first game in this division was played on 1 September 1963, against Siderurgistul Hunedoara. Pandurii won by a big margin, 6–0, goals scored by Chițu (12'), Nelu Băloi (35'), Melinte (53', 80') and Vasilescu (83', 85').
In the first years, Pandurii finished constantly in the first half of the standings, so the club decided to attack a promotion to Divizia B. In the 1976–77 season, with a young team and with Titus Ozon as coach, the dream came true. Pandurii dominated the competition, climbed from the first stages on top of the standings and won the promotion to the second division. But this level was a much bigger hat to wear for Pandurii, who relegated the next season back to Divizia C.
The following years, the team changed frequently the division, promoting to Divizia B and relegating after a few years. They played in Divizia B between 1979–1983 then between 1986 and 1991. After a decade in Divizia C, in 2000 the team promoted again in the second league, and in 2004 finished second, behind Sportul Studențesc.
Beginning years in the top league (2005–2011)
The performance from the last seasons was an incentive for the management who decided to push for the first presence of Pandurii in Divizia A. With Emil Săndoi as coach, and with a young group of players like Tiberiu Lung and Sorin Vintilescu but also with some experienced players like, Florin Popete, Robert Vancea and Romulus Buia, the team won the promotion.
It was difficult to maintain its position in Divizia A, and Pandurii finished their first season in the 15th place, right below the relegation line. But the Romanian Football Federation decided at the end of the season not to give Sportul Studențesc their licence for the following year, and kept instead the first team under the line, Pandurii. With the bullet dodged, the management decided to enforce the team, so the relegation shouldn't be a problem.
Alexandru Păcurar, Ciprian Vasilache and Liviu Mihai were brought, and the team finished 11th in the 2006–07 season. They kept their position at the middle of the table for the next seasons.
In 2010, they finished below the line but avoided the relegation after the withdrawal of Internațional Curtea de Argeș, team that ended tenth but the owner decided to disband the club. With a lot of players from Internațional Curtea de Argeș like Vlad Chiricheș, Mihai Pintilii, and Dan Nistor, Pandurii were 13th the following season.
Ascent and first European participation (2011–2013)
In the 2011–12 season the team reached the highest place in history, finishing seventh. For a while, they were fifth and the fans hoped for Europa League.
The following season saw Pandurii finishing as Liga I runners-up for the first time ever, qualifying for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, the club's first ever European participation. After defeating Levadia Tallinn, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Braga, Pandurii entered the Group stage, being drawn into Group E.[2]
Recent history (2013–present)
On March 10, 2015, with Edward Iordănescu as coach Pandurii defeated FC Dinamo București in the semifinals of the new established competition Cupa Ligii, to qualify for their first ever cup final. On their way to play the final they beat one of the Romanian giants FC Petrolul Ploiești at Ilie Oană Stadium. In the final FC Steaua București beat Pandurii at Arena Națională stadium but with a controversial penalty in the beginning of the match.
In the 2015–16, season of Liga I Pandurii had many achievements along the season with the same coach and players like UEFA Europa League winner Cristian Săpunaru, Dan Nistor, Ioan Hora and Mihai Răduț and Narcis Răducan as president. In April 2015 they became the first team to win a match in Liga I with the new play-off, play-out system. On February 6, 2016, they secured both a place in the competition play-offs and a place in a European competition next year with a victory with ASA 2013 Târgu Mureș. During this season they had the most matches without a defeat, about 10 games. At the end of the season, Pandurii finished on the podium as third-place qualifying for the second time in UEFA Europa League, but this time in the third qualifying round.
Grounds
For many years since they were founded the home of Pandurii was Stadionul Tudor Vladimirescu, which hosted a Cupa României final in 2009. The stadium was demolished in 2015, and saw Pandurii in its final match winning against CS Municipal Studențesc Iași. A new stadium will be built which will have 12,500 seats, and it will be able to host European cup matches. It will be finished in 2017, therefore the club will play home matches at Stadionul Municipal in Drobeta-Turnu Severin.
Honours
Domestic
Leagues
- Liga I
- Runners-up (1): 2012–13
- Liga II
- Liga III
- Winners (4): 1976–77, 1978–79, 1985–86, 1999–00
- Runners-up (2): 1975–76, 1983–84
Cups
- Cupa Ligii
- Runners-up (1): 2014–15
Rankings
This is the UEFA club's coefficient as of 26 August 2016:[3]
| Pos. | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 182 |  Slavia Praha | 7,455 |
| 183 |  Eskisehirspor | 7,440 |
| 184 |  Pandurii | 7,390 |
| 185 | FC Petrolul Ploiești | 7,390 |
| 186 |  Slovan Bratislava | 7,350 |
Players
First team squad
- As of 17 November 2016.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Second team squad (Pandurii II)
- As of 2 October 2016
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Club officials
- As of August 2015.[4]
Current technical staff
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Management
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Records and statistics
Domestic
- Liga I seasons: 11
- Liga I play-offs seasons: 1
- Liga I longest unbeaten run: 10 (2015–16)
- Place 30 out of 98 teams in Liga I all-time table
- Cupa României best result: Semi-finals (2006–07)
- Cupa Ligii seasons: 2
- The most successful team from Gorj County
European
- UEFA Europa League seasons: 2
- UEFA Europa League best result: Group Stages (2013–14)
- UEFA Europa League biggest win: 4–0 vs. Levadia Tallinn (2013–14)
League history
| Season | League | Pos. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005/06 | Divizia A | 15 | |
| 2006/07 | Liga I | 11 | |
| 2007/08 | Liga I | 12 | |
| 2008/09 | Liga I | 11 | |
| 2009/10 | Liga I | 15 | |
| 2010/11 | Liga I | 13 | |
| 2011/12 | Liga I | 7 | |
| 2012/13 | Liga I | 2 | Qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League |
| 2013/14 | Liga I | 7 | |
| 2014/15 | Liga I | 9 | |
| 2015/16 | Liga I | 3 | Qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League |
European Cups history
| Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | UEFA Europa League | 2Q |  Levadia Tallinn |
4–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 |
| 3Q |  Hapoel Tel Aviv |
1–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | ||
| PO |  Braga |
0–1 | 2–0 (aet) | 2–1 | ||
| Group E |  Fiorentina |
1–2 | 0–3 | 4th | ||
 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk |
0–1 | 1–4 | ||||
| Paços de Ferreira |
0–0 | 1–1 | ||||
| 2016–17 | UEFA Europa League | 3Q | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
1–3 | 1–2 | 2–5 |
- Notes
- 1Q: First qualifying round
- 2Q: Second qualifying round
- 3Q: Third qualifying round
- PO: Play-off round
European cups all-time statistics
- As of August 2016.
| Competition | S | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Europa League | 2 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 19 | −5 |
| Total | 2 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 19 | −5 |
Former managers
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References
- ↑ "De 50 de ani "Panduri"! Gorjenii sărbătoresc jumătate de secol prin lansarea unei sigle aniversare" ["Pandurs" for 50 years! The Gorj people celebrate half a century by launching an anniversary crest]. ProSport (in Romanian). 16 October 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- ↑ "Former winners learn group stage fates". UEFA. 30 August 2013.
- ↑ UEFA Team Ranking 2017
- ↑ "Staff". CS Pandurii Târgu Jiu (in Romanian).
External links
- Official website
- Official Facebook profile
- Club profile on UEFA's official website
- Club profile on LPF's official website
