FC Astra Giurgiu facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Astra Giurgiu

Full name	Asociația Fotbal Club Astra Giurgiu
Nickname(s)	Astralii Giurgiuvenii (The Giurgiu People) Dracii negri (The Black Devils)
Short name	Astra
Founded	18 September 1921 as Clubul Sportiv Astra-Română
Dissolved	19 October 2022
Ground	Marin Anastasovici
Ground Capacity	8,200
Owner	Ioan Niculae
League	Liga IV
2022–23	Liga III, Seria IV, 10th of 10 (relegated)
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Astra Giurgiu was a Romanian football club from the city of Giurgiu. It was started on September 18, 1921, in Ploiești as Clubul Sportiv Astra-Română. For most of its history, the team played in the lower football divisions. Sadly, the club officially closed down on October 19, 2022.

Astra Giurgiu started to become successful in the late 1990s. This was when businessman Ioan Niculae became the owner. The team reached the top Romanian football league for the first time in 1998. In 2012, after more than 90 years in Prahova County, the club moved its home stadium to Giurgiu. This city is close to the border with Bulgaria.

Soon after moving, Astra became an important team in Romanian football. Their coach, Marius Șumudică, led them to win the national championship in the 2015–16 season. The club also won one Romanian Cup and two Romanian Supercup trophies. In international games, their best result was reaching the last 32 teams in the UEFA Europa League during the 2016–17 season.

The team's main colors were white and black. This is why they had an old nickname, Dracii negri, which means "The Black Devils". Sometimes, they also wore red for their away kits. Their home stadium was Marin Anastasovici, which could hold about 8,200 fans.

History of Astra Giurgiu

Early Years and Lower Divisions (1921–1996)

On September 18, 1921, a newspaper announced the start of Clubul Sportiv Astra-Română. This club was created by the Astra-Română Society, an oil company in Prahova County. The company had officials from England, America, and the Netherlands.

At first, the club had several football teams in different towns. In 1934, the oil company held a tournament called the Astra Societies Cup. They even made three new teams for this event. In 1937, all the Prahova teams merged to form Astra Română Ploiești. This team played in the local district championship.

In 1992, Astra moved up to the third division for the first time. For the next few seasons, they played in this division.

Rising Under New Ownership (1996–2013)

In 1996, the club joined with another team, Danubiana București. They changed their name to Danubiana Ploiești and played in the second division. After one season, they changed back to Astra. Since then, Ioan Niculae owned the team.

In 1998, Astra moved up to the first division for the first time. They stayed there for five seasons. In 2003, they joined with Petrolul Ploiești. Astra then took a break for two years.

In 2005, Ioan Niculae started the club again, directly in the second division. But they moved down to the third division after just one season. In 2007, under the name FC Ploiești, the team moved back up to the second division. In 2009, after six years, they finally moved back to the first division. They changed their name back to Astra Ploiești and brought back their black and white colors. This brought back their old nickname, "The Black Devils".

In September 2012, after 91 years in Ploiești, the club moved to Giurgiu. Their last game in Ploiești was on September 2, 2012, which they won 1–0. The first game in their new home, Marin Anastasovici Stadium, was on September 23, 2012, and Astra won 4–0.

At the end of the 2012–13 season, Astra finished 4th. This meant they qualified for the UEFA Europa League for the first time. The 2013–14 season was their best yet. They finished 2nd in the top league, just five points behind Steaua București. They also won the Romanian Cup against Steaua București in a penalty shootout. A month later, they beat Steaua București again in a penalty shootout to win the Romanian Supercup.

European Adventures and Șumudică's Success (2013–2017)

Astra Giurgiu played its first European match in the UEFA Europa League in 2013. They won their first three matches against teams like Domžale, Omonia, and Trenčín. They were eventually knocked out by Maccabi Haifa.

In 2014, Astra qualified directly for the third qualifying round of the Europa League because they won the Romanian Cup. They beat Slovan Liberec and then faced Olympique Lyonnais from France. Astra won away in Lyon, which was a big surprise. Even though Lyon won the second game, Astra moved to the group stage because of the away goals rule. In the group stage, they played against Red Bull Salzburg, Celtic, and Dinamo Zagreb. Astra scored their first group stage goal against Dinamo Zagreb. They also got their first group stage point in a draw with Celtic. They even won their first group stage game against Dinamo Zagreb. Astra finished fourth in their group.

Marius Șumudică led Astra to win the 2015–16 Liga I title, which was the first in the club's history.

On April 28, 2015, Marius Șumudică became the new head coach. This was his third time coaching the club. He led the team to finish fourth in the league, which meant they qualified for the Europa League again.

In the Europa League, Astra beat Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Then they faced the English club West Ham United. Astra got a surprising draw in London and then won at home, moving to the play-off round. There, they played against the Dutch club AZ. Astra won the home game, but AZ won the away game, so Astra was knocked out.

In the Romanian league, Astra did very well. Even after a tough start, they finished the regular season as champions. On May 1, 2016, Astra Giurgiu won the 2015–16 Liga I title. This was the first time Șumudică won a national title. It also made Giurgiu the 13th city in Romania to have a national football champion. Astra also won the 2016 Supercup against CFR Cluj.

Astra then qualified for the UEFA Champions League, but they were quickly eliminated by Copenhagen from Denmark. However, they reached the play-off round of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League and beat West Ham again. This sent them to the Europa League group stage. They were in a group with Roma, Viktoria Plzeň, and Austria Wien. Even though they started with zero points, Astra managed to win away games against Viktoria Plzeň and Austria Wien. They also drew with Roma. This helped them reach the round of 32, where they played against Genk. Astra drew at home but lost away, ending their best European journey.

In the league, Astra had a difficult start. But they had an amazing run of 8 wins in a row. This helped them finish 3rd in the regular season and qualify for the play-offs. However, their good form didn't last, and they finished 6th. On May 27, Astra lost the Romanian Cup Final to FC Voluntari after a penalty shootout. But because FC Voluntari didn't apply for a European license, Astra got their spot in the 2017–18 Europa League.

Ups and Downs (2017–2020)

In the summer of 2017, coach Șumudică left Astra Giurgiu. Edward Iordănescu took over, and most of the team's players changed. The team's budget was much smaller, and Astra's new team was one of the youngest in the league. Manager Edward Iordanescu brought in experienced players. In their first match, Astra won easily against Zira FK from Azerbaijan. They qualified for the Europa League third qualifying round. They played against FC Oleksandriya from Ukraine. After a draw at home, Astra lost away, and this was their last international match.

People didn't expect much from the former champions that season. But Astra had a very good season, finishing 5th in the league. Their style of play changed to be more defensive. Their best player that season was their goalkeeper, Plamen Iliev. Also, Alexandru Ionita had a great season, scoring 10 goals before being sold. Even though it was a good season, Edward Iordanescu resigned with 8 games left. He was replaced by Gheorghe Multescu.

After the season, assistant coach Marius Maldarasanu became the head coach. Many French players joined the club. Also, Azdren Llullaku and Nelut Rosu were important new players. The team started the season well with a surprising win over FCSB. A few days later, owner Ioan Niculae announced that Astra Giurgiu bought back their former star player Denis Alibec. This was a big surprise because Niculae was known for not spending much money on football.

Under Maldarasanu, the team had spirit but struggled with tactics. Even though they were unbeaten in their first seven games, Maldarasanu was fired after winning only two games. Gheorghe Multescu came back and had an immediate impact, winning his first three games. Astra Giurgiu was the only undefeated team in the league after 10 rounds. But this changed after a controversial loss to FC Viitorul Constanța. After this game, Multescu was fired again and replaced by Costel Enache.

Enache's first game was a loss. But he then led the team on a fantastic 11-game unbeaten streak. This helped them easily qualify for the play-offs, finishing 4th in the regular season. Under Costel Enache, Astra Giurgiu played a style based on keeping the ball and making short passes. They had the 3rd best attack and 2nd best defense in the league. Denis Alibec was their most important player. Another star was Mike Cestor. Young players Mihai Butean and Valentin Gheorghe also started playing for the main team.

After a very good main season, the team hoped to qualify for European competitions. But this did not happen. The team faced many money problems. Players complained about not getting paid and refused to train. Many players left the club. The last few months of the season were very hard. They lost eight out of ten games in the play-off.

Astra Giurgiu had an easy path to the final of the Romanian Cup. They played against FC Viitorul Constanța in the final. Alibec scored first, but Viitorul equalized. Then, Romário Pires was sent off. In extra time, Astra lost the game. This was their second final loss in three years, and they also lost the chance to play in the Europa League. At the end of the season, most important players left for free.

In the summer of 2019, Dan Alexa became the new coach. He brought in many new important players. The biggest transfer was the return of former star player Constantin Budescu. Many other former players also returned to the club. Despite having a good team, Alexa had a short and difficult time as manager. He was eventually fired after a poor performance.

Bogdan Andone, a former assistant coach, took over the team. The team's playing style got much better under Andone. He led them to win his first ten league games. Before the winter break, the team even reached first place in the league. They hoped to win another title. However, the money problems continued. Astra lost three points and failed to win any of their last four games of the regular season. They barely qualified for the play-offs.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Astra Giurgiu could not get a European license because of financial reasons. This meant they could not play in the Europa League. Even though they had nothing left to play for, the team finished third in the league. Astra had a great season, finishing in third place and losing only one home game all season.

Struggling and Closing Down (2020–2022)

Because of the club's growing money problems, Astra's main goal changed. Instead of aiming for European competitions, they just wanted to stay in the top league. The pandemic made Astra's financial situation even worse. They fell behind on paying players.

Also, in February 2021, owner Ioan Niculae was sent to prison. At the end of the 2020-21 Liga I season, Astra Giurgiu moved down to the second division after 12 years in the top league. This was because they lost their best players and had money problems. They also reached the Romanian Cup final but lost to CSU Craiova in extra time.

On October 18, 2022, Astra Giurgiu asked to leave the third division. The next day, the club officially closed down after 101 years.

Team Look and Colors

Team Badge

The team's last badge was adopted in July 2009. This was after the team moved up from the second division. The badge has black and white stripes, just like the team's shirts. The many stars on the badge come from the club's name. Astra is a Romanian word that means "The Star".

Team Kit

Astra Giurgiu's main colors were white and black. But their kit design often included red, especially for their away uniforms.

Home Stadiums

Marin Anastasovici Stadium

Astra played its home games in Giurgiu at the Marin Anastasovici Stadium. This stadium can hold about 8,500 people. The club moved here in September 2012. Their old stadium in Ploiești, the Astra Stadium, is now used for training.

Team Support

Rivalries

When Astra first moved up to the top division in 1998, their fans started a rivalry with their local opponents, Petrolul Ploiești. Games between Astra and Petrolul often ended with fights between supporters. Most Astra fans saw Petrolul as their main rivals. However, Petrolul fans usually considered Rapid București their biggest rivals. The rivalry continued even after Astra moved to Giurgiu. Sometimes, the match was called Fostul derbi al Ploieștiului, which means "The Former Ploiești Derby".

Club Achievements

National Competitions

Leagues

• Liga I (Top Division)
  • Winners (1): 2015–16
  • Runners-up (1): 2013–14

• Liga II (Second Division)
  • Winners (1): 1997–98
  • Runners-up (1): 2008–09

• Liga III (Third Division)
  • Winners (1): 2007–08

Cups

• Cupa României (Romanian Cup)
  • Winners (1): 2013–14
  • Runners-up (3): 2016–17, 2018–19, 2020–21

• Supercupa României (Romanian Supercup)
  • Winners (2): 2014, 2016

European Rankings

This table shows Astra's UEFA club ranking in August 2020:

Pos.	Team	Points
129	Arouca	9,889
130	Belenenses	9,889
131	Astra	9,500
132	Arsenal Tula	9,109
133	Ufa	9,109

Shirt Sponsors and Manufacturers

Period	Kit manufacturer	Period	Shirt partner
2009–2012	Adidas	2009–2012	InterAgro
2012–2016	Puma	2012–2016	InterAgro
2016–2022	Joma	2016–2017	Tinmar
		2017	Maurer Imobiliare
		2018–2022	Tinmar, Pambac

Notable Former Players

Here are some famous players who played for FC Astra Giurgiu. They either played for their country's national team or played over 100 games for Astra Giurgiu.

Notable Former Managers

• Marius Șumudică
• Daniel Isăilă
• Costel Enache

See also

In Spanish: FC Astra Giurgiu para niños