FC UTA Arad facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
UTA Arad

Full name	Asociația Fotbal Club UTA Arad
Nickname(s)	Bătrâna Doamnă (The Old Lady) Textiliștii (The Textile Workers)
Short name	UTA
Founded	18 April 1945; 80 years ago (1945-04-18) as IT Arad 2013; 12 years ago (2013) (refounded) as UTA Bătrâna Doamnă
Ground	Francisc von Neuman
Ground Capacity	12,700
Owners	UTA Supporters Association Arad Municipality
Chairman	Florian Voinea
Head coach	Adrian Mihalcea
League	Liga I
2024–25	Liga I, 10th of 16
Home colours Away colours

Asociația Fotbal Club UTA Arad, often called UTA Arad or just UTA, is a professional football club from Arad, Romania. The team plays in Liga I, which is the top football league in Romania.

The club was started in 1945 as IT Arad. It has won six national league titles and two Cupa României (Romanian Cup) trophies. UTA is known as one of the most successful Romanian teams from outside Bucharest in the 20th century. They were even called Campioana Provinciei (Provincial Champion).

After 1979, UTA Arad faced some tough times and often played in lower leagues. The club was even dissolved for a short period in 2014. However, it was refounded and worked its way back up. In 2020, UTA returned to Liga I, the top league.

The team wears red and white uniforms. They play their home games at the new Francisc von Neuman Stadium, which opened in 2020. UTA has a big rivalry with SSU Politehnica Timișoara, and their matches are known as the West derby.

Club History

Early Years and First Wins (1945–1965)

The club began on April 18, 1945, and was first named ITA Arad. It was founded by Francisc von Neuman, who owned a textile factory in Arad. The team's colors, red and white, were chosen because Neuman admired the English team Arsenal. ITA played its first game on May 27, 1945, losing 2–3 to Banatul Sânnicolau Mic.

UTA Arad team in 1946–47

On September 1, 1946, the Francisc von Neuman Stadium opened. ITA won its first match there 1–0 against Ciocanul București.

ITA Arad joined the top Romanian football league, Divizia A, in the 1946–47 season. This was the first season after World War II. Amazingly, they won the national title in their very first year in the top league! They finished eleven points ahead of Carmen București. Key players included József Pecsovszky and Ladislau Bonyhádi, who was the league's top scorer with 26 goals.

In the 1947–48 season, ITA won their second league title in a row. They scored a lot of goals, with 129 goals for and only 31 against. Bonyhádi scored an incredible 49 goals that season! The team also won the Romanian Cup that year, beating CFR Timișoara 3–2 in the final.

The club's logo when it was known as Flamura Roșie Arad (1950–1957)

In 1950, the club changed its name to Flamura Roșie. They won another national title that year. They also reached the Romanian Cup final but lost to CCA București.

József Pecsovszky, who many consider the club's best player ever, left the team in 1952. His absence was felt, and the team finished 8th that season.

However, in 1953, the team bounced back. They finished 3rd in the league and won the Romanian Cup again, beating CCA București 1–0 in the final.

József Pecsovszky (left) won three league titles with UTA Arad

In 1954, Flamura Roșie won its fourth league title. Pecsovszky returned to the team in 1955. For the next two seasons, Flamura Roșie finished in the middle of the league table.

European Adventures (1965–1975)

Flavius Domide played for UTA from 1966 to 1979.

In the 1970–71 season, UTA Arad played in the European Champion Clubs' Cup. This is a very important European competition. They managed to knock out the team that had won the trophy the year before, Feyenoord, after drawing 1–1 in Rotterdam and 0–0 in Arad. This was a huge achievement!

UTA Arad, champions of Romania (1969–70).

In the 1971–72 season, UTA finished second in Romania. They then played in the UEFA Cup, another European competition. They reached the quarter-finals, beating teams like Austria Salzburg and Vitória Setúbal. In the quarter-finals, they played against Tottenham Hotspur. They lost the first game 2–0 at home and drew the second game 1–1 in London, so they were knocked out of the competition.

Ups and Downs (1975–2013)

Mircea Petescu, captain of UTA's golden team in the 1970s.

After 1975, the team started to struggle. In the 1978–79 season, they finished 17th and were moved down to Divizia B, the second division.

UTA returned to the top league, Divizia A, in 1981. They had been in the second division for two years. However, their stay in the top league only lasted one year, and they were relegated again.

Nicolae "Coco" Dumitrescu (left), a former player and manager for UTA.

Between 1984 and 2002, UTA mostly played in the second division, Divizia B. They had some good seasons, finishing second a few times, and even won the second division title in 2001–02. This win helped them get promoted back to Liga I.

In 2006–07, UTA played in Liga I. They finished 12th that season.

In 2013, the club faced financial problems. A new team, supported by some UTA fans, was created. It was called UTA Bătrâna Doamnă (UTA The Old Lady). This new team started in a lower league, Liga IV. The original UTA team, then called FC UTA SA, was eventually dissolved in 2014.

Return to the Top (2013–Present)

UTA Bătrâna Doamnă quickly moved up through the leagues. They were promoted to Liga III in 2014 after winning a play-off match.

After just one season in Liga III, they were promoted to Liga II in 2014–15 by finishing first in their group.

In their first season back in Liga II (2015–16), UTA Bătrâna Doamnă finished second. This meant they could play in a promotion play-off to try and get into Liga I. They won one play-off round but lost the next, so they stayed in Liga II.

In 2016–17, UTA finished third in Liga II and again qualified for a promotion play-off. However, they lost both matches and remained in Liga II.

In the summer of 2017, the Romanian Football Federation officially recognized UTA Bătrâna Doamnă as the official successor of the old club. The team changed its name back to FC UTA Arad.

Finally, in the 2019–20 season, UTA Arad won the Liga II title and earned promotion back to Liga I, the top league in Romania. They have been playing in Liga I since then.

Home Stadium

The new Stadionul Francisc von Neumann

UTA Arad plays its home games at the Stadionul Francisc von Neuman. This stadium is rated as a UEFA Category 4 stadium. This means it's a very modern stadium that can host big international matches, like UEFA Europa League semi-finals or UEFA Champions League group stage games.

The first match at the new stadium was a Liga I game between UTA Arad and Voluntari. It ended in a 0–0 draw. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, no fans were allowed to watch that game.

The first match with fans was the 2021 women's Romanian Cup final. The first international game played there was a friendly match between UTA Arad and Kolubara Lazarevac, which also ended in a draw.

Club Achievements

National Competitions

• Divizia A / Liga I (Top League)
  • Winners (6): 1946–47, 1947–48, 1950, 1954, 1968–69, 1969–70
  • Runners-up (1): 1971–72
• Divizia B / Liga II (Second League)
  • Winners (4): 1980–81, 1992–93, 2001–02, 2019–20
• Liga III (Third League)
  • Winners (1): 2014–15
• Liga IV – Arad County (Fourth League)
  • Winners (1): 2013–14

Cups

• Cupa României (Romanian Cup)
  • Winners (2): 1947–48, 1953
  • Runners-up (2): 1950, 1965–66

European Competitions

• UEFA Champions League / European Cup
  • Best result: Second round in 1970–71
• UEFA Europa League / UEFA Cup
  • Best result: Quarter-finals in 1971–72

Current Players

No. Position Player 1 GK Dejan Iliev (Vice-captain) 2 DF Mark Țuțu (on loan from Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț) 3 DF Din Alomerović 4 DF Alexandru Benga (Captain) 5 MF Sota Mino 6 DF Florent Poulolo 7 FW Dániel Zsóri 8 MF Alin Roman 10 MF Marinos Tzionis 11 FW Hakim Abdallah 12 GK Lucas Roșu 13 DF Flavius Iacob (on loan from Corvinul Hunedoara) 19 MF Valentin Costache (3rd captain)

No. Position Player 20 MF Denis Țăroi 21 MF Alexandru Matei 22 FW Adrian Dragoș 23 MF Ovidiu Popescu 24 DF Alexandru Hodoșan 30 MF Benjamin Van Durmen 33 GK Andrei Gorcea 37 FW Marian Danciu 60 DF Dmytro Pospyelov 72 DF Andrea Padula 97 MF Denis Hrezdac MF Luca Mihai

Other Players Under Contract

No. Position Player FW Mevlan Zeka

Players on Loan to Other Teams

No. Position Player GK Cristian Blaga (to Corvinul Hunedoara) DF Răzvan Joldea (to Bihor Oradea) DF Răzvan Ristin (to Ghiroda) DF Luca Indreica (to Progresul Pecica) DF Dario Ștef (to Progresul Pecica) DF Răzvan Olăroiu (to Progresul Pecica) DF Darius Iurasciuc (to Corvinul Hunedoara) MF Alessio Calotă (to Dumbrăvița)

No. Position Player MF Raul Popa (to Dumbrăvița) MF Mario Rusu (to Progresul Pecica) MF Alexandru Crainic (to Progresul Pecica) MF Adelin Nica (to Bihor Oradea) MF Fabiano Cibi (to Dumbrăvița) MF Ahmet Ekmekci (to Progresul Pecica) FW Lucas Câmpan (to Corvinul Hunedoara) FW Dario Huc (to Progresul Pecica)

Club Officials

Board of Directors Role Name Owners UTA Supporters Association Arad Municipality President UTA Supporters Association Claudiu Negru President Florian Voinea General Manager Attila Brosovszki Delegate Dorin Stana Team Manager Cristian Pilan Director of Competitions Claudiu Drăgan Youth Center Director Cristian Păcurar Youth Center Coordinator Ioan Herman Press Officer Radu Romanescu Social Media Department Sergiu Giurgiu Last updated: 31 July 2024

Current Coaching Staff Role Name Head coach Adrian Mihalcea Assistant coaches Sorin Rădoi Ștefan Boroș Goalkeeping coach Dan Țapoș Fitness coach Bogdan Hetco Club doctor Darius Mihart Physiotherapists Călin Petrică Nicolae Tomescu Masseurs Dan Chiorean Dan Ifrim Last updated: 10 June 2025

European Record

UTA Arad has played in several European football competitions. Here's a summary of their performance:

League Performance Over Time

Chart of UTA Arad's league performance 1946–2017.

This table shows how UTA Arad has performed in different leagues over the years.

Famous Former Players

These players have played for UTA Arad and also represented their countries in international football. Some of them played many games and scored many goals for the club.

Famous Former Managers

These are some of the well-known managers who have coached UTA Arad.

See also

In Spanish: FC UTA Arad para niños