Asociația Fotbal Club Botoșani (Romanian pronunciation:[botoˈʃanʲ]), commonly known as FC Botoșani or simply Botoșani, is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Botoșani, Botoșani County, that competes in the Liga I.
Botoșănenii play in predominantly white home kits, while their away equipment is generally blue. Their home ground is the 7,782-seater Municipal stadium.
History
Predecessors
Before World War II, the main local team of the city of Botoșani was Venus. After the war ended, the team was successively named Flamura Roșie, Textila and Unirea, and played mostly in the regional championship and the third division (Divizia C) without significant performances. In 1973, the team was renamed CS Botoșani. It won their series in the 1974–75 Divizia C and promoted for the first time to Divizia B, but only for a year. The team played again in Divizia B in the 1977–78 season, but was again relegated.[1]
In the summer of 1979, CS Botoșani promoted for the third time to Divizia B, and at the end of the 1979–80 season, they obtained the highest position of 3rd; that had heretofore not been reached by any football team from Botoșani. After that performance, the team declined, occupying places in the middle of the league, reaching in the ending of '80s near relegation.[citation needed]
One of the most famous Romanian players, Nicolae Dobrin, ended his career at CS Botoșani. He played for the team in the 1985–86 season and was also the team manager.[3]
CS Botoșani remained in Divizia B for 11 seasons, the most seasons spent by a football team from Botoșani. After that, at the ending of 1989–90 season the team was relegated to Divizia C. In 1993, the team was relegated to the county division and disbanded.[1]
There was also a Unirea Botoșani team that played between 1998 and 2000. The team merged with Poli Iași, who played in Divizia C under the name Poli Unirea Iași.[1]
Founding and early years (2001–2013)
The new Fotbal Club Botoșani was founded in 2001 by Salavastru and Sfaițer, with support from the local council, and started in Divizia C. In the summer of 2004, the team promoted to Divizia B.[4]
In 2005 the president of the Administration Council, Valeriu Iftimie, took over the main projects of the club after the French model. Therefore, the first team played in Divizia B, the second team, formed with youngsters, played in the third league. Also, the club has a centre for children and youths who are prepared for the future of the first team.[1]
Since the 2005–06 season, the matches of FC Botoșani were transmitted live on the radio, on "Radio AS". Until the beginning of the season, not even a radio station transmitted live. FC Botoșani participated in the second division of the Romanian football for nine consecutive seasons. In the 2005–06 season it finished on the 4th place, which was the highest position obtained until the 2012–13 season, when FC Botoșani won the series and promoted for the first time in Liga 1.[1]
Promotion to the first division and recent history (2013–present)
Chart showing the progress of FC Botoșani's league finishes from their founding in 2001 until present.
The main objective for the 2013–14 season was to avoid relegation. At the start of the season, FC Botoșani was the only first league team that had only Romanian players. FC Botoșani made their debut in Liga I on 21 July 2013, in a 0–0 draw against CFR Cluj, with eight newcomers in a top tier level of the starting eleven and played most of the match with nine-man as Ciprian Dinu received a red card in the ninth minute.[5] The next matchday, on 26 July, saw FC Botoșani netting their first Liga I victory, in a 2–1 away win over Gaz Metan Mediaș.[6] On 25 August, FC Botoșani beat 1–0 FC Vaslui to record their first ever home win in the top tier. However, after this record, Botoșani had a poor run and manager Cristian Popovici was sacked, letting the team on the 12th place, two points above relegation. Leontin Grozavu was named manager and lead the team to a tough fight to avoid relegation.[7]
FC Botoșani started the next season with two important victories against Astra Giurgiu and Dinamo București, teams that fought for the championship title. At the end of the season they qualified for the first time ever in 2015–16 season of UEFA Europa League, because several clubs failed to obtain UEFA licences.[8] After a 4–4 draw with Viitorul Constanța, Botoșani again finished in eighth place.
On 2 July 2015, FC Botoșani made their debut in European competitions, in the first qualifying round of UEFA Europa League in a 1–1 tie against Spartaki Tskhinvali in the first leg in Botoșani. In the second leg in Georgia, FC Botoșani netted their first European victory in a 3–1 win over Spartaki Tskhinvali to advance to the next round, where they met Legia Warsaw.[2]
After their first qualification in the championship play-offs, FC Botoșani finished the 2019–20 season on the 4th place, thus achieving their best Liga I performance and, once again, qualifying for UEFA Europa League after 5 years since their last participation. They netted a 2–1 away victory against Kazakh side Ordabasy in the first round, before eventually being eliminated by Shkëndija of North Macedonia after a 0–1 home loss in the second round.
The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level and/or more than 50 caps for FC Botoșani.
For a list of all former and current FC Botoșani players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:FC Botoșani players.
^""Gâscan" de Botoşani" ["Gâscan" of Botoşani] (in Romanian). ProSport. 22 October 2010. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
^"BOTOŞANI VS. CFR CLUJ 0 – 0" [BOTOŞANI VS. CFR CLUJ 0 – 0]. soccerway.com. 21 July 2013. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
^"Relacja z trybun: Legia to my!" [Report from the stands: Legia is us!] (in Polish). legionisci.com. 17 July 2015. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
