Asociația Sportivă Ardealul 2013 Târgu Mureș, commonly known as ASA Târgu Mureș, is a Romanian professional football club based in Târgu Mureș, Mureș County, currently playing in the Liga I.
It was founded in 2008 as FCM Târgu Mureș. In 2013, the club changed its name from Fotbal Club Municipal (FCM) to Asociația Sportivă Ardealul (ASA).
ASA Târgu Mureș have won their first major trophy in 2015, after defeating Steaua București in the Supercupa României.
History
Early years
The team was founded in 2004 under the name of Trans-Sil Târgu Mureş and in 2008 summer changed the name to FCM Târgu Mureș, becoming the city's main football team, as a successor to CS Târgu Mureș (dissolved in 1960), Mureşul Târgu Mureş (dissolved in 1964), and the original ASA Târgu Mureș (dissolved in 2005). They bought a spot from the newly promoted Unirea Sânnicolau Mare, consequently playing in the 2008–09 Liga II. FCM outperformed the predictions and played well throughout the season, winning 16 games and drawing 9, while scoring 54 goals and receiving 27, the fewest in the Seria II. At the end of the season, the team was very close to promote to the Liga I, finishing third with 57 points.
The following season, the club finished first in their series with 69 points, winning 20 games, drawing 9 and losing 3. The team scored 52 goals and received 20 (the fewest goals received in their series, like the year before) and was promoted for the very first time in its history to the Liga I. Eighteen years had passed since the city's last presence in the Romanian top football league (1991–1992 season with ASA).
Promotion to Liga I
FCM debuted in Liga I by finishing 9th in the table, the same amount of points as the defending champions, CFR Cluj, and Astra Ploiești. Ioan Ovidiu Sabău led the team to a fantastic streak, at ten points behind Gaz Metan Mediaș, the last team who took an UEFA Europa League spot.
The next season, the club failed to maintain its position in the Liga I, finishing 15th, the highest place in the relegation zone. One team from the second division, Politehnica Timișoara, didn't receive its licence for the first league, so the Romanian Football Federation had to decide whether to keep the first team under the relegation line, FCM Târgu Mureș, or to promote the team placed third in the Seria II, behind Timișoara. Finally, the FRF decided that Gaz Metan Severin should be promoted, thus FCM ended up being relegated.
Return to Liga II
Former logo
The board of directors fixed as an objective for the 2012–13 season the promotion back to the Liga I.
However, the team couldn't keep the rhythm set by Corona Brașov and ACS Poli Timișoara, and after the first half of the season it was behind the earlier mentioned two in the league table. The second half of the season was even worse, FCM ending fifth in the West Division of Liga II, ten points behind ACS Poli, which took the second promoting place.
Name change and back to first division
In 2013, the club changed its name from Fotbal Club Municipal Târgu Mureș to Asociația Sportivă Ardealul 2013 Târgu Mureș. At the end of 2013–14 Liga II they finished second and entered Liga I for the first time with the new name.
2014–15 season
On 16 July 2014, the team debuted in Cupa Ligii (English: League Cup), Romania's secondary club football tournament, and lost their first ever match in the competition against CSMS Iași. It was an extraordinary season for The Red-Blues, securing their very first qualification in a European competition, by finishing second, and winning against two-time defending champions Steaua București both home and away. After the away victory over Steaua, Târgu Mureș seized the first place and was close to obtain a historical league title, however, after a 1–3 loss to Astra Giurgiu, the team fell back to the second place. However, Târgu Mureș kept chances to winning the championship after Steaua's 0–0 draw against CSMS Iași, having to win against relegated Oțelul Galați. Mureș side went to a 1–0 lead, but lost the title after Oțelul turned the score to 1–2.
2015–16 season
On 9 July 2015, ASA earned its spot in the Romanian Super Cup as championship runners-up last season. The club faced Steaua in the final, which won the treble (Championship, Cup and League Cup), and defeated them 1–0, after a goal scored in the 63rd minute by Mircea Axente, who also received the "Man of the Match" title. The team was led by Dan Petrescu, who resigned after the match, due to the financial problems which had appeared in recent days. This was the club's first major trophy.[6] Shortly after, it was revealed that Vasile Miriuță will become the new coach.
On July 17, it was announced that ASA would face French side AS Saint-Étienne in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.[7]
Chronology of names
| Name [8][9][10][11][12] | Period | Note |
| Trans-Sil Târgu Mureş | 2004–2008 | The new team Stadium: Stadionul Trans-Sil |
| Fotbal Club Municipal Târgu Mureș (FCM Târgu Mureș) | 2008–2013 | Colors: Orange |
| Asociaţia Sportivă Ardealul Târgu Mureş (ASA Târgu Mureş) | 2013–present | Colors: Blue and Red |
Honours
Domestic
Leagues
Liga I
Liga II
Cups
Supercupa României
Other performances
Domestic
European
Liga I History
European Record
- Notes
- 1Q: First qualifying round
- 2Q: Second qualifying round
- 3Q: Third qualifying round
- PO: Play-off round
Players
First team squad
- As of 16 February 2016. [13]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Club officials
- As of 22 September 2015 [13]
Managerial history
| Name |
Years |
 Cosmin Bodea | July 1, 2008 – May 4, 2010 |
| Adrian Falub | May 4, 2010 – Aug 31, 2010 |
| Ioan Ovidiu Sabău | Sept 3, 2010 – Sept 27, 2011 |
| Tibor Selymes | Sept 28, 2011 – Oct 31, 2011 |
 Maurizio Trombetta | Nov 4, 2011 – Jan 20, 2012 |
| Marius Lăcătuş | Jan 21, 2012 – March 18, 2012 |
| Ioan Ovidiu Sabău | March 18, 2012 – June 30, 2012 |
| Alexandru Pelici | July 3, 2012 – Aug 24, 2012 |
| Daniel Isăilă | Aug 24, 2012 – March 11, 2013 |
| Mircea Cojocaru | March 13, 2013 – April 22, 2013 |
| Cristian Coroian | April 22, 2013 – June 19, 2013 |
| Eduard Iordănescu | June 20, 2013 – Oct 9, 2013 |
| Ioan Ovidiu Sabău | Oct 10, 2013 – March 22, 2014 |
| Adrian Falub | March 25, 2014 – Sept 29, 2014 |
| Cristian Pustai | Sept 30, 2014 – Dec 29, 2014 |
| Liviu Ciobotariu | Jan 2, 2015 – June 4, 2015 |
| Dan Petrescu | June 11, 2015 – July 9, 2015 |
 Vasile Miriuță | July 9, 2015 – September 20, 2015 |
| Cristiano Bergodi | September 22, 2015 – December 17, 2015 |
| Petre Grigoraș | December 29, 2015 – February 21, 2016 |
| George Ciorceri | March 9, 2016 – |
References
External links
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- Managers
- Current season
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Saint-Étienne
