CS Pandurii Târgu Jiu
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| Full name | Clubul Sportiv Pandurii Lignitul Târgu Jiu | |||
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| Nickname(s) |
Alb-Albaştrii (The White and Blues) Minerii (The Miners) Gorjenii (The People from Gorj County) | |||
| Founded | 1963 | |||
| Ground | Municipal | |||
| Capacity | 20,054 | |||
| Owner | Târgu Jiu Municipality | |||
| Chairman | Narcis Răducan | |||
| Manager | Edward Iordănescu | |||
| League | Liga I | |||
| 2014–15 | Liga I, 9th | |||
| 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") is a Romanian professional football club based in Târgu Jiu, Gorj County, that plays in Liga I. Pandurii Târgu Jiu is the fourth Romanian club that represents the country in the European Club Association.
The team's colors are white and blue.
History
Founding
Pandurii Târgu Jiu was founded in August 1963, 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.
Promotion to the top division
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.
First ever European participation
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.[1]
Recent history
In the 2014–15 Cupa Ligii, the team reached the first ever final of a cup by defeating Dinamo București (2–1,1–3) in the cup semifinal, they lost it to FCSB, on 20 May at the Arena Naţională stadium.
On April 6, Pandurii defeated for the first time Romanian giants Petrolul Ploiești at the Stadionul Ilie Oană, one of the best stadiums in Romania.
On July 13 they became the first team to win a match in Liga I, with the new play-off, play-out format after the other matches ended with draw. On February 6 they secured the participation in play-off with a win over ASA 2013 Târgu Mureș. They also secured a place in a European competition next year.
In the summer of 2015 Pandurii became a member of the European Club Association.
Stadium
For many years since they were founded the home of Pandurii was Stadionul Tudor Vladimirescu, who host the 2009 Cupa României Final. The stadium was demolished in 2015, and saw the final match Pandurii beating CS Municipal Studențesc Iași. A new stadium will be built which will have 12000 seats, and it will be able to host european matches. The new stadium will be finished in 2017 so Pandurii will play home matches at Stadionul Municipal (Drobeta-Turnu Severin) in Drobeta-Turnu Severin.
Honours
Domestic
League
Runners-up (1): 2012–13
Winners (4): 1976–77, 1978–79, 1985–86, 1999–00- Runners-up (2): 1975–76, 1983–84
Cups
- Runners-up (1): 2014–15
Other performances
Domestic
- Appearances in Liga I: 11
- Appearances in Liga I play-off: 1
- Longest unbeaten run in Liga I: 10 (2015–16)
- Place 30 of 98 teams in Liga I All-time table
- Appearances in Cupa Ligii: 2
- The most successful team from Gorj County.
- Semi-finalist of 2006–07 Cupa României
European
- Group Stages of 2013–14 UEFA Europa League
- Biggest European win: 4–0 FC Levadia Tallinn. (2013–14)
- Appearances in European Competitions: 1
Liga I 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 | Ongoing |
UEFA club coefficient rankings
- As of 26 june 2015.[2]
| Pos. | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 212 |  Olympiacos Volou FC | 7380 |
| 213 |  Tromsø IL | 7375 |
| 214 |  Pandurii | 7259 |
| 215 |  RNK Split | 7200 |
| 216 |  Hapoel Kiryat Shmona | 7200 |
Hall of Fame
European best results
- SC Braga – Pandurii (0–2), 29 August 2013
Liga 1 best results
- Pandurii – Rapid (2–0), September 2012
- Pandurii – CFR Cluj (2–1), 23 September 2012
- Pandurii – Dinamo (2–0), 21 April 2013
- Pandurii – Steaua București (3–1), 15 March 2015
- Pandurii – Petrolul Ploiești (1–0), 6 April 2015
European record
1R: First round, 2Q: Second qualifying round, 3Q: Third qualifying round, PO: Play-off round
| 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 | 2–1 | ||
| Group E |  Fiorentina |
1–2 | 0–3 | 4th place | ||
 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk |
0–1 | 1–4 | ||||
| Paços de Ferreira |
0–0 | 1–1 | ||||
| 2016–17 | UEFA Europa League | |||||
| Competition | Matches | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Europa League | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 13 |
Current squad
- As of 16 February 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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Club Officials
Board of directors
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Current technical staff
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Managers
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References
- ↑ "Former winners learn group stage fates". UEFA. 30 August 2013.
- ↑ "UEFA club coefficient rankings". UEFA.
- ↑ "Staff". CS Pandurii Târgu Jiu (in Romanian).
External links
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