2021–22 Liga I

104th season of top-tier football league in Romania From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2021–22 Liga I (also known as Casa Liga 1 for sponsorship reasons) was the 104th season of the Liga I, the top professional league for Romanian association football clubs. The season started on 15 July 2021 and ended in May 2022.[1] It was the seventh to take place since the play-off/play-out format has been introduced, and CFR Cluj was four-time defending champion.

Season2021–22
Dates15 July 2021 – 29 May 2022
ChampionsCFR Cluj
Quick facts Season, Dates ...
Liga I
Season2021–22
Dates15 July 2021 – 29 May 2022
ChampionsCFR Cluj
RelegatedGaz Metan Mediaș
Academica Clinceni
Dinamo București
Champions LeagueCFR Cluj
Europa Conference LeagueFCSB
Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe
Universitatea Craiova
Top goalscorerFlorin Tănase
(20 goals)
Biggest home win Rapid 8–0 Gaz Metan Mediaș
(18 April 2022)
Biggest away winAcademica Clinceni 2–8 Farul Constanța
(17 February 2022)
Argeș Pitești 0–6 CFR Cluj
(7 May 2022)
Highest scoringAcademica Clinceni 2–8 Farul Constanța
(17 February 2022)
Longest winning run9 matches
CFR Cluj
Longest unbeaten run21 matches
CFR Cluj
Longest winless run17 matches
Academica Clinceni
Longest losing run13 matches
Gaz Metan
All statistics correct as of 27 May 2022.
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After the conclusion of the regular season, teams were divided according to their place to enter either the championship play-offs or the relegation play-outs.[2]

The teams ranked 15th and 16th at the end of the play-out tournament were directly relegated, while the 13th and 14th places played a promotion/relegation play-off against 3rd and 4th places from Liga II.[2]

Teams

The league consistsed of 16 teams: 12 from the 2020–21 Liga I, two teams from the 2020–21 Liga II, and the winners of the 2020–21 promotion/relegation play-off.

Teams promoted to the Liga I

The first club to be promoted was FC U Craiova 1948, following their 0–0 draw against Miercurea Ciuc on 13 May 2021. FC U Craiova returned in the Liga I after 10 years of absence.[3]

The second club to be promoted was Rapid București, following their 1–3 defeat against FC U Craiova on 17 May 2021. Rapid returned in the Liga I after 6 years of absence.[4]

The third club to be promoted was Mioveni, following their 2–1 win against Hermannstadt on 2 June 2021, in the promotion/relegation play-offs. Mioveni returned in the Liga I after 9 years of absence.[5]

Teams relegated to the Liga II

The first club to be relegated was Politehnica Iași, which were relegated on 15 May 2021 following a 0–1 defeat against Hermannstadt, ending their 7-year stay in the top flight.[6]

The second club to be relegated was Astra Giurgiu, which were relegated on 19 May 2021 following their 0–1 defeat against Viitorul Constanța, ending their 12-year stay in the top flight.[7]

The third club to be relegated was Hermannstadt, which were relegated on 2 June 2021 following their 1–2 defeat against Mioveni in the promotion/relegation play-offs, thus ending their 3-year stay in the top flight.[8]

Other changes

In June 2021, Gheorghe Hagi (owner of Viitorul Constanța), chairman Gheorghe Popescu and Farul Constanța owner Ciprian Marica announced in a press conference that their two clubs have merged; second division club Farul Constanța therefore took Viitorul's place in the first league from the 2021–22 Liga I season.[9][10][11]

Venues

More information FCSB, Universitatea Craiova ...
FCSB Universitatea Craiova FC U Craiova 1948 CFR Cluj
Arena Națională Ion Oblemenco Ion Oblemenco Dr. Constantin Rădulescu
Capacity: 55,634 Capacity: 30,929 Capacity: 30,929 Capacity: 23,500
Dinamo București Argeș Pitești Rapid București UTA Arad
Dinamo Nicolae Dobrin Rapid Francisc von Neuman
Capacity: 15,032 Capacity: 15,000 Capacity: 14,050 Capacity: 12,700
Chindia Târgoviște
Location of Bucharest teams.
Mioveni
Municipal[i] Orășenesc
Capacity: 12,000 Capacity: 10,000
Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe Gaz Metan Mediaș
Sepsi Gaz Metan
Capacity: 8,400 Capacity: 7,814
Botoșani Voluntari Farul Constanța Academica Clinceni
Municipal Anghel Iordănescu Viitorul Clinceni
Capacity: 7,782 Capacity: 4,600 Capacity: 4,554 Capacity: 4,500
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  1. Chindia Târgoviște was relocated to Municipal Stadium in Buzău, because Eugen Popescu Stadium in Târgoviște is under renovations.

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Managerial changes

More information Team, Outgoing manager ...
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
FC U Craiova 1948 Romania Eugen Trică Sacked 24 May 2021[12] Pre-season Romania Adrian Mutu 2 June 2021[13]
FCSB Romania Anton Petrea End of contract 31 May 2021 Pre-season Romania Dinu Todoran 1 June 2021[14]
CFR Cluj Romania Edward Iordănescu End of contract 31 May 2021 Pre-season Romania Marius Șumudică 2 June 2021[15]
Farul Constanța Romania Ianis Zicu End of contract 31 May 2021 Pre-season Romania Gheorghe Hagi 21 June 2021[9]
Dinamo București Czech Republic Dušan Uhrin Jr. Resigned 10 July 2021[16] Pre-season Italy Dario Bonetti 14 July 2021[17]
Universitatea Craiova Greece Marinos Ouzounidis Sacked 23 July 2021[18] 4 Romania Laurențiu Reghecampf 26 July 2021[19]
FCSB Romania Dinu Todoran Sacked 17 August 2021 4 Romania Edward Iordănescu 18 August 2021
CFR Cluj Romania Marius Șumudică Sacked 27 August 2021 1 Romania Dan Petrescu 31 August 2021
Gaz Metan Mediaș Romania Mihai Teja Sacked 15 September 2021 15 Romania Ilie Poenaru 17 September 2021
Academica Clinceni Romania Ilie Poenaru Sacked 15 September 2021 16 Romania Ionuț Chirilă 21 September 2021
Dinamo București Italy Dario Bonetti Sacked 14 September 2021 14 Romania Mircea Rednic 29 September 2021
FC U Craiova 1948 Romania Adrian Mutu Sacked 4 October 2021 13 Romania Flavius Stoican 5 October 2021
Sepsi OSK Romania Leontin Grozavu Sacked 7 October 2021 12 Italy Cristiano Bergodi 8 October 2021
FC U Craiova 1948 Romania Flavius Stoican Sacked 3 November 2021 12 Romania Eugen Trică 6 November 2021
FCSB Romania Edward Iordănescu Resigned 13 November 2021 2 Romania Anton Petrea 1 December 2021
Academica Clinceni Romania Ionuț Chirilă Sacked 1 December 2021 16 Romania Adrian Falub 6 December 2021
FC U Craiova 1948 Romania Eugen Trică Sacked 4 December 2021 14 Italy Nicolò Napoli 11 January 2022
Dinamo București Romania Mircea Rednic Sacked 21 December 2021 15 Romania Flavius Stoican 22 December 2021
UTA Arad Romania László Balint Resigned 31 January 2022 10 Romania Ionuț Badea 31 January 2022
Academica Clinceni Romania Adrian Falub Resigned 4 February 2021 16 Romania Florin Stângă 15 February 2021
Gaz Metan Mediaș Romania Ilie Poenaru Resigned 17 February 2022 14 Romania Flavius Boroncoi 18 February 2022
Rapid Bucuresti Romania Mihai Iosif Sacked 2 March 2022 9 Romania Adrian Mutu 3 March 2022
Dinamo Bucuresti Romania Flavius Stoican Resigned 8 March 2022 14 Czech Republic Dušan Uhrin Jr. 8 March 2022
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Regular season

In the regular season the 16 teams will meet twice for a total of 30 matches per team, with the top 6 advancing to the Championship play-offs and the bottom 10 qualifying for the relegation play-outs.[20]

Table

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 CFR Cluj 30 24 4 2 48 16 +32 76 Qualification for the Play-off round
2 FCSB 30 18 8 4 54 28 +26 62
3 Universitatea Craiova 30 16 6 8 55 29 +26 54
4 Argeș Pitești 30 14 6 10 28 22 +6 48
5 Farul Constanța 30 14 6 10 42 21 +21 48
6 Voluntari 30 13 8 9 31 27 +4 47
7 Botoșani 30 11 13 6 33 28 +5 46 Qualification for the Play-out round
8 UTA Arad 30 9 13 8 24 20 +4 40
9 Rapid București 30 9 13 8 34 31 +3 40
10 Sepsi OSK 30 9 12 9 33 29 +4 39
11 Chindia Târgoviște 30 8 11 11 23 23 0 35
12 FC U Craiova 1948 30 8 9 13 31 35 4 33
13 Mioveni 30 6 11 13 19 36 17 29
14 Dinamo București 30 4 5 21 24 66 42 17
15 Academica Clinceni 30 3 5 22 21 64 43 14
16 Gaz Metan Mediaș[a] 30 6 6 18 21 46 25 2
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Source: LPF (in Romanian) Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored; 7) Play-off.[20]
Notes:
  1. Gaz Metan Mediaș were deducted 22 points due to financial reasons.

Results

More information Home \ Away, ACA ...
Home \ Away ACA ARG BOT CHI CFR DIN FAR FCS FCU GAZ MIO RAP SPS UCV UTA VOL
Academica Clinceni 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–2 1–0 2–8 0–3 1–2 2–0 1–1 2–3 0–2 1–3 0–3 0–0
Argeș Pitești 1–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 2–1 2–1 1–0 1–0 1–2 1–0 0–1 1–1 3–2 0–1 0–0
Botoșani 2–0 1–2 0–0 1–0 4–0 0–2 0–0 1–1 2–1 0–0 0–2 1–0 2–2 2–1 1–1
Chindia Târgoviște 2–2 1–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 2–0 0–1 0–3 0–1 0–0 2–2 1–1 0–1 1–0 0–0
CFR Cluj 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 4–1 1–0 4–1 3–2 2–1 1–0 2–1 2–0 1–0 0–0 1–0
Dinamo București 3–1 0–2 1–2 1–0 0–3 0–2 0–3 0–0 4–0 0–1 1–1 1–3 1–6 2–2 3–2
Farul Constanța 5–0 0–1 2–0 0–1 0–2 3–0 0–1 3–2 2–0 2–1 2–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 3–0
FCSB 3–2 2–1 3–1 3–2 3–3 6–0 0–2 2–2 2–1 3–0 3–1 1–1 4–1 2–1 1–0
FC U Craiova 1948 1–2 1–0 3–2 0–0 0–2 1–0 1–1 0–1 2–0 0–0 3–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–2
Gaz Metan Mediaș 1–1 2–2 0–1 0–4 1–2 2–1 1–1 0–1 0–3 1–0 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–1 1–2
Mioveni 3–1 0–0 1–1 0–1 0–1 2–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–2 0–2 0–3 0–0 0–0
Rapid București 1–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 2–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 0–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–2 1–1 0–1
Sepsi OSK 2–0 0–2 1–1 0–0 0–2 4–1 1–0 0–0 2–1 2–0 1–2 2–2 3–1 0–0 1–2
Universitatea Craiova 5–0 1–0 1–2 1–0 1–1 5–0 1–0 2–3 2–0 1–0 5–2 1–0 1–1 0–0 3–0
UTA Arad 2–0 0–1 0–0 0–2 0–1 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 0–1 2–1 2–2 1–0 1–0 2–0
Voluntari 1–0 0–2 0–1 2–1 0–1 2–1 1–0 0–0 2–1 3–1 4–0 0–0 3–1 1–1 2–1
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Source: LPF (in Romanian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Play-off round

The top six teams from Regular season will meet twice (10 matches per team) for places in 2022–23 UEFA Champions League and 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League as well as deciding the league champion. Teams start the Championship round with their points from the Regular season halved, rounded upwards, and no other records carried over from the Regular season.[21]

Play-off table

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification CFR FCS UCV VOL FAR ARG
1 CFR Cluj (C) 10 6 1 3 18 9 +9 57 Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round 0–1 2–1 3–1 1–0 2–0
2 FCSB 10 8 1 1 24 7 +17 56 Qualification to Europa Conference League second qualifying round 3–1 0–2 4–0 2–0 4–0
3 Universitatea Craiova (O) 10 7 0 3 22 9 +13 48 Qualification to European competition play-offs 3–2 0–1 1–0 4–1 3–0
4 Voluntari 10 3 2 5 9 14 5 35 0–1 2–2 3–1 1–0 0–1
5 Farul Constanța 10 2 2 6 5 16 11 32 0–0 0–4 0–3 1–1 1–0
6 Argeș Pitești 10 1 0 9 3 26 23 27 0–6 2–3 0–4 0–1 0–2
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Source: Soccerway, FRF (in Romanian), LPF (in Romanian)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points without rounding; 3) Head-to-head points; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Head-to-head goals scored; 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Play-off (only if needed to decide champion or teams for UEFA competitions). (Note: only criteria 6 and 7 are applied to establish the classification during the competition.)[22]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners

Play-out round

The bottom ten teams from the regular season meet once to contest against relegation. Teams started the play-out round with their points from the Regular season halved, rounded upwards, and no other records carried over from the Regular season. The winner of the Relegation round finish 7th in the overall season standings, the second placed team – 8th, and so on, with the last placed team in the Relegation round being 16th.[21]

Play-out table

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation SPS BOT RAP FCU UTA MIO CHI DIN ACA GAZ
7 Sepsi OSK (Q) 9 7 1 1 21 4 +17 42 Qualification to Europa Conference League second qualifying round[a] 1–0 3–1 2–1 6–0 3–1
8 Botoșani 9 6 0 3 18 9 +9 41 Qualification to European competition play-offs 0–1 2–1 1–0 2–3 5–0
9 Rapid București 9 6 1 2 22 7 +15 39 1–0 3–0 2–3 3–1 8–0
10 FC U Craiova 1948 9 5 2 2 14 11 +3 34 0–5 1–0 1–1 4–0
11 UTA Arad 9 4 1 4 10 6 +4 33 0–2 1–0 1–0 3–0 4–0
12 Mioveni 9 5 1 3 12 10 +2 31 0–2 3–2 1–0 2–0
13 Chindia Târgoviște (O) 9 2 2 5 8 8 0 26 Qualification for the relegation play-offs 1–2 0–0 0–0 0–2 3–0
14 Dinamo București (R) 9 4 2 3 14 11 +3 23 0–0 1–2 1–1 5–1
15 Academica Clinceni[b] (D, R) 9 0 0 9 4 32 28 43 Clubs withdrew from the league 0–4 0–1 0–2 0–3
16 Gaz Metan Mediaș[c] (D, R) 9 1 0 8 6 31 25 46 0–2 1–2 0–1 4–3
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Source: Soccerway, FRF (in Romanian), LPF (in Romanian)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points without rounding; 3) Points in the regular season; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Play-off (only if needed to decide teams for relegation). (Note: only criteria 4 and 5 are applied to establish the classification during the competition.)[23]
(D) Disqualified; (O) Play-off winners; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Sepsi OSK qualified for the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League by winning the 2021–22 Cupa României.
  2. Academica were deducted 44 points due to financial reasons. They later dissolved and restarted under a new name called HD Clinceni 2022.
  3. Gaz Metan Mediaș were deducted 50 points due to financial reasons. They later withdrew and completed under the name of ACS Mediaș 2022.

European play-offs

In the semi-final, the 7th and 8th-placed teams of the Liga I typically play a one-legged match on the ground of the better placed team (7th place). However the 7th place team, Sepsi, has already qualified to the Europa Conference League as Romanian Cup winners, so the semi-final was not played. In the final, the 8th place team will play the team ranked in the last UEFA Europa Conference League spot in the play-off tournament. The winner of the final will enter the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League.

European play-off final

27 May 2022 Universitatea Craiova 2–0BotoșaniCraiova
EEST (UTC+3)
  • Koljić 26'
  • Ivan 90+1'
Stadium: Stadionul Ion Oblemenco
Attendance: 10.000

Promotion/relegation play-offs

The 13th and 14th-placed teams of the Liga I faced the 3rd and 4th-placed teams of the Liga II.

More information Team 1, Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score ...
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Concordia Chiajna 2–2 (1–4 p) Chindia Târgoviște 2–1 0–1
Universitatea Cluj 3–1 Dinamo București 2–0 1–1
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First leg

21 May 2022 Concordia Chiajna 2–1 Chindia Târgoviște Chiajna
15:30 EEST (UTC+3) Voicu 58' (pen.)
Pițian 68' (o.g.)
Florea 50' Stadium: Concordia
Referee: Marcel Bîrsan (Bucharest)
21 May 2022 Universitatea Cluj 2–0 Dinamo București Cluj
20:30 EEST (UTC+3) Remacle 14'
Boiciuc 83'
Stadium: Cluj Arena
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Cătălin Popa (Pitești)

Second leg

29 May 2022 Dinamo București 1–1 Universitatea Cluj Bucharest
21:00 EEST (UTC+3) Morar 19' Tescan 17' Stadium: Stadionul Dinamo
Attendance: 13,770
Referee: Adrian Cojocaru (Galați)

Season statistics

Top scorers

As of 27 May 2022

Hat-tricks

More information Player, For ...
PlayerForAgainstResultDate
Romania Deian Sorescu Dinamo FC Voluntari 3–2 (H) 19 July 2021
Spain Jefte Betancor Farul Constanța Academica Clinceni 5–0 (H) 13 September 2021
Romania Andrei Ivan Universitatea Craiova CS Mioveni 5–2 (H) 30 October 2021
Croatia Gabriel Debeljuh CFR Cluj Dinamo 4–1 (H) 6 March 2022
Romania Florin Tănase FCSB Farul Constanța 0–4 (A) 25 April 2022
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Notes

(H) – Home team
(A) – Away team

Top assists

As of 18 May 2022

Clean sheets

As of 15 March 2022

Gazeta Sporturilor Monthly Football Awards

Player of the Month

More information Year, Month ...
Year Month Player Nationality Pos. Team Ref
2021 August Cristian Săpunaru  Romania DF Rapid București [citation needed]
September Jefté Betancor  Spain FW Farul Constanța [24]
October Andrei Ivan  Romania FW Universitatea Craiova [25]
November Alexandru Cicâldău  Romania MF Turkey Galatasaray [26]
December Gabriel Tamaș  Romania DF FC Voluntari [27]
2022 February Gustavo Vagenin  Brazil FW Universitatea Craiova [28]
March Octavian Popescu  Romania FW FCSB [29]
April Darius Olaru  Romania MF FCSB [30]
May Marius Ștefănescu  Romania FW Sepsi OSK [31]
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Manager of the Month

More information Year, Month ...
Year Month Manager Nationality Team Ref
2021 August Mihai Iosif  Romania Rapid București [citation needed]
September Liviu Ciobotariu  Romania FC Voluntari [24]
October Laurențiu Reghecampf  Romania Universitatea Craiova [25]
November Andrei Prepeliță  Romania FC Argeș [26]
December Dan Petrescu  Romania CFR Cluj [27]
2022 February Nicolò Napoli  Italy FC U Craiova 1948 [28]
March Răzvan Lucescu  Romania Greece PAOK [29]
April Adrian Mutu  Romania Rapid București [30]
May Cristiano Bergodi  Italy Sepsi OSK [31]
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Discipline

Team

Champion squad

More information CFR Cluj ...
CFR Cluj[32][33]

Goalkeepers: Giedrius Arlauskis Lithuania (2 / 0); Cristian Bălgrădean (15 / 0); Otto Hindrich (19 / 0); Karlo Letica Croatia (4 / 0).
Defenders: Rachid Bouhenna Algeria (10 / 1); Rareș Bălan (1 / 0); Andrei Burcă (30 / 2); Mário Camora Portugal (31 / 1); Mike Cestor Democratic Republic of the Congo (12 / 0); Denis Ciobotariu (6 / 0); Kristian Dimitrov Bulgaria (1 / 1); Cristian Manea (25 / 1); Iasmin Latovlevici (5 / 1); Daniel Graovac Bosnia and Herzegovina (29 / 2); Yuri Matias Brazil (14 / 0); Florin Ștefan (8 / 0); Mateo Sušić Bosnia and Herzegovina (20 / 1).
Midfielders: Nana Boateng Ghana (32 / 2); Mihai Bordeianu (31 / 1); Emmanuel Culio Argentina (8 / 1); Lovro Cvek Croatia (3 / 0); Alexandru Chipciu (23 / 3); Valentin Costache (21 / 3); Ciprian Deac (39 / 10); Alin Fică (1 / 0); Guessouma Fofana Mauritania (4 / 0); Adrian Gîdea (8 / 0); Ovidiu Hoban (4 / 0); Cătălin Itu (3 / 0); George Leață (1 / 0); Sergiu Luca (1 / 0); Anas Tahiri Morocco (4 / 1); Jonathan Rodríguez Argentina (5 / 0); Rúnar Sigurjónsson Iceland (12 / 3); Adrian Păun (36 / 1); Claudiu Petrila (31 / 9); Roger Brazil (2 / 0).
Forwards: Denis Alibec (12 / 2); Daniel Birligea (6 / 1); Sergiu Buș (4 / 0); Gabriel Debeljuh Croatia (36 / 14); Marko Dugandžić Croatia (13 / 1); Cristian Neguț (8 / 1); Billel Omrani Algeria (30 / 5); Hadi Sacko Mali (5 / 0).
(league appearances and goals listed in brackets)

Manager: Marius Șumudică / Dan Petrescu.

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Awards

Liga I Team of the Season

Liga I Team of the 2021–22 Season[34] – Liga Profesionistă de Fotbal

References

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