CSM Cetatea Suceava

First years of football (1932–1949)

Cetatea Suceava was originally established in 1932 under the name Cetatea Sucevei, a name inspired by the Medieval Seat Fortress of Suceava. The first team from Suceava included players such as Lazăr Andrian, Fleghel, Ioanițchi, Cosmovici, N. Scobeniuc, Marcean, A. Scobeniuc, Hariga, Semenov, Cozma, Buliga, Curcă, Schwartz, Curcă, Borosan, Salpeter, and Radu Dan.^[3]

Cetatea Sucevei initially competed in the Eastern League Championship, a regional competition. Later, the team participated in the Eastern League of Divizia C, the newly formed third division of Romanian football. Initially, Divizia C's Eastern League was organised as a single group, but it was later expanded into two groups. During its first season in Divizia C, Cetatea Sucevei finished seventh and last in the Eastern League. In the 1937–38 season, the team finished second in Group II of the Eastern League, while also reaching the Round of 32 in the 1938–39 Cupa României.^[4][5]

In 1946, following World War II and the rise of the communist regime, Romanian football underwent drastic changes as the new Soviet model was implemented. This model required all sports associations to align themselves with trade unions or governmental institutions. As a result, Cetatea Sucevei was absorbed into CFR Ițcani, a team from a village that later became a neighbourhood of Suceava.^[6][7]

In the 1947–48 season, Suceava was represented in Divizia B by a team named Dinamo, which finished 16th in Series II and was relegated to Divizia C. There, it competed in the first half of the 1948–49 season, finishing 11th in Series III, before the competition was dissolved in February 1949 and the team returned to the regional championship.^[8][9]

From Spartac to CSM (1950–1997)

In 1950, another team was founded near the Prodaliment abattoir in the village of Burdujeni (now a neighbourhood of Suceava), under the name Spartac Burdujeni.^[10][11] In the 1953 season, Spartac Burdujeni won the Suceava Regional Championship and qualified for the promotion play-off for Divizia B. However, it finished fifth in Series I, held in Ploiești. Despite this, the second division was expanded the following season, and alongside the four group winners, an additional eight teams, including Spartac, were promoted.

In the 1954 Divizia B season, Spartac finished seventh in Series III and ranked fifth in the following season under the guidance of Gheorghe Hedeș. In the 1956 season, the team was renamed Flamura Roșie Burdujeni, finished 12th, level on points with Locomotiva Iași, and narrowly avoided relegation on goal difference.^[12]

In 1957, Flamura Roșie Burdujeni was officially relocated to Suceava and renamed Progresul Suceava. This moment was considered a rebirth of football in Suceava after more than a decade of inconsistency, during which the villages of Ițcani and Burdujeni had been better represented. Progresul played in Series II of Divizia B for the next two seasons, finishing 11th in 1957–58, before another rebranding followed on 12 April 1959, when the club became Victoria Suceava. The team finished 12th in the 1958–59 season.^[12]

For the next decade, the club experienced a lack of stability, reflected in its frequent name changes and fluctuating results. In 1959–60, under the name Dinamo Suceava, the team played in Series I of Divizia B, finishing fourth, followed by a sixth-place finish in the 1960–61 season. In 1961–62, the club dropped to 13th place and was relegated to the regional championship. Dinamo Suceava quickly returned to the national competitions after winning the Suceava Regional Championship in 1962–63, earning promotion to the newly re-established Divizia C, where it finished third in the East Series in 1963–64.^[13][12][14]

Renamed Viitorul Suceava in 1964, the team finished ninth in the 1964–65 season, before becoming Chimia Suceava following a takeover by the Combinatul de Celuloză și Hârtie (lit. 'Cellulose and Paper Mill Complex'). In 1965–66, Chimia won its Divizia C series and secured promotion to Divizia B under the guidance of Radu Gologan and Vasile Frânculescu, with a squad that included Sidac, Petcu, Moraru, Vicovan, Gumő, Cotipolis, Arhire, Roșu, Marosi, Borcău, Găinaru, Tudor, Nicolau, Asiminoaiei, Luca, and Belizna.^[14][15]

CSM Suceava was founded on 19 July 1972,^[16] incorporating football, track and field, rugby, and volleyball sections. Over the years, more sections were added and made available to its members, including archery, baseball, boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling, handball, ice hockey, rowing, speed skating, and swimming. The current structure includes archery, boxing, ice hockey, rugby, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling.^[17]

As one of the founding sections, the football team rose through the ranks of the Romanian league system before eventually gaining promotion to Divizia A at the end of the 1986–87 season.^[18][19] However, the competition proved too strong, and the team was relegated back to Divizia B, a league in which it played for the remainder of its existence.^[20] Before the 1993–94 season, the club was renamed Bucovina Suceava, after the historical region of Bukovina.^[21]

In the summer of 1997, Foresta Fălticeni was moved from Fălticeni to Suceava and renamed Foresta Suceava, thus bringing the CSM era to an end.^[22]

Foresta Fălticeni, a side story (1997–2003)

Foresta Fălticeni was founded in 1954 in Fălticeni, under the name Avântul Fălticeni. Foresta was the first team representing Divizia C to play in a Romanian Cup final, losing 0–6 to Steaua București at the end of the 1966–67 season. In 1997, the club was moved to Suceava after earning promotion to Divizia A for the first time in its history. The main reason for the move was the inadequate condition of Foresta's stadium in Fălticeni, which was small and had a cracked stand. Another reason for the move was that the city's main team, CSM Suceava, had failed to achieve any notable results during the previous decade.

Revival of Cetatea (2004–2010)

Cetatea Suceava was refounded in the summer of 2004, when it absorbed Șoimii Suceava, as the phoenix club of Cetatea Sucevei, with the aim of continuing the city's football tradition following Foresta's dissolution. The club achieved its first major success in its inaugural season, finishing first in Divizia C and earning promotion to Divizia B. At the end of the 2005–06 season, Cetatea finished fifth, only to be relegated the following season after finishing 15th, just two points behind FCM Câmpina, the last team to avoid relegation. In the following 2007–08 Liga III season, Cetatea finished first with 76 points from 34 matches and was promoted back to the second division. The 2008–09 Liga II season proved difficult, with Cetatea avoiding relegation only because the bottom four teams withdrew from the championship.

Cetatea Suceava was excluded from the championship during the winter break of the 2009–10 season because of debts amounting to approximately 1 million €, including unpaid wages to players and coaches, unpaid taxes to the state, and debts to other private partners. All of the club's remaining matches were recorded as 3–0 defeats.^[23][24] In July 2010, the club re-entered competitions organised by the FRF and competed in the 2010–11 Cupa României.^[25] The club also sought to enter the 2010–11 Liga III season and become eligible for promotion to Liga II.^[26] On 2 August 2010, the club was registered with the FRF to compete in the 2010–11 Liga III season, but it was subsequently dissolved.^[27] It withdrew from the championship just a few days before the season began.

Rapid CFR and the nostalgia of Foresta (2010–2024)

After the dissolution of Cetatea Suceava in 2010, local football gradually reorganised around Rapid CFR Suceava, which became the main club representing the city in national competitions and achieved promotion to the second division at the end of the 2011–12 season. In the summer of 2016, the club changed its name from Rapid CFR Suceava to Foresta Suceava, a name associated with some of the most important achievements in Suceava football, obtained by Foresta Fălticeni, although there was no direct connection between the two clubs.^[28] The new Foresta competed in Liga II and Liga III until 2024, when it was dissolved due to financial and political problems.^[29]

No more Foresta, Cetatea is back (2024–present)

After the dissolution of the second Foresta Suceava, a group of former players, together with the local authorities and several local business figures, re-established Cetatea Suceava. With the support of the local authorities, the new Cetatea was integrated into the activities of CSM (Municipal Sports Club), a multi-sports club that had also owned the former CSM Suceava football team, effectively bringing the two historical teams together under the name CSM Cetatea Suceava.^[30][31] The team uses the traditional white and blue colours and plays its home matches at the city's historic Areni Stadium.^[32]

Cetatea won promotion to Liga III at the first attempt under Ionuț Plămadă, winning the 2024–25 season of Liga IV – Suceava County and the promotion play-off against AS Bârsănești, the Bacău County winner (6–0 at home and 2–1 away). The squad comprised, among others, Cuciureanu, Grosu, Sumanariu, Vițu, David, Nițu, Cerlincă, Chelari, M. Ilie, Ciobanu, Filip, Codău, Buceac, Rotundu, Netbai and Smoco.^[33][34][1]

After promotion, Dorin Goian was appointed head coach for the 2025–26 campaign,^[35][36] and the squad was significantly strengthened ahead of the new season through several notable signings, including Tucaliuc, Gorovei, Balgiu, Perju, and Zaharia.^[37] Goian resigned after a heavy 0–3 defeat at Bacău in the fifteenth round and was replaced by Petre Grigoraș,^[38] who further reinforced the team during the winter break with the arrivals of Ciobanu, Dănăilă, Frunză, Vlad, G. Răducan, and Ferhaoui.^[39] Under Grigoraș, Cetatea finished second in Series I of the regular season, behind local rivals Șoimii Gura Humorului, before overtaking them during a closely contested play-off round, winning the series and securing promotion to Liga II. The squad also included Bai, Chelari, Petraru, Sumanariu, M. Ilie, Drăghiceanu, Cerlincă, and Codreanu.^[2]

First team squad

As of 26 January 2025

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ROU Alexandru Micu 2 DF  ROU Juan Pătrașcu (on loan from Petrolul) 3 DF  ROU Ciprian Perju 6 DF  ROU Codrin Nica (on loan from Ceahlăul) 7 MF  ROU Andrei Cerlincă (captain) 8 MF  ROU Ruslan Chelari 9 FW  ROU Alexandru Zaharia 10 MF  ROU Ilie Marian (3rd captain) 11 MF  ROU Radu Ungurianu 12 GK  ROU David Feșteu (on loan from Poli Iași) 13 GK  ROU Alin Ciobanu 14 MF  ROU Mario Bai 17 MF  ROU Andrei Buceac

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 MF  ROU Cosmin Tucaliuc 21 DF  ROU Cătălin Grosu (vice-captain) 23 MF  ROU Ștefan Petraru 24 DF  ROU Eduard Ciobanu 25 FW  ROU Răzvan Gorovei 26 DF  ROU Ruben Sumanariu 29 FW  ROU Alexandru Savin 30 DF  ROU Andrei Nițu 47 MF  ROU Alexandru Anton 73 MF  ROU Cristian Balgiu 77 MF  ROU Iosif Netbai 98 MF  ROU Marius Codreanu

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Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.