2008–09 Liga I
91st season of top-tier football league in Romania
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The 2008–09 Liga I was the ninety-first season of Liga I, the top-level football league of Romania. Season began on 26 July 2008 and ended on 10 June 2009. CFR Cluj were the defending champions.
Season2008–09
ChampionsUnirea Urziceni
| Season | 2008–09 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Unirea Urziceni |
| Relegated | Argeș Pitești Farul Constanța Otopeni Gloria Buzău |
| Champions League | Unirea Urziceni Timișoara |
| Europa League | Dinamo București CFR Cluj Vaslui Steaua București |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 707 (2.31 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Gheorghe Bucur, Florin Costea (17) |
| Biggest home win | Otopeni 6–0 Farul |
| Biggest away win | Pandurii 1–5 Unirea Buzău 1–5 Unirea Otopeni 0–4 CFR |
| Highest scoring | Argeș 5–2 Dinamo Vaslui 4–3 Timișoara Gaz Metan 2–5 Universitatea |
| Longest winning run | Timișoara (7) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Urziceni (13) |
| Longest winless run | Buzău (19) |
| Longest losing run | Otopeni, Buzău (7) |
| Highest attendance | Timișoara–Steaua (30,000)[1] |
| Lowest attendance | Otopeni–Bistrița (100)[2] |
← 2007–08 2009–10 → | |
Teams
Promoted
Teams promoted from Liga II at the beginning of the season.
- Serie 1 Champions: Brașov
- Serie 2 Champions: Argeș Pitești
- Serie 1 Runners-up: Otopeni
- Serie 2 Runners-up: Gaz Metan Mediaș
Relegated
Teams relegated to Liga II at the end of season.
Venues
| FC Timișoara | Steaua București | FC U Craiova | CFR Cluj |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Păltinișanu | Steaua | Ion Oblemenco | Dr. Constantin Rădulescu |
| Capacity: 32,972 | Capacity: 28,365 | Capacity: 25,252 | Capacity: 23,500 |
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| Gloria Buzău | Farul Constanța | Dinamo București | Argeș Pitești |
| Municipal | Farul | Dinamo | Nicolae Dobrin |
| Capacity: 18,000 | Capacity: 15,520 | Capacity: 15,032 | Capacity: 15,000 |
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| Oțelul Galați |
|
Rapid București | |
| Oțelul | Giulești-Valentin Stănescu | ||
| Capacity: 13,500 | Capacity: 11,704[i] | ||
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| Politehnica Iași | FC Vaslui | ||
| Emil Alexandrescu | Municipal | ||
| Capacity: 11,390 | Capacity: 9,240 | ||
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| Pandurii Târgu Jiu | FC Brașov | ||
| Tudor Vladimirescu | Silviu Ploeșteanu | ||
| Capacity: 9,200 | Capacity: 8,800 | ||
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| Gloria Bistrița | CS Otopeni[ii] | Unirea Urziceni | Gaz Metan Mediaș |
| Gloria | Astra | Tineretului | Gaz Metan |
| Capacity: 7,800 | Capacity: 7,000 | Capacity: 7,000 | Capacity: 5,300 |
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Personnel and kits
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dinamo București |  Cornel Țălnar[3] |
Contract not renewed | 17 April 2008 | Mircea Rednic[3] |
17 April 2008 |
| Rapid București | Marian Rada |
Contract not renewed | 3 June 2008 |  José Peseiro[4] |
3 June 2008 |
| Vaslui | Emil Săndoi[5] |
Contract not renewed | 10 June 2008 | Viorel Hizo[5] |
10 June 2008 |
| Otopeni | Liviu Ciobotariu[6] |
Contract not renewed | 18 June 2008 |  Miodrag Ješić[7] |
21 June 2008 |
| Gloria Buzău | Ștefan Stoica[8] |
Sacked | 11 August 2008 | Álvaro Magalhães[9] |
12 August 2008 |
| Otopeni | Miodrag Ješić[10] |
Caretaker | 18 August 2008 | Gabriel Mărgărit[11] |
18 August 2008 |
| CFR Cluj | Ioan Andone[12] |
Sacked | 30 August 2008 |  Maurizio Trombetta[13] |
1 September 2008 |
| Otopeni | Gabriel Mărgărit[14] |
Sacked | 8 September 2008 | Marian Bucurescu[14] |
8 September 2008 |
| Pandurii Târgu Jiu | Eugen Neagoe[15] |
Sacked | 21 September 2008 | Sorin Cârțu[16] |
21 September 2008 |
| Rapid București | José Peseiro[17] |
Sacked | 2 October 2008 | Nicolae Manea[18] |
3 October 2008 |
| Gloria Buzău | Álvaro Magalhães[19] |
Sacked | 3 October 2008 | Mario Marinică[20] |
9 October 2008 |
| Rapid București | Nicolae Manea[21] |
Caretaker | 9 October 2008 | José Peseiro[21] |
9 October 2008 |
| Steaua București | Marius Lăcătuș[22] |
Resigned | 22 October 2008 | Dorinel Munteanu[23] |
26 October 2008 |
| Vaslui | Viorel Hizo[24] |
Sacked | 1 November 2008 | Viorel Moldovan[25] |
1 November 2008 |
| Otopeni | Marian Bucurescu[26] |
Resigned | 24 November 2008 | Liviu Ciobotariu[26] |
24 November 2008 |
| Timișoara |  Dušan Uhrin, Jr.[27] |
Sacked | 2 December 2008 | Gavril Balint[28] |
29 December 2008 |
| Gloria Buzău | Mario Marinică[29] |
Sacked | 17 December 2008 | Constantin Cârstea[30] |
28 January 2009 |
| Steaua București | Dorinel Munteanu[31] |
Sacked | 31 December 2008 | Marius Lăcătuș[31] |
1 January 2009 |
| CFR Cluj | Maurizio Trombetta[32] |
Sacked | 6 January 2009 | Ales Jindra and Dušan Uhrin, Jr.[33] |
8 January 2009 |
| Politehnica Iași | Ionuț Popa[34] |
Resigned | 11 January 2009 | Cristiano Bergodi[35] |
18 January 2009 |
| Rapid București | José Peseiro[citation needed] |
Sacked | 12 January 2009 | Marian Rada[36] |
14 January 2009 |
| CFR Cluj | Ales Jindra and Dušan Uhrin, Jr.[37] |
Sacked | 5 April 2009 | Toni[38] |
6 April 2009 |
| Farul Constanța | Ion Marin[39] |
Resigned | 13 April 2009 | Lucian Marinof[40] |
13 April 2009 |
| Rapid București | Marian Rada[41] |
Resigned | 17 April 2009 | Viorel Hizo[42] |
3 May 2009 |
| Universitatea Craiova | Nicolo Napoli[43] |
Sacked | 15 May 2009 | Ionel Gane[44] |
15 May 2009 |
| Steaua București | Marius Lăcătuș[45] |
Resigned | 17 May 2009 | Massimo Pedrazzini[46] |
18 May 2009 |
| Vaslui | Viorel Moldovan[47] |
Resigned | 26 May 2009 | Cristian Dulca[48] |
26 May 2009 |
| Timișoara | Gavril Balint[49] |
Sacked | 31 May 2009 | Valentin Velcea[50] |
1 June 2009 |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unirea Urziceni (C) | 34 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 51 | 20 | +31 | 70 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 2 | FC Timișoara | 34 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 58 | 38 | +20 | 67[a] | Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Dinamo București | 34 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 56 | 30 | +26 | 65 | Qualification to Europa League play-off round[b] |
| 4 | CFR Cluj | 34 | 16 | 11 | 7 | 44 | 26 | +18 | 59 | |
| 5 | Vaslui | 34 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 44 | 37 | +7 | 57 | Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round |
| 6 | Steaua București | 34 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 44 | 27 | +17 | 56[c] | Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round |
| 7 | Universitatea Craiova | 34 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 44 | 25 | +19 | 56[c] | |
| 8 | Rapid București | 34 | 16 | 7 | 11 | 44 | 34 | +10 | 55[d] | |
| 9 | Brașov | 34 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 35 | 25 | +10 | 55[d] | |
| 10 | Argeș Pitești (R) | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 41 | 47 | −6 | 44 | Relegation to Liga II[e] |
| 11 | Pandurii Târgu Jiu | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 27 | 36 | −9 | 43 | |
| 12 | Oțelul Galați | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 37 | 48 | −11 | 40 | |
| 13 | Gloria Bistrița | 34 | 11 | 5 | 18 | 32 | 44 | −12 | 38 | |
| 14 | Politehnica Iași | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 32 | 47 | −15 | 37 | |
| 15 | Gaz Metan Mediaș | 34 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 36 | 51 | −15 | 36 | Spared from relegation[e] |
| 16 | Farul Constanța (R) | 34 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 27 | 56 | −29 | 30 | Relegation to Liga II |
| 17 | Otopeni (R) | 34 | 5 | 7 | 22 | 32 | 54 | −22 | 22 | |
| 18 | Gloria Buzău (R) | 34 | 4 | 5 | 25 | 23 | 62 | −39 | 17 |
Source: LPF (in Romanian)
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) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
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) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- CFR Cluj as the 2008–09 Cupa României winners qualified for the play-off round of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League.
- STE 2–1 CRA; CRA 0–0 STE
- RAP 3–1 BRA; BRA 0–0 RAP
Positions by round
Results
Top goalscorers
Source: Liga1.ro (in Romanian)
Champion squad
| Unirea Urziceni[56] |
|---|
|
Goalkeepers: Giedrius Arlauskis Manager: Dan Petrescu. |
Season statistics
Scoring
- First goal of the season: Andrei Prepeliță for Craiova against Iași, 64 minutes (Round 1 – 26 July 2008)[57]
- Last goal of the season: Claudiu Niculescu for Dinamo against Argeș, 90+3 minutes (Round 34 – 10 June 2009)[58]
- Fastest goal in a match: Andrei Cristea for Iași against Pandurii, 10 seconds (Round 30 – 9 May 2009)[59]
- Fastest two goals in a match: Pandurii 1–1 Bistrița, minutes 2 and 4 seconds (Round 14 – 8 November 2008)[60]
- Goal scored at the latest point in a match: Cristian Oroș for Brașov against Unirea, 90+4 minutes (Round 1 – 26 July 2008)[61]
- First own goal of the season: Zhivko Zhelev (Oțelul) for Gaz Metan, 31 minutes (Round 1 – 27 July 2008)[62]
- Two own goals by the same team in a match: Diogo and Alexandru Tudose (both Buzău) for CFR, minutes 14 and 79 (Round 2 – 3 August 2008)[63]
- Two goals in one minute and one second: Farul 1–1 Brașov, between 5:53 and 6:54 (Round 13 – 1 November 2008)[64]
- Three goals in three minutes: Farul 1–4 Steaua, minutes 89, 90 and 90+2 (Round 7 – 13 September 2008)[65]
- Six goals in 30 minutes: Gaz Metan 5–1 Timișoara, minutes 60 through 90 (Round 3 – 9 August 2008)[66]
- Most goals in one half: Gaz Metan 0–0 at half time, 5–1 final Timișoara (Round 3 – 9 August 2008)[66]
- Widest winning margin: Otopeni 6–0 Farul (Round 34 – 10 June 2009)[67]
- Hattricks scored: 4
- Alexandru Curtean for Gaz Metan against Timișoara, minutes 65, 75 and 81 (Round 3 – 9 August 2008)[66]
- Marius Niculae for Dinamo against Vaslui, minutes 24, 78 and 90 (Round 24 – 11 April 2009)[68]
- Marius Niculae for Dinamo against Bistrița, minutes 20, 56 and 72 (Round 26 – 21 April 2009)[69]
- Victoraș Iacob for Otopeni against Farul, minutes 4, 34 and 50 (Round 34 – 10 June 2009)[67]
Cards
- First yellow card: Attila Hadnagy for Brașov against Unirea, 19 minutes (Round 1 – 26 July 2008)[70]
- First red card: Rafael Pereira for Gaz Metan against Dinamo, 22 minutes (Round 2 – 3 August 2008)[71]
- Most red cards in a single match: 3
- Dinamo 1–0 Craiova – 2 for Dinamo (Júlio César, Adrian Ropotan) and 1 for Craiova (Josh Mitchell) (Round 6 – 30 August 2008)[72]
- Argeș 1–1 Craiova – 2 for Craiova (Mircea Bornescu, Michael Baird) and 1 for Argeș (Daniel Bălașa) (Round 10 – 3 October 2008)[73]
- Match without any cards: Unirea 1–1 Steaua (Round 34 – 10 June 2009)[74]
Attendances
| # | Club | Average |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Timișoara | 13,956 |
| 2 | Steaua | 11,485 |
| 3 | Craiova | 10,706 |
| 4 | CFR Cluj | 9,121 |
| 5 | Dinamo 1948 | 6,412 |
| 6 | Iași | 6,176 |
| 7 | FC Rapid | 5,706 |
| 8 | Vaslui | 5,324 |
| 9 | Brașov | 5,171 |
| 10 | Buzău | 5,088 |
| 11 | Pandurii | 5,059 |
| 12 | Oțelul | 5,029 |
| 13 | Unirea | 4,335 |
| 14 | Gaz Metan | 4,135 |
| 15 | Argeș | 3,771 |
| 16 | Bistriţa | 3,447 |
| 17 | Farul | 2,076 |
| 18 | Otopeni | 1,788 |
Source:[75]