CS Universitatea Craiova

Early years of football in Craiova (1921–1958)

Football in the city of Craiova began in 1921 when the first two teams were founded: Craiovan Craiova and Rovine Grivița Craiova. In 1940, the two sides merged in what resulted to be one of the most successful Romanian clubs of the Interwar period, FC Craiova, who were the first team of the city that won the Romanian football championship. However, the 1942–43 title is not recognized officially by FRF and LPF. Following the birth of university education in Craiova, a group of teachers and students founded CSU (Club Sportiv Universitar) Craiova in 1948, a sports club with athletics, volleyball, handball, table tennis, chess sections, and under the coordination of the Ministry of Public Education and the Uniunea Națională a Studenților din România (lit. National Union of Students in Romania), the football section was initially formed under the name UNSR Craiova and enrolled in the county championship. The first official match was held at Filiași, aganinst CFR Filiași, on 5 September 1948, with the Students being defeated 3–6. The team, led by head coach Nicolae Polojinski, wore white-and-blue shirts and was composed of Dumitrescu – Rădulescu, Mihăilă I, Carli – Ozon, Mihăilă II – Sabin, Ilie, Bădescu, Tudor, and Serghi. In 1950, the football section changed its name from UNSR Craiova to CSU Craiova, the same name as its parent club. The early squads coached by Nicolae Polojinski included, among others, Vulpe, I. Popescu,…

Note: As of November 2017, LPF attributes all Universitatea Craiova trophies won between 1948 and 1991 to this entity. The ownership of these honours is disputed with FC U Craiova 1948, which acted as the continuation of Universitatea Craiova after the sports club dissolved its football section in 1991. Another court order from 2018 suggested that neither of the current clubs actually hold the original honours. On 10 July 2023, the Timișoara Court of Appeal established that the historical record achieved until the end of 1990–91 season belongs to CS U Craiova.

Domestic

Divizia A / Liga I Winners (5): 1973–74, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1990–91, 2025–26 Runners-up (4): 1972–73, 1981–82, 1982–83, 2019–20 Divizia B / Liga II Winners (2): 1963–64, 2013–14 Runners-up (1): 1960–61 Divizia C / Liga III Winners (1): 1957–58 Cupa României Winners (8): 1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1990–91, 2017–18, 2020–21, 2025–26 Runners-up (2): 1974–75, 1984–85 Supercupa României Winners (2): 2021, 2026 Runners-up (1): 2018

Europe

UEFA Cup / Europa League Semi-finalist: 1982–83 European Cup / Champions League Quarter-finalist: 1981–82