CSM Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț

History

Early years (1919–1961)

Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț was founded on 20 October 1919 in the amphitheatre of Petru Rareș High School in Piatra Neamț, named after the nearby Ceahlău Massif, and the adopted colours were black, inspired by the beret worn by the students, and yellow. The squad, initially formed of high-school players, was strengthened by soldiers from the 15th Infantry Regiment who had returned from World War I. The team competed in the Moldova Regional Championship, which it won in 1926. In 1927, most of the club's players left to attend university and Ceahlăul entered a period of decline. The club played in Divizia C during the 1937–38 season, but withdrew from the league due to financial problems.

Ceahlăul was revived in 1947 with a squad that included Vulovici, Bălănescu, Ciciuc (Popovici), Actis, Manoliu, Dăscălescu, Vasiliu, Georgescu, Mata, Butnaru and Chiper. Beginning in 1949, the club went through a period of instability marked by frequent changes to its name, structure and squad. The team was renamed Progresul Piatra Neamț, before becoming Avântul Piatra Neamț in 1951.

In 1956, Avântul merged with the other two clubs from the city, Hârtia and Celuloza, forming Recolta Piatra Neamț. Recolta played one season in the newly re-established Divizia C, finishing 11th and relegating to the regional championship. At the end of the season, Recolta split into two clubs, Avântul and Rapid, but after a poor campaign the sides merged again in 1958 under the name Club Sportiv Piatra Neamț.

CS Piatra Neamț competed in the 1958–59 Divizia C season, finishing 3rd in Series I and qualifying for the promotion play-off, where it finished last in the group played in Arad behind Dinamo Miliție București and Metalul Târgoviște, before returning to the Bacău Regional Championship after Divizia C was dissolved.

In 1960, the club reverted to the name Ceahlăul and, coached by Tiberiu Căpățînă, won the 1960–61 Bacău Regional Championship, securing promotion to Divizia B for the first time in the club's history after finishing 2nd in Series I of the promotion play-off held in Râmnicu Vâlcea. The squad included Apopei, Albu, Bonciu, Bucșe, Croitoru, Ghegheșan, Hrencic, Kalman, Lemnrău, Macri, Meder, Mihalache, Popa, Simion and Neculai.

Three decades in the second league (1961–1993)

Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț played three consecutive seasons in Divizia B, finishing 8th in 1961–62, 10th in 1962–63 with Ștefan Wetzer on the bench and 13th in 1963–64 under Ștefan Coidum. Relegated to Divizia C, Ceahlăul was promoted back after one season; the club finished first, four points ahead of second-place Textila Buhuși.

The following years, the Team Below Pietricica Mountain competed in Series I of Divizia B, finishing 7th in 1965–66, 9th in 1966–67, and 5th in both the 1967–68 and 1968–69 seasons under coach Petre Steinbach. After Steinbach's departure, the team finished 12th in 1969–70, with Mircea Crețu coaching during the first half of the season and Virgil Rizea during the second, followed by 8th in 1970–71, 10th in 1971–72, 13th in 1972–73 and 6th in 1973–74. Coached by Alexandru Constantinescu, Ceahlăul finished 4th in 1974–75, one point behind 3rd-place Gloria Buzău and four points behind 2nd-place Progresul Brăila. The team subsequently finished 13th in 1975–76, 10th in 1976–77 and 12th in 1977–78.

In 1978, Ceahlăul merged with Relonul Săvinești, the team of the synthetic yarn and fibre plant Relon, located on the Săvinești industrial platform near Piatra Neamț, and was renamed Relon Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț. However, the team finished 15th at the end of the 1978–79 season and was relegated on goal difference after being tied on points with four other teams, in a tightly contested league table in which only six points separated 4th-place Constanța from 17th-place Victoria Tecuci, which brought an end to Ceahlăul's fourteen-year spell in the second tier.

The club changed its name back to Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț during the summer of 1979. Ceahlăul finished first, seven points ahead of second-place Foresta Fălticeni, and was promoted back to the second league after one season in Divizia C.

Coached by Dumitru Dumitriu, the team finished 9th in 1980–81, 10th in 1981–82 and 7th in 1982–83. Dumitriu was replaced by Vasile Copil in 1983, and the team finished 4th (a club record at the time) in 1983–84. Ceahlăul finished 11th in 1984–85 and 1985–86, 8th in 1986–87, 9th in 1987–88 and 11th in 1988–89. The team finished 14th in 1989–90 during the Romanian Revolution, just avoiding relegation.

Golden age (1993–2004)

At the start of the 1993–94 Divizia A season, Ceahlăul was a well-known second-league team but largely unknown to most of Romania's first-division teams. With former player Mircea Nedelcu as the new coach, the team finished halfway down the table in 10th place. It finished fifth at the end of the 1994–95 season and qualified for a European Cup.

The club played in the 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup, winning a group consisting of FC Groningen, Beveren, Boby Brno and Etar Veliko Tarnovo (2–0 against Etar, 2–0 against Beveren, 2–0 against Brno and 0–0 against Groningen). In the round of 16, the nemțenii lost to FC Metz of France 0–2, with goals scored by Jocelyn Blanchard and Franck Meyrignac. The club did less well during the regular season, finishing 15th (six points from the relegation zone).

Under coach Florin Marin, the yellow-and-blacks revived in the 1996–97 season to finish sixth. Florin Marin, Mircea Nedelcu, Nicolae Manea and Viorel Hizo coached the team to two consecutive ninth-place finishes in 1997–98 and 1998–99. Ceahlăul prepared for the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup, eliminating two teams: Ekranas (2–0 on aggregate) and Jedinstvo Bihać (5–2 on aggregate). In the third round, Ceahlăul played two home-and-away matches against Juventus. The team drew 1–1 at Piatra Neamț, with goals by Scânteie in the 28th minute and Alessio Tacchinardi in the 58th. In Italy, at Dino Manuzzi Stadium in Cesena, they played a scoreless draw and were eliminated. Ceahlăul finished fourth in Divizia A for the best performance in club history. Coached by Viorel Hizo, its players were Eugen Anghel, Costel Câmpeanu, Radu Lefter – Angelo Alistar, Cristinel Atomulesei, Adrian Baldovin, Dumitru Botez, Codruț Domșa, Costel Enache, Leontin Grozavu, Constantin Ilie, Mihai Dan Ionescu, Ovidiu Marc, Mihai Nemțanu, Gheorghe Pantazi, Dănuț Perjă, Daniel Scînteie, Adrian Solomon, Tiberiu Șerban, Tudorel Șoimaru and Lavi Hrib.

In 2000, Ceahlăul again played in the UEFA Intertoto Cup. After a 9–4 aggregate score against Estonia's Narva Trans in the first round, the team defeated Spain's Mallorca 4–3. In the third round, the nemțenii drew 2–2 in Piatra Neamț against Austria Wien before losing 0–3 at Franz Horr Stadium in Wien with goals scored by Wagner, Leitner and Dospel.

During the early 2000s, coaching changes (11 in four years, including from Mircea Nedelcu to Florin Halagian and from Florin Marin to Marin Barbu, Viorel Hizo and Marius Lăcătuș) led to poor results: 11th place in 2000–01, eighth in 2001–02, and 14th in 2003–04. Ceahlăul was relegated in 2004 after 11 years and 10 seasons in the first league, with Hizo coaching the first half and Lăcătuș the second half. The team finished fifth in 2002–03 and again played in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, eliminated in the first round by Tampere United of Finland.

ABBA period (2004–2016)

During this time, Ceahlăul was known as an "ABBA team" (a nickname used in Romania for clubs that used to alternate the presences between the first and the second league). After relegation, Florin Marin was hired as the new coach. Although the squad kept most of its players, Ceahlăul finished in fifth place – 18 points from the promotion place (occupied by FC Vaslui) and 22 from the first relegation place, occupied by FC Ghimbav. Marin Barbu replaced Marin the following season; the team was promoted, seven points ahead of second-place Forex Brașov and eight points ahead of FC Brașov.

The club changed its logo, replacing the black goat against the Ceahlău Massif background with a Carpathian bear; orange became the primary color, and the team was nicknamed "Urșii carpatini" ("The Carpathian Bears").

With many managerial changes and uninspired play, Ceahlăul finished the 2006–07 Liga I season in 15th place and was relegated. During the summer of 2007, however, Delta Tulcea (second place in Liga II) could not obtain a license for the upcoming Liga I season and Ceahlăul was accepted in its place. Coached by Hizo, the club was relegated after again finishing in 15th place.

With Marin again at the helm of a new generation which included players such as Andrei Vițelaru, Alexandru Forminte, Alexandru Ichim, Daniel Barna, Andrei Țepeș, Vlad Achim, Eugeniu Cebotaru, Vlad Achim, Ionuț Bădescu or Cristinel Gafița, Ceahlăul was promoted back to Liga I with 69 points (22 victories, three draws, five losses, 52 goals scored and 17 allowed. Second-place CSM Ploiești, two points behind, was also promoted.

The Carpathian Bears were relegated for the third time in six years, finishing 17th out of 18 with 28 points in 34 matches. The club began the season with Florin Marin, continued with Gheorghe Mulțescu, and ended with ex-Benfica player Zoran Filipović.

Ceahlăul was again promoted at the end of the 2010–11 Liga II season, this time with Marin Barbu as coach. The squad included Andrei Dumitraș, Andrei Marc and Sebastian Chitoșcă. Due to its good financial situation, excellent training conditions, a combination of youth and experience and talented coaches such as Costel Enache, Vasile Miriuță and Constantin Ilie, Ceahlăul remained in the first league for four years and finished 11th in 2011–12, 14th in 2012–13, ninth in 2013–14 and 18th in 2014–15.

New beginning (2016 – present)

On 22 July 2016, the media reported that the club would be re-founded as CSM Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț. Its founders were Mihai Bătrânu and Cătălin Roca, owners of former team sponsors Moldocor and Ro Com Central Companies. The RIFIL Company, another sponsor represented by Luigi Bodo and Ioan Strătilă, has indicated support for the new team. On 17 August of that year, the new club was legally registered.

Its logo was also changed, the black goat and Ceahlău Massif returning to the foreground in a restyled form, and the club colors returned to the original yellow and black. The team was enrolled in Liga V Neamț, the second at county level and fifth in the Romanian football league system, and Toader Șteț was appointed as head coach. The squad was composed mainly of players developed at the Ceahlăul Football Academy, and after one season the team, which comprised, among others, Chelaru, Chiruță, Rusu, Smău, Albu, C. Rotaru, Pintilie, Copoț-Barb, Vasile, Apostol, Ungureanu, Lupei, Butunoi, Zaharia, Mateiciuc and Șimon, was promoted to Liga IV Neamț following a 1st-place finish in Series II, 13 points ahead of 2nd-place Olimpia Grințieș, with 16 victories, no draws or losses, 136 goals scored and five conceded, for a total of 48 points.

In the 2017–18 season of Liga IV Neamț, strengthened with some new players such as Câmpeanu, V. Rotaru or Nedelcu, entered the winter break in first place, after which Toader Șteț was replaced by Gabriel Rădulescu, who guided Ceahlăul to the county title and promotion to Liga III without a play-off, as Victoria Lețcani, the Iași County winners, were ineligible for promotion.

In Liga III, Ceahlăul competed in Series I and, under Gabriel Rădulescu, finished in 10th place in the 2018–19 season. In August 2019, Ștefan Stoica was appointed as the new head coach for the 2019–20 campaign, leading the Team Below Pietricica Mountain to 3rd place before the season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rădulescu returned to Ceahlăul, leading the team to another 3rd-place finish in the 2020–21 season.

In 2021, Constantin Ilie was appointed as the new head coach for the 2021–22 campaign, with the aim of securing promotion, but poor results led to his dismissal after six rounds, being replaced by Gabriel Rădulescu. In January 2022, Florentin Petre took charge and led the team to a 5th-place finish in the regular season, one point behind Bucovina Rădăuți and Hușana Huși, missing qualification for the series play-off, while remaining in the same position at the end of the series play-out stage.

Youth program

Youth academy of Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț is located in Moldavia. Alumni include players such as: Vasile Avădanei, Florin Axinia, Mihai Bordeianu, Lucian Burdujan, Robert Căruță, Gelu Chertic, Lidi Chertic Sebastian Chitoșcă, Lucian Covrig, Marian Drăghiceanu, Costel Enache, Alexandru Forminte, Alexandru Ichim, Constantin Ilie, Mihai Dan Ionescu, Andrei Marc, Florin Nohai, Doru Popadiuc, Gabriel Rădulescu, Adrian Solomon, Tudor Șoimaru, Andrei Țepeș or Andrei Vițelaru. Among the talent scouts in Ceahlăul Football Academy were professors Radu Toma and Mihai Radu.

Grounds

The club plays its home matches on Stadionul Ceahlăul from Piatra Neamț. Originally known as Borzoghean and still nicknamed in this mode by the supporters, the stadium had a capacity of 12,000 seats and the shape of letter "U". Between 2006 and 2007 the stadium was renovated, extended (a new End Sector was built), orange seats were mounted instead of the old yellow and black ones and a floodlight installation was also installed. The capacity reached 18,000 seats after other renovations which took place in the early 2010s. Stadionul Ceahlăul is a 3 star ranked in the UEFA stadium categories.

Support

Ceahlăul has many supporters in Piatra Neamț and especially in Neamț County. They are not exactly the ultras type, but despite this fact some ultras groups were formed over time such as: Brigate Ultras 2009 and Tinerii Nemțeni. In 2010 "the Yellow and Blacks" supporters surprised everyone by the fact that they had the first and only ultras leader in Romania, who is a woman, Geanina Ciocoiu.

Rivalries

Ceahlăul does not have important rivalries, most of them being regional, the so-called Derby-urile Moldovei (Moldavia Derbies) against teams such as: FCM Bacău, FC Politehnica Iași or Oțelul Galați and most recently against FC Vaslui or FC Botoșani.

Trivia

In 2006, Gelu Crăcană, a fan of Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț created a 420 square meters (500 including the sleeves) Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț jersey shirt with Florin Axinia's name on it which entered the Guinness World Records Hall of fame.

Honours

Domestic

Divizia B / Liga II

Winners (4): 1992–93, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11

Divizia C / Liga III

Winners (2): 1964–65, 1979–80

Runners-up (1): 2022–23

Liga IV – Neamț County

Winners (1): 2017–18

Liga V – Neamț County

Winners (1): 2016–17

Moldavia Championship

Winners (1): 1926

Cupa României – Neamț County

Winners (1): 2017–18

International

UEFA Intertoto Cup

Third round (2): 1999, 2000

Round of 16 (1): 1995

European record

Players

First team squad

As of 28 February 2026

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

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.

Notable former players

The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level and/or more than 100 caps for CSM Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț.