FC Rapid București

History

1923–32: Beginnings

On 25 June 1923, in a classroom of the primary school from the Grivița neighborhood, Bucharest, the employees of the Grivița workshops created Asociația Culturală și Sportivă CFR ("CFR Cultural and Sports Association"). Teofil Copaci was chosen as the president of the association, while Grigore Grigoriu became the first captain of the team. The squad was formed in September, following the merger of the Ateliere and Excelsior teams. The first equipment was made out of burgundy fabric in the house of Grigoriu.

On 28 October 1923, the team played its first game against Unirea Timișoara, which it lost 4–8. The second match, played over ten days, was against Gloria Arad, and was lost 1–2. Until 1932 CFR played in the Bucharest Championship, not qualifying in the final tournament of the national league. During this period, the leaders of the team were: Teofil Copaci, Grigore Grigoriu, and Bozie Codreanu; other players included Stănică, Tudor, Molnar, Ștefănescu, Foran, Leoveanu, Constantinescu, Fetzko, Georgescu, Albert, Block, Filip, Itu I, Itu II, Pîrvulescu, Cichi, Schileriu, Svetcovschi, Oros, Ujlaki, Pop, Dobrescu I, Kelemen, Vlaiculescu, Ispas, Vintilescu, and Petrovici.

1932–45: The golden years

The club entered the Divizia A at the start of the 1932–33 season, after several years of competing for the regional championship of Bucharest. During the pre-war years, Rapid was one of Romania's top teams, regularly winning the cup, but never the championship, although they came close. Once Rapid lost the title because of a player's candor. One of Rapid's players touched the ball with his hand in the penalty area during a decisive match against Venus București, when Rapid needed a win to finish first in the league. At first, the referee didn't see it, but when he heard the audience protesting asked the player if he had touched the ball with his hand. The player admitted that he had.

Venus converted the penalty kick and managed a 1–1 draw to finish first in the league, instead of "the Railwaymen". The team's final season's standings in the Divizia A were: 1932–33 – 2nd (Seria I), 1933–34 – 4th (Seria I), 1934–35 – 10th, 1935–36 – 7th, 1936–37 – 2nd, 1937–38 – 1st (Seria I) (with the team losing the national championship final against Ripensia Timișoara 0–2), 1938–39 – 6th, 1939–40 – 2nd, and 1940–41 – 2nd.

In this period, the club's most successful time in this competition, Rapid won seven Romanian Cups: 1934–35, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1941–42, six of them won in consecutive years. The players in this winning effort included Roșculeț, Ujlaki, Vintilă, Wetzer II, Rășinaru, Cuedan, Barbu II, Rădulescu, Bogdan, Auer, Moldoveanu, Baratky, Raffinsky, Lengheriu, I.Costea, Sipos, Gavrilescu, Sadowski, Silvăț, Ghiurițan, Wetzer III, and Florian.

In the summer of 1937, the club changed its name from CFR București to Rapid București, modeling their new name on that of the Austrian club Rapid Wien.

The "railway workers" were no longer topping the league standings, but they still had supportive fans, and some players were selected for the national team. During those years, the competition format changed after various reorganizations, and Rapid won the Bessarabia Cup in 1942. They qualified for the final of the Mitropa Cup (precursor of the UEFA Champions League). In 1940, Rapid played to two ties in the Mitropa Cup semi-finals and was drawn for the final, which was never played, due to the outbreak of World War II.

1945–1970: The Railwaymen, a solid team

After the war, Rapid returned to the Bucharest Championship in the 1945–46 season, finally finishing 4th. After this season the club returned to its old name, CFR (Căile Ferate Române – Romanian Railways), and entered the 1946–47 Divizia A season, the first official national season after the end of the war, and ended in 5th place, two points away from 2nd place (Carmen București) and 13 from 1st place (ITA Arad). In the following season, 1947–48, the team finished 3rd, behind CFR Timișoara and ITA Arad. In the 1948–49 season, "the White and Burgundies" finished 2nd, only five points behind IC Oradea. Also, on 20 March 1949, CFR București obtained the most lopsided victory in its entire history, 12–2 against CFR Cluj.

Under the influence of the communist regime installed in the country after 1945, the 1950s started with a change from an autumn-spring season to a spring-autumn one. In the 1950 season Rapid became Locomotiva, a name much closer to the Soviet version, Lokomotiv, a change imposed on all the teams that belonged to the Romanian Railways, but the Giuleștenii finished again in 2nd place. The first relegation to Liga II came in 1951 when the club was ranked 11th, losing a three-way contest by a goal against Locomotiva Târgu Mureș and Știința Timișoara. Promoted one year later, from 1st place in Liga II, with 10 points over the second-ranked (Locomotiva Iași), Rapid would finish the 1953 season in 5th place. In 1954 season Locomotiva, in 12th place, was relegated for the second time. However, "The White and Burgundies" returned after only one year to Divizia A, following a good showing for the team, including a 4th-place ranking at the end of 1956, only 5 points behind 1st place (CCA București).

In the 1957–58 season, Romanian football returned to the autumn-spring system and "the Railwaymen" finished at the middle of the table, 8th out of 12. The end of the Soviet system also meant the end of Soviet team names, and in 1958 the team returned to the Austrian-inspired name of Rapid. In the following years, the team finished 4th and 10th at the end of the 1958–59 and 1959–60 seasons, respectively.

In the 1950s, the squad included the following players: Valentin Stănescu, Gheorghe Dungu, Gh. Demeter, Dumitru Macri, Ion Mihăilescu, C. Simionescu, N. Cristescu, I. Ruzici, C. Socec, Ion Lungu, Bazil Marian, Andrei Rădulescu, Anton Fernbach-Ferenczi, Ștefan Filotti, Nicolae Roman, E. Avasilchioaie, D. Călin, L. Coman, A. Todor, N. Dodeanu, I. Langa, I. Olaru, Stere Zeană, and Gh. Milea, among others.

1970–1990: Troubled times

Rapid's last strong season was in 1970–71, when it finished in 2nd place, after which it started to slide towards the bottom half of the league table: 1971–72 – 10th and 1972–73 – 14th. Despite these lesser performances, in 1972 Rapid reached the Romanian Cup final under coach Bazil Marian, a team player in the 1950s, and won 2–0 against Jiul Petroșani, with goals scored by Stelian Marin (3rd minute) and Alexandru Neagu (27th minute). In the 1971–72 UEFA Cup season Rapid had impressive results, eliminating Napoli and Legia Warsaw before being stopped by Tottenham Hotspur, 0–5. In the 1972–73 European Cup Winners' Cup, Rapid won 3–1 against Landskrona BoIS of Sweden and 4–2 against Rapid Wien, but were eliminated by Leeds United of England with an 8–1 aggregate.

At the end of the 1973–74 season, the "White and Burgundies" finished 16th, with the same number of points as Jiul Petroșani, but this time the club from the Jiu Valley would win because of higher scores. Rapid was relegated for the third time in its history, only 7 years since its first national title. The squad had a strong following season and was promoted after only one year spent in the second league, finishing 1st in the 2nd series, 6 points ahead of 2nd place Progresul București. "The Railwaymen" seemed to want to convince everyone that relegation was nothing but a regrettable error; so, they also won the Romanian Cup in the same season, surprisingly, being a second echelon team. In the 1974–75 Cupa României campaign, Rapid advanced by eliminating strong teams such as Dinamo București (2–1), Jiul Petroșani (1–0), Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț (1–0), and Steaua București (1–1, 6–5 on penalties). In the final they encountered Universitatea Craiova, the Divizia A defending champions, a club that was fielding its first golden generation (known as "The Champion of a Great Love"), led from the pitch by its legend, Ion Oblemenco. Rapid won 2–1, in extra time, with goals scored by Nicolae Manea, and Ion Oblemenco scoring for Craiova.

Back in Divizia A, Rapid had two mediocre seasons: 1975–76 – 14th and 1976–77 – 16th, being relegated again, 10 years since being champions of Romania. After this relegation began one of the darkest periods in the history of the club at their stadium near Grant Bridge, with 6 consecutive Divizia B seasons: 1977–78 – 4th, 1978–79 – 6th, 1979–80 – 2nd, 1980–81 – 3rd, 1981–82 – 2nd and 1982–83 – 1st. This period led to a fierce rivalry with Petrolul Ploiești and Progresul București. A 1980 match, against Progresul, saw a record attendance, for a Divizia B match, of over 50,000 spectators. The subsequent return to the first division was due to coaches Valentin Stănescu (who also brought the first title in 1967) and Viorel Kraus. The players were Ion Gabriel, Manu, Popescu, Paraschiv, Pirvu, Șișcă, Tiță, Iancu, Cojocaru, Ion Ion, Nicolae Manea, Ad. Dumitru, Petruț, Ispas, C. Dumitriu, Avram, Marian Damaschin, Marta, Lazăr, Koti, Săftoiu, A. Mincu, and Petre Petre.

1990–2008: A glorious period

Promoted back to the top league, in the next season Rapid finished 11th, 4 points away from the relegation zone. What followed was two seasons of progress in which "the Railwaymen" finished 7th, then 4th. In 1993, the club was bought by George Copos and began probably one of the most fruitful periods in the history of "the White and Burgundies".

After the 4th-place finish at the end of the 1993 season, Rapid returned to the European Cups after 18 years of absence, but was eliminated in the first round by the Italian side Inter Milan, 1–5 on aggregate. In 1994, the club finished 4th again in Divizia A, but no one risked a prognosis for a team whose fortunes so oscillated. The 1994–95 UEFA Cup season again brought two tough opponents for the Giulești side: Charleroi of Belgium, which they eliminated 3–2 on aggregate, and Eintracht Frankfurt, which eliminated Rapid 2–6 on aggregate, especially due to the 0–5 defeat by Waldstadion. In the Divizia A, they again finished in 4th place, but this time with no qualification for the European Competitions.

In the 1995–96 season the team finished 3rd, qualifying again for the UEFA Cup. After a 2–0 victory on aggregate against Lokomotiv Sofia, "the Railwaymen" were eliminated by Karlsruher SC, 2–4 on aggregate, the second time a German side eliminated them. The squad finished 8th at the end of the 1996–97 season.

With Mircea Lucescu as the new coach, Rapid had a very good 1997–98 season, the best one in the last 22 seasons. In the championship, the team finished 2nd, only two points behind Steaua București, missing the chance of a title, the first one since 1967. In the last match of the season, with over 20,000 fans travelling from Bucharest, Rapid only managed a 2–2 draw against Universitatea Craiova, a result which was heavily contested after Rapid had a clear goal denied by the referee. Without title, Rapid focused on the Romanian Cup, where they won their 10th title, but the first one since 1975. In the final, they again met Craiova, with Lucian Marinescu's 67th-minute goal securing the trophy. This triumph returned the team back to the UEFA Competitions, this time the 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. The 1998–99 season started off badly. After an 8–2 on aggregate win against Grevenmacher in the qualifying round, Rapid was again eliminated quickly, this time in the first round by Vålerenga, with a 2–2 on aggregate and 2 goals scored in the Giulești Stadium by the Norwegian club. In the championship, Rapid had one of the best seasons in the history of Divizia A, finishing 1st with 89 points and winning the much-desired title of champion of Romania, the 2nd one in the history of the club. This performance was obtained under coaches Mircea Lucescu (24 rounds), Nicolae Manea (5 rounds), Dumitru Dumitriu (4 rounds), and Mircea Rednic (1 round), with the following players: Marius Bratu, Bogdan Lobonț – Daniel Chiriță, Adrian Iencsi, Dorel Mutică, Ștefan Nanu, Vasile Popa, Răzvan Raț, Mircea Rednic, Nicolae Stanciu (C), Ion Voicu – Bogdan Andone, Constantin Barbu, Mugur Bolohan, Zeno Bundea, Dănuț Lupu, Ovidiu Maier, Marius Măldărășanu, Ioan Sabău, Cezar Zamfir – Ionel Ganea, Radu Niculescu, Daniel Pancu, Sergiu Radu, and Marius Șumudică. The team also included Cristian Dulca, Lucian Marinescu, and Stefan Nanu, who left during the winter break.

2008–2016: Rapid "in derailment"

After the 2007–08 season, the financial situation of Rapid was complicated, partly by the criminal conviction of the owner, George Copos, on charges of tax evasion, illegal transfers, and misuse of the lottery. The team performances also declined. After finishing 3rd in 2007–08, Rapid occupied mid-level places three times over the next five years: 2008–09 – 8th, 2009–10 – 7th and 2012–13 – 9th. Still, the team had a last burst of success in the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons, when, under coaches Marius Șumudică, Marian Rada, and Răzvan Lucescu, they achieved two consecutive 4th-place rankings, with a new presence in the UEFA Europa League. They finished the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League season in the group stage, after they eliminated Polish side Śląsk Wrocław in the play-off round, making only 3 points in a group with Hapoel Tel Aviv, PSV Eindhoven, and Legia Warsaw occupying last place. Next season was slightly weaker, with Rapid eliminated in the third qualifying round, after a two-legged match against Heerenveen, previously having eliminated the Finnish club MYPA, 5–1 on aggregate.

On 10 May 2013, the Disciplinary Commission of the Romanian Football Federation decided not to grant the Liga I license to the club for the 2013–14 season. At the end of the season the club was sold by George Copos to Nicolae Cristescu and Adrian Zamfir.

On 6 July the FRF Executive Committee decided that 18 teams would participate in the first league. Mircea Sandu announced that a play-off between Concordia Chiajna (which relegated on the pitch) and Rapid (which was relegated on legal terms) would be held to decide the 18th team. This match took place on 13 July 2013 in Dinamo Stadium and was won by "the Railwaymen" 2–1. Concordia challenged the legality of this play-off match, as Rapid had no license for Liga I. After two rounds had already been played, on 2 August 2013 the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decided that the organization of the play-off match was irregular and Concordia must remain in the top league, Rapid being relegated.

Relegated for the sixth time to the second league, and after a period of 23 years spent in the top league with excellent performances, Rapid gathered all its forces, despite a poor financial situation and an under-funding from the new owners. Under coach Viorel Moldovan, former player on the team, "the Burgundy Eagles" had a good season, finishing 2nd in the regular season, as well as in the play-off round of the 2013–14 season, right behind Politehnica Iași and two points above Unirea Slobozia, ensuring their promotion to the first league. On 17 May 2014, the Licensing Commission of the Romanian Football Federation again decided not to grant the necessary license, this time for the 2014–15 season of Liga I. Rapid decided to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but could not initially afford the €30,000, trial fee. The money for the fee was eventually donated by club supporters, and CAS admitted the appeal, forcing the Romanian Football Federation to grant Rapid a license for the Liga I season.

2016–present: Rebirth

In summer 2016, after it became clear that the team could no longer be enrolled in the championship, the idea of setting up somewhere in the lower leagues appeared, more exactly, in the Bucharest Championship, Liga V. A split between the supporters and the people directly involved in the club appeared, resulting in two new clubs, AFC Rapid București and Mișcarea Feroviară CFR, after initially not less than four teams had been announced; but most of the projects did not survive. If AFC Rapid, owned by ex-Rapid marketing director, Horia Manoliu, who was in fact an old executive of the parent club, between 2001 and 2006. Mișcarea Feroviară was founded by the members of the Rapid Aristocratic Club. Both teams had an excellent run and were promoted to Liga IV Bucharest.

The two clubs did not seem to have the force to succeed with the new promotion. So, in summer 2017, at the initiative of Sector 1 Municipality, the sports association, Academia Rapid București, was set up and enrolled in the Liga IV – Bucharest series. This club is run by former Rapid players such as Daniel Niculae (president), Daniel Pancu (technical director), Nicolae Stanciu (manager), and Constantin Schumacher (coach). By the time the auction for the bankrupt company's brand was finalized, Academia Rapid concluded a lease agreement for a period of one year. This team has proven to be popular among supporters, who consider it the moral successor of the parent club. In the same summer, Mișcarea Feroviară disappeared.

Academia Rapid won the 2017–18 Liga IV Bucharest against Steaua București. Also, the Romanian Cup trophy for Bucharest preliminary rounds entered the club's treasury and the phoenix club of Rapid qualified for the next season's Liga III after a two-legged promotion play-off match against FC Singureni, the Giurgiu County champions, which they won 17–1 on aggregate.

On 12 June 2018, after 18 auctions which saw the price of the Rapid brand fall by about €3 million, Academia Rapid bought the FC Rapid București brand, officially becoming the successor to the original club. The transaction was made for the amount of €406,800, thus giving legitimacy to the new entity, even though it had already been accepted by most supporters and legends of the club as the successor of the original club, a fact confirmed in the championship match against Steaua București on 14 April, when 37,000 fans attended the match in the Arena Națională.

Crest and colours

Colors

The official colors of the club are white and burgundy, from those of the capital of Romania. These can be found on the coat of arms and equipment used throughout its long history. These were chosen by Teofil Copaci, Grigore Grigoriu, Dumitru Constantinescu, Géza Ginzer, Tudor Petre, and Franz Hladt, who founded the club. The first equipment was made from burgundy cloth in Grigore Grigoriu's house, and the boots with crampons were reconditioned from used boots from Ateliere.

Crest

The crest of the Rapid Bucharest was usually composed of the CFR-ist symbol. In a short period after the beginning of the communist system in Romania, Rapidul was forced by the communist authorities to return to the name CFR Bucharest. In 1950, it would become Locomotiva Bucharest, with a red steam locomotive as its symbol. From 1958, the club renamed itself Rapid Bucharest, adopting the logo that changed relatively little until the purchase of the club by George Copos, who changed the coat of arms upon his arrival. In 2001, Rapid's current crest was chosen. It turned out that the source of inspiration is, it seems, an emblematic club of Europe, namely Benfica Lisbon, the most successful club in Portugal, on whose emblem appears a legendary eagle.

Anthem

The Rapid anthem, also known as "We are everywhere at home", was composed by Victor Socaciu, with lyrics by Adrian Păunescu. This anthem was born in June 1980, at the Flacăra editorial office, Adrian Păunescu meeting with Victor Socaciu, Ovidiu Ioanițoaia, a sports journalist at Flacăra magazine, and with Victor Niță, also from Flacăra. The motifs for the hymn came quickly to Păunescu, and he started composing on the spot. At the same time, Ovidiu Ioanițoaia was writing the dictated verses on a napkin. At the centenary of the club, the football club and the sports club created a music album, on which the president of the club Daniel Niculae also sang.

Grounds

Stadium

The history of Giulești-Valentin Stănescu Stadium begins in 1934; on 31 March, CFR began the construction of a field on the Giulești Road. The field would have a width of 65 m and a length of 105 m.

At first, the mayor of Bucharest did not want to authorize the construction of the first stadium, because it did not fit in the systematization of the capital. Eventually, authorization was given; and in April 1936 it was estimated that the stadium would be ready in September. The construction did begin in that year but it lasted more than two. The chief architect was Gheorghe Dumitrescu.

The stadium was inaugurated on 10 June 1939. At the time, it was the most modern stadium in Romania, a smaller replica of Arsenal's Highbury Stadium, with a capacity of 12,160 seats. Among the guests at the opening ceremony was King Carol II and his son, future King Michael of Romania.

The construction of the north stands was finished in the mid-1990s, with the capacity increased to 19,100 seats. In 2003, the pitch was changed and was considered to be the best in Romania at the time. Floodlights were installed in the summer of 2000. The stadium got the name of "Valentin Stănescu" in 2001, in respect of the manager who won the first championship for Rapid, but it is still commonly known as "Giulești Stadium", from the name of the neighborhood it is located in. Landmarks near the stadium are the Grant Bridge, Giulești Theatre, Gara de Nord (North Station), and the Grivița Railway Yards.

The stadium was closed on 24 November 2018, and the demolition process took place from 10 January to 7 May 2019, making room for the modern 14,000-seat Rapid Arena. The new stadium's construction will be funded by the Romanian government and UEFA, after Bucharest was announced as one of the host cities for UEFA Euro 2020.

After the closing of Giulești Stadium, Rapid moved temporarily on the Regie Stadium in Bucharest, the former home ground of Sportul Studențesc. Regie Stadium was closed in 2014 after a conflict between Sportul and the stadium's owner, a fact that led to its degradation. Before moving, the white and burgundies needed to invest in the reconstruction of their new stadium, which began in January 2019.

Training Facilities

Located in the north-western side of Bucharest, in the Bucharest Noi district, the ProRapid sports center was purchased by the then owner George Copos at the request of Mircea Lucescu, the coach who won the second championship, and was inaugurated in 1998. Initially, the complex had four football fields and a modern training facility. But, over the years, the structure has deteriorated due to the carelessness of the owners. Still, at the end of the 90s, "Pro Rapid" was considered the most modern training base in the country.

The facility spans five hectares and includes several playgrounds, three tennis courts, and an indoor swimming pool. There is a building where the players used to train. The facility is surrounded by Lake Străulesti, around which several buildings are distributed: the second building in order of size houses the living accommodations for the players on the first floor, medical rooms on the ground floor (including physiotherapy and rehabilitation), changing rooms (for players and coach), and a gym. The accommodation for the players of the youth teams is located in a building that includes a bar and a restaurant. In June 2016, the company SC FC Rapid SA was declared bankrupt by the Bucharest Court and the ProRapid base entered a period of continuous deterioration. At the moment, the football team is training at the Coresi training base.

Support

Rapid București is, according to a 2013 survey, the third-most supported club in Romania and the second in the Bucharest metropolitan area, around 20% of football lovers in the city being supporters of Rapid. A unique organization in the country is the "Aristocratic Club of Rapid", which was founded in 2000. Its members include well-known artists, who aim to defend the history of Rapid and maintain its traditions.

However, at the beginning, being the railway club, Rapid drew its supporters mostly from people linked with the workers. The first waves of new fans came at the beginning of the 1930s, when Rapid's golden team won the hearts of many people delighted by their spectacular play and the consecutive wins of the Romanian Cup between 1935 and 1942 .

In 1967, actor Mihai Ioan organised and taught the supporters how to sing chants, thus becoming the first leader of the gallery in the club's history. Currently, Rapid ultras are represented by Peluza Nord and also formerly by Tribuna II (t2 Rapid). Until 2002, Rapid Bucharest had a head of the gallery who stood at the head of the fans for 32 years, Constantin Mincea, Geamgiul. He is known for chanting against the communist party during Romania's communist regime, Rapid's fans had some chants that targeted the Ceaușescu family, the Romanian Communist Party (PCR), and clubs they considered as being protected by the regime, such as Steaua București, Dinamo București, Victoria București, Olt Scornicești, and Flacăra Moreni. Rapid fans were the first in Romania to support the ultras movement in the 1980s, but the first ultras groups were founded in 1998, named as Official Hooligans, Bombardierii, and Ultras Unione. Later, others appeared such as: Maniacs, Brigada 921, Grant Ultras 06, Radicals, Torcida Visinie, Chicos del Infierno (CDI) 2005, Ultra' Stil, Legiunea Chitila, Devil's Gate, Granata Girls, SVRB, Colletivo, RHV, Original, Capitali, Legione Titan, and there were also groups in the provinces, in cities such as: Iași, Pașcani, Piatra Neamț, Zalău, and Târgu Mureș. In 2007, the ultras group, Pirații, moved to the second stands of the stadium, following divergences with the leader of the Peluza Nord. They were followed by other brigades from the Peluza Nord.

t2 Rapid (Piratii, CDI, Ultra' Stil) does not have a leader, distinguishing it from the other group. Over time there have been many conflicts between the two factions, and as a result, the members of Tribuna II groups left definitely, founding a new team, ACS Rapid-Frumosii Nebuni ai Giulestiului. One of the most publicized incidents in Romanian football was the "Bricheta" case, when the Bucharest derby was stopped and Rapid lost 0–3.

Club rivalries

Bucharest Derby

The club's most important rivalries are against neighbouring FC Steaua București. The two clubs have played each other over 130 times, beginning with Rapid's 1–0 victory on 4 November 1947. Several matches throughout the years between Steaua and Rapid have ended in serious clashes between fans. The two teams are notable for their dominance of Romanian football, alongside Dinamo. The conflict has become even fiercer after Steaua passed Rapid in an all-Romanian quarter-final of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup. The rivalry also extends to other sports. The local sports newspapers said that the two teams were linked in this quarter-final by the Number 41 tram which links the Ghencea Stadium with the Valentin Stănescu Stadium. The rivalry also extends to other sports.

Primvs Derby

Another important rival of Rapid is Petrolul Ploiești, which was previously based in the capital and with which it contests the Primus Derby, the oldest football derby in Romania. The first episode of the Petrolul-Rapid rivalry was in the 1965-66 season, Petrolul and Rapid fought for the title of Romanian champion, and Prahoven won. The team trained at that time by Constantin Cernăianu prevailed over its rival and won the most recent championship title in the history of the club. A year later, Rapid got revenge and won its first title, after a draw in Ploiesti. In the battle with Dinamo for first place, the Giuleșteni needed a point in the match with Petrolul in the last stage. Rică Răducanu and his colleagues got the equaliser, and the Rapid supporters returned on foot from Ploiesti, as they had promised before the match.

Among the thousands of fans was Ioana Radu, the well-known popular music singer and a big fan of the rapidists. At the end of the 1973–1974 season, both teams were relegated together to Division B. In the period 1978–1982, both teams were in Division B. The culminating match between the two took place in the spring of 1982, at Stadionul Steaua, in front of 35,000 spectators, in the 30th stage of Division B. The Rapidists prevailed with a clear 5–1 win. Another landmark match between the two teams was the final of the Romanian Cup in 1995, at the end of which Petrolul won the second cup in their history, after defeating Rapid on penalty kicks. During the 1983–2004 period, both teams were in Division A, with Petrolul subsequently relegating at the end of the 2003–04 season. The rivalry also extends to other sports.

Rapid had other Bucharest rivals, such as Dinamo Bucuresti, Progresul București, and Venus București, as well as derbies against teams of the Romanian Railways such as CFR Cluj and CFR Timișoara. Other, less important rivalries are with Universitatea Cluj, Farul Constanța, Universitatea Craiova, and UTA Arad.

Ownership and finances

Rapid is a joint-stock company since 1992. The property is divided as follows: 50% is attributed to Victor Angelescu and Dan Sucu, and the remaining 3% belongs to Academia Rapid Bucharest 1923. After a first bankruptcy, FC Rapid could no longer register new contracts, so they could not build a team to enter the 2016–17 season. Finally, on 14 December 2016, Rapid was officially declared bankrupt after half a season of inactivity. Since 1992, the giulestea club was led by the businessman George Copos, who then led the club to two championships in 2013. After his conviction in the Transfer File, he sold the club to Nicolae Cristescu, who led the club only 3 years, it then being bought by Valerii Moraru.

On 12 June 2018, after 18 auctions during which the price of the Rapid brand dropped by approximately 3 million euros, Academia Rapid bought the Rapid Bucharest brand, officially becoming the successor of the original club. The transaction was for the sum of €406,800, thus giving legitimacy to the new entity, although it had already been accepted by most of the club's supporters and legends as the club's successor. On 26 July 2018 Victor Angelescu bought approximately 40% of the club's shares and later in 2022, he acquired the majority of the shares, becoming the majority shareholder of the Giulestean club. On 24 May 2022 businessman Dan Sucu purchased 50% of the club's shares.

Statistics and records

In its history, the club has participated 69 seasons in Liga I and 15 seasons in Liga II: these statistics place it in third place for number of participations in Liga I, after Dinamo Bucuresti and FCSB .

Rapid has played in 88 editions of the Romanian Cup, the first time in 1933–34, winning 13 editions, while in the Romanian Supercup they have had twelve appearances, the first in 1998, the last in 2007. European competitions involve participation in 95 European cup matches, in 4 competitions over 22 seasons. The club has won the Romanian Cup 13 times and have played in 6 finals of this event; they also triumphed in four of the six Romanian Supercup matches in which they participated. In terms of European cups, Giulestenii triumphed in the Balkan Cup in 1964 and in the European Railway Championship in 1968 and played in the final of the European Railway Championship in 1961 and 1971.

Since the establishment of the championship, the team finished first three times, second 14 times, obtaining the worst ranking in the 1973-74 championship with a final 16th place, from which it obtained relegation to the second division of Romania. The Cherry Eagles finished Division A with the best offense in the tournament on many occasions and with the best defense six times.

Between 1990 and 2012 Rapid achieved the most important results in the club's recent history, winning two league titles and advancing in European cups. The most capped player for the team is Nae Stanciu who played for 12 years. Furthermore, Ion Ionescu is the team's top scorer with 107 goals. The most seasons as team captain was Dumitru Macri, who was captain for 14 years, when he played 221 matches. Ilie Greavu is the second-most selected player, with 294 games for Rapid, followed by Constantin Năsturescu, who played 288 games for Giulesti. Daniel Pancu is the club's second top scorer with 94 goals in 265 games, followed by Sandu Neagu who scored 92 goals. n total, 88 coaches have led Rapid.

The first coach was Marin Himer, who led the team from 1923 to 1925. The longest-serving Rapid coach was Valentin Stănescu, who remained in charge for five seasons; under his leadership, the club won its first championship in 1967. Mircea Lucescu guided the team to the championship in 1999, followed by Mircea Rednic, who won the title in 2003.

Popular culture

As Rapid is currently one of the most popular football team in Romania, a good number of musicians, TV, and film directors have been inspired from ideas linked to the Giulesti-based club. Popular references, however, appeared only after the Romanian Revolution, as, before, mass-media programmes were mostly being controlled by the communist regime. The Prima TV comedy show Trăsniții in one episode, showed the Pupaza character in the role of a Rapid supporter. Also, in 2022 the series on Pro TV Las Fierbinti had some characters as Rapid fans.

Several other examples from music can be attributed as Rapid-related. Apart from club anthems played throughout time by Adrian Păunescu. Rapid has a lot of supporters, many of whom are celebrities in Romania: for example Fărâmită Lambru, Maria Tanase, Dan Grigore, Horia Brenciu, Mircea Geoană, Ion Iliescu, and Nicolae Vacaroiu.

The book Glasul roților de tren by Ioan Chirilă is one of the most famous books about sports in Romania . This book has become a bible for Rapid supporters.

Honours

Domestic

Divizia A / Liga I

Winners (3): 1966–67, 1998–99, 2002–03

Runners-up (14): 1936–37, 1937–38, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1948–49, 1950, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2005–06

Divizia B / Liga II

Winners (6): 1952, 1955, 1974–75, 1982–83, 1989–90, 2015–16

Runners-up (4): 1979–80, 1981–82, 2013–14, 2020–21

Liga III

Winners (1): 2018–19

Liga IV Bucharest (Regional)

Winners (1): 2017–18

Liga V Bucharest (as Mișcarea Feroviară CFR) (Regional)

Runners-up (1): 2016–17

Cupa României

Winners (13): 1934–35, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1941–42, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2005–06, 2006–07

Runners-up (6): 1960–61, 1961–62, 1967–68, 1994–95, 1998–99, 2011–12

Supercupa României

Winners (4): 1999, 2002, 2003, 2007

Runners-up (2): 1998, 2006

Cupa României – Bucharest (Regional)

Winners (1): 2017–18

Cupa Ligii

Continental

Mitropa Cup

Finalists (1): 1940

Balkans Cup

Winners (2): 1963–64, 1964–66

European Railways Cup

Winners (1): 1968

Runners-up (2): 1961, 1971

European record

Players

First-team squad

As of 9 September 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.

Other players under contract

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.

League history

As CS Mișcarea CFR București.

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 appearances for FC Rapid București.