Club Sportiv Minaur Baia Mare, commonly known as Minaur Baia Mare or simply Minaur, is a Romanian handball team based in Baia Mare, Maramureș County.

History

The team was founded on 15 May 1974 as Handball Club Minaur Baia Mare, becoming the first sports club in the country to specialize exclusively in handball. Its name, meaning 'Gold Mine,' refers to the gold mines around Baia Mare.

From the very beginning, Minaur has played exclusively in the first division of the Romanian handball championship. In the early years, they wore golden jerseys.

Minaur won its first Romanian Handball Cup in the 1977–78 season. In 1978–79, they reached the semi-finals of the EHF Cup Winners' Cup undefeated, with two victories, before being eliminated by SC Magdeburg. They finished as runners-up in the 1979–80 and 1980–81 seasons.

In 1980–81, they once again reached the semi-finals of the EHF Cup Winners' Cup but were eliminated by TuS Nettelstedt.1982 Cup Winners' Cup - todor66 During this period, Minaur was the only non-urban team in the Romanian league to compete internationally, often performing better than the Bucharest clubs.

In 1985, Minaur achieved Romania’s first international handball success by defeating the Soviet team ZTR Zaporizhzhia in the final of the EHF Cup. They repeated this triumph in 1988.ISTORIA HANDBALULUI ROMÂNESC Volumul II SINTEZĂ RETROSPECTIVĂ ANEXA 3 COMPETIŢII MASCULIN RETROSPECTIVA ACTIVITĂŢII INTERNE ŞI INTERNAŢIONALE STATISTICĂ CLASAMENTE – ANTRENORI – SPORTIVI 1936 – 2014

Twenty-four years after its founding, in 1998, the dream of every Baia Mare handball fan came true: HC Minaur became the champion of Romania! The following year, in 1999, they defended their title, becoming champions again. Their most recent championship win came in 2015.

Additionally, Minaur reached the semi-finals of the EHF Cup Winners' Cup in 1979, 1981, and 1986.

Crest, colours, supporters

Kit manufacturers

PeriodKit manufacturer - 2017 Hummel 2017 - 2018 Nike 2018 - 2019 Erima 2019 - present Hummel

Kits

HOME

AWAY

THIRD

Team

Current squad

Squad for the 2025–26 season

CS Minaur Baia MareGoalkeepers 1 Anton Terekhov 12 Sîncu Cristian 16 Sergiu Makaria Left Wingers 15 Milan Kotrč 52 Lucas Sabou Right Wingers 9 David Pavlov 5 David Moldovan Line Players 3 Robert Nagy 98 Mohamed Aly ismail Zeinelabedin

Left Backs 6 Tudor Botea 10 Gabriel Cumpănici 51 Viorel Fotache Central Backs 7 Mario Racolța 35 Erik Pop 43 Stefan Vujić Right Backs 4 Cosmin Stanciu 44 Anderson Mollino

Technical staff Head Coach: Nuno Miguel de Melo Farelo Fitness Coach: Vlad Pop

Transfers Transfers for the 2026–27 season

Joining Edin Klis (LB) from HC Buzăuhttps://www.instagram.com/p/DYzyc5vuEc0/ Mamadou Diocou (RW) from FC Porto Hugo Forsberg (CB) from Önnereds HK Kristian Turmo Lornstad (LP) from Halden Topphåndball Barna Buzogány (GK) from CSM Sighişoara

Leaving Stefan Vujić (CB) to CS Universitatea Clujhttps://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1027727669838889 Anton Terekhov (GK) to SCM Politehnica Timișoarahttps://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1618689460259764&set=a.131841795611212 Anderson Mollino (RB) to CSM Constanța Gabriel Cumpănici (LB) to CSM Constanțahttps://2mnews.ro/al-doilea-plecat-dupa-kozakevych-si-cumpanici-pleaca-de-la-minaur-baia-mare-contract-semnat-cu-csm-constanta/

Transfer History

Transfers for the 2025–26 seasonJoining David Pavlov (RW) from CSM Focșani Cosmin Stanciu (RB) from CS Dinamo București

Leaving Tomáš Číp (RW) to CS Universitatea Clujhttps://24news.ro/transfer-tomas-cip-ramane-in-liga-zimbrilor-dupa-despartirea-de-minaur/ Ivan Burzak (LP) to KPR Ostroviahttps://www.kprostrovia.pl/w/ivan-burzak-nowym-zawodnikiem-rebud-kpr-ostrovii- Hayder Al-Khafadji (GK) to IFK Kristianstad Marcus Dahlin (RB) to Porto

Accomplishments Domestic Liga Națională: Gold: 1998, 1999, 2015 Silver: 1980, 1981, 1985, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995,2022,2023 Bronze: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2024 Cupa României: Winners: 1978, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1999, 2015 Finalists: 1985, 2023

International EHF Cup: Winners: 1985, 1988 EHF European Cup: Runners up: 2022 EHF Cup Winners' Cup: Semifinalists: 1979, 1981, 1986

European record EHF Cup and EHF European League

CS Minaur Baia Mare was founded in 1974 and made its debut in European competitions in the 1978–79 season.

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate / position 1984–85 IHF Cup R32 İTÜ Istanbul 45–17 41–23 86–40 R16 Helsingør IF 32–25 26–19 58–44 QF Lokomotíva Trnava 37–22 32–29 69–51 SF WAT Margareten 37–19 28–25 65–44 F SII Zaporizhzhia 22–17 14–18 36–35 1987–88 IHF Cup R32 HT Tatran Prešov 32–21 26–21 58–42 R16 HK Drott 28–18 19–29 47–47 (a) QF Hellerup IK Copenhagen 24–16 20–25 44–41 SF FC Barcelona 24–22 21–22 45–44 F Granitas Kaunas 23–20 20–21 43–41 1978–79 EHF Cup Winners' Cup Preliminary round Maccabi Arazim Ramat Gan 22–11 26–16 48–27 R16 Aalborg HK 31–19 24–21 55–40 QF TV Hüttenberg 24–19 23–22 47–41 SF SC Magdeburg 26–22 19–27 45–49 1980–81 EHF Cup Winners' Cup Preliminary round Hapoel Rehovot 27–19 27–15 54–34 R16 Helsingør IF Opponent disqualified Qualified SF TuS Nettelstedt Eliminated 2002–03 EHF Challenge Cup R3 Üla Varėna 33–27 27–21 60–48 R4 Filippos Verias 25–32 25–35 50–67 2003–04 EHF Challenge Cup R3 SKAF Minsk 31–26 34–23 65–49 R16 RK Jug-Zegin Skopje 43–35 45–33 88–68 QF HCM Constanța 28–28 29–35 57–63 2004–05 EHF Challenge Cup R3 Politechnic Olkom Donetsk 40–32 38–28 78–60 R16 Red Boys Differdange 42–27 41–25 83–52 QF ABC Braga 31–27 22–32 53–59 2005–06 EHF Cup R3 US Créteil Handball 21–32 31–32 52–64 2015–16 EHF Champions League Group D Skjern Håndbold 28–28 28–32 5th Motor Zaporizhzhia 35–30 23–25 Kadetten Schaffhausen 31–31 23–24 Elverum Håndball 24–29 28–28 Metalurg Skopje 21–20 23–21 2020–21 EHF European Cup R3 Parnassos Strovolou 29–24 28–25 57–49 R16 HC Donbas 34–26 24–23 58–49 QF Anorthosis Famagusta 22–27 23–18 45–45 (a) 2021–22 EHF European Cup R1 HC Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa 44–22 33–21 77–43 R2 Hapoel SP Ashdod 35–32 33–29 68–61 R3 Partizan 28–23 26–30 54–53 R16 PAOK 32–21 27–28 59–49 QF HC Victor 10–0 10–0 SF Alingsås HK 34–28 28–31 62–59 2021–22 EHF European Cup F Nærbø IL 26–27 25–29 51–56 2022–23 EHF European League Q1 Ferencváros 27–36 22–38 49–74 2023–24 EHF European Cup R2 HC Odesa 52–26 39–27 91–53 R3 HC Dinamo Pančevo 33–23 25–29 58–52 R16 RK Vogošća 36–26 34–25 70–51 QF Bregenz Handball 37–31 28–30 65–61 SF Valur 24–30 28–36 52–66 2024–25 EHF European Cup R2 Beykoz BLD SK 44–30 47–39 91–69 R3 KH Rahoveci 35–40 38–31 73–71 R16 BK-46 33–30 31–32 64–62 QF HC Alkaloid 31–31 25–32 56–63 2025–26 EHF European League Q1 Stjarnan 26–26 27–26 53–52 Group C Fraikin BM Granollers 24–24 28–29 4th RD LL Grosist Slovan 28–22 29–35 SAH Aarhus 27–45 26–39

EHF ranking

Rank Team Points32 RK Alkaloid14333 HC Kriens-Luzern14034 CS Minaur Baia Mare13935 IK Savehof13936 RK Izviđač13837 Rhein-Neckar Löwen13738 Elverum Håndball131

Former club members Notable former players

Ionuț Ciobanu (2019–2021) Gheorghe Covaciu (1980–1989) Alexandru Csepreghi (2004–2007, 2018–) Ștefan Birtalan (1967–1970) Iosif Boroș (1977–1987) Viorel Fotache (2007–2015, 2022–) Valentin Ghionea (2003–2005) Radu Ghiță (2015) Petru Pop (1992–1999, 2006–2010, 2011–2012) Răzvan Pop (2005–2016, 2017–) Ionuț Ramba (2015, 2020-2021) Marius Sadoveac (2014–2016) Alin Șania (2000–2003) Maricel Voinea (1977–1989) Gabriel Teca (2021–) Ivan Karačić (2015–2016) Ivan Milas (2014–2015) Anderson Mollino (2021–) José Toledo (2020–2021) Patricio Martínez (2014–2015) Teo Čorić (2019–2020) Antonio Pribanić (2015–2016) Tomáš Číp (2019-) Milan Kotrč (2019-) Pierre-Yves Ragot (2017–2018) Nikola Eklemović (2014–2015) Tamás Iváncsik (2015–2016) Péter Tatai (2014–2016) Uroš Vilovski (2015–2016, 2018) Stevan Vujović (2021–) Inal Aflitulin (2015) Cristian Malmagro (2014–2015) Miloš Dragaš (2017-2018) Stefan Vujić (2021-) Artem Kozakevych (2022–) Vladyslav Ostroushko (2015–2016) Anton Terekhov (2021–)

References

External links