Fotbal Club Politehnica Iași (), commonly known as Politehnica Iași or simply Poli Iași, was a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Iași, Iași County.
Named after the Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iași, the original team was founded in 1945 and played in blue and white at the Stadionul Emil Alexandrescu until its dissolution in 2010.
Later that year, a new entity was formed under the name ACSMU Politehnica Iași, following a merger between Tricolorul Breaza and Navobi Iași. The new club began directly in the Liga II and is regarded as the historical successor of the original team, buying at auction its colours, history, and records.
Between 2011 and 2016, it was known as CSM Studențesc Iași, before reverting to the name Politehnica Iași.
It debuted in the Liga I during the 2012–13 season and equalled its all-time best finish by placing sixth in the 2017–18 season.
Politehnica Iași currently plays in the Liga II, wearing white and blue kits, and hosts matches at the 11,390-capacity Stadionul Emil Alexandrescu, built in 1960.
History
Foundation and first years (2010–2014) The original Politehnica Iași was established in April 1945 and folded in 2010 because of unpaid debts. In August that year, Tricolorul Breaza merged with Navobi Iași and formed ACSMU Politehnica Iași. Playing in the Liga II, the club's objective was to return to the first tier of Romanian football.
Ionuț Popa was appointed manager of the newly founded club and Grigore Sichitiu was elected as executive president.
In the summer of 2011, the club was renamed Clubul Sportiv Municipal Studențesc Iași, or simply CSMS Iași. For the second half of the 2011–12 season ex-Romanian international Florin Prunea was brought in as president. On 2 June 2012, after the 4–2 victory against Farul Constanța. the team gained promotion to Liga I, after two years in the second tier of Romanian football.
On 29 August, Liviu Ciobotariu was appointed head coach. The Moldavian team finished the 2012–13 season in 17th place and were relegated to the second division. Even though there were hopes that they would be accepted for the 2013–14 Liga I season, eventually CS Concordia Chiajna secured the last place in the first league, due to the relegation of FC Rapid București for financial reasons.
For the 2013–14 Liga II season, coach Costel Enache was brought in to head a team that retained the services of its young talent, the likes of Alexandru Crețu, Adrian Avrămia and Andrei Hergheligiu.
Return to the top division (2014–present)
After Marius Lăcătuș replaced Enache as manager, Politehnica finished 1st in the 2013–14 Liga II and were promoted back to Liga I. For the 2014–15 season, the club played for their first time in the Cupa Ligii, defeating ASA Târgu Mureș and advancing to the last-16, where they eliminated former Romanian Cup and Liga I winner CFR Cluj.
The 2015–16 Liga I season was one of the best in the short history of Politehnica Iași and in the football history of Iași. After a great campaign, the team finished 7th and qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League under the command of Italian coach Nicolò Napoli, with a team that relied on experienced players like: Andrei Cristea, Bojan Golubović, Ionuț Voicu and Branko Grahovac. In the second round of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, Politehnica encountered Croatian team Hajduk Split and after a 2–2 draw at Iași, they were defeated at Split 1–2, prematurely leaving the competition.
On 22 July 2016, the club announced that it had changed its name, from CSM Studențesc Iași to CSM Politehnica Iași, a name more closely linked to the Iași football tradition and dissolved FC Politehnica Iași (1945).
In June 2017, president Florin Prunea was let go after five years at the helm of Politehnica Iași. Adrian Ambrosie was subsequently appointed to the position. After a number of major departures, with the likes of Lukács Bőle and Daisuke Sato finishing their contracts, the team went into major reconstruction and signed a number of foreign internationals, like Denis Rusu, Kamer Qaka, Luwagga Kizito and Platini. On 24 February 2018, despite a 0–1 loss to defending champions Viitorul Constanța, Poli Iași became the first team from Moldavia to qualify for the Liga I play-off round since its introduction in 2015. To the delight of manager Flavius Stoican, they went on to finish the league in 6th place, thus equalling the best result of predecessor FC Politehnica Iași. NamePeriodPolitehnica Iași2010–2011CSM Studențesc Iași2011–2016Politehnica Iași2016–2026
Stadium Politehnica Iași plays its home matches at the Emil Alexandrescu stadium. It is located in the borough of Copou, near the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, and has a capacity of 11,390 seats.
Support The biggest ultras groups of Politehnica Iași are Băieții Veseli and Ultras. Both supported FC Politehnica Iași (1945) until dissolution and regard the new team as its successor. They have friendly relationships with Zimbru Chișinău. Settore Ultra used to be another group of ultras but were captured by Oțelul Galați.
Rivalries Politehnica Iași's main rival is Sporting Vaslui, and matches between these clubs are known as the "Moldovan Derby". The rivalry developed in the 2001–02 Liga III season, when the club from Vaslui was fighting for promotion to the second division together with Poli Iaşi, with the latter winning the championship and earning promotion. The rivalry between the two clubs was, again, fueled by another clash for promotion, this time in the 2003–04 Liga II season, with the whites and blues prevailing yet again. Another recent enemy is Oțelul Galați because of their friendly relations with Dacia Chișinău, as Peluza Nord Iași frequently chants obscenities towards them at nearly every game.
There is another smaller rivalry with FC Botoșani.
Honours
Domestic
Leagues
Divizia A / Liga I Best finish: 6th in 1965–66, 2017–18 Divizia B / Liga II Winners (9): 1959–60, 1961–62, 1967–68, 1972–73, 1981–82, 2003–04, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2022–23 Runners-up (4): 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1993–94 Divizia C / Liga III Winners (1): 2001–02
Notable former players
The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level. Players whose name is listed had a significant number of caps and goals accumulated throughout a certain number of seasons for the club itself as well.
Romania Narcis Bădic Mihai Bordeianu Gabriel Bosoi Ionuț Cioinac Mădălin Ciucă Alexandru Ciucur Alexandru Crețu Andrei Cristea Francisc Cristea Cosmin Frăsinescu Florin Gardoș Vasile Gheorghe Andrei Gheorghiță Ștefan Grigorie Andrei Hergheligiu Florin Ilie Silviu Lung Jr. Ovidiu Mihalache Bogdan Mitrea Adrian Olah Răzvan Onea Marius Onofraș Ionuț Panțîru Florin Plămadă Alin Roman Laurențiu Rus Andrei Sin Ștefan Ștefanovici Cătălin Ștefănescu Ștefan Târnovanu Răzvan Tincu Claudiu Tudor Alexandru Țigănașu Gabriel Vașvari Iulian Vladu Ionuț Voicu Albania Azdren Llullaku Kamer Qaka Argentina Manuel de Iriondo Julián Marchioni Juan Pablo Passaglia Bosnia and Herzegovina Bojan Golubović Branko Grahovac Brazil Luis Phelipe Jô Santos Wesley Cameroon Samuel Gouet Cape Verde Platini Central African Republic Habib Habibou Côte d'Ivoire Moussa Sanoh Costa Rica Dylan Flores Croatia Ivan Kelava Democratic Republic of the Congo Cédric Mongongu England Shayon Harrison France Adama Diakhaby Guatemala Nicolás Samayoa Hungary Lukács Bőle Italy Alessandro Caparco Kosovo Florian Loshaj Lithuania Linas Klimavičius Montenegro Uroš Đuranović Moldova Alexei Koșelev Denis Rusu Netherlands Kevin Luckassen Nigeria Michael Omoh North Macedonia Risto Jankov Todor Todoroski Philippines Daisuke Sato Portugal Filipe Nascimento Nuno Viveiros Serbia Milan Mitić Spain Jesús Fernández Adrià Gallego Rubén Miño Suriname Nicandro Breeveld Uganda Luwagga Kizito
Notable former managers
Sorin Cârțu Liviu Ciobotariu Costel Enache Leo Grozavu Marius Lăcătuș Nicolò Napoli Eugen Neagoe Ionuț Popa Mircea Rednic Emil Săndoi Flavius Stoican
Statistics and records
League history
Season League Level Pos. Notes Cupa României 2025–26 Liga II 2 11th (R) Withdrew Play-off round 2024–25 Liga I 1 13th (R) Relegated Group Stage 2023–24 Liga I 1 12th Play-off round 2022–23 Liga II 2 1st (C, P) Promoted Play-off Round 2021–22 Liga II 2 12th Round of 32 2020–21 Liga I 1 16th(R) Relegated Round of 16 2019–20 Liga I 1 12th Semi-finals 2018–19Liga I 1 10th Round of 16
Season League Level Pos. Notes Cupa României2017–18Liga I 1 6th Quarter-finals2016–17Liga I 1 7th Round of 162015–16Liga I 1 7th Quarter-finals2014–15Liga I 1 10th Round of 162013–14Liga II 21st (C, P)Promoted Fifth Round2012–13Liga I 117th(R)Relegated Round of 322011–12Liga II 21st (C, P) Promoted Fourth Round2010–11Liga II 2 6th Fourth Round
European Cups history Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate 2016–17 UEFA Europa League 2Q Hajduk Split 2–2 1–2 3–4
Notes 1Q: First qualifying round 2Q: Second qualifying round 3Q: Third qualifying round PO: Play-off round
European cups all-time statistics
Competition UEFA Europa League1201134−1 Total 1 2 0 1 1 3 4 −1
References Notes
Citations
External links
Club profile on UEFA's official website Club profile on LPF's official website. .