SCM Dunărea Giurgiu


Sport Club Municipal Dunărea Giurgiu, commonly known as SCM Dunărea Giurgiu or Dunărea Giurgiu, is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Giurgiu, Giurgiu County and currently playing in the Liga III, the 3rd tier of the Romanian football league system.
The team was founded in 1948 and until the summer of 2010 it was known as FC Dunărea Giurgiu. Then it was renamed Astra II after it was bought by Ioan Niculae, owner of Liga I squad FC Astra Giurgiu. In the summer of 2012 the club was dissolved after its owner decided to cut back on expenses. Then the club was refounded in the summer of 2013 as CSM Dunărea Giurgiu.

History

Founded in 1948, with players from Dragaje and Acvila, two small clubs from Giurgiu, Dunărea played for several years in the districts and regional championships.
In the 1960–61 season, led by Lucian Mititelu, Dunărea won the Bucharest Regional Championship and qualified for promotion play-offs in the second division, but lost the promotion finishing in the 3rd place behind CFR Arad and Carpați Sinaia, in a series in who also played Flacăra Roșie București, Muscelul IMS Câmpulung and Dinamo Craiova. Also, Dunărea reached the first round proper of the Romanian Cup, but lost in front of Progresul București 0–4. The squad of Dunărea during the championship and the play-offs matches was composed of: Manole, Gheorghiu, Drăgănescu, Nemțescu, Iorgulescu, Ghiță, Pană, Albu, IIiuță, Stan, Nicu, Rotărescu, Năsturescu, Nania, Grozea, Negrilă and Vasile Ene.
In the summer of 1963, the club merged with Victoria Giurgiu, newly promoted to Divizia C, and played in the South Series of the third tier, finishing 2nd in the 1963–64 season and 3rd in the 1964–65 season. The two clubs separated in 1965, and the shipyard team was renamed Dunărea, continuing to compete in the third division, where it finished 5th in 1965–66 and 4th in 1966–67.
After five consecutive seasons in the third tier, Dunărea managed to promote for the first time to Divizia B at the end of the 1967–68 season, winning the South Series after a strong battle with Progresul Brăila. Led by Gheorghe Gîrlea for most of the season and by Nicolae Nemțescu towards the end, the Dunărea squad included Penescu, Piticu, Ghibănescu, Iacob, Lungu, Cristache, Ghiță, Cojocaru, State, D. Ion, Borțea, Grădinaru, Nania, Mustață, Trăistaru, Anghel, Constantin, E. Ilie, Clepcea, C. Sandu, Budurincă, Marin, Mănăilă, P. Nicolae, and Țigănilă.
In the second division, Dunărea successively occupied 12th in 1968–69 season, and during the same campaign the team also reached the Round of 32 in the Cupa României, drawing 2–2 after extra time at home against Rapid București but being eliminated because the regulations stated that, in case of a draw, the away team advanced. This was followed by 13th in 1969–70, 6th in 1970–71, 11th in 1971–72, and 12th in 1972–73, before being relegated at the end of the 1973–74 season after finishing 16th in Series II.
Dunărea spent only one season in the third division, earning a quick promotion by winning Series V of the 1974–75 Divizia C under coach Tinel Popescu. Renamed FCM Giurgiu, the team had a solid 1975–76 season, finishing 6th, followed by 10th in 1976–77, and 11th in 1977–78 with Viorel Popescu as head coach, who was replaced by Ștefan Roman the following season when the team ranked 10th, and last place in 1979–80, which resulted in relegation at the end of the season.
Dunărea achieved promotion to Divizia B after a twenty-five-year absence at the end of the 2004–05 season, topping Series III of Divizia C. The team was led by head coach Marcel Ploaie, with Ciprian Ulea as assistant coach, and included Ene, G. Barbu, Rusu, Tănase, Câțu, Manea, Peicu, Fodor, Matei, Ruse, Vasile, Mulțescu, Cr. Ion, Cojenel, Gheorghe, Sandu, Nistorache, Ioniță, Zamfir, and Lascarache.
The team was refounded in the summer of 2013 under the multisport club Sport Club Municipal Dunărea Giurgiu and competed under the leadership of former player Constantin Sandu in the South Series of Liga IV – Giurgiu County, finishing 2nd in the 2013–14 season and losing 0–2 in the championship semifinals to Petrolul Roata Cartojani. In the following seasons, Dunărea ranked 4th in 2014–15 and 1st in 2015–16, with Marcel Abăluță as head coach, but was eliminated in the semifinals after a 1–1 draw and a 5–6 penalty loss to Avântul Florești.
In the 2016–17 season, the team finished 2nd and, after defeating Petrolul Roata de Jos 2–1 in the semifinals, Dunărea won the county title by beating CS Mihai Bravu 2–0 in the final, qualifying for the promotion play-off to Liga III, where they lost 2–3 on aggregate to Agricola Borcea, the Călărași County champions.
Dunărea Giurgiu appointed Andrei Nemțescu as head coach in July 2022 for the 2022–23 season. Under his leadership, the team finished first in the South Series, qualifying for the championship play-offs, where they defeated Singureni 2–0 in the semifinals and Viitorul Tântava 2–0 in the final, winning the Giurgiu County Liga IV title. They secured promotion to Liga III after the play-off against Bărăganul Ciulnița, the Ialomița County champions, with a 1–1 away draw and a 6–1 home victory. The squad included, among others, Stancu, Mitrea, Calea, Blaga, Popescu, Lungu, Matache, Cazaciuc, Florescu, Țangulea, Mizdrescu, Diceanu, Bălțat, G. Gheorghe, Arpetin, Constantinescu, and Pasăre.
In the 2023–24 Liga III season, Dunărea finished 4th in both the regular season and the play-off round of Series IV, while in the 2024–25 season they ranked 6th in the regular season and 9th in the play-out round, being spared from relegation due to the withdrawal of other teams and appointing Bogdan Vintilă as the new head coach.

Honours

Liga III
Liga IV – Giurgiu County
  • Winners : 1992–93, 1993–94, 2016–17, 2022–23
  • Runners-up : 2021–22

Former managers

League and Cup history

SeasonTierDivisionPlaceNotesCupa României
2025–263Liga III TBD
2024–253Liga III 9thSpared Third Round
2023–243Liga III 4th
2022–234Liga IV 1st Promoted
2021–224Liga IV 2ndFinal
2020–214Liga IV 1stSemi-finals
2019–204Liga IV 3rd
2018–194Liga IV 6th
2017–184Liga IV 2ndSemi-finals
2016–174Liga IV 2nd
2015–164Liga IV 1stSemi-finals
2014–154Liga IV 4th
2013–144Liga IV 2ndSemi-finals
2012–132Liga II 16thDissolved
2011–122Liga II 11thRound of 16
2010–112Liga II 9thRound of 32
2009–102Liga II 9thRound of 32
2008–092Liga II 11th

SeasonTierDivisionPlaceNotesCupa României
2007–082Liga II 7th
2006–072Liga II 9th
2005–062Divizia B 5th
2004–053Divizia C 1st Promoted
2003–043Divizia C 2nd
2002–033Divizia C 4th
2001–023Divizia C 5th
2000–013Divizia C 7th
1999–003Divizia C 7th
1998–993Divizia C 10th
1997–983Divizia C 16th
1996–973Divizia C 9th
1995–963Divizia C 6th
1994–954Divizia D 1st 'Promoted
1993–944Divizia D 1st '
1991–923Divizia C 12thRelegated
1990–913Divizia C 13th
1989–903Divizia C 9th