FCV Farul Constanța
FCV Farul Constanța, commonly known as Farul Constanța or simply as Farul, is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Constanța, Constanța County, that competes in the Liga I, the top tier of Romanian football. Farul translates as "the Lighthouse" in Romanian, alluding to the fact that the city is situated on the Black Sea coast.
Established in 1920 as SPM Constanța, the team had spent over 40 seasons in the first league before merging with Viitorul Constanța in 2021. The highest position it achieved prior to the merger was fourth place on three occasions, and it also played a Cupa României final in 2005. Farul won its first Liga I title at the end of the 2022–23 season, or the second overall if Viitorul's record is considered.
Farul Constanța is known for its academy, which was inherited from Gheorghe Hagi, the joint top goalscorer of the Romania national team. Hagi is also the controlling shareholder of the company and coaches the senior team.
The club traditionally played its matches at Farul Stadium, but now uses the smaller Viitorul Stadium in Ovidiu until a new home ground will be built.
History
Early years (1920–1949)
The club was founded in 1920 as SPM Constanța and played under this name until 1946, when it was renamed PCA Constanța.Ascent (1949–1960)
The modern history of the football club from Constanța began in 1949, when the city's two teams merged to form Locomotiva PCA. The new club was registered for the Divizia B play-off with four other regional champions: Metalul 1 Mai Ploiești, Dinamo Oltenița, Progresul CPCS București and Bucegi Câmpulung Pitești. "Constănțenii" finished first in the group, and were promoted to the second league.| Period | Name |
| 1920–1946 | SPM Constanța |
| 1946–1949 | PCA Constanța |
| 1949–1953 | Locomotiva PCA Constanța |
| 1953–1958 | Locomotiva Constanța |
| 1958–1972 | Farul Constanța |
| 1972–1988 | FC Constanța |
| 1988–present | Farul Constanța |
In 1953, Locomotiva PCA Constanța was renamed Locomotiva Constanța. A year later, at the end of the 1954 season, Locomotiva Constanța received its first promotion to Divizia A. The team was ranked first in the third series of Divizia B, with three points more than second-place Dinamo Bacău. After the last game, an away 1–0 win against Dinamo Bârlad, the players were welcomed at Constanța's old train station by a large crowd which had come to celebrate the promotion. The team consisted of Nebela, Doicescu, Zlotea, Mark, Tatomir, Jarnea, Vultur, Neli Ispas, Gogu Cojocaru, Sever, Cristof, Bobi Georgescu, Gigi Datcu, Linzoiu, Keszkei, coached by Ion Troancă.
In the spring of 1955, Locomotiva began their first season in the first league. The team was strengthened with players from Politehnica Timișoara, CFR București and Flamura Roșie Arad, and had a new coach: Eugen Mladin. The first match of "the Sailors" was played in Bucharest against future champion Dinamo București. Gogu Cojocaru scored first but the match was lost, 4–1. At the end of the season, Locomotiva finished 12th out of 13 teams and was relegated to Divizia B. During the season, Farul Stadium opened. Its debut match, on 23 March 1955, was a fourth-round league game between Locomotiva and defending champions Flamura Roșie Arad. Locomotiva won, 1–0, with a 40-meter goal by Manole.
Locomotiva finished the 1956 Divizia B season in sixth place, and finished third in 1957. The return to an autumn-spring format at the beginning of the 1957–58 season and the renaming of the team to Farul Constanța had brought good luck to the Sailors, who won the second league and returned to the first league of Romanian football. After a tough first season in which the club barely avoided relegation, Farul had their best season to date and finished fourth in 1959–60. The team consisted of players Horia Ghibănescu, Nicolae Botescu, Grigore Ciuncan, Lucrețiu Florescu, Gheorghe Corneanu, Gheorghe Toma, Petre Comăniță, Mircea Bibere, Eugen Pană, Gheorghe Datcu, Vasile Stancu, Constantin Moroianu, Ion Ciosescu, Paul Niculescu, Dumitru Sever, Iacob Olaru and Ștefan Nunu; head coach Iosif Lengheriu, and president Foti Foti.
Domestic top flight and European competition debut (1960–1967)
The 1960s began with the Sharks in the first football league. Due to the failure of newcomers Brânzei, Stancu and Vasilescu to mesh with the team, at the end of the 1960–61 season Farul finished 13th and was relegated with CSMS Iași and Corvinul Hunedoara. Motivated by their presence in the first league, the Constanțenii did not stay long in Divizia B; at the end of the 1961–62 season, they were promoted back to the first league after finishing first. That season, Farul also received its first national football title by winning the U-19 championship. The following year, the Sailors ended the first part of the season as leaders of the Divizia A. They did less well during the second part, and ranked fifth at the end of the season. During the 1962–63 season, the offensive trio of Bükössy-Ciosescu-Dinulescu scored 48 goals. Farul Constanța won its second consecutive title in the U-19 league, with students of Gheorghe Smărăndescu defeating Dinamo București 2–1 in the final.The next three seasons started well for Farul, but they finished in the middle of the pack. In 1963–64, they finished eighth after occupying third place at the end of the first half; all-time goal-scorer Marin Tufan scored 62 goals. The following year, the Sailors finished only one point above first-relegated team Minerul Baia Mare. In the 1965–66 season, Farul finished ninth out of 14 teams. Their qualification for the 1964–66 Balkans Cup was their first participation in European competitions; on 28 April 1965, Farul drew away with Spartak Plovdiv 1–1. They won 1–0 in Constanța two weeks later for their first European victory. In the next game, the white-and-blues first defeated Vardar 4–0 in Skopje and 1–0 in a second match. Their meeting with the Greek side Olympiacos was divided; the Greeks won 1–0 at Piraeus, and Farul won a forfeit in Constanța for first place in Group A. The final of the competition was Romanian; Farul met Rapid București, but lost on aggregate after a 3–3 draw in Bucharest and a 0–2 loss in Constanța. The team did well in the Romanian Cup, where the Sharks were eliminated in the semi-finals by UTA Arad.
In the 1966–67 season, Farul finished fourth in Divizia A. The squad consisted of Vasile Utu, Constantin Tâlvescu, Constantin Manciu, Marin Georgescu, Constantin Koszka, Martin Graef, Suliman Etem, Cicerone Manolache, Constantin Pleșa, Dumitru Antonescu, Ilie Ologu, Marin Tufan, Constantin Iancu, Tiberiu Kallo, Ion Zamfir, Dumitru Caraman, Iosif Bükössy, Constantin Mareș, Vasile Dumbravă; head coach Virgil Mărdărescu, and president Foti Foti. At the end of the season, Farul played six games in its first international tournament in Lebanon, Kuwait and Syria.
Between success and mediocrity (1967–1988)
Farul competed in the 1966–67 Balkans Cup, and were drawn in a group against AEK Athens, Lokomotiv Sofia and Vardar. The Sailors started with two consecutive wins in Constanța: 4–1 against Lokomotiv Sofia, and 2–0 against Vardar Skopje. They could not replicate their home form in the away matches, however, losing all three: 0–4 against Vardar, 0–3 against AEK Athens, and 1–5 versus Lokomotiv Sofia. They drew 1–1 against AEK in the last group match, and finished the group stage in third place.The Sharks finished the 1967–68 season in seventh place, and again competed in the Balkans Cup. Their opponents were Beroe Stara Zagora, Vllaznia Shkodër and Gençlerbirliği. Their results were 3–1 and 2–1 against Gençlerbirliği, two 1–2 losses at Shkodër and Stara Zagora, followed by a 2–1 win against Vllaznia in Constanța and a 1–2 defeat against Beroe. Farul ended the group stage in third place, and did not qualify for the next stage.
During the next two seasons, Farul consolidated its reputation as a difficult team to beat. They finished ninth and reached the semi-finals of the 1968–69 Cupa României at the end of the 1968–69 season. This was followed by sixth place in the league and reaching the quarter-finals of the Cupa României in the 1969–70 season.
The early 1970s transformed Farul to a regular finisher in the middle of the Divizia A standings: 11th in 1970–71 and 1971–72 and eighth in 1972–73. The team was renamed FC Constanța during the summer of 1973, finished fourth at the end of the next season, and qualified for the 1975 Balkans Cup. The format of the competition had changed, and a group consisted of only three teams; Eskişehirspor and Lokomotiv Sofia were in Constanța's group. The team had one victory, one draw and two defeats, both in away matches.
Between 1974 and 1988 FC Constanța had uneven results, bouncing between the first and the second leagues and far from their results in the second half of the 1960s and the first half of the 1970s. After two 10th-place finishes in 1974–75 and 1975–76, FC Constanța barely avoided relegation in 1976–77. They were relegated at the end of the following season after finishing 16th out of 18 teams. Back in Divizia B after 16 years, Constanța finished fourth in the first season and second at the end of 1979–80, far behind leader Brașov. The Sailors were promoted to the first league at the end of the 1980–81 season. The team, led by Emanoil Hașoti and his assistant Petre Comăniță, included Costaș, Stancu, Borali, Antonescu, Nistor, Caramalău, Turcu, Purcărea, Gache, Drogeanu, Livciuc, Ancuța, Buduru, Peniu, Mărculescu, Petcu, I. Moldovan, and Ștefanovici. However, another poor season followed, ending with a 14th-place finish in the 1981–82 Divizia A and relegation at the end of the 1982–83 season. Four Divizia B seasons followed with mediocre results: fifth in 1983–84 and fourth in 1984–85, 1985–86 and 1986–87. The club was promoted to Divizia A at the end of the 1987–88 season, and was renamed Farul Constanța during the summer of 1988. Despite weaker results, the team contributed Gheorghe Hagi, Constantin Gache, Ștefan Petcu, Ion Moldovan, and others to Romanian football.