Unirea CFR Timișoara in 1925Chart showing the progress of CFR's league finishes from 1946 to the present.
Clubul Sportiv de Fotbal CFR 1933 Timișoara, commonly known as CSF CFR 1933 Timișoara or as CFR Timișoara (Romanian pronunciation:[t͡ʃefeˌretimiˈʃo̯ara]), is a Romanianfootballclub based in Timișoara, Timiș County, founded in 1933. The club is currently playing in the Liga VI (6th tier). The team's best moment was during the 1947–48 season, when it was ranked 2nd in the Divizia A and reached the Romanian Cup final. However UTA Arad managed to beat them in both legs.[1]
History
Originally founded in 1919, under the name of Sparta CFR Timişoara, it merged in 1926 with Unirea Timişoara and took on the name of Sparta Unirea CFR Timişoara. In 1927 the club was dissolved only to be founded again, 5 years later, in 1933, as CFR Timişoara,[1][2] a team that made only two divisional appearances until World War II: 1937–1938, 5th place, in the Western League, Divizia C and 1940 -1941, 6th place, in the 1st series of Divizia B. In the 1944, it participated in the Heroes Cup after winning a 6-3 match.[3]
In the 1947–1948 season it managed to reach the final of the Romanian Cup, which they lost in front of the ITA Arad team and finished in second place in Divizia A, following the same ITA Arad. Until 1956 inclusive, CFR Timișoara (since 1950 became Locomotive) only operated in Divizia A. Then 8 championships followed in Divizia B (in 1958–1959 the team returned to the name of CFR) until, surprisingly, in 1965, it was relegated to Divizia C. But it returned after one year to Divizia B, under the leadership of coach Nicolae Godeanu.[citation needed]
In 1969–1970, an action to reorganize Timișoara football took place, on which occasion CFR assigned some of its players to Politehnica Timișoara. Although lacking the chance of promotion, CFR produced a big surprise by returning to Division A, after 13 years, at the end of the championship 1969–1970. The happiness of the CFR lasted only one year (1970–1971), as the team returned to Divizia B, where it remained until 1979, when it was relegated to Divizia C. From here, after only one year, it returned to the second tier where it remained until 1986. It spent another two years in the 3rd division (1986–1988) and still had an honorable participation in Divizia B, which ended, at the end of the 1996–1997 championship, with another three years in Divizia C, where, at the end of the 1999–2000 championship (17th place in the IV series), it was relegated to the county championship.[citation needed]
In the 2003–2004 season it returned to Divizia C, and in 2004–2005 it was promoted to Divizia B, where it evolved until the 2009–2010 season, when it was excluded from the championship due to financial arrears to two former players, but also because they failed to pay arbitration fees.[4]
