Asociația Club Sportiv Fotbalistic Oradea (Romanian pronunciation:[biˈhoroˈrade̯a]), commonly known as Bihor Oradea or simply as FC Bihor, is a Romanian professional football club based in Oradea, Bihor County, which competes in the Liga II.
It was founded under the name of Crișul Oradea in April 1958 and, since 1963, it has continued the football tradition of the city, following the dissolution of Club Atletic Oradea. FC Bihor played 18 seasons in the first division, the best performance being the 7th-place ranking on three occasions, in the seasons Liga I 1963–1964, 1983–1984, 1988–1989. At the end of the 2003–2004 season lit was relegated from Liga I, going on to play only in Liga II, failing to get promoted back. In January 2016, after continuously facing major financial problems, FC Bihor went bankrupt and disappeared from Romanian football.[1]
In July 2022, the Oradea City Hall brought the club back to life, which it registered in the Liga III instead of the Club Atletic Oradea.[2] The colors of the club from Oradea are Red and Blue.
The original FC Bihor Oradea was established on 1 April 1958, under the name of Crișul Oradea and made their debut in the Romanian league system in the 1958–59 season, when it competed in the regional championship. Crișul played for three seasons in the first league: 1963–64 (7th place), 1964–65 (9th place) and 1965–66 (13th place), then it relegated to the Divizia B where it played for two seasons, 1966–67 (7th place) and 1967–68 (2nd place). In the summer of 1968, it qualified for the promotion play-off, held in Timișoara. There it managed to secure a place in the first league, coach A. Fernbach-Ferenczi, achieved this performance with the following players: Buiuc, Catona – Balogh, Sărac, A. Serfőző, E. Nagy, Popovici, Dărăban, Sudi, Szűcs, Tomeș, A. Nagy, A. Kun II, I. Kun I, I. Harsányi, E. Cociș, Ujlaki and Levai.[3]
After another two seasons in Divizia A, 1968–69 (13th place) and 1969–70 (15th place) it relegated, but returned in the following season, 1970–71, this time under the leadership of coach Ladislau Vlad. The squad was composed of: Catona (Bologan) – Popovici (Sărac), Lukács, Bulc, Balogh, Dărăban, Neşu, Szűcs, A. Nagy, Arnoczky, Șchiopu. Substitutes: Baumgartner, Cocoș, Ceaușu, E. Cociș, Ungur and Moț. But again, after only one season 1971–72 (16th place) relegation to the Divizia B came. The club's highly oscillating behavior imposed a series of organizational measures, being rebuilt as a football club and renamed as Fotbal Club Bihor starting in 1972 the fight for the return in the top flight.[3]
After the Romanian Revolution followed hard times and 1995–96 season was the most dramatic and closest to disaster season in the history of FC Bihor. With a precarious financial situation and a play more than modest, Bihorenii finished 17th out of 18, with only 31 points and relegated to Divizia C back after 35 years. With a fortune of two players, the rest being sold, FC Bihor had the power to take it from the beginning, with a new president and a new coach, Mircea Fodor and Nicolae Manea. In the squad appeared with much stronger performances players such as: Marius Popa and Cosmin Bărcăuan, players who were part of a very good generation, including other names like: Zeno Bundea or Viorel Domocoș, among others, but the team from Oradea finished only 7th in the fourth series, far away from promotion.
In the 2000–01 Divizia B season, the club was taken over by Marius Vizer, who started a project to bring in three years FC Bihor in the elite football. In his first season with Vizer as owner, FC Bihor finished 4th after a great second part of the championship succeeded by the players and their coach Ioan Andone. In 2001–02 Divizia B team reached the last podium position after UTA Arad and FC Baia Mare, then in the 2002–03 season FC Bihor has made a step forward, being in the second position after Unirea Alba Iulia.[3] In those circumstances, Fotbal Club Oradea (as it was called then), coached by Ionuț Popa and chaired by Ioan Lucian, qualified for the Divizia A play-off, a match against Oțelul Galați. After the first round, FC Bihor lost 1–2, in Galați, but they took the revenge on the Municipal Stadium with 20,000 fans in the stands, beating Oțelul Galați with 3–1, the "golden goal" was scored by Bogdan Vrăjitoarea in overtime. Besides, all four goals in the double confrontation with Oțelul were scored by Bogdan Vrăjitoarea. The squad was composed of: Rotaru - Fl.Lazăr, Zaha, Cr.Munteanu - Gado, Naidin (Fele '63), Dumitra (captain), Fl.Călin ('67 Lungan) Sfârlea - Csehi, Vrăjitoarea. Substitutions: Mârne - Dianu, Măuță and Siminic. They could not play because of injuries, Coțan and Keșerü. The game against Oțelul accounted for FC Bihor supporters as the most important and beautiful game played by FC Bihor at home in its post-revolutionary history.[3]
The adventure of FC Oradea in Divizia A was a short-lived one. After a hesitant first part of the season dotted with extraordinary results, like that 1-1 from the first round against Rapid București (the defending champions at that time), but also unexpected defeats as that against FC Brașov, in the last round of the first part. One of the artisans of the promotion, coach Ionuț Popa, was dismissed. It was the "beginning of the end". The club management, from which Marius Vizer withdrew, leaving the responsibility to the local government, decided to put in office the former coach of Steaua București, Dumitru Dumitriu, a move which proved to be unfortunate. In the first game of the second part, FC Oradea not gathered too many points and Dumitriu was sacked. By the end of the season, "the Red and Blues" failed to obtain the points necessary to maintain in Divizia A and were relegated after only one year in the big football.[3]
After the relegation, followed years of struggle in the second division and at the beginning of 2010's, the club entered in insolvency. FC Bihor promoted back in 2011, but a Liga I licence was denied by the Romanian Football Federation and from this moment the decay started, finally on 12 January 2016 the club was declared bankrupt.[4]
In the summer of 2021, Club Atletic Oradea announced that will be a break up between the owners of the club (Oradea Municipality, APTOR and Oradea Renaștem Împreună) due to a difference of opinion between the public and the private parts. Municipality of Oradea wanted a merger between the two brands, Club Atletic Oradea (owned by Oradea Renaștem Împreună) and FC Bihor Oradea (owned by the Municipality), while the private side did not agree with this and wanted to continue the Club Atletic Oradea project. The owners agreed that the private management of the club will retire from the executive management and the association will work as Club Atletic Oradea only for another season, being expected an exchange of places through which FC Bihor (supported by the public owners), will reach the third tier, while the private owners (Oradea Renaștem Împreună, the official owner of the Club Atletic Oradea brands) will continue to support the white and green club, but a division below, back in the fourth league.[5][6]
On 24 June 2022, Club Atletic Oradea announced officially the break up, and that the club will continue in the county leagues, under the ownership of the private management, which also own the Club Atletic Oradea brands, registered at the Romanian State Office for Inventions and Trademarks.[7] On the place of CAO, in the Liga III will play the club owned by the Municipality of Oradea and APTOR.[8]
On 28 July 2022, the local authorities approved the organizational chart of the newly established Asociația Club Sportiv Fotbalistic Oradea, entity that will use the National registered at OSIM, F.C. Bihor Oradea Brand. The Ownership of the club is formed of Oradea Municipality, APTOR and Bihor County Council. The club was enrolled directly in the Liga III, on the place vacated by Club Atletic Oradea and the former player of FC Bihor Oradea (1958), Sándor Kulcsár, was named as the new chairman.[9]
Youth program
Claudiu Keșerü, one of the most valuable players who was at FC Bihor youth academy.
After the declaration of bankruptcy in 2016, CSM Oradea announced the establishment of the football department and took the youth academy of FC Bihor. Between 2017 and 2022, Club Atletic Oradea formed its senior team which started from the fifth league (lowest county level) following the partnership signed with CSM Oradea, the club which took over the youth academy of FC Bihor Oradea (1958).[10]
In the summer of 2022, CAO 1910 and CSM Oradea terminated the partnership they had, and then CSM Oradea, the sports club supported by the Municipality of Oradea, started a partnership with the reborn club of F.C. Bihor Oradea.
FC Bihor Academy is coordinated by Gheorghe Ghiț and the coaches of the youth groups are Claudiu Mutu, Sorin Todea, Horia Rădulescu, Sorin Pop, Lucian Ciocan, Adrian Gongolea and Dorin Mihuț.[11]
FC Bihor Oradea plays its home matches on the Iuliu Bodola Stadium in Oradea, stadium that was also used by FC Bihor Oradea (1958) between 1958 and 2016, and then by Luceafărul and CAO 1910. The stadium holds 11,155 people, restricted from 18,000 due to advanced stage of degradation of the second stand. It used to be called Crișul / FC Bihor / Municipal Stadium, but in November 2008 the name was changed to Iuliu Bodola, after one of the most famous' players that played for a local team here. The stadium is also equipped with a second ground with natural grass and an artificial turf pitch, but the latter being a small size one (60x40m).
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