The Most Successful Football Clubs In Romania

From Gheorghe Hagi and Gheorghe Popescu to Cristian Chivu, Dan Petrescu, and Adrian Mutu, there have been some phenomenal Romanian footballers over the years.

Steaua București are the lone Romanian team to have lifted a European trophy, but several others have enjoyed deep runs in continental competition. There’s more to measuring the most successful football clubs in Romania than the teams with the most knockout wins in Europe, though, so we have built this list based on the number of league titles.

Our rankings cover the Romanian Football Championship (1909-21), Divizia A (1921-2006), and Liga I (2006-present).

Steaua București

With 27 league titles and 19 runner-up placings, Steaua București are by far the most successful football club in Romania. The controversial ownership of Gigi Becali and a lengthy dispute over the club’s name and branding means there is debate over whether the club retains its previous honours.

Becali rebranded as ‘FCSB’ in 2017 after being sued by the Ministry of National Defense, who had originally owned the club as part of CSA Steaua. Away from the courts, Steaua București have consistently won silverware throughout their history, aside from their nine-year title drought between 2015 and 2024.

European champions in 1986 and runners-up three years later, Steaua București had a team capable of going toe-to-toe with Europe’s strongest outfits. The Romanian Revolution in 1989 led to a free market and saw several of Steaua’s top players depart for clubs in Western Europe.

Dinamo București

The first Romanian club to reach the last four of the European Cup, Dinamo București have won 18 league titles and finished as runners-up on 20 occasions. The club has spent most of its history among the betting favourites for silverware.

The chaotic ownership of Ionuț Negoiță led to a challenging 2010s for Dinamo. A long way from contending for silverware, the club faced insolvency, and Negoiță struggled to sell the club. Changes at boardroom level have been frequent since 2012, with the club changing hands multiple times.

Since winning four titles in seven years in the 2000s, Dinamo have only had two top three finishes in Liga 1. Relegation in 2020/21 led to their first ever season outside the topflight.

Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj

All eight of Cluj’s league titles have been won since 2007. Prior to promotion to Liga I in 2004, the Railwaymen had spent most of their history in the lower divisions of Romanian football.

The modern era has seen a change in approach. Building around foreign players, Cluj have been a consistent force and become a regular in European competitions. The highlight was five consecutive league titles across the end of the 2010s and 2020s, although appearing in the Champions League for the first time in 2008 was also historic.

Investment soon after the turn of the century set the foundation for Cluj to challenge Romania’s traditional powers. Financial issues in the first part of the 2010s caused problems for a period, but the club bounced back and set about dominating Liga I for the years that followed.

Venus București

When communist authorities forced Venus București to dissolve in 1949, the club was the most successful in Romania with seven league titles. A year before the team was disbanded, Venus had to merge with Uzinele Comunale București – Administration of Sewerage Systems – as all clubs had to be associated with a trade union or government body.

The club was reformed in 2014 – a century after it was initially founded – and currently plays in the fourth tier of the Romanian football league.

Winners of seven league titles between 1919 and 1940, chairman Robert Țicleanu will be hoping they can climb the divisions and return to their former glories.

Asociația Fotbal Club UTA Arad

Usually known as UTA Arad or just UTA, the club was founded by Francisc von Neuman, owner of the Arad Textile Company. Winners of six league titles and two domestic cups, UTA were a consistent football betting force throughout the 1940s through to the 1970s.

Conflict between owner Adrian Marțian and the fans in the 2010s led to the creation of UTA Bătrâna Doamnă, which was founded by a former UTA Arad player. This new club effectively replaced UTA Arad, receiving the logo, colours, and records.

In 2017, UTA Bătrâna Doamnă was officially confirmed as the successor to UTA Arad. The name was returned to its original, with the club returning to the topflight in 2020.