FC Rapid Bucureşti
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| Full name | Fotbal Club Rapid București |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) |
Giuleștenii (The people from Giuleşti) Alb-Vișiniii (The White and Burgundies) Feroviarii (The Railwaymen) Vulturii Vișinii (The Burgundy Eagles) |
| Short name | Rapid |
| Founded | 25 June 1923 |
| Ground | Giulești-Valentin Stănescu |
| Capacity | 19,100 |
| Chairman | Horia Manoliu |
| Manager | Mihai Iosif |
| League | Liga V |
| 2015–16 | Liga II, Seria I, 1st |
| Website | Club home page |
Asociația Fotbal Club Rapid București (Romanian pronunciation: [raˈpid bukuˈreʃtʲ]) was a Romanian football club. It was founded in 1923 by a group workers of the Grivița workshops under the name of "Cultural and Sporting Association CFR" (Asociația culturală și sportivă CFR). Rapid won the Romanian championship three times, 1967, 1999 and 2003, and the Romanian Cup on 13 occasions. On 14 July 2016, the club was declared bankrupt and subsequently replaced in Liga I by ACS Poli Timișoara.
In June 1923, Teofil Copaci, Grigore Grigoriu, Aurel Kahane, Geza Ginzer and other Romanian railroad workers agreed the fusion of two amateur clubs, "CFR" (ex-"Rampa Militari") and "Excelsior". After a few years, the team started competing in the first league in 1931.
During the pre-war years, Rapid was one of Romania's top teams, regularly winning the cup but never the championship although they came close. Once Rapid lost the championship because of fair play. One of Rapid's players touched the ball with his hand in the penalty area during a decisive match against Venus Bucharest. Rapid needed a win to finish first in the league. In the first place the referee did not see the incident but when hearing the audience protest the referee asked the player if he touched the ball with his hand, the player admitting. Venus converted the penalty and managed to draw 1–1 and to finish first in the league.
The railway workers were not the selection pool any longer, but a strong supporting audience. Some players were also selected in the national team. During those years, but also during the war, the competitions' formats changed for various reorganizations and Rapid won the "Bassarabia" Cup, in 1942. The strangest of all might be the qualification in the final of the Mitropa Cup (precursor of the UEFA Champions League) at a moment when the competition was taking its last breath.
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