ACS Minerul Lupeni

 

The team of miners from the Lupeni coal basin was founded in 1920 as Jiul Lupeni.^[1] In 1926, the club merger for a short time with CAMP playing under the name of Jiul Lupeni.^[2]

In the 1927–28 season, the Jiu Valley team won the Arad Regional Championship, qualified for the Divizia A national tournament and reached the final, losing to Colțea Brașov, 2–3. The lineup from the final with Adalbert Szabo as coach: Ioan Kiss – Eugen Szabados, Rupp – Alexandru Berkessy, Szüle, Gentl – Kertesz, Aurel Guga, Bognar, Joseph Kilianovitz, Meszner.^[2]

Renamed as Minerul, the club played for the first time in Cupa României in the 1935–36 season, but were eliminated in the quarter-finals by the strong team of Ripensia Timișoara 2–9, the team that won the title.^[3] Also, The Miners played in the first season of the third division finishing as runners-up in the Western League and promoted to second division at the end of the 1937–38 season of Divizia C. The team was composed of Sepreny – Sebok, Baki – Maior, Peter, Racolțea – Comsloșan, Ilieș, Zelenak, Sorger and Băcilă.^[4]

The Red-Blacks played the next three seasons in the second division championship finished 4th in 1938–39, 2nd in 1939–40 and 6th in 1940–41.

After the Second World War, Minerul continued to evolve in Divizia B, finishing the 1946–47 season on 12th place in the second series.

The Miners played the next decade in the second division often finishing at mid-table or fighting to save from relegation: 6th (1947–48), 5th (1948–49), 4th (1950) as Partizanul, 11th (1951) as Flacăra, spared from relegation due to the move of Flacăra București at Ploiești and disappearance of former Flacăra Ploiești (Prahova Ploiești), 10th (1952), 14th (1953) renamed as Minerul, 6th (1954), 9th (1955), 9th (1956), 6th (1957–58).

At the end of the 1958–59 season, Minerul finished 1st in the Serie I of the second division and promoted in Divizia A after fifteen seasons in Divizia B. The squad managed by Vasile Lazăr as head coach and Adalbert Pall as assistant coach was composed of: Ioan Kiss II, Simion Plev, Alexandru Coman, Vasile Keresteș, Ștefan Szöke, Ioan Groza, Carol Mihaly, Constantin Cotroază, I.Pall, Mircea Onea, Tudor Paraschiva, Carol Creiniceanu among others.^[5]

With some new players such as Teodor Mihalache, Daniel Peretz, Ion Leahovici, Alexandru Dan II, Milea, Alexandru Nisipeanu, Virgil Mihăilă, Mihai Țurcan, D.Cucu, N.Stanciu among others, Minerul played four years in the first division finishing three cnsecutive seasons on 11th place, before being relegated at the end of the 1962–63 season when finished on the last place. The Red-Blacks reached the quarter-finals of the 1959–60 Cupa României, losing 3–1 to Dinamo Obor București.

Followed four more seasons in the second tier, finishing 10th (1963–64), 4th (1964–65), 11th (1965–66) and 13th (1966–67) surprising relegating in Divizia C.^[4]

Followed nine seasons in the third tier until Minerul returned to Divizia B; 5th place in 1967–68, 1968–69 runners-up, 3rd place in 1969–70, 1970–71 seasons and 1971–72, 7th place in 1972–73 and qualified to the first round proper of Cupa României, the team coached by Teodor Mihalache was eliminated by Steaua București 0–1 and was composed of; Șarpe - Iosif Rus, Șvedak, Gheorghe Burdangiu, Adrian Serafim - Ioan Polgar, Cristache II - Gheorghe Voicu, Lucuța, Constantin Cotroază, Turbatu (83’ Moldovan),^[6] 1973–74 runner-up, 3rd place in 1974–75 and 1st place the 1975–76 season ― the squad that achieving the promotion, under the leadership of Gheorghe Kotormány, was composed among others of the following players; Budușan, Adrian Dodu, Constantin Roșu, Tudor, Alexandru Naidin, Nicolae Boloș, Ioan Dosan, Lucuță, Rusu, Nicșa, Stoinică, Lucian, Gheorghe Voicu and Gheorghe Burdangiu.^[4]

Minerul withdrew from the championship during the 2010–11 Liga II season and dissolved after ninety years of existence.^[7]

In the fall of 2021, the former captain of Minerul, Adrian Lumperdean, together with his brother, Emil Lumperdean and their nephew, Lucu Lumperdean, decided to bring back to life the football tradition from Lupeni, laying the foundations of Viitorul Minerul Lupeni.^[8]

In the beginning, the three members of the Lumperdean family, along with the local authorities of Lupeni, revived the groups for children and youths and later enrolled the seniors team in the 2022–23 season of Liga IV – Hunedoara County.

Liga I

• Runners-up (1): 1927–28

Liga II

• Winners (1): 1958–59
• Runners-up (1): 1939–40

Liga III

• Winners (5): 1937–38, 1975–76, 1979–80, 1982–83, 2004–05
• Runners-up (5): 1936–37, 1968–69, 1973–74, 1978–79, 1991–92

Liga IV – Hunedoara County

• Winners (1): 2023–24
• Runners-up (1): 2022–23

As of 10 September 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   ROU Andrei Rațiu (Captain) 4 DF   ROU Alexandru Doboș 6 DF   ROU Dragoș Vlad 7 MF   ROU Laurențiu Mazilu 8 MF   ROU Mihai Bănceanu 9 FW   GHA Abraham Ayemantey 10 MF   ROU Dacian Mândreci 11 MF   ROU Ștefan Tanți 12 GK   ROU Silviu Drîngă 14 DF   ROU Raul Ciucurescu 15 DF   ROU David Androne 17 FW   GHA Robert Eshun 18 MF   ROU Sergiu Prem

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 MF   ROU Andrei Petea 20 MF   ROU Adrian Marinca 21 MF   GHA Moses Baidoo 22 DF   ROU Răzvan Dulap 23 FW   ROU Bogdan Jeler 27 MF   ROU Alexandru Cercel 55 MF   ROU Alexandru Creciunesc 77 DF   ROU Nicolae Toma 80 MF   ROU Adrian Bedea 88 GK   ROU Andrei Tonca 97 DF   ROU Alexandru Hârsan 99 FW   ROU Bogdan Iepure

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

The footballers mentioned below have played at least 1 season for Minerul Lupeni and also played in Liga I for another team.

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