Romania's Cup in Football
Romanian Cup in football, which is Romanian football's most popular competition, has now reached its round of 32 phase. This is the level where League One teams enter the competition, reason enough for Romanian TV station to focus their attention on the scheduled matches.
This year, of the 32 teams that have entered the competition, 14 come from domestic championship's League One, ten teams come from the second league, while another eight are third league teams.
Round of 32 games are played following an eliminatory system. They are one-legged fixtures, played on the turf of the lower-echelon team or on the pitch of the team with a poorer ranking in the previous championship. If matches enjoy a live TV transmission and if they are played in the evening, and if the organizing club's stadium does not have floodlighting installation, the match will be played on a stadium located in the nearest city, and which meets the stipulated requirements, TV transmission included.
The round of 32's debut day, this past Thursday, was not so auspicious for the second league teams, as all four second league teams were defeated. Sportul Snagov was defeated by Universitatea Craiova away from home, 2-nil, Dacia Unirea Braila sustained a 3-1 defeat by Dinamo Bucharest, while ASU Politehnica Timisoara conceded a 4-2 defeat to Sepsi Sfintu Gheorghe, after the penalty shootouts. In Miercurea Ciuc, Energeticianul were defeated by third-league team AFK Csiksereda, 1-2.
Romania's Cup in football dates from 1933. Ripensia Timisoara was the first team to win the Cup, as in the final of the cup's 1933-1934 edition they defeated Universitatea Cluj. The match was hosted by the ONEF stadium in Bucharest. We recall that after 1948, the stadium was named 'Republica' and was later brought down to leave room for the construction of Nicolae Ceausescu's People's House, today's Palace of Parliament.
Steaua Bucharest is the winner of the greatest number of Romanian Cup editions, 22. Steaua is also an eight-time finalist, but each time the team was defeated. Two other teams from Bucharest, Dinamo and Rapid, have won the Cup 13 times. (translated by Eugen Nasta)
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