Ghencea Stadium
Encyclopedia
Steaua Stadium informally also known as Ghencea, is a football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...

 in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....

, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

, home of Ministry of National Defence of Romania
Ministry of National Defence of Romania
The Ministry of National Defense is one of the fifteen ministries of the Government of Romania. the Minister of Defense is Gabriel Oprea.-Ministry:...

. Also called Ghencea Stadium, it was inaugurated on 9 April 1974 when Steaua played a friendly game against OFK Belgrade, 2–2.

Tătaru
Gheorghe Tataru
Gheorghe Tătaru, , also known as Tătaru II, was a Romanian football striker, an emblematic player of Steaua Bucureşti. He was the brother of Nicolae Tătaru who also played professional football.-Career:...

 was the first player to score on the new stadium. First 11 of Steaua in that match was: Coman - Sătmăreanu
Lajos Satmareanu
Lajos Sătmăreanu, is a former Romanian football player of Hungarian ethnicity.He played for Romania too, winning 44 caps and scoring a goal...

, Sameş
Stefan Sames
Ştefan Sameş was a Romanian professional football player and manager.-Career:Born in Dobroiești, Sameş began playing football for the youth side of FC Steaua Bucureşti. He made his Romanian first division debut at age 19, playing for FC Universitatea Craiova while on loan from Steaua during 1971...

, Smărăndache, Cristache - Dumitru
Ion Dumitru
Ion Dumitru , commonly known as Liţă Dumitru, is a former Romanian footballer.-External links:*...

, Iovănescu
Sevastian Iovănescu
Sevastian "Bebe" Iovănescu was a Romanian football player.-Career:Iovănescu played over 350 matches in the Romanian first division, scoring more than 50 goals, with FC Steaua Bucureşti, FC Argeş, FC Olt Scorniceşti and Farul Constanţa.Iovănescu made one appearance for the senior Romania national...

 - Pantea
Nicolae Pantea
Nicolae Pantea is a Romanian former football player and manager, a glory of Steaua Bucureşti. He used to play as a midfielder.-Club career:...

, Iordănescu
Anghel Iordanescu
Anghel Iordănescu is a Major General and former Romanian football striker, currently a politician. In 2007 Iordănescu retired from football, and the following February, after his predecessor resigned, he became a member of the Romanian Senate, sitting on the Social Democratic Party benches.-Career...

, Năstase
Viorel Năstase
Viorel Năstase is a Romanian former football player.He scored 4 goals in 6 matches for Steaua in European Cups, all against FC Barcelona.- Notes : The 1969-1970 Liga I goals made for Progresul Bucureşti are unavailable....

, Ion. Reserves: Haidu, Ionescu, Dumitru, Tătaru
Gheorghe Tataru
Gheorghe Tătaru, , also known as Tătaru II, was a Romanian football striker, an emblematic player of Steaua Bucureşti. He was the brother of Nicolae Tătaru who also played professional football.-Career:...

 and Răducanu
Marcel Raducanu
Marcel Răducanu is a former football player who played for Steaua Bucureşti, Borussia Dortmund, FC Zürich and the Romanian national team....

.

History

At the time it was one of the first football-only stadiums ever built in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

, as there are no athletic (track and field) facilities, and the stands are very close to the pitch.

The original capacity was 30,000 on benches, but in 1991 when the plastic seats were installed, the capacity dropped to 28,365, along with 126 press seats, 440 seats in VIP boxes and 733 armchairs. The floodlighting system, with a density of 1400 lux, has been inaugurated in 1991.

The stadium has been renovated in 1996 and 2006 in order to host UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

 games, and is now offering some state-of-the-art facilities such as: a four-star establishment with all the facilities required for the team, internet for the press-room, 17 cameras for video surveillance, electrically heated pitch, an automated irrigation system, and a modern scoreboard capable of playing replays. Lately there have been talks for increasing the capacity to either 45,000 or 60,000 with the company that, among others, has worked on building stadia such as Commerzbank-Arena
Commerzbank-Arena
The Commerzbank-Arena is a sports stadium in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. Commonly known by its original name, Waldstadion , the stadium opened in 1925. The stadium has been upgraded several times since then; the most recent remodelling was its redevelopment as a football-only stadium in preparation...

 in Frankfurt and renovating ones as Olympiastadion
Olympic Stadium (Berlin)
The Olympiastadion is a sports stadium in Berlin, Germany. There have been two stadiums on the site: the present facility, and one that is called the Deutsches Stadion which was built for the aborted 1916 Summer Olympics. Both were designed by members of the same family, the first by Otto March...

 in Berlin.

The Romanian national football team
Romania national football team
The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...

 was also a tenant. The first game played by the national team at Steaua was in March 1977 against Turkey
Turkey national football team
The Turkey national football team represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA...

. Since then other 59 games were played, the last one in May 2008 against Montenegro
Montenegro national football team
The Montenegro national football team represents Montenegro in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Montenegro, the governing body for football in Montenegro...

. Also, several matches from the 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
1998 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
The UEFA U-21 Championship 1998, which spanned two years , had 46 entrants. Before the quarter-finals stage, Romania were chosen as the hosts of the final stages, consisting of four matches in total....

, including the final, have been hosted by the arena.

Romanian national football team

The following national team matches were held in the stadium:

Important matches

Date Match Result Notes
09-04-1974 Steaua–Belgrade 2–2 A friendly game, the first ever played on Ghencea Stadium.
28-04-1974 Steaua–Braşov 2–2 First official match played on Ghencea Stadium.
23-03-1977 Romania
Romania national football team
The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...

Turkey
Turkey national football team
The Turkey national football team represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA...

4–0 A Balcanic Cup game. The first game played by Romania
Romania national football team
The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...

 on Ghencea Stadium.
03-10-1979 Steaua–Young Boys
BSC Young Boys
Berner Sport Club Young Boys 1898 is a Swiss sporting club based in the capital city of Bern. The name is often abbreviated to YB . Abroad, YB is often referred to as Young Boys Bern. The club's colors are yellow and black....

6–0 Steaua's largest win in European Cups.
16-04-1986 Steaua–Anderlecht 3–0 European Cup semifinal. Following this win, Steaua
Steaua
The name Steaua may refer to*FC Steaua Bucureşti - the Romanian football club.*CSA Steaua Bucureşti - the Romanian sport club and its sections:*Ice hockey*Basketball*Handball*Rugby union...

 qualified for the European Cup
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

 final.
06-04-1988 Steaua–Benfica 0–0 European Cup semifinal.
07-12-1988 Steaua–Corvinul 11–0 Steaua's largest win in Liga I
Liga I
Liga I, or in full, due to sponsorship reasons, Liga I Bergenbier, is the top division of the Romanian football league system. Before the 2006/2007 season, it was called Divizia A, but the name had to be changed following the discovery that someone else had registered the trademark "Divizia A"...

.
15-03-1989 Steaua–Göteborg
IFK Göteborg
IFK Göteborg is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, the club has won 18 national championship titles, five national cup titles, and two UEFA Cups....

5–1 European Cup quarter-finals.
05-04-1989 Steaua–Galatasaray
Galatasaray S.K. (football team)
Galatasaray Anonim Şirketi is a Turkish football club, part of the Galatasaray S.K. multi-sport club of Istanbul. Galatasaray is a major sports club in Turkey, holding 17 Turkish Super League titles and the highest number of Turkish Cups....

4–0 European Cup semifinal. An important win for Steaua
Steaua
The name Steaua may refer to*FC Steaua Bucureşti - the Romanian football club.*CSA Steaua Bucureşti - the Romanian sport club and its sections:*Ice hockey*Basketball*Handball*Rugby union...

 which virtually opened the door to the European Cup
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

 final.
15-11-1989 Romania
Romania national football team
The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...

Denmark
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...

3–1 Following this win, Romania
Romania national football team
The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...

 qualified to 1990 FIFA World Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...

, the first World Cup Romania
Romania national football team
The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...

 attended in twenty years.
01-08-1991 Steaua–Brăila 2–0 A Divizia A game, in which occasion the installation night was inaugurated.
28-09-1991 Steaua–Bacău
FCM Bacau
FCM Bacău is a Romanian football club, founded in 1950, currently playing in the Liga II. It's the best placed Moldovan team in the Liga I All-Time Table, ranking 9th with 42 seasons played.-History:...

4–1 A Divizia A game, in which occasion the floodlighting system was inaugurated.
13-09-1995 Steaua–Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

1–0 First match won in UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

 new format.
04-04-1998 Steaua–Dinamo
Dinamo Bucuresti
Fotbal Club Dinamo Bucureşti is a Romanian professional football club based in Bucharest. Dinamo is one of the two most successful football teams in Romania, having won 18 Romanian Liga I titles, 12 Romanian Cups and 1 Romanian Supercup....

5–0 A Divizia A game, Steaua's largest win against Dinamo.
31-05-1998 Greece U21Spain U21
Spain national under-21 football team
The Spain national under-21 football team, is the national under-21 football team of Spain and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. The team, nicknamed La Rojita , competes in the biannual European Under-21 Football Championship.Following the realignment of UEFA's youth...

0–1 A 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Final.
25-02-2005 Steaua–Valencia
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...

2–0 Steaua won 4-3 on penalty shootout, and thus Steaua qualified for the Round of 16 of the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

.
Many consider this game, the most important win of the past 15 years, marking the beginning of "a new era" for the Romanian side.
07-04-2007 Steaua–Dinamo
Dinamo Bucuresti
Fotbal Club Dinamo Bucureşti is a Romanian professional football club based in Bucharest. Dinamo is one of the two most successful football teams in Romania, having won 18 Romanian Liga I titles, 12 Romanian Cups and 1 Romanian Supercup....

2–4 A Divizia A game, in which occasion the new scoreboard was inaugurated.
24-11-2009 Urziceni–Sevilla
Sevilla FC
Sevilla Fútbol Club S.A.D. is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, Spain that plays in the Spanish La Liga championship.They are one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football having won a 1 La Liga title, 5 Spanish "Copa del Rey" Cups, 1 Spanish Super Cup and 2 UEFA...

1–0 A UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

 game. First victory of one Romanian team on their home stadium after 13 years.

Photo gallery

External links

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