2008–09 Liga I

The 2008–09 Liga I was the ninety-first season of Liga I, the top-level football league of Romania. Season began on 26 July 2008 and ended on 10 June 2009. CFR Cluj were the defending champions.

Teams

Promoted

Teams promoted from Liga II at the beginning of the season.

• Serie 1 Champions: Brașov
• Serie 2 Champions: Argeș Pitești
• Serie 1 Runners-up: Otopeni
• Serie 2 Runners-up: Gaz Metan Mediaș

Relegated

Teams relegated to Liga II at the end of season.

• Argeș Pitești
• Farul Constanța
• Otopeni
• Gloria Buzău

Venues

FC Timișoara	Steaua București	FC U Craiova	CFR Cluj
Dan Păltinișanu	Steaua	Ion Oblemenco	Dr. Constantin Rădulescu
Capacity: 32,972	Capacity: 28,365	Capacity: 25,252	Capacity: 23,500
File:Panoramio - V&A Dudush - Stadionu Dan Paltinisan.jpg	File:Stadionul Steaua.jpg	File:Stadium Ion Oblemenco - inside.JPG	File:Dr Constantin Radulescu Stadium (8122846696).jpg
Gloria Buzău	Farul Constanța	Dinamo București	Argeș Pitești
Municipal	Farul	Dinamo	Nicolae Dobrin
Capacity: 18,000	Capacity: 15,520	Capacity: 15,032	Capacity: 15,000
File:Bz stadium gloria.jpg	File:Stadionul Farul in the 80's.jpg	File:Dinamo Stadium (2006).jpg	File:Nicolae Dobrin stadium.jpg
Oțelul Galați			Rapid București
Oțelul			Giulești-Valentin Stănescu
Capacity: 13,500			Capacity: 11,704Template:Efn-lr
File:Stadionul Otelul din Galati.JPG			File:Giulesti Stadium.JPG
Politehnica Iași			FC Vaslui
Emil Alexandrescu			Municipal
Capacity: 11,390			Capacity: 9,240
File:Stadionul Emil Alexandrescu panorama.jpg			File:Stadionul Municipal (Vaslui).jpg
Pandurii Târgu Jiu			FC Brașov
Tudor Vladimirescu			Silviu Ploeșteanu
Capacity: 9,200			Capacity: 8,800
File:RO GJ Targu Jiu stadium 1.jpg			File:Overview Brasov 1.JPG
Gloria Bistrița	CS OtopeniTemplate:Efn-lr	Unirea Urziceni	Gaz Metan Mediaș
Gloria	Astra	Tineretului	Gaz Metan
Capacity: 7,800	Capacity: 7,000	Capacity: 7,000	Capacity: 5,300
File:Stadionul Jean Padureanu.jpg	File:Stadionul Astra.JPG	File:Intrare stadion - panoramio.jpg	File:Stadionul Gaz Metan Medias.PNG

Personnel and kits

Team	Head coach	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt Sponsor
Argeș Pitești	Template:Flagicon	Template:Flagicon Daniel Bălașa	Adidas	Pic
Brașov	Template:Flagicon	Template:Flagicon Robert Ilyeș	Diadora	Roman
CFR Cluj	Template:Flagicon	Template:Flagicon Cadú	Nike	DOMO Group, Sigma Towers
Dinamo București	Template:Flagicon	Template:Flagicon Marius Niculae	Nike	Orange
Farul Constanța	Template:Flagicon	Template:Flagicon George Curcă	Umbro	SNC
FC U Craiova	Template:Flagicon	Template:Flagicon Dorel Stoica	Adidas	editie.ro
Gaz Metan Mediaș	Template:Flagicon	Template:Flagicon Claudiu Boaru	Joma	RomGaz
Gloria Bistrița	Template:Flagicon	Template:Flagicon Adrian Nalați	Puma	Teraplast, Aldis, Darimex
Gloria Buzău	Template:Flagicon	Template:Flagicon Mansour Gueye	Hummel	—
Otopeni	Template:Flagicon	Template:Flagicon Florin Pârvu	Kappa	Urban
Oțelul Galați	Template:Flagicon	Template:Flagicon Gabriel Paraschiv	Hummel	ArcelorMittal
Pandurii Târgu Jiu	Template:Flagicon	Template:Flagicon Florin Stângă	Umbro	USMO
Politehnica Iași	Template:Flagicon	Template:Flagicon Bogdan Onuț	Nike	Iulius Mall
Rapid București	Template:Flagicon	Template:Flagicon Vasile Maftei	Lotto	Arsis
Steaua București	Template:Flagicon	Template:Flagicon Sorin Ghionea	Nike	CitiFinancial
Timișoara	Template:Flagicon	Template:Flagicon Artavazd Karamyan	Lotto	Balkan Petroleum
Unirea Urziceni	Template:Flagicon	Template:Flagicon George Galamaz	Givova	Alexandrion
Vaslui	Template:Flagicon	Template:Flagicon Gabriel Cânu	Umbro	Kia Motors

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Replaced by	Date of appointment
Dinamo București	Template:Flagicon Cornel Țălnar	Contract not renewed	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Mircea Rednic	Template:Dts
Rapid București	Template:Flagicon Marian Rada	Contract not renewed	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon José Peseiro	Template:Dts
Vaslui	Template:Flagicon Emil Săndoi	Contract not renewed	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Viorel Hizo	Template:Dts
Otopeni	Template:Flagicon Liviu Ciobotariu	Contract not renewed	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Miodrag Ješić	Template:Dts
Gloria Buzău	Template:Flagicon Ștefan Stoica	Sacked	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Álvaro Magalhães	Template:Dts
Otopeni	Template:Flagicon Miodrag Ješić	Caretaker	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Gabriel Mărgărit	Template:Dts
CFR Cluj	Template:Flagicon Ioan Andone	Sacked	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Maurizio Trombetta	Template:Dts
Otopeni	Template:Flagicon Gabriel Mărgărit	Sacked	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Marian Bucurescu	Template:Dts
Pandurii Târgu Jiu	Template:Flagicon Eugen Neagoe	Sacked	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Sorin Cârțu	Template:Dts
Rapid București	Template:Flagicon José Peseiro	Sacked	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Nicolae Manea	Template:Dts
Gloria Buzău	Template:Flagicon Álvaro Magalhães	Sacked	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Mario Marinică	Template:Dts
Rapid București	Template:Flagicon Nicolae Manea	Caretaker	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon José Peseiro	Template:Dts
Steaua București	Template:Flagicon Marius Lăcătuș	Resigned	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Dorinel Munteanu	Template:Dts
Vaslui	Template:Flagicon Viorel Hizo	Sacked	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Viorel Moldovan	Template:Dts
Otopeni	Template:Flagicon Marian Bucurescu	Resigned	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Liviu Ciobotariu	Template:Dts
Timișoara	Template:Flagicon Dušan Uhrin, Jr.	Sacked	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Gavril Balint	Template:Dts
Gloria Buzău	Template:Flagicon Mario Marinică	Sacked	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Constantin Cârstea	Template:Dts
Steaua București	Template:Flagicon Dorinel Munteanu	Sacked	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Marius Lăcătuș	Template:Dts
CFR Cluj	Template:Flagicon Maurizio Trombetta	Sacked	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Ales Jindra and Template:Flagicon Dušan Uhrin, Jr.	Template:Dts
Politehnica Iași	Template:Flagicon Ionuț Popa	Resigned	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Cristiano Bergodi	Template:Dts
Rapid București	Template:Flagicon José Peseiro	Sacked	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Marian Rada	Template:Dts
CFR Cluj	Template:Flagicon Ales Jindra and Template:Flagicon Dušan Uhrin, Jr.	Sacked	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Toni	Template:Dts
Farul Constanța	Template:Flagicon Ion Marin	Resigned	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Lucian Marinof	Template:Dts
Rapid București	Template:Flagicon Marian Rada	Resigned	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Viorel Hizo	Template:Dts
Universitatea Craiova	Template:Flagicon Nicolo Napoli	Sacked	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Ionel Gane	Template:Dts
Steaua București	Template:Flagicon Marius Lăcătuș	Resigned	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Massimo Pedrazzini	Template:Dts
Vaslui	Template:Flagicon Viorel Moldovan	Resigned	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Cristian Dulca	Template:Dts
Timișoara	Template:Flagicon Gavril Balint	Sacked	Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Valentin Velcea	Template:Dts

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Template:Flagicon Florin Costea	Universitatea Craiova	17
	Template:Flagicon Gheorghe Bucur	Timișoara
3	Template:Flagicon Spadacio	Rapid București	16
4	Template:Flagicon Ionel Dănciulescu	Dinamo București	12
	Template:Flagicon Marius Niculae
6	Template:Flagicon Pantelis Kapetanos	Steaua București	11
	Template:Flagicon Bogdan Stancu
8	Template:Flagicon Yssouf Koné	CFR Cluj	10
9	Template:Flagicon Gabriel Paraschiv	Oțelul Galați	9
10	Template:Flagicon Alexandru Curtean	Gaz Metan Mediaș / Timișoara	8
	Template:Flagicon Mike Temwanjera	Vaslui
	Template:Flagicon Chico	Farul Constanța
	Template:Flagicon Marius Onofraș	Unirea Urziceni
	Template:Flagicon Marius Bilașco
	Template:Flagicon Romeo Surdu	Brașov
	Template:Flagicon Cristian Bud	Gaz Metan Mediaș

Source: Liga1.ro Template:In lang

Champion squad

Unirea Urziceni

Goalkeepers: Giedrius Arlauskis Template:Flagicon (30 / 0); Cătălin Grigore (2 / 0); Daniel Tudor (2 / 0). Defenders: Valeriu Bordeanu (30 / 0); Pablo Brandán Template:Flagicon (26 / 1); George Galamaz (32 / 4); Ersin Mehmedović Template:Flagicon (18 / 0); Bruno Fernandes Template:Flagicon (19 / 0); Epaminonda Nicu (30 / 0). Midfielders: Iulian Apostol (28 / 2); Tiberiu Bălan (25 / 4); George Bârlădeanu (2 / 0); Jacob Burns Template:Flagicon (10 / 0); Sorin Frunză (25 / 1); Răzvan Pădurețu (31 / 3); Ricardo Vilana Template:Flagicon (20 / 1); Dinu Todoran (22 / 2); Dacian Varga (14 / 4). Forwards: Bogdan Aldea (1 / 0); Marius Bilașco (27 / 8); Cristian Dănălache (20 / 3); Bogdan Mara (17 / 5); Marius Onofraș (22 / 8); Raul Rusescu (23 / 5). (league appearances and goals listed in brackets) Manager: Dan Petrescu.

Season statistics

Scoring

• First goal of the season: Andrei Prepeliță for Craiova against Iași, 64 minutes (Round 1 – 26 July 2008)
• Last goal of the season: Claudiu Niculescu for Dinamo against Argeș, 90+3 minutes (Round 34 – 10 June 2009)
• Fastest goal in a match: Andrei Cristea for Iași against Pandurii, 10 seconds (Round 30 – 9 May 2009)
• Fastest two goals in a match: Pandurii 1–1 Bistrița, minutes 2 and 4 seconds (Round 14 – 8 November 2008)
• Goal scored at the latest point in a match: Cristian Oroș for Brașov against Unirea, 90+4 minutes (Round 1 – 26 July 2008)
• First own goal of the season: Zhivko Zhelev (Oțelul) for Gaz Metan, 31 minutes (Round 1 – 27 July 2008)
• Two own goals by the same team in a match: Diogo and Alexandru Tudose (both Buzău) for CFR, minutes 14 and 79 (Round 2 – 3 August 2008)
• Two goals in one minute and one second: Farul 1–1 Brașov, between 5:53 and 6:54 (Round 13 – 1 November 2008)
• Three goals in three minutes: Farul 1–4 Steaua, minutes 89, 90 and 90+2 (Round 7 – 13 September 2008)
• Six goals in 30 minutes: Gaz Metan 5–1 Timișoara, minutes 60 through 90 (Round 3 – 9 August 2008)
• Most goals in one half: Gaz Metan 0–0 at half time, 5–1 final Timișoara (Round 3 – 9 August 2008)
• Widest winning margin: Otopeni 6–0 Farul (Round 34 – 10 June 2009)
• Hattricks scored: 4
  • Alexandru Curtean for Gaz Metan against Timișoara, minutes 65, 75 and 81 (Round 3 – 9 August 2008)
  • Marius Niculae for Dinamo against Vaslui, minutes 24, 78 and 90 (Round 24 – 11 April 2009)
  • Marius Niculae for Dinamo against Bistrița, minutes 20, 56 and 72 (Round 26 – 21 April 2009)
  • Victoraș Iacob for Otopeni against Farul, minutes 4, 34 and 50 (Round 34 – 10 June 2009)

Cards

• First yellow card: Attila Hadnagy for Brașov against Unirea, 19 minutes (Round 1 – 26 July 2008)
• First red card: Rafael Pereira for Gaz Metan against Dinamo, 22 minutes (Round 2 – 3 August 2008)
• Most red cards in a single match: 3
  • Dinamo 1–0 Craiova – 2 for Dinamo (Júlio César, Adrian Ropotan) and 1 for Craiova (Josh Mitchell) (Round 6 – 30 August 2008)
  • Argeș 1–1 Craiova – 2 for Craiova (Mircea Bornescu, Michael Baird) and 1 for Argeș (Daniel Bălașa) (Round 10 – 3 October 2008)
• Match without any cards: Unirea 1–1 Steaua (Round 34 – 10 June 2009)