Fotbal Club Unirea Dej, commonly known as Unirea Dej, is a Romanian professional football club based in Dej, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga III, the third tier of the Romanian football.
It is one of Romania's oldest football teams, founded in 1921, although it never reached the Liga I. Unirea's home field, Stadionul Unirea, has 5,000 seats. In 2004 Unirea Dej became the reserve team of CFR Cluj, until the summer of 2007. It has an average attendance of about 300 fans.
Unirea Dej was founded in 1921 and, for over four decades, played in regional and district championships. In the 1961âÂÂ62 season, under the guidance of Victor HuÃÂa, Unirea won the Cluj Regional Championship and finished 2nd in Series III of the six-team promotion play-off held in MediaÃÂ, just behind AS Cugir, thus earning promotion to Divizia B for the first time in its history.
Renamed Steaua Dej before the start of the second half of the season, the team coached by Gheorghe Tomescu ended the 1962âÂÂ63 season in 13th place in Series III, relegating to the re-established Divizia C.
In the third division, the team reverted to the Unirea name and competed in the North Series, finishing 4th in the 1963âÂÂ64 season, 9th in the 1964âÂÂ65 season, coached by Victor HuÃÂa, and 1st in the 1965âÂÂ66 season, earning promotion back to Divizia B under the guidance of Eutin Stepan. The squad included Mihai MÃÂglaÃÂ, Mihai SilveÃÂan, Francisc BoldiÃÂ, Emeric FarcaÃÂ, Gavril Butuza, Vasile Negrea, Mircea Gherman, Emil DrÃÂgoi, Mihai Cristof, Alexandru Mardan, Francisc Maghiari, Geza Bandi, Victor ServaÃÂius, Ioan Curtu, Iosif Safar, Constantin Neagu, and Iuliu Duca.
The team coached by Victor HuÃÂa competed in the second division for only one season, finishing last in Series II and being relegated back to Divizia C. The following season, after being relegated to the third division, brought a 9th-place finish in the North Series, followed by 3rd place in Series VII of the 1968âÂÂ69 season, and 7th in the 1969âÂÂ70 campaign.
In 1970âÂÂ71, the team finished as runners-up, tied on points with ArieÃÂul Turda, but missed promotion due to a single-goal difference. That same season, Unirea also reached the Round of 32 in the Cupa României, losing 0âÂÂ2 to Universitatea Cluj. The lineup sent on the field by Vasile Vereàfor that match was composed of Pugna â Covaciu, RacolÃÂa, Gall, MikloÃÂ, Al. Mardan, Albert, Zavalschi (min. 46 NicoarÃÂ), Iosif Pop, Dorin Pop, Constantin CatanÃÂ.
Moved to Series XI, Unirea ended the 1971âÂÂ72 season in 7th place, followed by a 3rd-place finish in Series IX in 1972âÂÂ73. Another runners-up finish came in 1973âÂÂ74, just one point behind Metalul Aiud.
The White and Blues continued to challenge for promotion with back-to-back 2nd-place finishes in Series XI (1974âÂÂ75) and Series X (1975âÂÂ76), then ranked 4th in 1976âÂÂ77, 7th in 1977âÂÂ78, and 10th in Series IX during the 1978âÂÂ79 season.
The 1979âÂÂ80 season brought a 7th-place finish in Series IX, and the White and Blues also reached the Round of 32 in the Cupa României before losing 1âÂÂ4 to top-flight side SC BacÃÂu. Another runners-up result followed in 1980âÂÂ81. However, the 1981âÂÂ82 campaign ended in disappointment, with the team unexpectedly finishing last in Series XI and suffering relegation to the fourth division.
Unirea Dej quickly returned to the third division by winning the 1982âÂÂ83 Cluj County Championship and defeating Heniu Prundu BârgÃÂului, the BistriÃÂa-NÃÂsÃÂud County champions, 5âÂÂ1 on aggregate (5âÂÂ0 at home and 0âÂÂ1 away) in the promotion play-off. However, their stay in Divizia C was short, as the team from the SomeàRiver finished last in Series X of the 1983âÂÂ84 season and was relegated once more to the fourth division.
In the 1988âÂÂ89 season, after five years at county level, Unirea again claimed the Cluj County title and secured promotion by beating Silvania Cehu Silvaniei, the SÃÂlaj County champions, 4âÂÂ2 on aggregate (2âÂÂ2 away and 2âÂÂ0 at home).
Since September 2008 the club has collaborated with AC Milan. The Italian club wishes to build a sports base for young players. "We will be an associated club with AC Milan, and Unirea shorts will have Milan's crest," said a staff member. Eusebiu ÃÂuvagÃÂu has been the head coach until summer 2010. He was replaced by Constantin Olariu who left the team in October 2010 being replaced by Ioan TÃÂtÃÂran. When TÃÂtÃÂran became technical director of FC MaramureÃÂ Universitar Baia Mare in July 2011, ÃÂuvagÃÂu returned as head coach.
In the 2020âÂÂ21 season, Unirea Dej finished 2nd in Series IX of the third league and reached the promotion play-off. Unirea defeated Minaur Baia Mare (0âÂÂ0 in Baia Mare and 3âÂÂ1 in Dej) and SCM ZalÃÂu (0âÂÂ0 at home, 1âÂÂ1 in ZalÃÂu). After 14 years of absence, and exactly when the club celebrated 100 years since its founding, Unirea earned promotion back to Liga II.
The team coached by DragoàMilitaru finished 9th in the 2021âÂÂ22 regular season of Liga II. In the play-out, the blue-and-whites achieved five victories and suffered only one defeat, ranking in second place.
The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level and/or significant caps for FC Unirea Dej.