Fotbal Club Unirea Urziceni, commonly known as Unirea Urziceni (), was a Romanian professional football club based in Urziceni, IalomiÃÂa County. Unirea became national champions in 2009, at the end of their third season in the top-flight.
The club was founded in 1954, and spent the majority of its history in the lower tiers of the Romanian league system. In 2006 they reached Liga I for the first time, and received national praise for their results at this level. At the end of their second season in the top division they earned qualification to Europe, and one year later they claimed the domestic title. In 2010, the team's owner withdrew financial support and Urziceni was forced to sell most of its players to pay debts, leading to relegation at the end of the 2010âÂÂ11 season.
In the summer of 2011, owner Dumitru BucÃÂaru did not file for a licence for the club to play in the Liga I and decided not to enroll the team in any championship. Unirea Urziceni was subsequently dissolved.
Currently, there is the football team AS FC Urziceni, established and supported by the local mayorship in 2016, which plays on the Tineretului stadium in the IalomiÃÂa county leagues.
The first sporting club in Urziceni was a basketball club called "IalomiÃÂa". On an improvised pitch at Obor, the football team "IalomiÃÂa" played against teams from PloieÃÂti, BuzÃÂu, and Slobozia. They also played many games against Germans settled around the local lake, from which they took the name "La NemÃÂi" ("At the Germans'").
In 1976, a new stadium, Tineretului, was inaugurated.
In 1988, the club reached the round-of-sixteen phase of the Cupa României, but lost 3âÂÂ1 to Corvinul Hunedoara.
Prior to their promotion to Liga II at the end of the 2002âÂÂ03 season, the club had spent its entire history playing in the lower leagues of the Romanian football league system, mostly in Divizia C and Divizia D.
In 2003, the club was taken over by a new sponsor, Valahorum. At the end of the 2005âÂÂ06 season, the club finished second in the Seria 2 of the Liga II. Following the play-offs, played against Forex BraÃÂov and Bihor Oradea, at Stadionul NaÃÂional, the club was promoted to the Liga I for the first time in its history.
The club finished 10th in its first season in the top division. In the Liga I 2007âÂÂ08, they finished seventh and reached the cup final. Manager and former Chelsea player Dan Petrescu nicknamed the team Chelsea of IalomiÃÂa. The following season the club won the league for the first time, after they beat TimiÃÂoara 2âÂÂ1, and qualified for the Champions League.
The club finished 3rd in the 2009âÂÂ10 UEFA Champions League Group stage, obtaining 8 points. They beat Rangers 4âÂÂ1 in Glasgow and Sevilla in Bucharest 1âÂÂ0 and drew 1âÂÂ1, with VfB Stuttgart and Rangers at Bucharest. In the 2009âÂÂ10 UEFA Europa League Knockout stage, Urziceni were drawn against English giants Liverpool. In the first round, at Anfield, Liverpool won 1âÂÂ0, and at Bucharest, Unirea lost again, 1âÂÂ3.
Unirea finished second in the 2009âÂÂ10 Liga I season, again qualifying for the UEFA Champions League. In the third qualifying round, Unirea finished 0âÂÂ0 against Zenit St. Petersburg at Bucharest. In Russia, they lost 1âÂÂ0, with Danny scoring the winner. In the Europa League Play-off round Unirea played against Hajduk Split. They lost in the first game played at Stadion Poljud in Split 4âÂÂ1, and drew 1âÂÂ1 in Bucharest.
In 2010, Unirea Urziceni started to decline. Dumitru BucÃÂaru sold almost the entire team during the first half of the championship, on account of a debt owed to Steaua owner Gigi Becali. In the second half of the season, Unirea took players on loan from Steaua II BucureÃÂti and Dinamo II BucureÃÂti, but only finished the season in 17th place. Although Unirea had avoided relegation, it didn't renew its license and was dissolved in 2011.
Both of the club's nicknames originated during Dan Petrescu's period with the club.
Urziceni have been associated with Chelsea by the Romanian media after they quickly evolved from a newly promoted team to a title contender under the management of former Chelsea defender Dan Petrescu. His role was seen similar to that of Roman Abramovich, who started to invest massively in Chelsea in 2003, turning them in one of the best teams in Europe. They are therefore also called the Chelsea of Urziceni or the Chelsea of IalomiÃÂa.
Dan Petrescu is also responsible for coining the Wolves of BÃÂrÃÂgan nickname. During training sessions and official fixtures, he would call his players "wolves" in order to increase their ferocity. BÃÂrÃÂgan refers to the plain in which the town of Urziceni is located.
Both of these nicknames were rarely used by the Romanian media, which usually referred to the team as IalomiÃÂenii, after the IalomiÃÂa County from where the club was based.
Unirea Urziceni colors are blue and white. However, the football equipment worn by the "ialomiÃÂeni" had over time other than the traditional colors such as orange, green, black or blue. Unirea Urziceni provider of equipment was the Spanish company Joma.
The club crest contained a lion's head, a symbol of power. After the arrival of coach Dan Petrescu, a former player and admirer of Chelsea, the logo has undergone significant changes. Valahorum SA sponsor's name was removed from the emblem, being replaced by the number 1954 which is the year of foundation of the club. Logo design has also been modified so that it resemble as much English team emblem . Hence the nickname Team : Chelsea of IalomiÃÂa or Chelsea of Urziceni.
The club played its home matches at the Stadionul Tineretului, which has a capacity of 7,000 seats. They played their European matches at the Steaua Stadium in Bucharest because Stadionul Tineretului didn't meet UEFA criteria.