STEAUA BUCHEREST - GHENCEA STADIUM - CAPACITY: 27,063 ALL SEATER
About the Ghencea Stadium The Ghencea stadium was a break from the norm when it opened in 1974 as it was one of the first stadiums to open in the Balkans without an Athletics Track. With stands built close to the pitch it was a real break from tradition for Romanian football, and the fans took to the steep terracing immediately, making the stadium a really intimidating place to visit.
Originally the stadium was opened as a 30,000 venue, with around 5,000 standing places behind the goal. These were converted into seating areas in 1991 to make the current capacity just over 28,000. Today the stadium still only has a single roofed stand that sits proudly above the others. Basically the stadium is made up of four uniform single tier stands, with the main stand having a double row of executive boxes. As of October 2006 the stadium was upgraded to UEFA 4-star level. The club do have plans to increase the capacity of the stadium by adding a second tier, which would increase the capacity to around 50,000.
Who plays there? FC Steaua Bucuresti were founded on 7 June 1947 as ASA Bucuresti by a group of officers in the Romanian army. Initially the club did not concentrate on football, preferring instead to develop their athletics team. The team were soon renamed as CSCA and they competed in their first major competition, the Romanian Cup in 1948. A year later they won the trophy, beating CSU Cluj 2-1 in the final. The following season, after another name change to CCA - the Central House of the Army, they entered the Romanian League and in their first season won the Championship, following it up with Championships in the next two seasons as well.
In 1961 the club adopted the name Steaua for the first time, which is Romanian for Star - the obvious symbol of any team playing under Soviet rule. The club won the championship again in this year, emphasising their dominance in domestic football. The won the Championship a further three times during the seventies before they started to feel the pressure of some of the newer teams emerging in Romania. At the time money was also very tight within the region, and so investment into football was often ignored. However, at the time money was being diverted into the youth academies which would bear fruits during the 1990's.
Under the leadership of Emerich Jenei and Anghel Iordanescu, Steaua began to build a team to compete at the highest level. In 1985 they won the championship at a canter, and so took their place in the 1985/86 European Cup first round. Previous European campaigns had always been short and sweet, but with a very kind draw the club managed to overcome Vejle, Honved FC, Kuusysi Lahti and Anderlecht, they became the first ever Romanain side to reach the European Cup final. On 7 May 1986, in Seville, they met the mighty Barcelona. After a goalless draw over 120minutes, goalkeeper Duckadam saved all four Barca penalties and in the process delivered the trophy to Steaua. The club followed this up by capturing the European Super Cup by beating Dinamo Kiev in Monaco. Two seasons later they reached the final again, underlining their position as one of Europe's top teams, although they lost to a rampant AC Milan side 4-0. The club continued to dominate domestically with three successive domestic doubles during the late 1980's. In addition, from June 1986 to September 1989, Steaua managed a record 104-match undefeated run domestically, setting a world record for this undefeated stretch that stood until quite recently.
The new breed of young players started to emerge during the late 1980's with future stars such as Hagi, Popescu, Dumitrescu and Raducioui playing a bigger part in the team. The team went on another amazing domestic run with six consecutive championship titles between 1992-93 and 1997-98 including three more domestic doubles. The club also made it into the European Champions League group stages on a number of occasions, although two third places finishes were the best they could muster. As the successful team was broken up again, Steaua needed to regroup and this meant that change its structure from top to bottom.
In came former Italian goalkeeper Walter Zenga as coach, and he immediately took them to the title again in 2005 and 2006, as well as into the UEFA Cup group stages. The managed to reach the semi-finals of the competition where they met Middlesborough, after defeating local rivals Rapid Bucharest in the semi-finals. After a 1-0 home victory, the Romanians took a 2-0 lead at the Riverside and appeared to be coasting to the final in Eindhoven. However a remarkable Middlesborough come back saw them win 4-2 late on and so end Steaua's chances of European glory. Last season they finished runners up in the league, although this has enabled them to attempt to qualify for the Champions League group stages again under the leadership of Romania's finest ever player - Gheorghe Hagi.
The National Stadium, the Lia Manoliu Stadium is currently being redeveloped with a view to re-opening as a UEFA 4 star venue in March 2009. The last game played here was a friendly between Romania and Moldova in February 2007. This means that the national team will be playing their games at the Ghencea Stadium.
How to get there The simplest way of reaching the stadium is to catch a yellow line 3 metro train to Gorjului which is three stops from Eroilor in the centre of the city. Once you leave the station, you will need to catch a number 41 tram that runs from the left. A single ticket will cost €1.
Getting a ticket The club are currently working on launching a new online portal that will enable fans to book tickets in advance. However, until then tickets can only be purchased from the club store in advanced. You are also able to book seats for the “armchair” zone, an area of the main stand that has 700 comfortable seats in an enclosed zone, with air conditioning and a bar at the end of the game. These seats have to be booked in advance by calling the club on +40 21 411 46 56 or by email at contact@steauafc.com. Tickets for other games start from €30 or 100RON for a normal league game in the Tribuna 0, or €15 or 50RON behind the goals in the Peluze stands.
Getting around Bucharest has one of the most developed public transport networks in Europe, comprising of buses, trams and a cheap and efficient metro system which runs for over 63km and covers 45 stations. A ticket for a single journey is L11,000. A one day travel card costs L70,000. For those areas where the network does not reach, taxis are relatively cheap and can be hailed in the street.
