CSM Pașcani

Clubul Sportiv Municipal Pașcani, commonly known as CSM Pașcani or simply Pașcani, is a Romanian football team based in Pașcani, Iași County, currently competing in Liga IV, the fourth tier of the Romanian football league system, and having played for twenty-five seasons in Romania’s second football league between 1934 and 1990.^[1]

CSM Pașcani

Full name	Clubul Sportiv Municipal Pașcani
Nicknames	Pășcănenii (The Pașcani People)
Short name	Pașcani
Founded	1921; 104 years ago (1921) as CFR Pașcani
Ground	CFR
Capacity	4,000
Owner	Pașcani Municipality
Chairman	Bogdan Mandric
Manager	Răzvan Boroeanu
League	Liga IV
2024–25	Liga IV, Iași County, 2nd of 16
Website	http://www.csmpascani.ro/
Home colours Away colours

The team is the men’s football section of the multi-sport club CSM Pașcani, which also fields teams in handball, rugby, athletics, basketball, volleyball, tennis, and chess. Its most notable achievements include a include a 4th-place finish in the 1962–63 season of Divizia B and reaching the quarter-finals of the 1987–88 Cupa României.

History

The team was founded in 1921 as CFR Pașcani by workers from the local railway carriage repair workshops and initially competed in district and regional championships. In 1930, the team changed its name to Unirea CFR Pașcani and became part of Căminul Cultural CFR Unirea, a social and cultural society that aimed to continue, on a new basis, the activities of the old Unirea reading club, founded in Pașcani in 1872. The team competed for the first time at national level in the 1934–35 season of Divizia B and later in the 1937–38 season of Divizia C, before being renamed again as CFR Pașcani in 1948.^[2]

The team adopted the name Locomotiva Pașcani in the early 1950s. In the 1956 season, Locomotiva finished 2nd in Series I of Divizia C, just one point behind Recolta Fălticeni, narrowly missing promotion to Divizia B, and ranked 4th in the 1957–58 season. In 1958, the club reverted to its original name, CFR Pașcani, and made up for the previous disappointment by winning the 1958–59 Divizia C under coach Gheorghe Bărbulescu. The squad included Cristescu, Panaite, I. Nedelcu, Brohanschi, Simina, Boboc, Andrieș, Rozolea, Atanasiu, Burcă, and Vornicu.^[3][4]

CFR then spent ten consecutive seasons in Series I of Divizia B, ranking 10th in 1959–60, 5th in 1960–61, and 12th in 1961–62. Under Marin Alexandru, who coached the team for the following four years, CFR achieved its best result of the decade with a 4th-place finish in the 1962–63 season, followed by 6th in 1963–64, 9th in 1964–65, and 11th in 1965–66. In the 1966–67 season, the team was coached by Virgil Rizea, finishing 11th, and then ranked 9th in 1967–68 before being relegated at the end of the 1968–69 season after finishing 15th.^[1]

CFR returned to Divizia B just one year later under the leadership of Marin Alexandru, after winning Series I of Divizia C and finishing 2nd in Promotion Group I held in Brașov, behind SN Oltenița and ahead of Metalul Plopeni and Autobuzul București. The squad included Catrina, Mocanu, Mag, Cosma, Rusu, Rîșniță, Drăgan, Fătu, Vochin, Dominte, Blejușcă, Rozorea, Ciupa, Bunea, Munteanu, Artenie, and Rățoi.^[5]

In the following seasons, the railwaymen competed in Series I of the second division, ranking 10th in 1970–71 and 9th in 1971–72, with Marin Alexandru coaching the first part of the season and Traian Iordache the second.^[6] Alexandru returned and led the team for the next three seasons, achieving 5th place, the best result of the decade, in 1972–73, followed by 9th in 1973–74 and 11th in 1974–75.^[1]

Former team player Viorel Simina took charge for the next three seasons, repeating the 5th-place finish in 1975–76, and after placing 11th in 1976–77, CFR Pașcani was eventually relegated again at the end of the 1977–78 season.^[1]

This time it was not possible to return immediately, finishing as runner-up in 1978–79 season behind CS Botoșani, the club remained in the third tier. After two seasons at the mid-table, 6th in 1979–80 and 5th in 1980–81, CFR missed the promotion in the 1981–82 season at goal difference in front of Minerul Gura Humorului. In the next season, Pășcănenii finished 3rd, behind Chimia Fălticeni and Zimbrul Siret.

At the end of the 1983–84 campaign, CFR Pașcani, with Constantin Dinu as head coach, won the Series I of Divizia C, returning to second division after six years of absence.

In Divizia B, the club managed to place several times at the mid-table. The biggest success of that time came in the 1987–88 season of the Romanian Cup. After the victories with Flacăra Moreni 2–2 after extra-time and 3–2 on penalty shoot-out and FC Olt Scornicești 2–1 (a.e.t.), CFR advanced to the quarter-finals, but was eliminated by Victoria București 0–2.

CFR Pașcani relegated at the end of the 1989–90 season. After a 3rd place in the 1990–91 season, Pășcănenii won the Series 1 of Divizia C in the 1991–92 season, but due to the reorganization of the competitive system, in the summer of 1992, dictated by the Romanian Football Federation, the club remained in the third division.

The years that followed were changeable. In 2000–01 season CFR was able to leave the relegation battle behind and missed the promotion in front of Petrolul Moinești just as narrow as five years later behind Politehnica Iași II.

Name[7]	Period
CFR Pașcani	1921–1934
Unirea CFR Pașcani	1934–1948
CFR Pașcani	1948–1950
Locomotiva Pașcani	1950–1958
CFR Pașcani	1958–2009
CSM Pașcani	2009–2012
Kosarom Pașcani	2012–2014
CSM Pașcani	2014–present

In the summer of 2009, the club changed its name to CSM Pașcani and has played continuously in Liga III. In 2012 it was renamed once again, this time as Kosarom Pașcani after the name of the main sponsor. In the summer of 2014 reverted to CSM Pașcani.

Honours

Liga III

• Winners (5): 1958–59, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1983–84, 1991–92
• Runners-up (7): 1956, 1978–79, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1985–86, 2000–01, 2005–06

Liga IV – Iași County

• Runners-up (2): 2023–24, 2024–25

League and Cup history

See also: Romanian football league system

Season Tier Division Place Notes Cupa României 2024–25 4 Liga IV 2nd Play-off Round 2023–24 4 Liga IV 2nd County phase - W 2022–23 4 Liga IV 4th First Round 2021–22 3 Liga III 10th Relegated First Round 2020–21 3 Liga III 10th Play-off winner Second Round 2019–20 3 Liga III 16th First Round 2018–19 3 Liga III 13th 2017–18 3 Liga III 13th 2016–17 3 Liga III 13th 2015–16 3 Liga III 8th 2014–15 3 Liga III 9th 2013–14 3 Liga III 5th 2012–13 3 Liga III 4th 2011–12 3 Liga III 10th 2010–11 3 Liga III 4th 2009–10 3 Liga III 14th 2008–09 3 Liga III 11th 2007–08 3 Liga III 8th

Season Tier Division Place Notes Cupa României 2006–07 3 Liga III 12th 2005–06 3 Divizia C 2nd 2004–05 3 Divizia C 10th 2003–04 3 Divizia C 4th 2002–03 3 Divizia C 4th 2001–02 3 Divizia C 6th 2000–01 3 Divizia C 2nd 1999–00 3 Divizia C 9th 1998–99 3 Divizia C 13th 1997–98 3 Divizia C 3rd 1996–97 3 Divizia C 14th 1995–96 3 Divizia C 10th 1994–95 3 Divizia C 9th 1993–94 3 Divizia C 15th 1992–93 3 Divizia C 16th 1991–92 3 Divizia C 1st (C) 1990–91 3 Divizia C 3rd 1989–90 2 Divizia B 16th Relegated 1988–89 2 Divizia B 5th

Former managers

• Ion Bălănescu (1947–1950)
• Gheorghe Bărbulescu (1958–1960)
• Marin Alexandru (1962–1966)
• Constantin Dinu (1983–1984)
• Gheorghe Poenaru (2005–2006)
• Vasile Simionaș (2013)