CSM Roman (football)

This article is about the men's football section of CSM Roman. For the women's handball section, see CSM Roman (handball). For the multi-sport club, see CSM Roman.

Club Sportiv Municipal Roman, commonly known as CSM Roman, is a Romanian football team based in Roman, Neamț County, currently competing in Liga IV – Neamț County, the fourth tier of Romanian football.

CSM Roman

Full name	Club Sportiv Municipal Roman
Nickname(s)	Țevarii (The Pipefitters)
Short name	CSM
Founded	1954; 71 years ago (1954) as Laminorul Roman 2021; 4 years ago (2021) (refounded)
Ground	Moldova
Capacity	100 (reduced from 15,000)
Owner	Roman Municipality
Chairman	Maricel Benchea
Manager	Gabriel Țapu
League	Liga IV
2023–24	Liga IV, Neamț County, 3rd of 21
Website	http://csmroman.ro/
Home colours Away colours

The team represents the men's football section of the multi-sport club CSM Roman, which also includes a women's handball team. Founded in 1954 as Laminorul Roman, the team was dissolved in 2018 due to poor results.^[1] However, the football section was re-founded in 2021 and enrolled in Liga IV – Neamț County, the fourth tier of the Romanian football league system.

History

CSM Roman was founded in 1954 as Laminorul Roman by the syndicate of Întreprinderea de Țevi Roman (lit. 'Roman Pipe Enterprises, currently Mittal Steel') and played for twenty years in the regional and county championships.

Laminorul squad in 1974

The team earned its first promotion to Divizia C at the end of the 1973–74 season, winning the Neamț County Championship and the promotion play-off against the Iași County Championship winner, Șoimii Iași (2–1 at Roman and 1–1 at Iași). The team consisted of the following players: A. Bălan, Niserciu (goalkeepers) – Musceleanu, C. Iamandi, Onu, Procopoaia, Ene, Ciocârlan, Tudosie, Mircea, Maticiuc, N. Iamandi, Dinu, Peisic, and Ivanov.^[2]

Țevarii played in Divizia C for sixteen consecutive years until the 1989–90 season, finishing 16th and suffering relegation to Divizia D – Neamț County. During this period, the club managed to finish as runner-up on four occasions.

The following season brought a quick return to the third tier. However, despite securing 6th place at the end of the 1991–92 season, relegation followed due to the restructuring of Divizia C, which allowed only the top four teams from each series to remain in the third division.

Laminorul won the next two seasons of the Neamț County Championship, each time missing out on promotion—first in 1992–93 against Rapid Miercurea Ciuc (0–4 away and 0–1 at Roman), and then in 1993–94 after matches against Mobila Iași (4–1 at home and 1–3 at Iași), finishing below the sixteen teams with the best aggregate results. For the pipefitters, two consecutive seasons followed, each ending in 2nd place behind Cimentul Bicaz.

After five seasons in the fourth tier, Laminorul secured the 1996–97 Divizia D – Neamț County title and earned promotion by defeating Metalul Botoșani, the winner of Divizia D – Botoșani County, 8–2 at Emil Alexandrescu Stadium in Iași. The squad, coached by Nicolae Zaharia, featured: Simionaș (46' Ionuț Nacu) - Costin, Claudiu Martin (40' Marius Tofan), Viorel Mocanu, Cristian Vizitiu - Corneliu Codreanu, Lucian Zaharia (82' Colobanea), Lucian Cozma, Gabriel Țapu - Bogdan Vizitiu, Ciprian Țigănuș.^[3]

Back-to-back promotions followed, with Laminorul winning Series I of Divizia C in the following season under two coaches: Nicolae Zaharia in the first half and Ioan Radu in the second, finishing 11 points ahead of Chimica Târnaveni.^[4][5]

In its first season in the second division, the team finished 5th in Series I, marking its best performance in history up to that point. A strong start to the following campaign resulted in an 8th-place finish at the end of the championship.

Daniel Iftodi became player-coach in July 2006, leading the team to 13th place in the 2006–07 Liga III season. His assistant, Dan Dosan, took over for the following season and guided the club to 15th place, narrowly avoiding relegation.^[6][7]

In July 2008, Costel Enache was appointed as head coach and remained in charge for three seasons, securing finishes of 6th in 2008–09 and 3rd in both 2009–10 and 2010–11. During this period, the club changed its name in the summer of 2009 from Laminorul Roman to Petrotub Roman.^[8][9]

Petrotub finished 3rd in the 2011–12 Liga III season under the leadership of Ovidiu Marc. In the following season, Gheorghe Poenaru guided the team^[10] to a 7th-place finish in 2012–13. Vasile Avădanei then took charge^[11] and secured 3rd place in the regular season of 2013–14 before achieving 2nd place in the promotion play-offs. This was followed by a 5th-place finish in 2014–15 season. Avădanei left after the first part of the 2015–16 season and was replaced by Gabriel Țapu,^[12] who led the team to a 4th-place finish.

In the summer of 2016, the club underwent another name change, becoming CSM Roman. The 2017–18 season saw them finish 3rd in Liga III. However, on 31 October 2018, CSM Roman announced its withdrawal from the league due to poor results.^[1]

The football section was re-founded in 2021 and enrolled in Liga IV – Neamț County.

Honours

Liga III

• Winners (1): 1997–98
• Runners-up (7): 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1981–82, 2013–14

Liga IV – Neamț County

• Winners (5): 1973–74, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1996–97
• Runners-up (3): 1972–73, 1994–95, 1995–96

Former managers

• Gheorghe Bărbulescu (1960–1961)
• Gheorghe Dungu (1980–1982)
• Nicolae Zaharia (1996–1998)
• Ioan Radu (1998–2002)
• Leonida Nedelcu (2002)
• Gheorghe Poenaru (2003–2005)
• Daniel Iftodi (2006–2007)
• Dan Dosan (2007–2008)
• Costel Enache (2008–2011)
• Ovidiu Marc (2011–2012)
• Gheorghe Poenaru (2012–2013)
• Vasile Avădanei (2013–2015)
• Gabriel Țapu (2016–2018)
• Ion Bocu
• Ioan Zăloagă

League history

See also: Romanian football league system

Season Tier Division Place Notes Cupa României 2024–25 4 Liga IV (NT) 1st (C) 2022–23 4 Liga IV (NT) 3rd 2021–22 4 Liga IV (NT) 8th 2018–21 Not active at seniors level 2017–18 3 Liga III (Seria I) 4th Disbanded 2016–17 3 Liga III (Seria I) 6th 2015–16 3 Liga III (Seria I) 4th 2014–15 3 Liga III (Seria I) 5th 2013–14 3 Liga III (Seria I) 2nd 2012–13 3 Liga III (Seria I) 7th 2011–12 3 Liga III (Seria I) 3rd 2010–11 3 Liga III (Seria I) 3rd 2009–10 3 Liga III (Seria I) 3rd 2008–09 3 Liga III (Seria I) 6th 2007–08 3 Liga III (Seria I) 15th 2006–07 3 Divizia C (Seria I) 13th 2005–06 2 Divizia B (Seria I) 14th Relegated 2004–05 2 Divizia B (Seria I) 13th 2003–04 2 Divizia B (Seria I) 5th 2002–03 3 Divizia C (Seria I) 3rd Promoted 2001–02 2 Divizia B (Seria I) 15th Relegated 2000–01 2 Divizia B (Seria I) 4th 1999–00 2 Divizia B (Seria I) 8th 1998–99 2 Divizia B (Seria I) 5th 1997–98 3 Divizia C (Seria I) 1st (C) Promoted

Season Tier Division Place Notes Cupa României 1996–97 4 Divizia D (NT) 1st (C) Promoted 1995–96 4 Divizia D (NT) 2nd 1994–95 4 Divizia D (NT) 2nd 1993–94 4 Divizia D (NT) 1st (C) 1992–93 4 Divizia D (NT) 1st (C) 1991–92 3 Divizia C (Seria II) 6th Relegated 1990–91 4 Divizia D (NT) 1st (C) Promoted 1989–90 3 Divizia C (Seria XII) 16th Relegated 1988–89 3 Divizia C (Seria I) 12th 1987–88 3 Divizia C (Seria II) 13th 1986–87 3 Divizia C (Seria II) 12th 1985–86 3 Divizia C (Seria I) 6th 1984–85 3 Divizia C (Seria II) 6th 1983–84 3 Divizia C (Seria I) 3rd 1982–83 3 Divizia C (Seria I) 6th 1981–82 3 Divizia C (Seria II) 2nd 1980–81 3 Divizia C (Seria I) 3rd 1979–80 3 Divizia C (Seria I) 6th 1978–79 3 Divizia C (Seria I) 12th 1977–78 3 Divizia C (Seria I) 2nd 1976–77 3 Divizia C (Seria I) 2nd 1975–76 3 Divizia C (Seria I) 2nd 1974–75 3 Divizia C (Seria I) 4th 1973–74 4 County Championship (NT) 1st (C) Promoted