FC Hermannstadt


Asociația Fotbal Club Hermannstadt, commonly known as FC Hermannstadt, Hermannstadt or familiarly as Sibiu, is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Sibiu, Sibiu County, currently playing in the Liga I.
The team was established in 2015 and introduced in the fourth league, with Hermannstadt being the equivalent of the city's name in the German language. Roș-negrii achieved successive promotions and in 2018 reached the Liga I, the highest level of the Romanian football league system. In the same year, they also played a Cupa României final, which they lost 0–2 to Universitatea Craiova.
Hermannstadt's home ground is the Municipal stadium, which is under renovation and currently has a capacity of 4,500. It was previously used by several other clubs in the city.

History

Founding and back-to-back promotions (2015–present)

AFC Hermannstadt was founded in 2015 to continue the long tradition of football in Sibiu, started in 1913 by Șoimii Sibiu and continued through other teams such as Societatea Gimnastică Sibiu, Inter Sibiu, FC Sibiu or Voința Sibiu. Even if Hermannstadt is not officially the successor of any of these clubs, it is currently the only representative of Sibiu in the first three leagues.
Immediately after the 2015 founding, FC Hermannstadt was enrolled in the Liga IV. They finished on the first place in the table and subsequently qualified for the Liga III promotion play-off. The club won the phase without major difficulties, 6–1 on aggregate against the champion of Gorj County, Gilortul Târgu Cărbunești. Sibienii were also winners of Liga III's Seria V in the next season and promoted to the Liga II, the second level of the Romanian football league system.
Hermannstadt played its first Liga II match on 5 August 2017, a 3–0 home victory over CS Balotești. They finished the campaign as runners-up, and thus achieved promotion to the Liga I after only three years of existence. The club also managed a very notable performance in the Cupa României, being the first in 36 years to reach the final despite not playing in the top league. Hermannstadt upset four Liga I teams en route to the last game of the competition: Voluntari, Juventus București, FCSB and Gaz Metan Mediaș respectively. They lost the final 0–2 to Universitatea Craiova, on 27 May 2018.
On 21 July 2018, Hermannstadt won its first ever Liga I match after Ștefan Blănaru scored the only goal of the opening fixture against Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe, which was played in Târgu Mureș instead of Sibiu due to renovation works at the Stadionul Municipal.

Ground

The club's stadium is Stadionul Municipal in Sibiu, with a capacity of 14,200 seats. At the end of the season after which Hermannstadt assured its promotion to Liga I, Stadionul Municipal entered a wide process of modernization, which included demolition and rebuilding of the second stand and both ends, a complete replacement of the pitch and the mounting of a floodlight installation.

Support

Hermannstadt has been enjoying the support of local fans since its early days, with the average home attendance in the 2016–17 Liga III season being between 4,000 and 5,000, the highest in that competition.
The team also has an ultras group, named D'acii, which appeared for the first time at a match against ASU Politehnica Timișoara in September 2017. Their name is a pun on the words dacii and d-aci—a contraction of de aci—meaning "from here".

Rivalries

Hermannstadt has a local rivalry with Gaz Metan Mediaș, referred to as the "Derby of Sibiu County".

Honours

Domestic

Leagues

First team squad

Out on loan

Club officials

Board of directors

RoleName
Owner Sibiu Municipality
President Anamaria Prodan
Board members Ștefan Băcilă
Bogdan Cherecheș
Dan Raica
Claudiu Rotar
Albert Wilhelm
Head of Scouting Răzvan Zamfir
Team Manager Dănuț Perjă
Press Officer Cosmin Călinescu

RoleName
Manager Rubén Albés
Assistant Managers Iván Cabezudo
Goalkeeping Coach Florin Berța
Fitness Coach Toni Madrigal
Club Doctor Dragomir Rusu
Kinetotherapist Constantin Duca
Masseurs Mircea Fățan
George Halmaghi

League history

SeasonLeaguePos.NotesCupa României
2019–20Liga ITBDQuarter Finals
2018–19Liga I12Play-off winnerQuarter-finals
2017–18Liga II2PromotedFinal

SeasonLeaguePos.NotesCupa României
2016–17Liga III 1Promoted
2015–16Liga IV 1Promoted