CFR Cluj
The club
CFR Cluj were founded on 10 November 1907 as Kolozsvari Vasutas Sport Club, a railway workers' club in what was then Hungarian Kolozsvar. The CFR in the name is Caile Ferate Romane, the Romanian state railways. They play at the Dr Constantin Radulescu Stadium in the Gruia district of Cluj-Napoca, capacity 22,198. The colours are burgundy and white, and the nicknames follow from all of that: the Railwaymen, the White and Burgundies, and the Team from Gruia.
Recent seasons
CFR were the dominant force in Romanian football for a decade. They won Liga I in 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22, five in a row. Since then the run has ended: runners-up in 2023/24 and again in 2024/25, and third in 2025/26. They did win the Cupa Romaniei in 2024/25, their first since 2015/16. The 2022/23 finishing position was not established from the sources read here.
Honours and landmarks
Eight Liga I titles: 2007/08, 2009/10, 2011/12, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22. Five Cupa Romaniei: 2007/08, 2008/09, 2009/10, 2015/16 and 2024/25. Four Supercupa Romaniei: 2009, 2010, 2018 and 2020. The 2007/08 season was a domestic double and the club's first title, achieved a little over a decade after they had been playing in the Romanian lower divisions.
Notable scorelines
No club-record win or record defeat was established from the sources read here. In European terms the two results the club is known for are the 1-0 win at Old Trafford against Manchester United in the 2012/13 Champions League group stage, and the 2-1 win over Roma in Rome in October 2008 on their Champions League debut. The 0-5 home defeat to Tromso on 6 August 2026 is now the counterweight to both, and it cost the manager his job.
European record
CFR have reached the Champions League group stage three times, which for a Romanian club in the modern era is a substantial record.
In 2008/09 they were drawn in a group with Roma, Chelsea and Bordeaux, and finished fourth. Their opening match produced the 2-1 win over Roma away, still one of the best results by a Romanian side in the competition; the reverse at home finished 1-3. They drew 0-0 with Chelsea in Cluj and lost 1-2 at Stamford Bridge, and lost both matches to Bordeaux.
In 2010/11 they were fourth again in a group with Bayern Munich, Roma and Basel. They beat Basel 2-1 at home, drew 1-1 with Roma in Cluj, and were beaten 0-4 at home by Bayern.
In 2012/13 they had their best group campaign, ten points and third place in a group with Manchester United, Galatasaray and Braga. They beat Braga 3-1 at home and 2-0 away, drew 1-1 in Istanbul, lost 1-2 at home to United and then won 1-0 at Old Trafford in December 2012.
Their best Europa League season was 2019/20, when they took twelve points from a group containing Celtic, Lazio and Rennes and finished second. They beat Celtic 2-0 in one leg and lost the other 2-0; the sources read here disagree about which of the two was played in Glasgow, so the venues are not asserted. They also beat Lazio 2-1 and won both matches against Rennes 1-0. They went out in the round of 32 to Sevilla, drawing 1-1 on aggregate and losing on away goals. They had also reached the round of 32 in 2013. They were in the Conference League group stage in 2021/22.
The 2026/27 campaign started in the Conference League second qualifying round, where they drew 1-1 away to Alashkert of Armenia on 23 July 2026 and won 3-0 in Cluj on 30 July, 4-1 on aggregate. The third qualifying round has been a disaster. Tromso of Norway won 5-0 at the Dr Constantin Radulescu Stadium on 6 August 2026, the heaviest European home defeat in the club's recent history, and CFR sacked their manager within days.
Quotes
- "Diferența a fost foarte mare pe teren, am arătat rău la nivel de echipă, dar și la nivel individual. Înainte de meci, la conferința de presă, am spus că va fi un meci foarte dificil și deja se vorbea de următorul nostru adversar dacă ne vom califica. Eu știam că va fi un meci foarte greu. Au jucători de mare calitate." (The gap was very large on the pitch; we looked bad as a team and individually as well. Before the match, at the press conference, I said it would be a very difficult game and people were already talking about our next opponent if we qualified. I knew it would be a very hard match. They have players of great quality.) - Antonio Folha, then CFR Cluj head coach, to Fanatik, 6 August 2026, after the 0-5 home defeat to Tromso. https://www.fanatik.ro/antonio-folha-a-dat-in-fotbalul-romanesc-incercand-sa-explice-umilinta-cfr-cluj-tromso-0-5-am-aratat-rau-alte-tari-investesc-in-academii-21518544
- "Alte țări investesc în academii, asta e important. Asta cred că ar trebui să se facă oriunde. Are un impact foarte mare această înfrângere. Trebuie să continuăm să muncim și să dăm tot ce avem mai bun. Trebuie să demonstrăm că avem caracter, să încercăm să dăm tot ce avem mai bun pentru acest club și să muncim." (Other countries invest in academies, that is important. I think that should be done everywhere. This defeat has a very big impact. We have to keep working and give the best we have. We have to show that we have character, try to give everything we have for this club, and work.) - Antonio Folha, then CFR Cluj head coach, to Fanatik, 6 August 2026. https://www.fanatik.ro/antonio-folha-a-dat-in-fotbalul-romanesc-incercand-sa-explice-umilinta-cfr-cluj-tromso-0-5-am-aratat-rau-alte-tari-investesc-in-academii-21518544
Romanian outlets also reported Folha saying before the tie that Tromso would be a hard battle and a dangerous side, and, after his dismissal, comments from owner Ioan Varga. Those were seen in headlines and summaries rather than read verbatim here, so they are not reproduced as quotes.
Right now (2026/27)
CFR are on their second manager of the season already. Antonio Folha, the Portuguese coach, was in charge for six matches and was dismissed after the 0-5 home defeat to Tromso; the club announced the separation from him and his entire staff. Marius Sumudica was appointed in his place on 9 August 2026. Sumudica is not travelling to Norway for the second leg; George Ciorceri takes the team for that match.
The summer transfer window was quiet. Marian Huja's loan from Pogon Szczecin was made permanent on 1 July 2026 and Igor Savic joined from Zrinjski Mostar on 2 July. Out went Alibek Aliev free to Universitatea Cluj, Mohammed Kamara free to Rapid Bucuresti and Mihai Popa free to Motor Lublin, all on 1 July, and Matei Ilie to Kasimpasa for an undisclosed fee on the same day.
Domestically the start has been poor. Liga I began on 18 July 2026 with a 2-1 defeat away to Otelul Galati, and by 10 August CFR had three points from three league matches.
The European tie: CFR Cluj are in the **Conference League third qualifying round** against **Tromso**. **The first leg was played in Cluj on 6 August 2026 and CFR lost 5-0 at home.** The second leg is in Tromso on 13 August 2026. The tie is, in practical terms, over, and the new manager is not even going. Elimination would end CFR's European season entirely, since the Conference League third qualifying round has no further safety net.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFR_Cluj https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFR_Cluj_in_European_football https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026%E2%80%9327_CFR_Cluj_season https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/match/2049161--cfr-cluj-vs-tromso/ https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/match/2049191--tromso-vs-cfr-cluj/ https://www.espn.com/soccer/match/_/gameId/401903116/tromso-cfr-cluj-napoca https://www.fanatik.ro/antonio-folha-a-dat-in-fotbalul-romanesc-incercand-sa-explice-umilinta-cfr-cluj-tromso-0-5-am-aratat-rau-alte-tari-investesc-in-academii-21518544 https://www.digisport.ro/fotbal/conference-league/antonio-folha-nu-s-a-mai-ferit-dupa-cfr-tromso-0-5-am-aratat-rau-diferenta-a-fost-foarte-mare-4418263 https://ziare.com/cfr-cluj/antonio-folha-marius-sumudica-ioan-varga-2029075 https://golazo.ro/marius-sumudica-antonio-folha-tromso-conference-league-182844
Researched and written for not4quarters. Where a fact could not be established from the sources read, this page says so rather than guessing.