Jiul Petroşani

The one Cupa României Jiul Petroșani took home came in 1974, on a 4-2 win over Politehnica Timișoara, and it arrived two years after the club had lost the same final to Rapid București 0-2. Traian Ivănescu managed the side that finally got over the line, with Mihai Stoichiță wearing the captain's armband and Gogu Tonca among those who made the difference on the day. That team, built through the 1970s, also finished fifth in the league in 1976-77 under Gheorghe Ene.

The club traces back to 3 August 1919, when it started life as CAM Petroșani, making it older than Steaua, Dinamo or Rapid. It changed name repeatedly over the following decades — through mergers, a spell as Jiul Lupeni, another as Partizanul under the communist reshuffle of the early 1950s, a stretch based in nearby Petrila — before settling on Jiul Petroșani for good in 1966.

The 2000s were harder. Jiul dropped into Liga III for the first time in 2002, then spent 2007 to 2010 fighting debts that ended with expulsion from Liga II and a restart in Liga IV. A brief revival in 2012 collapsed the following year when he pulled out, and the professional side effectively stopped existing. The municipality of Petroșani folded what remained into its sports structure in 2014, and the club worked its way back to Liga III by 2020.