Unirea Sântana

Ciprian Rus had captained UTA Arad and played in Liga I before he signed for Unirea Sântana in January 2025. He arrived into a squad built the same way: Dumitru Copil, once taken to Heart of Midlothian as a teenager and watched by Liverpool and Celtic, had joined a few months earlier. None of these men came through Sântana. They were brought in, and the town got what it paid for.

The 2024/25 season ended with the Liga IV title in Arad county. The year before, the same trophy had gone to CS Socodor, with Unirea second. Socodor turned up again in the county cup final, and lost 3-1 in extra time. Two trophies in one spring, and then the play-off: 3-0 at home against AFC Nera Bogodinț, a goalless draw away, and promotion to Liga III for 2025/26.

The club runs on the local budget, red and black, with a second side down in Liga V. Home is Stadionul Unirea, a ground for 1,000.

What Sântana has not produced is a player of its own. The team that won everything last season was assembled from men with careers behind them elsewhere; the academy has sent nobody up.