On June 25 1923, several rail
workers of the Grivita workshops laid the foundations of one of the most
beloved clubs in the Romanian sports history: Rapid Bucharest. The aforementioned
workers were at that time members of the Cultural and Sports Association CFR
Bucharest and the club’s football side became one of the most popular in
Romania. In the period between the two world wars, the rail footballers managed
to accomplish several notable results. They had claimed seven editions of
Romania’s Cup by 1942 and in 1940 they had made it to the finals of the Central
European Cup, which was cancelled by the war.
Rapid footballers managed to win the first Romanian championship only in 1967
over 40 years since the club’s foundation. With Valentin Stanescu at the helm,
Rapid’s lineup at that time was considered the best in the entire club’s
history. The team’s strong point was its attacks with Ion Ionescu and Nicky
Dumitriu as strikers. Along the years, however, Rapid had less fruitful periods,
with many years in the championship’s second league where it got archrivals
like Petrolul Ploiesti and Progresul Bucharest. Several decades ago, a game
pitching Rapid against Petrolul used to bring more fans together than the
derbies of the first league.
After a break of 32 years, Rapid became champions under the guidance of the
famous Romanian headcoach Mircea Lucescu. The team got the title again in 2003
with Mircea Rednic as coach.
Rapid also boasts two major
performances in the European Cups. In the 1972-1973 football season, Rapid made
it to the quarters of Cup Winners’ Cup where it was eliminated by Leeds United.
In the 2005-2006 season, this prestigious football side advanced to the
quarters of the UEFA Cup, where it was eliminated by Steaua Bucharest.
In recent years though, the
situation of the club got complicated and the financial issues eventually led
the club to insolvency and dismantling in late 2016. A year later, upon the
initiative of the district one city hall, a sports association entitled the
Rapid Academy was founded and joined Romania’s fourth football league. The
group purchased the Rapid logo and in three years, made a comeback to the first
football league, where in 2022 ranked ninth. This year Rapid has qualified for
the Superleague’s play-offs presently ranking fifth in the standings.
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