Asociația Fotbal Club Hermannstadt (German pronunciation: [ˈhɛʁmanʃtat]), commonly known as FC Hermannstadt, Hermannstadt or familiarly as Sibiu (Romanian pronunciation: [siˈbiw]), is a Romanian professional footballclub based in the city of Sibiu, Romania, currently playing in the Liga II.
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.
Founding and back-to-back promotions (2015–present)[]
FC Hermannstadt badges throughout time
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 (Hermannstädter Turnverein - HATV, which was founded in 1862 and the football section in 1919), 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.[2] The club won the phase without major difficulties, 6–1 on aggregate against the champion of Gorj County, Gilortul Târgu Cărbunești.[3]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.[4]
Hermannstadt played its first Liga II match on 5 August 2017, a 3–0 home victory over CS Balotești.[5] They finished the campaign as runners-up, and thus achieved promotion to the Liga I after only three years of existence.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8]
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.[9]
Ground[]
The Stadionul Municipal was demolished in Mai 2018 and was rebuilt. After several delays the rebuilt of the successor was successfully terminated in December 2019. Since then, the Stadtionul Municipal is the home stadium of FC Hermannstadt.[10]
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.[4]
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.[11] Their name is a pun on the words dacii ("the Dacians") 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".
^"Toată lumea știe, Cupa-i în Bănie!" [Everyone knows, the Cup is in Bănie!] (in Romanian). CS Universitatea Craiova. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
