On 7 June 1947 the Romanian army's sports club was born in Bucharest, and from it came the country's best-known team. Steaua turns 80 on 7 June 2027. It is the team that brought the European Cup to Eastern Europe for the first time, and also the team that two clubs today claim as their own.

An army club

It all began with a decree by General Mihail Lascăr, head of the Romanian army. Officers set up ASA București (the Army Sports Association) with seven sections, football among them.

The first coach was Coloman Braun-Bogdan, who gathered the players for a training camp in Sinaia. In the early years the name changed twice, to CSCA in 1948 and to CCA in 1950.

Why "Steaua"

In 1961 the club took the name CSA Steaua. The word means "the star" and came from the badge, which featured a red star, a symbol common to the army clubs of Eastern Europe.

The same year saw the crest with red and blue stripes and a golden star, echoing the Romanian flag. That design remained the basis of the badge for decades, with changes in 1974, 1991 and 1998.

From yellow to red and blue

In 1947-48 the team wore shirts with yellow and red stripes and blue shorts, the colours of the Romanian flag. As the army changed its identity, yellow faded away and red and blue remained.

The classic kit is a red shirt, blue shorts and red socks, while the 1960s and 1970s also saw vertical red and blue stripes. Yellow returned on some away and third shirts from 1999.

Seville 1986: four penalties

On 7 May 1986, at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in Seville, Steaua faced favourites Barcelona in the European Cup final. It was the only time the team played in an all-white kit.

The match ended 0-0, and in the shootout goalkeeper Helmut Duckadam saved all four of the Catalans' penalties. Balint and Lăcătuș scored, and Steaua became the first Eastern European team to lift the trophy.

The Super Cup followed with a 1-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv, courtesy of a goal from Gheorghe Hagi. From 1986 to 1989 the team went 104 league matches unbeaten, a European record, and in 1989 it reached a second final, losing 4-0 to Milan.

Who owns the history?

In 1998 the football section was separated from the army club CSA Steaua, and from 2003 it was controlled by businessman Gigi Becali. The Ministry of Defence went to court, the team lost the right to the badge and the name in 2014, and in 2017 it was renamed FCSB.

FCSB regards itself as the continuation of the historic team since 1947, and UEFA and the Romanian league credit it with the titles. CSA Steaua relaunched its own team in 2017, which plays in the second tier at the new Ghencea stadium, and claims the history up to 1998, as a court ruled in 2021. The case goes on, and each side reads the rulings in its own favour.

Celebrate with us

From Sinaia in 1947 to Seville and the 104-match record, Bucharest's red and blue wrote one of the strongest stories in European football. Happy 80th birthday to everyone who keeps this star in their heart!

See our collectible jerseys at sportarena.gr.

Photo: the Ghencea stadium in 2007 – jjmihai, Wikimedia Commons, public domain.