Club Stories: The remarkable resurgence of Farul Constanța and Gheorghe Hagi’s dream
Words Neel Shelat
If you don’t believe in myths and fairytales, you will likely not buy the story that says Jason and the Argonauts landed in the city of Constanța after retrieving the golden fleece.
However, you might have to accept Constanța as the setting for a different sort of fairytale – one that is being written as we speak.
First, let us talk about the city itself. Located on the shores of the Black Sea, Constanța is the fifth-largest city in the country and Romania’s main port. According to ancient texts, it was founded in the 7th century BC by Tomyris, the Queen of the Massagetae. It was initially named after her and called Tomis in various sources from the Roman and Byzantine Empires among others. It was eventually renamed Constantiana as a reference to a half-sister of Constantine the Great, which presumably evolved into Constanța.
Of course, the footballing history of the city is relatively much shorter. The first major year was 1920 when a football club called SPM Constanța – Farul’s earliest predecessor – was founded. In 1949, it merged with Dezrobirea Constanța to form what would become the only major team of the city. After various name changes, the club eventually became known as Farul in 1957.
The word ‘Farul’ in Romanian literally translates to ‘lighthouse’, which is a reference to the famous Genoese lighthouse located on the waterfront. It could even be seen in some of the older versions of the club’s badge, especially when it briefly changed its name again to FC Constanța in the 1970s.
It is safe to say that Farul is one of the most historic clubs in Romania given the fact that it is over a century old, but it is far from being the most successful. They did compete on and off in continental competitions between the 1960s to the early 2000s but failed to win a single major trophy.
Perhaps one of the most lasting impressions this club made on Romanian football was the fact that a certain Gheorghe Hagi, who was born in Constanța county, rose up the ranks of their academy. He made his senior debut for FC Constanța too, before moving on to a couple of other Romanian clubs and eventually on to Real Madrid, Brescia, Barcelona and Galatasaray. Today, there is absolutely no debate about the fact that Hagi is Romania’s best-ever footballer.
While Hagi was etching his name into European football folklore, the sport was in a rough spot in his home country. So, at this point, our story splits into two parts.
Let us focus on Farul first.
After the Romanian Revolution, clubs had to make the transition from being publicly owned to becoming private entities, which obviously meant there were lots of takeovers. Farul’s transition was relatively seamless as they were bought by a local businessman called Gheorghe Bosânceanu, who put them in a relatively strong financial position. However, silverware continued to elude them and after a relegation, Bosânceanu seemed to lose interest and decided to sell the club.
The new owner was Giani Nedelcu, who had previously invested in Romanian clubs Rocar București and Știința Bacău, both of which ended up going bankrupt. As Farul were stuck in limbo in the second tier of Romanian football, Nedelcu completed his hat-trick as the Sailors were declared bankrupt in 2016.
The fans had seen this coming, which is why they swiftly founded a new entity called ‘Suporter Spirit Club Farul Constanța’ to keep the club’s name alive. They started out in the fourth tier of Romanian football – Constanța’s regional league.
SSC Farul comfortably won the league and promotion play-off in their first season, climbing up to the third tier. After a close battle in the following campaign, they again secured promotion and moved up to Liga II.
The 2018/19 season was their first back at the height from which Farul fell and again they encountered trouble. In the summer, former Romanian international Ciprian Marica attempted to take over the club after buying the Farul brand, but the fans were not supportive of this move. Ultimately, thanks to his ownership of the brand rights, he ended up creating a new team called FC Farul Constanța which again started in the fourth tier, while SSC Farul Constanța remained in Liga II.
Within a few months, though, the two parties were able to strike an agreement. So, SSC Farul Constanța became FC Farul Constanța owned by Ciprian Marica, while the fourth-tier club became its reserve team. Marica was quite ambitious and immediately stated that his vision was to get the club back up in the top flight and start challenging for titles, but that was not to happen immediately. After two seasons, Farul remained where they were.
Let us pause Farul’s story there, and go back to trace Hagi’s progress.
After ending his professional playing days in 2001, he almost immediately started coaching. His first such role saw him take charge of the Romanian Men’s National Team, but he only oversaw four games before being sacked. His next destination was Bursaspor in Türkiye, and this time, he lasted 12 games.
Still, he was appointed by Galatasaray as their manager in early 2004. In his first full season, Hagi did win silverware in the form of the cup, but his failure to lift the league title saw him depart at the end of his contract in 2005. His next two jobs were in Romania with Politehnica Timișoara and Steaua București. He failed to reach the 20-game mark at either club.
After his departure from Bucharest in September 2007, Hagi’s managerial CV has a three-year gap. He was not vacationing throughout this time, though. Instead, he was busy setting up a club to run.
Sources say that he had designs on taking over Farul right from the start, as he wanted to give back to the club he grew up playing for. At the time, though, the finances involved weren’t quite right for him, so he decided to proceed with an alternate plan.
Hagi has always been big on youth development, so in 2009, he went on to invest millions of dollars from his own pocket and set up a state-of-the-art facility called the Gheorghe Hagi Academy in Ovidiu, a small town located on the outskirts of Constanța. The young talents at the academy needed a pathway to senior football, so Hagi took over the local third-tier club and renamed it Viitorul, a Romanian word that translates to ‘the future’.
Viitorul won promotion to the second tier in their first season, but early on in their second season, Hagi received an offer from Galatasaray again which he accepted. By the end of the season, he had been sacked, Viitorul meanwhile were ineligible for promotion anyway since they had existed for less than three years.
They would be granted a top-tier licence by the end of the following season, though, so Viitorul’s first serious promotion push was in 2011/12. It was successful by a two-point margin. Catalin Anghel was the man who was in the hot seat for Viitorul right since their inception and he remained in charge in their first top-flight campaign.
Unsurprisingly, this involved a proper relegation scrap, which Viitorul survived by a three-point margin. Anghel left at the end of the season, but his successor Bogdan Vintila could only match his achievement, so Viitorul had another new manager for the start of the 2013/14 season.
That man was Bogdan Stelea, who only lasted five games before being dismissed. Vintila came back for an even briefer stint then, but after that Hagi seemingly had enough and appointed himself as the club’s head coach.
Before his first full season in charge of the club, Hagi brought former manager Catalin Anghel back as his assistant and Viitorul’s fortunes changed, as they finished just one spot away from the European places. That was only a taste of what was to come, though, because in the 2016/17 season, while Farul went bankrupt and were reborn in the fourth tier, Hagi’s youthful Viitorul (with an average age of just over 23 years) put together an incredible season and won the Romanian top flight, ending FCSB’s three-season streak.
It is important to note that at this time, Farul fans were really displeased not just because of what was going on at their own club, but also because they felt betrayed by Hagi. In the brief period in which the two clubs coexisted in the second tier, there was a real sense of local rivalry in their matches. Looking back, though, most Romanian football commentators agree that Hagi’s project at Viitorul was an inspiring success story, as a national legend invested his own time and resources in developing the next generation.
The main challenge with Viitorul was sustaining success. Their heavy emphasis on youth development meant that they almost always lost their best players to transfers at the end of every season, and had to do mini-rebuilds every summer. So, they could not repeat their league highs again. They did however taste more success as they participated in European qualifiers and also won the Cup in the 2018/19 campaign. In 2020, Hagi left his post as Viitorul’s head coach.
Around this point, the two threads in this story come back together.
Remember how Farul fans opposed Marica’s takeover bid initially in 2018 but ultimately came around? Some sources say that Hagi had an under-the-table involvement in that deal, as he assured the fans that he would be taking over Farul soon. The perfect opportunity presented itself after their back-to-back failures to win promotion to the top flight and Hagi kept his word.
In the summer of 2021, Hagi held a joint press conference along with Viitorul chairman Gheorghe Popescu and Marica, announcing that the two teams would merge under the name of FCV Farul Constanța. Hagi was the primary owner, but Marica maintained a minority stake.
This marked the end of Viitorul’s existence as the side in Liga I became Farul, who also took over Viitorul’s facilities. The youth academies merged as well, although there is a split between the facilities for the 8-13 age group (called the Gheorghe Hagi Academy) and those for older players (called the Farul Constanța academy). It remains one of the best facilities not just in Romania, but in the Balkan region.
Given the Stadionul Farul’s poor state, the club has played outside the city in Ovidiu since the merger. However, there are plans to return to the heart of Constanța, as the old ground is set to be demolished and a new stadium will be built in its place with financial backing from the government.
Hagi has returned to management since buying Farul and is enjoying yet more success. They finished fifth last season – one spot away from Europe – and are now challenging for the title again. It should be said that Hagi announced during the merger that all of Viitorul’s titles would be transferred to Farul now so they technically do have a league title under their belt, but are still aiming to win their first major trophy as Farul.
At the time of writing, the Romanian SuperLiga is on its winter break. Farul are at the top of the table, but just one point clear of CFR Cluj, who have won the league in each of the last five seasons and will be visiting Constanța when they return to action.
The current SuperLiga format is similar to that of the Belgian Pro League, which means a certain number of teams qualify for the Championship Play-off at the end of the regular season and their points tallies are then halved. So, there is a long way to go yet, but Farul are certainly in the title race.
Once again, youth is playing a key part in their campaign. 20-year-old forward Alexi Pitu is already in double-digits for goal involvements in the league this season, 20-year-old Constantin Grameni and 19-year-old Dan Sîrbu have been regular starters and 17-year-old Andrei Borza has made 14 appearances off the bench. In fact, all but four members of Farul’s squad are Romanian.
If Farul do end up winning the title, it would be the fairytale ending to what Romanian football expert Emanuel Roşu called the best story of at least the last 30 years in Romanian football. What Hagi has done with his Viitorul project is already very commendable, but nothing would top winning a title as both owner and manager of the club he grew up playing for.
Regardless of how it ends, though, it is safe to say that Farul are finally enjoying a heyday and look set to at least qualify for a European competition, which would be a first in the current era. However, at the moment, they have a three-season suspension from Europe since the federations recognise them as a newly-established club, although they are appealing that decision.
In the longer term too, the future looks very bright for Farul. Their state-of-the-art youth development program does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon so they will continue to produce top-class players and therefore continue to succeed. The opening of the new stadium and their return to the city centre is something everyone is looking forward to, and it is sure to attract even more fans to their matches.
Finally, Farul have reached the lighthouse at the end of the dark seas after their prodigal son Hagi jumped aboard and corrected their course.
With thanks to Emanuel Roşu, Filip of RoFtbl and others for their inputs and insights. Image courtesy of FCV Farul Constanța’s Facebook