FC Ripensia Timișoara

Ripensia Timișoara

Full name	SC FC Ripensia Timișoara SA
Nickname(s)	Ripi Galben-Roșii (The Yellow and Reds)
Short name	Ripensia
Founded	21 October 1928; 96 years ago (1928-10-21)
Ground	Electrica
Capacity	5,000
Owner	Dumitru Mihu
Manager	Iulian Muntean
League	Liga V
2023–24	Liga VI, Timiș County, Seria IV, 1st (promoted)
Website	https://ripensiatimisoara.ro/
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Fotbal Club Ripensia Timișoara (Romanian pronunciation: [timiˈʃo̯ara]), commonly known as Ripensia Timișoara, or simply as Ripensia, is a Romanian professional football club based in Timișoara, Timiș County, which currently plays in Liga V

The team was founded in 1928 by Lázár Kornél and folded twenty years later due to lack of funds.^[1] However, Ripi was brought back to life and enrolled in the Liga VI, the sixth tier of the Romanian football league system, in 2012.^[2]

Ripensia Timișoara was the first Romanian club to turn professional, and because of this status they were unable to compete in the national league until the 1932–33 season. After being granted permission to participate in the national system, the club soon became one of the best in the country, winning four national titles and two national cups in their short history.

The colors of the team are red and yellow.

It was founded in 1928 by dr.Cornel Lazăr, a famous promoter of football in the Banat region, and the former president of Chinezul Timișoara. The players came from Chinezul Timișoara, C.A.T. and Poli Timișoara. Vilmos Kertész coached the team from 1931 to 1932.^[3][4] Due to its professional status, until 1932–1933 (the first season of the National League – Divizia A), the team and its players could not participate in official national competitions.

They were champions of the Romanian Football League in 1933, 1935, 1936, and 1938, with two Romanian Cup appearances, winning 3–2 over Universitatea Cluj in 1934 and 5–1 over Unirea Tricolor București in 1936. They were national vice-champions for 1933–34 and 1938–39. After World War II, due to financial problems, the communist sports organisation and controversial actions, Ripensia played in Divizia B and Divizia C. After 1948, without any support, it disappeared, merging with Electrica Timișoara. Their colours were red-yellow. Their home stadium was called Electrica (today UMT; the original wooden stand was demolished in 2004–2005). The greatest players in team history were:^{[weasel words]}

• Goalkeepers: Vilmos Zombori, Dumitru Pavlovici
• Defenders: Rudolf Bürger, Balázs Hoksary
• Midfielders: Vasile Chiroiu II, Vasile Deheleanu, Rudolf Kotormány, Eugen Lakatos, Nicolae Simatoc
• Forwards: Gheorghe Oprean, Zoltán Beke, Silviu Bindea, Gheorghe Ciolac, Ştefan Dobay, Ladislau Raffinski, Sándor Schwartz, Graţian Sepi II, Mihai Tänzer, Adalbert Marksteiner

In the 2012 the team was reestablished and competed in the municipal championship, they won it and promoted to Liga V. In Liga V they reached the first place in the 2013–2014 season and promoted to the next league Liga IV. Also they made a good impression in the 2013–14 Romanian Cup, where they defeated again Universitatea Cluj to reach the Last 16 of the cup making them the surprise of the cup. In the Last 16 they lost to Pandurii Târgu Jiu.

In the 2014–15 Liga IV season, Ripi had a very tough opponent, in the position of ASU Politehnica Timișoara, the fan-owned phoenix club formed after the dissolution of FC Politehnica Timișoara by its fans and finished only on the 2nd place.

Next season Ripensia had a perfect journey, won Liga IV – Timiș County and qualified for the promotion play-offs to Liga III. At the promotion play-off Ripensia met the champion of Hunedoara County, Hercules Lupeni, and they won without major difficulties, 7–0 on aggregate, thus ensuring promotion to the Liga III.^[5]

2016–17 Liga III season was the first one for Ripi in the last over 60 years. The team had a very close fight for supremacy in the Seria IV against CSM Școlar Reșița, CSM Lugoj, Cetate Deva and Național Sebiș but in the end they won and promoted to Liga II after an absence of 69 years.^[6]

• Liga I
  • Winners (4): 1932–33, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1937–38
  • Runners-up (2): 1933–34, 1938–39
• Liga III
  • Winners (2): 1946–47, 2016–17
• Liga IV – Timiș County
  • Winners (1): 2015–16
  • Runners-up (1): 2014–15
• Liga V – Timiș County
  • Winners (1): 2013–14
• Liga VI – Timiș County
  • Winners (2): 2012–13, 2023-24

• Cupa României
  • Winners (2): 1933–34, 1935–36
  • Runners-up (2): 1934–35, 1936–37

The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level.

The players in bold were the top goalscorers in the division.

Season	League									Cup	European Cup		Other		Top Goalscorer(s)		Notes
	Division	Pos	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts						Name	Goals
1932–33	Div A	1st	12	10	0	2	49	10	20	–			Finals	W	Ștefan Dobay	16	Foundation of the Romanian Football League system
1933–34		1st	14	10	2	2	55	13	22	W			Finals	F	Ștefan Dobay	15
1934–35		1st	22	14	4	4	66	34	32	F					Ștefan Dobay	24
1935–36		1st	22	13	4	5	59	37	30	W					Ștefan Dobay	12
1936–37		3rd	22	13	1	8	59	39	27	F					Ștefan Dobay	21
1937–38		1st	18	15	0	3	63	25	30	R32			Finals	W	Silviu Bindea	21
1938–39		2nd	22	11	4	7	53	39	26	R32					Adalbert Marksteiner	21
1939–40		6th	22	8	6	8	36	37	22	R32					Adalbert Marksteiner	15
1940–41		3rd	24	13	6	5	58	32	32	R32					Silviu Bindea	10
1941–42	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	QF
1942–43	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	R32
1943–46 Not involved in any competitions due to World War II.
1946–47	Div C	1st	18	13	4	1	48	21	30	–
1947–48	Div B	8th	29	12	4	13	44	54	28	R32							Merged with Electrica Timișoara. Disbanded.
1948–2012 Not involved in any competitions.
2012–13	L6	1st	22	21	1	0	143	9	64	–			Timiș County Phase	W	Adrian Boghian	23
2013–14	L5	1st	28	25	2	1	152	9	77	R16			Timiș County Phase	2R	Raul Briciu	37
2014–15	L4	2nd	34	29	2	3	122	27	89	–			Timiș County Phase	W	Ndiaye Mediop	32
2015–16		1st	32	28	3	1	150	28	87	R32			Timiș County Phase	SF	Ndiaye Mediop	55
2016–17	L3	1st	26	16	7	3	69	30	55	–					Ndiaye Mediop	21
2017–18	L2	11th	38	13	9	16	72	58	48	3R					Ndiaye Mediop	19
2018–19		12th	38	12	11	15	44	54	47	4R					Andrei Dumiter	10
2019–20		13th	23	6	10	7	28	34	28	R32					Albert Voinea	13
2020–21		15th	19	6	4	9	15	30	22	R32
		4th[7]	6	4	2	0	9	3	36
2021–22		12th	19	6	7	6	18	19	25	R32
		4th[8]	6	2	0	4	7	11	31
2022–23		17th	19	4	4	11	16	23	16	4R							Retired after relegation. Entered the lower county league.
		7th[9]	6	0	1	5	2	11	17
2023–24	L6	1st	18	16	0	2	72	17	48	2R			Timiș County Phase	2R
2024-25	L5

Ripensia played in the Mitropa Cup, an important inter-war football competition. In the 1938 season Ripensia knocked Italian giants AC Milan out of this competition. The Romanians won the first leg 3–0 at Bucharest, and lost the second leg 1–3. In the next round Ripensia was eliminated by Hungarian side of Ferencváros (1–4, 4–5).

Season	Round	Country	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1938	First round	Italy	A.C. Milan	3–0	1–3	4–3
	Quarter-finals	Hungary	Ferencváros	4–5	1–4	5–9

Wikimedia Commons has media related to FC Ripensia Timișoara.

• Official website
• Club profile at UEFA.com