2016–17 Liga I

Liga I

Season	2016–17
Matches played	127
Goals scored	297 (2.34 per match)
Top goalscorer	Azdren Llullaku (14 goals)
Best goalkeeper	Plamen Iliev (8 clean sheets)
Biggest home win	CFR Cluj 5–0 Voluntari (17 September 2016)
Biggest away win	ACS Poli Timișoara 0–5 Botoșani (18 August 2016)
Highest scoring	FC Voluntari 4–2 Botoșani (5 August 2016) CFR Cluj 5–1 Astra Giurgiu (21 August 2016) Botoșani 4–2 ASA Târgu Mureș (29 August 2016)
Longest winning run	3 matches: Steaua București CS U Craiova ACS Poli Timișoara CFR Cluj
Longest unbeaten run	11 matches: Gaz Metan Mediaș
Longest winless run	7 matches: CSM Politehnica Iași ASA Târgu Mureș
Longest losing run	6 matches: ASA Târgu Mureș CSM Politehnica Iași
Highest attendance	27,027 Steaua București 1–1 Dinamo București (20 August 2016)
Lowest attendance	34 Pandurii Târgu Jiu 1–1 Voluntari (1 December 2016)
Average attendance	2,592
← 2015–16 2017–18 → All statistics correct as of 2 December 2016.

The 2016–17 Liga I is the ninety-ninth season of Liga I, the top-level football league of Romania. The season began on 22 July 2016 and will end in June 2017. Astra Giurgiu are the defending champions. This is the second season to take place since the new playoff/playout rule has been introduced. The official fixture schedule was released on 12 July 2016.^[1]

Teams

The last two teams from the 2015–16 season, ACS Poli Timișoara and Petrolul Ploiești, were relegated to their respective 2016–17 Liga II division. The first team from each of the two divisions of 2015–16 Liga II advanced to Liga I.

On 21 July 2016 Rapid București was excluded from Liga I after the club went into dissolution. Their place was taken by ACS Poli Timișoara.^[2]

Renamed teams

CSM Studențesc Iași was renamed as CSM Politehnica Iași.

Venues

Steaua București	ACS Poli Timișoara	CFR Cluj	Pandurii Târgu Jiu[lower-roman 1]
Arena Națională	Dan Păltinișanu	Dr. Constantin Rădulescu	Municipal
Capacity: 55,634	Capacity: 32,972	Capacity: 23,500	Capacity: 20,054
Dinamo București	Bucharest Târgu Mureș Astra Giurgiu Botoșani CFR Cluj Concordia CS U Craiova Gaz Metan Pandurii Poli Iași Poli Timișoara Viitorul Constanța Voluntari Bucharest teams Dinamo Steaua 2016–17 Liga I (Romania)		Botoșani
Dinamo			Municipal
Capacity: 15,032			Capacity: 12,000
CSM Politehnica Iași			Astra Giurgiu
Emil Alexandrescu			Marin Anastasovici
Capacity: 11,390			Capacity: 8,500
Târgu Mureș			Gaz Metan Mediaș
Trans-Sil			Gaz Metan
Capacity: 8,200			Capacity: 7,814
CS U Craiova[lower-roman 2]	Concordia Chiajna	Voluntari	Viitorul Constanța
Extensiv	Concordia	Anghel Iordănescu	Viitorul
Capacity: 7,000	Capacity: 5,123	Capacity: 4,600	Capacity: 4,500

1. Pandurii was relocated to Municipal Stadium from Drobeta-Turnu Severin for this season, as a result of the renovations of the Tudor Vladimirescu Stadium.
2. CS U Craiova was relocated to Extensiv Stadium for this season, as a result of the demolition of the old Ion Oblemenco Stadium, that is planned to be replaced by a modern arena.

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
ACS Poli Timișoara	Popa, IonuțIonuț Popa	Marius Croitoru	Joma	Casa Rusu
Astra Giurgiu	Șumudică, MariusMarius Șumudică	Júnior Morais	Joma	Tinmar
Botoșani	Grozavu, LeontinLeontin Grozavu	Gabriel Vașvari	Nike	Elsaco
CFR Cluj	Miriuță, VasileVasile Miriuță	Mário Camora	Masita	Enex
Concordia Chiajna	Săndoi, EmilEmil Săndoi	Cristian Bălgrădean	Lotto	—
CSM Poli Iași	Neagoe, EugenEugen Neagoe	Ionuț Voicu	Nike	Blue Air
CS U Craiova	Mulțescu, GheorgheGheorghe Mulțescu	Bogdan Vătăjelu	Joma	—
Dinamo București	Andone, IoanIoan Andone	Dan Nistor	Nike	Orange
Gaz Metan Mediaș	Pustai, CristianCristian Pustai	Ionuț Buzean	Joma	Romgaz
Pandurii Târgu Jiu	Grigoraș, PetrePetre Grigoraș	Bogdan Ungurușan	Nike	Artego
Steaua București	Reghecampf, LaurențiuLaurențiu Reghecampf	Mihai Pintilii	Nike	City Insurance
Târgu Mureș	Alexa, DanDan Alexa	Gabriel Mureșan	Joma	energo+
Viitorul Constanța	Hagi, GheorgheGheorghe Hagi	Romario Benzar	Nike	Lotto Snacks
Voluntari	Todoran, DinuDinu Todoran	Vasile Maftei	Puma	Primăria Orașului Voluntari

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Dinamo București	Rednic, MirceaMircea Rednic	Mutual agreement	20 May 2016[3]	Pre-season	Andone, IoanIoan Andone	23 May 2016[4]
CS U Craiova	Naicu, VictorVictor Naicu	End of contract	31 May 2016	Pre-season	Mulțescu, GheorgheGheorghe Mulțescu	9 June 2016[5]
Târgu Mureș	Ciorceri, GeorgeGeorge Ciorceri	End of contract	31 May 2016	Pre-season	Bonetti, DarioDario Bonetti	17 June 2016[6]
Pandurii Târgu Jiu	Iordănescu, EdwardEdward Iordănescu	End of contract	31 May 2016[7]	Pre-season	Grigoraș, PetrePetre Grigoraș	26 June 2016[8]
Concordia Chiajna	Falub, AdrianAdrian Falub	End of contract	31 May 2016	Pre-season	Săndoi, EmilEmil Săndoi	28 June 2016[9]
CFR Cluj	Conceição, ToniToni Conceição	Mutual agreement	27 June 2016[10]	Pre-season	Miriuță, VasileVasile Miriuță	27 June 2016[11]
Târgu Mureș	Bonetti, DarioDario Bonetti	Mutual agreement	6 August 2016	13	Alexa, DanDan Alexa	11 August 2016[12]
CSM Poli Iași	Napoli, NicolòNicolò Napoli	Sacked	7 October 2016	9	Neagoe, EugenEugen Neagoe	8 October 2016[13]
Concordia Chiajna	Săndoi, EmilEmil Săndoi	Mutual agreement	5 November 2016	11	Ursu, EmilEmil Ursu	6 November 2016[14]

Regular season

In the regular season the 14 teams will meet twice, a total of 26 matches per team, with the top 6 advancing to the Championship round and the bottom 8 qualifying for Relegation round.^[15]

Regular season table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Steaua București	19	11	4	4	26	15	+11	37	Qualification to Championship round
2	Viitorul Constanța	19	11	3	5	24	17	+7	36
3	Gaz Metan Mediaș	19	9	7	3	28	18	+10	34
4	CS U Craiova	19	10	3	6	26	20	+6	33
5	CFR Cluj[lower-alpha 1]	19	10	6	3	32	16	+16	30
6	Dinamo București	19	8	5	6	31	25	+6	29
7	Botoșani	19	7	4	8	23	19	+4	25	Qualification to Relegation round
8	Pandurii Târgu Jiu	19	6	6	7	20	24	−4	24
9	Astra Giurgiu	19	6	5	8	19	25	−6	23
10	Voluntari	19	6	4	9	25	27	−2	22
11	CSM Politehnica Iași	19	5	4	10	16	21	−5	19
12	Concordia Chiajna	19	4	4	11	10	24	−14	16
13	Târgu Mureș[lower-alpha 2]	19	4	3	12	16	32	−16	9
14	ACS Poli Timișoara[lower-alpha 3] (Q)	19	5	4	10	20	33	−13	5

Updated to match(es) played on 5 December 2016. Source: Liga 1, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored; 7) Play-off.^[20]
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated.
Notes:

1. CFR Cluj were deducted six points for failing to comply with licensing requirements.^[16]
2. Târgu Mureș were deducted six points for failing to comply with licensing requirements.^[17]
3. Poli Timișoara were deducted 14 points; eight points for failing to get enough points in the previous season and six points for failing to comply with licensing requirements.^[18][19]

Regular season results

Home ╲ Away

ACS

AST

BOT

CFR

CON

IAS

CSU

DIN

GAZ

PAN

STE

ASA

VII

VOL

ACS Poli Timișoara

2–0

0–5

1–1

3–2

1–2

1–3

0–1

0–1

1–0

Astra Giurgiu

3–1

1–2

1–1

1–0

1–2

1–4

0–2

2–0

1–1

Botoșani

2–0

0–0

3–1

2–1

0–0

0–2

4–2

1–2

0–1

CFR Cluj

5–1

1–0

2–0

1–0

0–0

0–0

1–1

0–1

5–0

Concordia Chiajna

0–2

0–2

1–2

0–0

1–0

0–0

1–0

1–2

0–4

CSM Politehnica Iași

0–1

0–1

1–0

2–1

3–1

3–2

0–2

0–0

0–0

1–2

CS U Craiova

2–0

0–1

1–0

1–1

2–0

2–1

2–1

2–1

2–1

Dinamo București

2–1

2–2

0–2

0–1

3–1

1–1

4–0

3–1

3–1

Gaz Metan Mediaș

1–1

0–0

3–1

2–1

2–2

1–3

2–1

2–1

1–0

Pandurii Târgu Jiu

2–2

0–0

2–1

1–1

2–1

0–1

1–0

0–1

1–1

Steaua București

1–0

0–0

1–2

1–0

1–1

2–1

1–1

0–1

2–0

ASA Târgu Mureș

0–2

1–3

0–1

0–3

0–2

2–1

1–3

1–1

0–2

Viitorul Constanța

1–0

2–1

2–1

1–0

1–1

1–1

1–3

3–1

2–1

Voluntari

4–1

4–2

1–0

0–1

1–2

0–0

2–3

1–1

0–1

Updated to games played on 2 December 2016.
Source: Liga 1
1 ^{^} The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Regular season positions by round

Team/ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26
ACS Poli Timișoara	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	13	14
FC Astra Giurgiu	11	10	10	10	11	11	11	12	11	11	12	12	10	10	10	10	10	10
FC Botoșani	1	1	5	6	6	4	2	5	3	4	4	4	4	4	7	7	7	7
FC CFR Cluj	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	10	9	8	7	8	6	5	5	5	5
CS Concordia Chiajna	10	11	11	11	10	10	10	10	12	12	10	9	11	11	11	11	12	12	12
CSM Politehnica Iași	7	3	1	5	5	5	8	9	7	8	9	11	12	12	12	12	11	11	11
CS U Craiova	8	7	7	3	4	3	3	4	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
FC Dinamo București	2	2	2	1	1	2	4	2	4	5	5	8	6	7	6	6	6	6
CS Gaz Metan Mediaș	4	8	8	9	9	8	9	8	8	7	7	6	5	5	3	3	3	4
CS Pandurii Târgu Jiu	3	5	3	4	3	6	5	3	5	6	6	5	7	8	8	9	8	8
FC Steaua București	6	4	4	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
ASA Târgu Mureș	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	14	13
FC Viitorul Constanța	5	9	9	8	8	9	7	6	6	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	3
FC Voluntari	9	6	6	7	7	7	6	7	9	10	11	10	9	9	9	8	9	9

Championship round

The top six teams from Regular season will meet twice (10 matches per team) for places in 2017–18 UEFA Champions League and 2017–18 UEFA Europa League as well as deciding the league champion. Teams start the Championship round with their points from the Regular season halved, rounded upwards, and no other records carried over from the Regular season.^[21]

Championship round table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Team 1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round
2	Team 2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Team 3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round
4	Team 4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round
5	Team 5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Team 6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played on TBD. Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Matches won; 5) Play-off.^[22]

Championship round results

Home ╲ Away	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA

Source: Liga 1
1 ^{^} The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Championship round positions by round

Team/ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA

Relegation round

The bottom eight teams from regular season will meet twice (14 matches per team) to contest against relegation. Teams start the Relegation round with their points from the Regular season halved, rounded upwards, and no other records carried over from the Regular season. The winner of the Relegation round finishes 7th in the overall season standings, the second placed team - 8th, and so on, with the last placed team in the Relegation round being 14th.^[23]

Relegation round table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
7	Team 7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	Team 8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	Team 9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	Team 10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	Team 11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	Team 12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Qualification to Relegation play-offs
13	Team 13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Relegation to Liga II
14	Team 14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played on TBD. Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Matches won; 5) Play-off.^[24]

Relegation round results

Home ╲ Away	ACS	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
ACS Poli Timișoara
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA

Updated to games played on 1 December 2016.
Source: Liga 1
1 ^{^} The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation round positions by round

Team/ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
ACS Poli Timișoara
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA
TBA

Season statistics

Top scorers

Updated to matches played on 2 December 2016^[25]

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Azdren Llullaku	Gaz Metan Mediaș	14
2	Cristian Bud	CFR Cluj	9
3	István Fülöp	Botoșani	7
	Fernando Boldrin	Astra Giurgiu (1) / Steaua București (6)
5	Aurelian Chițu	Viitorul Constanța	6
	Valentin Lazăr	Dinamo București
	Mircea Axente	Gaz Metan Mediaș
	Adrian Bălan	FC Voluntari
	Dorin Rotariu	Dinamo București
10	Petre Ivanovici	Voluntari	5
	Simon Măzărache	CS U Craiova
	George Țucudean	Pandurii Târgu Jiu
	Andrei Ivan	CS U Craiova
	Harlem Gnohéré	Dinamo București

Hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result	Date
Gnohéré, HarlemHarlem Gnohéré	Dinamo București	Astra Giurgiu	4–1	23 July 2016
Bud, CristianCristian Bud	CFR Cluj	Voluntari	5–0	17 September 2016

Clean sheets

Updated to matches played on 2 December 2016

Rank	Player	Club	Clean sheets^*
1	Plamen Iliev	Botoșani	8
2	Florin Niță	Steaua București	6
	Cristian Bălgrădean	Concordia Chiajna
	Silviu Lung Jr.	Astra Giurgiu
	Nicolae Calancea	CS U Craiova
6	Victor Rîmniceanu	Viitorul Constanța	5
7	David Lazar	Pandurii Târgu Jiu	4
	Alexandru Marc	CFR Cluj
	Cătălin Straton	ACS Poli Timișoara
	Răzvan Pleșca	Gaz Metan Mediaș
	Branko Grahovac	Politehnica Iași
12	Mihai Mincă	CFR Cluj	3

^* Only goalkeepers who played all 90 minutes of a match are taken into consideration.

Discipline

As of 2 December 2016

Player

• Most yellow cards:^[26] 7
  • Gabriel Tamaș (Steaua București)
  • Cristian Bud (CFR Cluj)
  • Andrei Artean (ACS Poli Timișoara)
• Most red cards:^[27] 2
  • Ionuț Voicu (Politehnica Iași)
  • Júnior Morais (Astra Giurgiu)
  • George Miron (Botoșani)
  • Radu Zaharia (Gaz Metan Mediaș)

Club

• Most yellow cards:^[28] 55
  • ASA Târgu Mureș
• Most red cards:^[28] 5
  • Botoșani

Monthly awards

Month	Player of the Month		Reference
	Player	Club
August	Dorin Rotariu	Dinamo București	[29]
September	Cristian Bud	CFR Cluj	[30]
October	Valentin Lazăr	Dinamo București	[31]
November	Liviu Antal	Pandurii Târgu Jiu	[32]
December			[33]
February			[34]
March			[35]
April			[36]
May			[37]

References

1. "Programul sezonului regulat 2016-2017 în Liga 1 Orange". www.lpf.ro. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
2. http://www.digisport.ro/Sport/FOTBAL/Competitii/Liga+1/E+oficial+Rapid+nu+va+juca+in+Liga+1+in+sezonul+viitor
3. "OFICIAL. Mulțumim, Mircea Rednic!". fcdinamo.ro. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
4. "OFICIAL. IOAN ANDONE, antrenor principal al FC Dinamo București". fcdinamo.ro. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
5. "Mulțescu: Mulțescu: "Obiectivul nostru este să ducem Universitatea în cupele europene"". csuc.ro. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
6. "Dario Bonetti, noul antrenor principal". asatirgumures.ro. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
7. "Edi Iordănescu s-a despărţit oficial de Pandurii.". prosport.ro. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
8. "Petre Grigoraș e noul antrenor al Pandurilor!". dolce-sport.ro. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
9. "Emil Săndoi este noul tehnician al Concordiei Chiajna". csconcordia.ro. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
10. "Multumim, Tony! Multumim, Manuel!". prosport.ro. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
11. "OFICIAL CFR s-a despărțit de Conceicao » Noul antrenor a semnat deja contractul". gsp.ro. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
12. "Alexa - C. Ilie, pe banca tehnică". asatirgumures.ro. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
13. "Bun venit la Iași, Eugen Neagoe!". csmsiasi.ro. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
14. "Emil Săndoi este noul tehnician al Concordiei Chiajna". dolce-sport.ro. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
15. "Liga I 2015/12016 - Regular season rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
16. "ACS Poli ar intra în Liga 1, pe locul Rapidului, cu 14 puncte penalizare şi 1,5 milioane de euro datorii. Ce calcule face preşedintele Ioan Miculaş". 21 July 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
17. "Comisia de Apel a decis cu câte puncte vor fi penalizate CFR, Rapid şi ASA". 12 May 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
18. "Comisia de Apel a decis cu câte puncte vor fi penalizate CFR, Rapid şi ASA". 12 May 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
19. http://www.gsp.ro/fotbal/liga-b/incredibil-lui-acs-poli-timisoara-i-se-mareste-depunctarea-daca-revine-in-liga-1-482792.html
20. "Liga I 2016/2017 - Regular season rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
21. "Liga I 2015/2016 - Regulamentul playoff/playout". RomaniaTV. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
22. "Liga I 2016/2017 - Championship round rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
23. "Liga I 2015/2016 - Regulamentul playoff/playout". RomaniaTV. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
24. "Liga I 2016/2017 - Relegation round rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
25. "Golgheteri". Liga I (in Romanian). Retrieved 1 December 2016.
26. Yellow cards
27. Red cards
28. Clasamentul fairplay
29. Fotbalistul lunii August
30. Fotbalistul lunii Septembrie
31. Fotbalistul lunii Octombrie
32. Fotbalistul lunii Noiembrie
33. Fotbalistul lunii Decembrie
34. Fotbalistul lunii Februarie
35. Fotbalistul lunii Martie
36. Fotbalistul lunii Aprilie
37. Fotbalistul lunii Mai

External links

• Official website (Romanian)