Clubul Sportiv Sporting Liești, commonly known as Sporting Liești, is a Romanian football club based in Liești, Galați County. The team currently competes in Liga III, the third tier of Romanian football.
Led by Doru Buciumeanu since the summer of 2011, Sporting won the Liga IV – Galați County in the 2011–12 season but lost the promotion play-off against CSM Moinești, the winner of Liga IV – Bacău County, 0–5 on neutral ground at Municipal Stadium in Huși. However, promotion came at the end of the following season, after winning the county league for the second time in a row and defeating FC Gârceni, the Vaslui County winner, 5–3 at Letea Stadium in Bacău.[1][2]
Sporting’s debut in Liga III was tough. Buciumeanu was replaced by Valentin Kramer three rounds before the end of the regular season,[3] with the team finishing 9th. Sporting then ended 10th in the relegation play-out of Series II in the 2013–14 campaign. Kramer stayed on for the 2014–15 season, leading the team to 10th place in Series I.
Ionuț Niculcea took over in summer 2015[4] and guided Sporting to 6th place in Series I in 2015–16, followed by three consecutive 8th-place finishes in Series I from 2016–17, 2017–18, and 2018–19. During the 2018–19 season, Sporting also reached the Round of 32 in the Cupa României, losing 0–3 to Mioveni.[5]
In 2019, Doru Balmuș was appointed head coach but was replaced by Niculcea in January 2020.[6][7] The 2019–20 season was interrupted after 16 rounds on 9 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Sporting sitting in 10th place in Series I. In the 2020–21 season, Niculcea led the team to 6th place in Series II.
Initially appointed as interim following Niculcea’s departure, Cristian Brăneț was confirmed as permanent head coach for the 2021–22 season, guiding the team to 5th place in Series II at both the end of the regular season and after the play-out round.[8][9]
Following a poor start to the 2022–23 campaign, with only six points from the first seven matches, Brăneț was replaced by Cătălin Savu.[10] Under Savu’s guidance, Sporting finished 6th in the regular season and 5th overall after the Series II play-out. In the 2023–24 season, the team improved further, finishing 3rd in the regular season and 4th in the series play-off.[11]
In the 2024–25 season, Lieștenii topped the regular season standings in Series II but finished 2nd in the play-off, behind Unirea Braniștea, achieving the club’s best-ever position in Liga III and qualifying for the promotion play-off. However, Sporting did not meet the Romanian Football Federation’s requirements regarding youth teams and was therefore unable to participate in the play-off match against FC Bacău.[12]
The club plays its home matches on Comunal Stadium in Liești, Galați County and has a capacity of 2,500 people on standing terrace.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Board of directors[edit]
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Current technical staff[edit]
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Doru Buciumeanu (2011–2014) Valentin Kramer (2014–2015) Ionuț Niculcea (2015–2019) Doru Balmuș (2019) Ionuț Niculcea (2020–2021) Cristian Brăneț (2021–2022) Cătălin Savu (2022–)
