Former Ploiești derby

The Former Ploiești derby () was the name given in football to any match between Romanian clubs Petrolul Ploiești and Astra Giurgiu. The two sides won a combined eleven domestic titles, and as of 2024 Petrolul competes in the Liga I, while Astra last played in the Liga III and is dissolved.

Background and history Neither team played continuously in the city of Ploiești since inception; Astra was founded in 1921 in Ploiești as Clubul Sportiv Astra-Română, while Petrolul appeared three years later in the Romanian capital of Bucharest as Juventus, following a merger. The latter won its first league championship in the 1929–30 season, and in 1952 moved to Ploiești and changed its name to Flacăra Ploiești accordingly. It achieved three more national titles in 1957–58, 1958–59 and 1965–66.

The rivalry only started in 1998, when Astra promoted for the first time to the Liga I under the ownership of businessman Ioan Niculae. Their first meeting was a league fixture on 8 August 1998, which Petrolul won 2–1 at home. In July 2003, Astra Ploiești changed its name to FC Petrolul Ploiești, with Florin Bercea and Ioan Niculae becoming owners of the newly-formed entity and also with the home ground moving to Astra Stadium. According to the Romanian Football Federation, the new entity took over Petrolul's brand and record; Astra was refounded by Niculae in 2005 as CSM Ploiești after he renounced his stake in Petrolul.

In September 2012, Astra relocated to Giurgiu after 91 years in Prahova County, but even after the move the rivalry continued between the governances of the two clubs, with Ioan Niculae claiming at one point that Petrolul does not have any honours after the events of 2003–2005. While Astra did not attract large crowds in neither Ploiești nor Giurgiu, Petrolul fans continued to consider their derby with Rapid București the most important one.

Astra became a prominent figure in Romanian football in the 2010s, as it won its first four major honours (one national title, one national cup, and two supercups) and qualified twice for the UEFA Europa League group stages in Giurgiu. During the same time period, Petrolul only won one Cupa României in the 2012–13 season, and went bankrupt in 2016. Astra additionally lost three cup finals in 2017, 2019, and 2021 on the Ilie Oană Stadium in Ploiești, the home ground of its former local opponent.

The two rivals met again in the same league during the 2021–22 Liga II season, but their ultimate fates were antithetical—Petrolul returned to the Liga I after ascending through the Romanian league system, while Astra relegated to the third division. On 19 October 2022, Astra withdrew from the championship and was subsequently dissolved.

Statistics

Head to head results

CompetitionPlayedPetrolul winsDrawsAstra winsPetrolul goalsAstra goalsLiga I186752019Liga II5311118Cupa României411225Total2710983332

Honours Petrolul PloieștiCompetitionAstra GiurgiuMajor 4 Liga I 1 3 Cupa României 1 0 Supercupa României 2 7 Aggregate 4Lower leagues 9 Liga II 1 1 Liga III 1 1 Liga IV 0 11 Aggregate 2 18 Total aggregate 6

All matches

DateVenueScoreCompetition8 August 1998Stadionul Ilie Oană 2–1Liga I13 March 1999Stadionul Astra 1–131 October 1999Stadionul Astra 2–03 May 2000Stadionul Ilie Oană 1–017 November 2000Stadionul Astra 0–09 June 2001Stadionul Ilie Oană 3–111 August 2001 1–016 March 2002Stadionul Astra 2–124 September 2005Stadionul Ilie Oană 4–2Liga II15 April 2006Stadionul Astra 0–124 August 2008Stadionul Ilie Oană 2–38 March 2009Stadionul Astra 2–227 October 2011 1–0Cupa României5 November 2011 1–1Liga I6 May 2012Stadionul Ilie Oană 3–110 November 2012Stadionul Marin Anastasovici 1–118 May 2013Stadionul Ilie Oană 1–125 August 2013Stadionul Marin Anastasovici 1–216 March 2014Stadionul Ilie Oană 1–126 March 2014 0–0Cupa României16 April 2014Stadionul Marin Anastasovici 2–127 October 2014 0–0Liga I30 April 2015Stadionul Ilie Oană 1–2 30 August 2015Stadionul Ilie Oană 0–1 12 December 2015Stadionul Marin Anastasovici 3–1 3 March 2021Stadionul Ilie Oană 0–3Cupa României31 October 2021Stadionul Marin Anastasovici 1–2Liga II

Games involving second teams

DateVenueScoreCompetition11 November 2017Stadionul Ilie Oană 0–0Liga III18 May 2018Stadionul Astra 2–2

Players with both sides The footballer with the most appearances combined (560) for both sides combined is Takayuki Seto. One of the most notable footballers to play for both clubs is 2017 Romanian Footballer of the Year winner Constantin Budescu—he appeared in more than 410 matches in all competitions for Petrolul and Astra combined, as of 2023.

Geraldo Alves Mirel Bolboașă Damien Boudjemaa Constantin Budescu Nicolae Constantin Daniel Costescu Marian Cristescu Dragoș Gheorghe Romario Moise Mirko Ivanovski Adrian Pătulea Paul Papp Romário Pires Bogdan Rusu Takayuki Seto Pompiliu Stoica Gabriel Tamaș Filipe Teixeira Dinu Todoran Claudiu Tudor Alexandru Țigănașu Cristian Vlad

Former Ploiești derby

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