steaua

Steaua, Romanian for "star," is a Romanian sports club based in Bucharest, best known for its football team. The club was founded in 1947 by the Romanian Army as CSA Steaua București, and its name and crest reflect military symbolism, including a red star.

The football team is regarded as one of Romania’s most successful clubs, with a strong domestic record in Liga I and the Romanian Cup. Its most notable achievement on the European stage is winning the European Cup (now the UEFA Champions League) in 1986, a milestone that made Steaua the first Romanian and Eastern European club to claim the trophy. The club has also produced numerous Romanian internationals and has featured several generations of prominent players.

In the early 2010s, a legal dispute over the rights to the Steaua name and crest led to organizational changes that separated the football team from the parent army sports society. From 2017 onward, the football arm has competed under the name FCSB (Football Club Steaua București), while the broader Steaua entity continues to exist as a multi-sport club and remains associated with the original identity in some contexts.

Stadium and supporters have traditionally centered on Stadionul Ghencea in Bucharest, a venue long associated with the club and its fans. Notable figures linked with Steaua include Romanian internationals such as Marius Lăcătuș and Gheorghe Hagi, who contributed to the club’s prominent role in Romanian football during the 1980s and beyond.