Farul Constanta

Early years (1920–1949)

The club was founded in 1920 as SPM Constanța (Serviciul Porturi Maritime – Maritime Port Services) and played under this name until 1946, when it was renamed PCA Constanța (Porturi Comunicații Ape – Ports Marine Communication).

Ascent (1949–1960)

The modern history of the football club from Constanța began in 1949, when the city's two teams (Dezrobirea Constanța and PCA Constanța) merged to form Locomotiva PCA. The new club was registered for the Divizia B play-off with four other regional champions: Metalul 1 Mai Ploiești, Dinamo Oltenița, Progresul CPCS București and Bucegi Câmpulung Pitești. "Constănțenii" finished first in the group, and were promoted to the second league.

In 1953, Locomotiva PCA Constanța was renamed Locomotiva Constanța. A year later, at the end of the 1954 season, Locomotiva Constanța received its first promotion to Divizia A. The team was ranked first in the third series of Divizia B, with three points more than second-place Dinamo Bacău. After the last game, an away 1–0 win against Dinamo Bârlad, the players were welcomed at Constanța's old train station by a large crowd which had come to celebrate the promotion. The team consisted of Nebela, Doicescu, Zlotea, Mark, Tatomir, Jarnea (Bedivan, Manta), Vultur, Neli Ispas, Gogu Cojocaru, Sever, Cristof, Bobi Georgescu, Gigi Datcu, Linzoiu, Keszkei, coached by Ion Troancă.

In the spring of 1955, Locomotiva began their first season in the first league. The team was strengthened with players from Politehnica Timișoara, CFR București and Flamura Roșie Arad, and had a new coach: Eugen Mladin. The first match of "the Sailors" was played in Bucharest against future champion Dinamo București. Gogu Cojocaru scored first but the match was lost, 4–1. At the end of the season, Locomotiva finished 12th out of 13 teams and was relegated to Divizia B. During the season, Farul Stadium (1 Mai Stadium at the time) opened. Its debut match, on 23 March 1955, was a fourth-round league game between Locomotiva and defending champions Flamura Roșie Arad. Locomotiva won, 1–0, with a 40-meter goal by Manole.

Locomotiva finished the 1956 Divizia B season in sixth place, and finished third in 1957. The return to an autumn-spring format at the beginning of the 1957–58 season and the renaming of the team to Farul Constanța had brought good luck to the Sailors, who won the second league and returned to the first league of Romanian football. After a tough first season in which the club barely avoided relegation, Farul had their best season to date and finished fourth in 1959–60. The team consisted of players Horia Ghibănescu, Nicolae Botescu, Grigore Ciuncan, Lucrețiu Florescu, Gheorghe Corneanu, Gheorghe Toma, Petre Comăniță, Mircea Bibere, Eugen Pană, Gheorghe Datcu, Vasile Stancu, Constantin Moroianu, Ion Ciosescu, Paul Niculescu, Dumitru Sever, Iacob Olaru and Ștefan Nunu; head coach Iosif Lengheriu, and president Foti Foti.

Domestic top flight and European competition debut (1960–1967)

The 1960s began with the Sharks in the first football league. Due to the failure of newcomers Brânzei, Stancu and Vasilescu to mesh with the team, at the end of the 1960–61 season Farul finished 13th and was relegated with CSMS Iași and Corvinul Hunedoara. Motivated by their presence in the first league, the Constanțenii did not stay long in Divizia B; at the end of the 1961–62 season, they were promoted back to the first league after finishing first. That season, Farul also received its first national football title by winning the U-19 championship. The following year, the Sailors ended the first part of the season as leaders of the Divizia A. They did less well during the second part, and ranked fifth at the end of the season. During the 1962–63 season, the offensive trio of Bükössy-Ciosescu-Dinulescu scored 48 goals. Farul Constanța won its second consecutive title in the U-19 league, with students of Gheorghe Smărăndescu defeating Dinamo București 2–1 in the final.

The next three seasons started well for Farul, but they finished in the middle of the pack. In 1963–64, they finished eighth after occupying third place at the end of the first half; all-time goal-scorer Marin Tufan scored 62 goals. The following year, the Sailors finished only one point above first-relegated team Minerul Baia Mare. In the 1965–66 season, Farul finished ninth out of 14 teams. Their qualification for the 1964–66 Balkans Cup was their first participation in European competitions; on 28 April 1965, Farul drew away with Spartak Plovdiv 1–1. They won 1–0 in Constanța two weeks later for their first European victory. In the next game, the white-and-blues first defeated Vardar 4–0 in Skopje and 1–0 in a second match. Their meeting with the Greek side Olympiacos was divided; the Greeks won 1–0 at Piraeus, and Farul won a forfeit in Constanța for first place in Group A. The final of the competition was Romanian; Farul met Rapid București, but lost on aggregate after a 3–3 draw in Bucharest and a 0–2 loss in Constanța. The team did well in the Romanian Cup, where the Sharks were eliminated in the semi-finals by UTA Arad (2–3).

In the 1966–67 season, Farul finished fourth in Divizia A. The squad consisted of Iuliu Uțu, Constantin Tâlvescu, Constantin Manciu, Mircea Georgescu, Constantin Koszka, Martin Graef, Suliman Etem, Cicerone Manolache, Constantin Pleșa, Dumitru Antonescu, Ilie Ologu, Marin Tufan, Constantin Iancu, Tiberiu Kallo, Ion Zamfir, Dumitru Caraman, Iosif Bükössy, Constantin Mareș, Vasile Dumbravă; head coach Virgil Mărdărescu, and president Foti Foti. At the end of the season, Farul played six games in its first international tournament in Lebanon, Kuwait and Syria.