Gloria Buzău

Establishment

The club was established on 16 June 1973 by the Buzău County authorities as part of CSM Buzău (Clubul Sportiv Municipal), the city's multi-sport organisation.

Gloria absorbed the former Buzău club Metalul Buzău, whose place in Divizia C it also took. With several former Metalul players, together with other local footballers, particularly from another Buzău side, Șoimii, the newly formed team finished first in its Divizia C series during its inaugural season. Gloria subsequently won the promotion play-off tournament and earned promotion to Divizia B in its first year of existence.

1970s and 1980s

After several attempts to challenge for first place in Series I of Divizia B, Gloria finally won the series at the end of the 1977–78 season, only five years after its establishment, and earned promotion to Divizia A for the first time in the history of a club from Buzău.

During its first season in the top flight, Gloria recorded one of the most memorable results in its history, a 4–1 home victory over Steaua București. The club managed to avoid relegation, notably defeating UTA Arad late in the campaign, a result that contributed to the Arad club's relegation. Gloria itself was relegated the following season.

After four seasons outside the top flight, Gloria returned to Divizia A, where it remained for another three seasons. The 1984–85 season became the most successful league campaign in the club's history, with Gloria finishing 5th. The result also qualified the club for the Balkans Cup, where it reached the semi-finals before being eliminated by Greek side Panionios.

Two decades in the lower leagues

What followed was approximately two decades spent predominantly in the lower divisions, including two seasons in Divizia C, in 2000–01 and 2001–02. After returning to Divizia B, former Gloria player Viorel Ion became player-coach and guided the club to the promotion play-offs for Liga I, where Buzău was defeated by FC Politehnica AEK Timișoara.

Meanwhile, the club encountered severe financial difficulties and came close to bankruptcy. The problems continued until the 2006–07 season, when investor Aurel Brebeanu took over the club from former president Dan Tulpan and managed to stabilise its finances. The same campaign brought a major sporting achievement, as Gloria earned promotion to Liga I after a twenty-year absence.

In 2007, businessman Constantin Bucur acquired 52% of the shares in the newly promoted club, becoming its majority shareholder.

Return to the first division (2007–2009)

Following promotion at the end of the 2006–07 season, Gloria entered Liga I under coach Viorel Ion. Majority shareholder Constantin Bucur dismissed Ion after only a few matches of the 2007–08 season and replaced him with Ștefan Stoica. The team spent much of the campaign fighting relegation but eventually finished in the final position that ensured survival in the top flight.

The following season proved considerably more difficult. Gloria finished last in the 2008–09 campaign and was relegated to Liga II.

Return to the lower leagues

Following relegation, Bucur withdrew his support and, amid continuing financial problems, Gloria lost most of its senior squad during the summer of 2009. Its first season back in Liga II was difficult. The club began the championship with an eight-point deduction after failing to reach the minimum points requirement in the previous top-flight season, and also lost its opening match 0–3 by a federal decision because of unpaid debts to former players.

A squad was assembled only a few weeks before the beginning of the championship. Nicolae Anton, previously responsible for the reserve team in Liga IV and the youth sector, was appointed head coach. Despite the difficulties, Gloria recorded six victories between rounds 2 and 8, including four consecutive wins between rounds 2 and 5, and ultimately avoided relegation by finishing 14th.

After finishing 10th the following season, further financial difficulties forced the club to rely increasingly on youth players, and Gloria was eventually relegated to Liga III.

The 2012–13 season saw Gloria challenge for promotion back to Liga II. Its principal rival, Viitorul Axintele, initially appeared to have the advantage. Ștefan Stoica, who had returned as head coach, later stepped down for family reasons and was replaced by Marian Roșu.

Although Gloria lost the direct meeting with Viitorul during the spring of 2013 and appeared to have missed promotion, a subsequent Romanian Football Federation investigation established that Viitorul had failed to maintain the three county-level youth teams required by Liga III regulations. The club was given a nine-point deduction, allowing Gloria to finish first and earn promotion to Liga II.

On 26 May 2016, the Romanian Football Federation sanctioned 14 Gloria players and three officials for involvement in match-fixing and betting-related offences connected with ten Liga II matches played between September 2014 and May 2015. The sanctions amounted to a combined 174 months of suspensions.

At the end of the 2015–16 season, Gloria was scheduled to face Olimpia Satu Mare in a relegation play-off. However, the club was unable to field a team after the suspensions came into effect and did not contest the tie. Together with its continuing financial problems, these developments led to the bankruptcy and disappearance of the old FC Gloria Buzău structure.

Refounding and rise through the leagues (2016–2022)

Following the bankruptcy of FC Gloria Buzău, businessman Ionel Turturică established a new club, FC Buzău, which was entered in Liga V – Buzău County. The squad included several players who had previously represented FC Gloria Buzău.

In its first season, the new club won promotion to Liga IV, collecting 63 points and finishing seven points ahead of the runners-up.

In the summer of 2017, FC Buzău was integrated into the newly created municipal multi-sport organisation and renamed SCM Gloria Buzău. At the end of the 2017–18 season, the club earned a second consecutive promotion, this time to Liga III.

In the 2018–19 Liga III season, SCM Gloria secured its third consecutive promotion by winning Series I. The campaign included matches against clubs such as Oțelul Galați, Foresta Suceava, Bucovina Rădăuți and Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț. The Red and Blues remained unbeaten until the final round and returned to Liga II.