Ceahlaul

Early years (1919–1961)

Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț was founded on 20 October 1919 in the amphitheatre of Petru Rareș High School in Piatra Neamț, named after the nearby Ceahlău Massif, and the adopted colours were black, inspired by the beret worn by the students, and yellow. The squad, initially formed of high-school players, was strengthened by soldiers from the 15th Infantry Regiment who had returned from World War I. The team competed in the Moldova Regional Championship, which it won in 1926. In 1927, most of the club's players left to attend university and Ceahlăul entered a period of decline. The club played in Divizia C during the 1937–38 season, but withdrew from the league due to financial problems.

Ceahlăul was revived in 1947 with a squad that included Vulovici, Bălănescu, Ciciuc (Popovici), Actis, Manoliu, Dăscălescu, Vasiliu, Georgescu, Mata, Butnaru and Chiper. Beginning in 1949, the club went through a period of instability marked by frequent changes to its name, structure and squad. The team was renamed Progresul Piatra Neamț, before becoming Avântul Piatra Neamț in 1951.

In 1956, Avântul merged with the other two clubs from the city, Hârtia and Celuloza, forming Recolta Piatra Neamț. Recolta played one season in the newly re-established Divizia C, finishing 11th and relegating to the regional championship. At the end of the season, Recolta split into two clubs, Avântul and Rapid, but after a poor campaign the sides merged again in 1958 under the name Club Sportiv Piatra Neamț.

CS Piatra Neamț competed in the 1958–59 Divizia C season, finishing 3rd in Series I and qualifying for the promotion play-off, where it finished last in the group played in Arad behind Dinamo Miliție București and Metalul Târgoviște, before returning to the Bacău Regional Championship after Divizia C was dissolved.

In 1960, the club reverted to the name Ceahlăul and, coached by Tiberiu Căpățînă, won the 1960–61 Bacău Regional Championship, securing promotion to Divizia B for the first time in the club's history after finishing 2nd in Series I of the promotion play-off held in Râmnicu Vâlcea. The squad included Apopei, Albu, Bonciu, Bucșe, Croitoru, Ghegheșan, Hrencic, Kalman, Lemnrău, Macri, Meder, Mihalache, Popa, Simion and Neculai.

Three decades in the second league (1961–1993)

Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț played three consecutive seasons in Divizia B, finishing 8th in 1961–62, 10th in 1962–63 with Ștefan Wetzer on the bench and 13th in 1963–64 under Ștefan Coidum. Relegated to Divizia C, Ceahlăul was promoted back after one season; the club finished first, four points ahead of second-place Textila Buhuși.

The following years, the Team Below Pietricica Mountain competed in Series I of Divizia B, finishing 7th in 1965–66, 9th in 1966–67, and 5th in both the 1967–68 and 1968–69 seasons under coach Petre Steinbach. After Steinbach's departure, the team finished 12th in 1969–70, with Mircea Crețu coaching during the first half of the season and Virgil Rizea during the second, followed by 8th in 1970–71, 10th in 1971–72, 13th in 1972–73 and 6th in 1973–74. Coached by Alexandru Constantinescu, Ceahlăul finished 4th in 1974–75, one point behind 3rd-place Gloria Buzău and four points behind 2nd-place Progresul Brăila. The team subsequently finished 13th in 1975–76, 10th in 1976–77 and 12th in 1977–78.

In 1978, Ceahlăul merged with Relonul Săvinești, the team of the synthetic yarn and fibre plant Relon, located on the Săvinești industrial platform near Piatra Neamț, and was renamed Relon Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț. However, the team finished 15th at the end of the 1978–79 season and was relegated on goal difference after being tied on points with four other teams, in a tightly contested league table in which only six points separated 4th-place Constanța from 17th-place Victoria Tecuci, which brought an end to Ceahlăul's fourteen-year spell in the second tier.

The club changed its name back to Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț during the summer of 1979. Ceahlăul finished first, seven points ahead of second-place Foresta Fălticeni, and was promoted back to the second league after one season in Divizia C.

Coached by Dumitru Dumitriu, the team finished 9th in 1980–81, 10th in 1981–82 and 7th in 1982–83. Dumitriu was replaced by Vasile Copil in 1983, and the team finished 4th (a club record at the time) in 1983–84. Ceahlăul finished 11th in 1984–85 and 1985–86, 8th in 1986–87, 9th in 1987–88 and 11th in 1988–89. The team finished 14th in 1989–90 during the Romanian Revolution, just avoiding relegation.

The 1989 revolution was the beginning of the end for teams such as Victoria București, Flacăra Moreni and Olt Scornicești, but was a restart for Ceahlăul. Long a mediocre Divizia B team, the yellow-and-blacks finished third in 1990–91 (three points out of second) and 1991–92 (three points behind second-place FC Baia Mare and 10 points ahead of Metrom Brașov.

Ioan Sdrobiș ("The Father"), a coach known for promoting young players, was hired as manager during the summer of 1992. Gheorghe Ștefan became the club president, and FC Argeș, ASA Târgu Mureș, Gloria Buzău and Politehnica Iași were rivals for promotion. Two teams were related to the former political regime: Steaua Mizil (a Steaua București satellite team) and Flacăra Moreni. During the winter break, Sdrobiș left the team in first place after disputes with Ștefan and signed with Dacia Unirea Brăila. He was replaced by former Dinamo București and Fenerbahçe player Ion Nunweiller.