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Fotbal Club Progresul București, commonly known as Progresul București or simply as Progresul, was a Romanian football club based in Bucharest.
The team was founded in 1944 as B.N.R. București, being the team of the National Bank of Romania (B.N.R.). In 1947, B.N.R. was promoted to Divizia B. In 1955, B.N.R. made its debut in Divizia A, under the name of Progresul Finanțe Bănci București. Since then, Progresul has experienced various successes and setbacks, in total spending no less than 32 seasons in the top flight, being ranked 15th in the Liga I All-Time Table. Progresul was runner-up of the league three times (1995–96, 1996–97, 2001–02), won the Romanian Cup in the 1959–60 season, and was also the finalist of the Cup on four other occasions (1957–58, 1996–97, 2002–03, 2005–06).
Unlike the three biggest teams of Bucharest and Romania—Steaua, Dinamo and Rapid—Progresul was not historically supported by the communist regime. This, however, drew the sympathy of many supporters, including actors, artists and the then-bourgeoisie of Bucharest.
In April 2009, due to financial problems, Progresul was kicked out from the Cotroceni Stadium by the National Bank of Romania, which was no longer part of the club, but was still the owner of the stadium. In the same month, the club was excluded from the Liga II and subsequently declared bankrupt.
One of Romania's most well known footballers, Dan Petrescu, finished his career at the club.
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Founding, early years and success (1944–1970)
FC Progresul București was founded as B.N.R. București on 10 May 1944 at the initiative of Nicolae Pop Sr. and Traian Pătrașcu, who proposed the creation of a football team to the National Bank of Romania at a meeting at the I. Vidrighin Hotel in Rășinari. The idea was quickly embraced by the bankers present, and the club was subsequently formed. Initially, no formal constitution was signed, an issue which remained unresolved for several years, until one was informally written by a local writer Valentin Căltuț, based on the wishes of Nicolae Pop Jr. (son of Nicolae Pop Sr.) and founding members Peter Lambru, Iosif Micu, Petre Mihăilescu, Ernest Rădulescu, and Constantin Stoian.
After only two seasons spent in the third tier, "the Bankers" promoted to Divizia B at the end of the 1946–47 season, being ranked 8th of 16 at the end of their inaugural season. In the summer of 1948, B.N.R. București was renamed as Banca de Stat București, before being renamed Spartac București the following year. 1955 was the first season spent by "the bleu and blues" on the main stage of Romanian football, Divizia A. Their successful performance and style of play impressed football fans in Romania, fostering a growing fan base for the organization. Approaching the championship with only one well-known player (Titus Ozon), who co-ordinated a group of players who were unknown at the time, the team eventually ranked 3rd of 13, ahead of leading clubs like CCA București or Știința Cluj. Titus Ozon also led "the barbers" into trailing results from the 1950s (1955 – 3rd, 1956 – 9th and 1957–58 – 4th). The squad of Progresul in the first season of Divizia A was composed of: Popovici, Gică Andrei, Bratu, Paraschiv, Soare, Colosi, Ciocea, Banciu, Cosma, Știrbei, Cacoveanu, Fusulan, Dragomir, Dobrescu, Cruțiu, M. Smărăndescu, Tănase, Mihăilescu, E. Iordache and Ioan Lupaș (head coach).
In the summer of 1958, several prominent players left the team: first Ozon, then Moldoveanu, Dinulescu and Cojocaru. Some new players also came: Maior, Nedelcu, Nicu Smărăndescu, Ioniță, Baboie, Mafteuță, Marin, Birn or Vasilescu. At the 1958–59 season, the team was ranked 6th and reached the semi-finals of the Romanian Cup; there Progresul missed the chance to play the final, losing the match against Baia Mare with 1–2. The second semi-final took place between Dinamo București and Rapid București (5–3), which saw Ozon play his first match after a one-year career break as part of the Rapid team.
In the 1959–60 season, the team was ranked 9th with a squad led by international players such as Mândru, Karikaș, Soare and Oaidă, Progresul conquered the Romanian Cup, achieving a great performance: 15 goals scored and only one conceded. The final was played between Progresul and Dinamo Obor at Republicii Stadium in front of 30,000 spectators. Progresul won the match, with goals scored by Oaidă and Soare. The squad that brought the first cup to Dr. Staicovici street was composed of: Mândru – Nicu Smărăndescu, Karikaș, Soare – Ioniță, Maior – Oaidă, Mafteuță, Marin, Mișu Smărăndescu and Protopopescu. Despite earning the right to participate in the 1960–61 European Cup Winners' Cup by winning the Romanian Cup, the team were barred from doing so by communist authorities, who disliked the players' conduct at the Cup's award ceremony.
In the 1960–61 championship edition, the bankers ranked 9th, as in the previous one. At the Cup, they reached the quarter-finals, where they were eliminated by Steaua. The team finished at the following positions in subsequent seasons: (1961–62 – 3rd, 1962–63 – 9th and 1963–64 – 4th), before ending last at the end of the 1964–65 season and being relegated to the second division.
With a valuable squad, the team was expected to return to the first division shortly. After a close battle against Știința București, they confirmed those expectations. At the promotion round, Progresul entered in the first eleven players such as Mateianu, Mândru, Oaidă, Baboie, Unguroiu, Colceriu, Adrian Constantinescu or Mafteuță. In the first season after promotion, the team ended at the 10th position, and were subsequently almost relegated again after finishing 13th out of 14 at the end of the 1967–68 season. At second-to-last place, the team played a promotion/relegation play-off where, together with Crișul Oradea, they qualified for the next season of Divizia A, to the detriment of Steagul Roșu Brașov and Politehnica Galați. However, the team's weak form only led them to relegation in the next season, when they finished 15th out of 16. Nonetheless, the team was once again promoted after only one season, starting the 1970s as a Divizia A member.
Ups and downs, years of exile (1970–1990)
After the first rounds of the new season, another great player of the team, Viorel Mateianu, retired from his professional career. The new players Raksi, Pavlovici and Dudu Georgescu also made their debut in the first squad; Dudu Georgescu would also join later at the European Golden Shoe. Despite the fact that during the second part of the 1970–71 season, Progresul housed one of the most talented teams in its history, with a middle line comprising Kassai and Beldeanu, a forward line composed of Sandu Ion, Dudu Georgescu, Mircea Sandu and Viorel Năstase, and a defensive comprising Tănăsescu and Filipescu, the weak results from autumn sentenced them to relegation.
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