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Ripensia Timișoara
Full name	SC FC Ripensia Timișoara SA
Nickname(s)	Ripi; Galben-Roșii (The Yellow and Reds);
Short name	Ripensia
Founded	21 October 1928; 96 years ago
Ground	Ciarda Roșie
Capacity	1,000
Chairman	Dumitru Mihu
Manager	Alexandru Chiu
League	Liga V
2023–24	Liga VI, Timiș County, Seria IV, 1st (promoted)
Website	https://ripensiatimisoara.ro/
Home colours	Away colours

Fotbal Club Ripensia Timișoara (Romanian pronunciation: [timiˈʃo̯ara]), commonly known as Ripensia Timișoara, or simply as Ripensia, is a Romanian professional football club based in Timișoara, Timiș County, which currently plays in Liga V

The team was founded in 1928 by Lázár Kornél and folded twenty years later due to lack of funds.^[1] However, Ripi was brought back to life and enrolled in the Liga VI, the sixth tier of the Romanian football league system, in 2012.^[2]

Ripensia Timișoara was the first Romanian club to turn professional, and because of this status they were unable to compete in the national league until the 1932–33 season. After being granted permission to participate in the national system, the club soon became one of the best in the country, winning four national titles and two national cups in their short history.

The colors of the team are red and yellow.

History

Ripensia Timișoara winning the 1933–34 Romanian Cup against "U. Cluj"

It was founded in 1928 by dr.Cornel Lazăr, a famous promoter of football in the Banat region, and the former president of Chinezul Timișoara. The players came from Chinezul Timișoara, C.A.T. and Poli Timișoara. Vilmos Kertész coached the team from 1931 to 1932.^[3]^[4] Due to its professional status, until 1932–1933 (the first season of the National League – Divizia A), the team and its players could not participate in official national competitions.

They were champions of the Romanian Football League in 1933, 1935, 1936, and 1938, with two Romanian Cup appearances, winning 3–2 over Universitatea Cluj in 1934 and 5–1 over Unirea Tricolor București in 1936. They were national vice-champions for 1933–34 and 1938–39. After World War II, due to financial problems, the communist sports organisation and controversial actions, Ripensia played in Divizia B and Divizia C. After 1948, without any support, it disappeared, merging with Electrica Timișoara. Their colours were red-yellow. Their home stadium was called Electrica (today UMT; the original wooden stand was demolished in 2004–2005). The greatest players in team history were:^{[weasel words]}

Goalkeepers: Vilmos Zombori, Dumitru Pavlovici
Defenders: Rudolf Bürger, Balázs Hoksary
Midfielders: Vasile Chiroiu II, Vasile Deheleanu, Rudolf Kotormány, Eugen Lakatos, Nicolae Simatoc
Forwards: Gheorghe Oprean, Zoltán Beke, Silviu Bindea, Gheorghe Ciolac, Ştefan Dobay, Ladislau Raffinski, Sándor Schwartz, Graţian Sepi II, Mihai Tänzer, Adalbert Marksteiner

In the 2012 the team was reestablished and competed in the municipal championship, they won it and promoted to Liga V. In Liga V they reached the first place in the 2013–2014 season and promoted to the next league Liga IV. Also they made a good impression in the 2013–14 Romanian Cup, where they defeated again Universitatea Cluj to reach the Last 16 of the cup making them the surprise of the cup. In the Last 16 they lost to Pandurii Târgu Jiu.

In the 2014–15 Liga IV season, Ripi had a very tough opponent, in the position of ASU Politehnica Timișoara, the fan-owned phoenix club formed after the dissolution of FC Politehnica Timișoara by its fans and finished only on the 2nd place.

Next season Ripensia had a perfect journey, won Liga IV – Timiș County and qualified for the promotion play-offs to Liga III. At the promotion play-off Ripensia met the champion of Hunedoara County, Hercules Lupeni, and they won without major difficulties, 7–0 on aggregate, thus ensuring promotion to the Liga III.^[5]

2016–17 Liga III season was the first one for Ripi in the last over 60 years. The team had a very close fight for supremacy in the Seria IV against CSM Școlar Reșița, CSM Lugoj, Cetate Deva and Național Sebiș but in the end they won and promoted to Liga II after an absence of 69 years.^[6]

Honours

Domestic

Leagues

Liga I
- Winners (4): 1932–33, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1937–38
- Runners-up (2): 1933–34, 1938–39
Liga III
- Winners (2): 1946–47, 2016–17
Liga IV – Timiș County
- Winners (1): 2015–16
- Runners-up (1): 2014–15
Liga V – Timiș County
- Winners (1): 2013–14
Liga VI – Timiș County
- Winners (2): 2012–13, 2023-24

Cups

Cupa României
- Winners (2): 1933–34, 1935–36
- Runners-up (2): 1934–35, 1936–37

Former players

The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level.

Former managers

Romania

Hungary

Austria

Josef Uridil

Domestic records and statistics

Key

Pos = Final position
P = Played
W = Games won
D = Games drawn
L = Games lost
GF = Goals For
GA = Goals Against
Pts = Points

Div A / L1 = Liga I
Div B / L2 = Liga II
Div C / L3 = Liga III
L4 = Liga IV
L5 = Liga V
L6 = Liga VI
p = Preliminary Round
1R = Round 1
2R = Round 2

3R = Round 3
4R = Round 4
5R = Round 5
GS = Group stage
R32 = Round of 32
QF = Quarter-finals
R16 = Round of 16
SF = Semi-finals
F = Final

Champions	Runners-up	Third place	Promoted	Relegated

The players in bold were the top goalscorers in the division.

Seasons

Season	League									Cup	European Cup	Other		Top Goalscorer(s)		Notes
Season	Division	Pos	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	Cup	European Cup	Other		Name	Goals	Notes
1932–33	Div A	1st	12	10	0	2	49	10	20	–		Finals	W	Ștefan Dobay	16	Foundation of the Romanian Football League system
1933–34		1st	14	10	2	2	55	13	22	W		Finals	F	Ștefan Dobay	15
1934–35		1st	22	14	4	4	66	34	32	F				Ștefan Dobay	24
1935–36		1st	22	13	4	5	59	37	30	W				Ștefan Dobay	12
1936–37		3rd	22	13	1	8	59	39	27	F				Ștefan Dobay	21
1937–38		1st	18	15	0	3	63	25	30	R32		Finals	W	Silviu Bindea	21
1938–39		2nd	22	11	4	7	53	39	26	R32				Adalbert Marksteiner	21
1939–40		6th	22	8	6	8	36	37	22	R32				Adalbert Marksteiner	15
1940–41		3rd	24	13	6	5	58	32	32	R32				Silviu Bindea	10
1941–42	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	QF
1942–43	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	R32
1943–46 Not involved in any competitions due to World War II.
1946–47	Div C	1st	18	13	4	1	48	21	30	–
1947–48	Div B	8th	29	12	4	13	44	54	28	R32						Merged with Electrica Timișoara. Disbanded.
1948–2012 Not involved in any competitions.
2012–13	L6	1st	22	21	1	0	143	9	64	–		Timiș County Phase	W	Adrian Boghian	23
2013–14	L5	1st	28	25	2	1	152	9	77	R16		Timiș County Phase	2R	Raul Briciu	37
2014–15	L4	2nd	34	29	2	3	122	27	89	–		Timiș County Phase	W	Ndiaye Mediop	32
2015–16	L4	1st	32	28	3	1	150	28	87	R32		Timiș County Phase	SF	Ndiaye Mediop	55
2016–17	L3	1st	26	16	7	3	69	30	55	–				Ndiaye Mediop	21
2017–18	L2	11th	38	13	9	16	72	58	48	3R				Ndiaye Mediop	19
2018–19		12th	38	12	11	15	44	54	47	4R				Andrei Dumiter	10
2019–20		13th	23	6	10	7	28	34	28	R32				Albert Voinea	13
2020–21		15th	19	6	4	9	15	30	22	R32
2020–21		4th^[7]	6	4	2	0	9	3	36	R32
2021–22		12th	19	6	7	6	18	19	25	R32
2021–22		4th^[8]	6	2	0	4	7	11	31	R32
2022–23		17th	19	4	4	11	16	23	16	4R						Retired after relegation. Entered the lower county league.
2022–23		7th^[9]	6	0	1	5	2	11	17	4R						Retired after relegation. Entered the lower county league.
2023–24	L6	1st	18	16	0	2	72	17	48	2R		Timiș County Phase	2R
2024-25	L5

European record

Mitropa Cup

Ripensia played in the Mitropa Cup, an important inter-war football competition. In the 1938 season Ripensia knocked Italian giants AC Milan out of this competition. The Romanians won the first leg 3–0 at Bucharest, and lost the second leg 1–3. In the next round Ripensia was eliminated by Hungarian side of Ferencváros (1–4, 4–5).