FC Astra Giurgiu

{{Short description|Association football club in Giurgiu}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}} {{Infobox football club | clubname = Astra Giurgiu | image = Astra Giurgiu logo.png | upright = 0.7 | fullname = {{nowrap|Asociația Fotbal Club Astra Giurgiu}} | nickname = {{unbulleted list | ''Astralii'' | ''Giurgiuvenii'' (The Giurgiu People) }} | short name = Astra | ground = Various | capacity = 8,200<ref name="Stadium">{{cite web|url=http://giurgiuveanul.ro/stiri/astra-stadion-de-europa-league/|title=Astra are stadion de Europa League!|trans-title=Astra has a European stadium!|publisher=Giurgiuveanul|date=3 July 2014|language=ro|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104195731/http://giurgiuveanul.ro/stiri/astra-stadion-de-europa-league/|archive-date=4 November 2014}}</ref> | founded = 18 September 1921<br/>as ''Clubul Sportiv Astra-Română''<ref name="History">{{cite web|url=http://www.afcastragiurgiu.ro/ro/club/istoric.html|publisher=FC Astra Giurgiu|title=Istoric|trans-title=History|language=ro|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425120940/http://www.afcastragiurgiu.ro/ro/club/istoric.html|archive-date=25 April 2016}}</ref> | dissolved = 19 October 2022 | owner = | chairman = | manager = | league = | season = | position = | website = | current = | kit_alt1 = | pattern_la1 = | pattern_b1 = | pattern_ra1 = | pattern_sh1 = | pattern_so1 = | leftarm1 = | body1 = | rightarm1 = | shorts1 = | socks1 = | kit_alt2 = | pattern_la2 = | pattern_b2 = | pattern_ra2 = | pattern_sh2 = | leftarm2 = | body2 = | rightarm2 = | shorts2 = | socks2 = | kit_alt3 = | pattern_la3 = | pattern_b3 = | pattern_ra3 = | pattern_sh3 = | pattern_so3 = | leftarm3 = | body3 = | rightarm3 = | shorts3 = | socks3 = }} '''Asociația Fotbal Club Astra Giurgiu''' ({{IPA|ro|ˈastra ˈdʒjurdʒju}}), commonly known as '''Astra Giurgiu''' or simply '''Astra''', was a Romanian football club last based in the city of Giurgiu, Giurgiu County. Founded in 1921 in Ploiești as ''Clubul Sportiv Astra-Română'',<ref name="History"/> it spent most of its history in the lower leagues.

Astra Ploiești only began to achieve success in the late 1990s under the ownership of businessman Ioan Niculae, having reached the top flight for the first time in the 1998–99 season. In 2012, after more than nine decades in Prahova County, it moved its home ground south to Giurgiu, a city at the border with Bulgaria.<ref name="Move">{{cite web|url=http://sptfm.ro/2012/09/06/astra-se-muta-la-giurgiu-iar-ploiestiul-ramane-doar-o-amintire-ioan-niculae-vrem-sa-inauguram-arena-pe-20-septembrie-imbunatatiri-la-arena-giurgiuveana/|title=Astra se mută la Giurgiu, iar Ploieștiul rămâne doar o amintire! Ioan Niculae: "Vrem să inaugurăm arena pe 20 septembrie!". Ȋmbunatățiri la arena giurgiuveană|trans-title=Astra moves to Giurgiu, and Ploiești only remains a memory! Ioan Niculae: "We want to open the stadium on September 20!"|publisher=Sport Total FM|date=6 September 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908210526/http://sptfm.ro/2012/09/06/astra-se-muta-la-giurgiu-iar-ploiestiul-ramane-doar-o-amintire-ioan-niculae-vrem-sa-inauguram-arena-pe-20-septembrie-imbunatatiri-la-arena-giurgiuveana/|archive-date=8 September 2012}}</ref> On short notice, Astra became a prominent figure in Romanian football and head coach Marius Șumudică won it the 2015–16 national title.<ref name="First_championship">{{cite web|url=http://www.digisport.ro/Sport/FOTBAL/Competitii/Liga+1/Marius+Sumudica+a+scris+istorie+Astra+Giurgiu+este+noua+campioan|title=Marius Şumudică a scris istorie! Astra Giurgiu este a 24-a campioană a României|trans-title=Marius Șumudică made history! Astra is Romania's 24th champion|publisher=DigiSport|date=1 May 2016|language=ro|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730204639/http://www.digisport.ro/Sport/FOTBAL/Competitii/Liga+1/Marius+Sumudica+a+scris+istorie+Astra+Giurgiu+este+noua+campioan|archive-date=30 July 2017}}</ref>

The club also held one Cupa României and two Supercupa României trophies. Between 2017 and 2021, Astra lost three Cupa României finals, all played on the home ground of its former local opponent, Petrolul Ploiești. Internationally, its best performance was reaching the UEFA Europa League round of 32 in the 2016–17 season. After losing the financial support of its owner Niculae, in October 2022 the team withdrew from the Liga III championship and was subsequently dissolved.

The colours of the team were white and black, hence the old nickname ''Dracii negri'' (The Black Devils). Red was also worn on many occasions on the away kits. Their last home stadium was Marin Anastasovici, which has a capacity of 8,500, but spent most of their history at the namesake Astra Stadium in Ploiești.

==History== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left" align="right" |- |colspan="2" style="background:#000010;color:#fefefe;border:1px solid #fe0000"|{{center|'''Name changes'''}} |- |style="background:#fe0000;color:#fefefe;border:1px solid #000010"|Year |style="background:#fe0000;color:#fefefe;border:1px solid #000010"|{{center|Name}} |- |style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|1921 |align=center style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|''Clubul Sportiv Astra-Română'' |- |style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|1934 |align=center style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|''Astra Română Câmpina'' |- |style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|1937 |align=center style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|''Astra Română Ploiești'' |- |style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|1938 |align=center style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|''Colombia Ploiești'' |- |style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|1945 |align=center style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|''Astra Română Ploiești'' |- |style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|1959 |align=center style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|''Rafinorul Ploiești'' |- |style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|1990 |align=center style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|''CS Astra Ploiești'' |- |style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|1996 |align=center style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|''AS Danubiana Ploiești'' |- |style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|1998 |align=center style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|''SC FC Astra Ploiești'' |- |style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|2005 |align=center style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|''CSM Ploiești'' |- |style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|2007 |align=center style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|''FC Ploiești'' |- |style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|2009 |align=center style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|''FC Astra Ploiești'' |- |style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|2012 |align=center style="background:#fefefe;color:#000010;border:1px solid #000010"|'''FC Astra Giurgiu''' |}

===Founding, early years and lower divisions (1921–1996)===

On 18 September 1921, the weekly newspaper ''Ecoul Sportiv'' announced the founding of the ''Clubul Sportiv Astra-Română'' ("Astra-Romanian Sports Club") by the Astra-Română Society, an oil-company owned by Henri Deterding and based in Prahova and composed of English, American and Dutch officials.<ref name="History"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ziarulprahova.ro/stiri/sport/130141/astra-din-1921|title=Astra&nbsp;– din 1921|trans-title=Astra&nbsp;– since 1921|newspaper=Ziarul Prahova|date=1 February 2013|language=ro|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420051523/http://www.ziarulprahova.ro/stiri/sport/130141/astra-din-1921|archive-date=20 April 2014}}</ref>

Initially, the club consisted of several football sides based in towns from the entire county. In the summer of 1934, the refinery organised the inaugural edition of a tournament open for all the Astra teams, called the ''Astra Societies Cup''. The matches were played in the town of Moreni. At the time, the refinery had only one team, Astra Română Câmpina, that was playing in the district championship. To make the cup more attractive, the society created three new football sides for the event: Astra Română Moreni, Astra Română Boldești and Astra Română Unirea Hârsa. After the 1937 edition of the Cup, the society decided to merge all of its Prahova teams and thus created ''Astra Română Ploiești'' on 29 May 1937. The team was registered in the district championship. Just a few months after the team's foundation, the society changed its name to ''Columbia'' and moved it to a ground located near the society's headquarters, in Câmpina. In May 1945, ''Astra Română Ploiești'' was reformed and played its home matches on the old ''Columbia Stadium'', a stadium that still exists today in Ploiești and was used as a training ground by the team.

In the summer of 1992, ''Astra'' were promoted for the first time to the Divizia C. The following seasons it finished 6th, 12th, 3rd and 14th in the championship.

===Ascent under Niculae's ownership (1996–2013)===

In the summer of 1996, the club merged with ''Danubiana București'', it changed its name to ''Danubiana Ploiești'', and played for the first time in the Divizia B. After one season the club changed its name back to ''Astra''. Since that year, Ioan Niculae had been the owner of the team. In 1998, Astra were promoted to the Divizia A for the first time. They played at this level for five consecutive seasons, until 2003, when it merged with Petrolul Ploiești.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.romanialibera.ro/actualitate/sport/aici-este-petrolul-ploiesti--151476|title=Aici este Petrolul Ploiești!|trans-title=Here lies Petrolul Ploiești!|publisher=România Liberă|access-date=15 April 2009|language=ro|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420042443/http://www.romanialibera.ro/actualitate/sport/aici-este-petrolul-ploiesti--151476|archive-date=20 April 2014}}</ref> Two years of pause pass for Astra, until 2005, when Ioan Niculae founded once again the club directly in the Liga II. It was relegated to the Liga III after only one season. In the summer of 2007, under the name of ''FC Ploiești'', the team promoted back to the Liga II. In 2009, after six years, it finally promoted back to Liga I, with promotion achieved at the end of the 2008–09 season. It changed its name back to the traditional ''Astra Ploiești'' and the black and white colours were brought back, hence the team's old nickname, "The Black Devils".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.liga2.ro/seria-1/exclusiv-a-reinviat-astra-4543310|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120804073621/http://www.liga2.ro/seria-1/exclusiv-a-reinviat-astra-4543310|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 August 2012|title=A reȋnviat Astra!|trans-title=Astra came back to life!|publisher=liga2.ro|date=13 June 2009|access-date=15 April 2009|language=ro}}</ref>

After 91 years in Ploiești, in September 2012, the club moved to Giurgiu.<ref name="Move"/> The last match played in the Astra Stadium was on 2 September 2012, against Bucharest giants Dinamo București, won by Astra 1–0. The first game played on the Marin Anastasovici Stadium was on 23 September 2012, against Gaz Metan Mediaș. Astra won 4–0.

It qualified for the first time to the UEFA Europa League at the end of the 2012–13 Liga I season, after finishing 4th in the table.

The 2013–14 season was the most successful season in the club's history, reaching 2nd place in Liga I, losing the title by only five points to Steaua București and winning the Romanian Cup on penalties against the same team, Steaua. One month later they defeated Steaua București on penalties again, and won the Romanian Supercup.

===Debut in European competitions and Șumudică era (2013–2017)=== Astra Giurgiu played its first European match ever in first qualification round of UEFA Europa League against Domžale, winning 1–0 in the first leg. In the second leg in Bucharest, Astra won 2–0 and qualified. In the second qualification round, Astra draw 1–1 with Omonia in the first leg in Bucharest and beat 2–1<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/match/2012325--omonoia-vs-astra/|title=Omonia 1–2 Astra|publisher=UEFA|date=25 July 2013|access-date=3 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170306040628/http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/season=2014/matches/round=2000466/match=2012325/index.html|archive-date=6 March 2017}}</ref> in the second leg in Nicosia to advance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gsp.ro/international/europa-league/video-budescu-show-atacantul-astrei-a-eliminat-o-pe-omonia-cu-o-dubla-de-senzatie-2-1-404314.html|title=VIDEO Budescu Show! Atacantul Astrei a eliminat-o pe Omonia cu o dublă de senzaţie, 2–1|trans-title=VIDEO Budescu Show! Astra's attacking midfielder eliminated Omonia with an exciting double, 2–1|newspaper=Gazeta Sporturilor|language=ro|date=27 July 2013|access-date=3 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304113723/http://www.gsp.ro/international/europa-league/video-budescu-show-atacantul-astrei-a-eliminat-o-pe-omonia-cu-o-dubla-de-senzatie-2-1-404314.html|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> Seeded team after eliminating Omonia, Astra was drawn in third qualification round with Trenčín and qualified after winning 3–1 the first leg in Dubnica nad Váhom and drawing 2–2 in the second leg in Bucharest. In play-off, Astra faced the very first European defeat in a 0–2 against Maccabi Haifa in the first leg in Haifa, thus being eliminated after drawing 1–1 in the second leg in Bucharest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digisport.ro/Live-text/VIDEO+Astra+-+Maccabi+Haifa+29+august+2013|title=Astra – Maccabi Haifa 1–1. Giurgiuvenii părăsesc UEFA Europa League|trans-title=Astra – Maccabi Haifa 1–1. The Giurgiu People leave UEFA Europa League|publisher=Digi Sport|language=ro|date=29 August 2013|access-date=3 July 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901064053/http://www.digisport.ro/Live-text/VIDEO+Astra+-+Maccabi+Haifa+29+august+2013|archive-date=1 September 2013}}</ref>

Astra qualified directly in the third qualifying round after winning the Romanian Cup and met Slovan Liberec, winning both legs 3–0 in Giurgiu and 3–2 in Liberec, this time being the first European match to take place in Giurgiu. In the play-off round, Astra met Olympique Lyonnais, defeating them away in Lyon in a 2–1 win, with Kehinde Fatai and Constantin Budescu scoring the goals of victory.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/match/2015133--lyon-vs-astra/|title=Lyon 1–2 Astra|publisher=UEFA|date=21 August 2014|access-date=3 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223052859/http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/season=2015/matches/round=2000586/match=2015133/postmatch/index.html|archive-date=23 December 2016}}</ref> In Giurgiu, Lyon won 1–0 but Astra Giurgiu went on to the group stage phase due to the away goals rule. They were subsequently drawn in Group D alongside Red Bull Salzburg, Celtic and Dinamo Zagreb.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sport.hotnews.ro/stiri-fotbal-17993735-live-text-europa-league-tragerea-sorti-steaua-astra-isi-afla-adversarii-din-grupe.htm|title=Europa League, tragerea la sorti. Steaua, in grupa cu Dinamo Kiev, Rio Ave si Aalborg. Astra va intalni Salzburg, Celtic si Dinamo Zagreb|trans-title=Europa League draw. Steaua will be in the group with Dinamo Kiev, Rio Ave and Aalborg. Astra will meet Salzburg, Celtic and Dinamo Zagreb|publisher=HotNews.ro|language=ro|date=29 August 2014|access-date=3 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907043857/http://sport.hotnews.ro/stiri-fotbal-17993735-live-text-europa-league-tragerea-sorti-steaua-astra-isi-afla-adversarii-din-grupe.htm|archive-date=7 September 2014}}</ref> Astra began their group stage adventure with a harmful 1–5 defeat at Stadion Maksimir in Zagreb against Croatian champions Dinamo, ending with Aurelian Chițu scoring their first goal in the group stages of a European cup. On 2 October 2014, Astra played Red Bull Salzburg one of the most important matches held on Marin Anastasovici Stadium in Giurgiu. Astra took the 1–0 lead with Takayuki Seto's goal, but were stunned by Jonatan Soriano's winner, losing 1–2. On matchday 3, Astra faced Celtic at Glasgow in a match which ended 1–2. On matchday 4, Astra hold Celtic in a 1–1 draw at Giurgiu, with William Amorim scoring the equaliser that brought their first group stage point. On matchday 5, Astra won 1–0 against Dinamo Zagreb with Sadat Bukari's winner, and secured its first ever victory in the Europa League group stages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gsp.ro/international/europa-league/video-astra-obtine-prima-victorie-in-grupele-europa-league-1-0-cu-dinamo-zagreb-si-urca-pe-locul-3-in-grupa-439396.html|title=Astra obţine prima victorie în grupele Europa League, 1–0 cu Dinamo Zagreb, şi urcă pe locul 3 în grupă|trans-title=Astra obtains its first victory in the Europa League group stage, 1–0 against Dinamo Zagreb, and reaches the third place in the table|newspaper=Gazeta Sporturilor|language=ro|date=27 November 2014|access-date=3 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230171403/http://www.gsp.ro/international/europa-league/video-astra-obtine-prima-victorie-in-grupele-europa-league-1-0-cu-dinamo-zagreb-si-urca-pe-locul-3-in-grupa-439396.html|archive-date=30 December 2014}}</ref> Astra's Europa League campaign concluded at Red Bull Arena in Salzburg with another heavy 1–5 defeat to Red Bull. Astra ended in fourth place with four points, behind Salzburg (16 points), Celtic (8) and Dinamo (6).

[[File:Marius Sumudica 2016.png|250px|thumb|right|Marius Șumudică led Astra to the 2015–16 Liga I title, the first in the history of the club.]] On 28 April 2015, Marius Șumudică was appointed as the new head coach, following Dorinel Munteanu's resignation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digisport.ro/Sport/FOTBAL/Competitii/Liga+1/Dorinel+Munteanu+si-a+dat+demisia+de+la+Astra+Da+este+adevarat+N|title=Şumudică este noul antrenor al Astrei, după demisia lui Dorinel Munteanu: "Vreau să ne calificăm în Europa"|trans-title=Şumudică is Astra's new coach, after Dorinel Munteanu's resignation: "I want us to qualify for European cups"|publisher=Digi Sport|language=ro|date=28 April 2015|access-date=3 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501010013/http://www.digisport.ro/Sport/FOTBAL/Competitii/Liga+1/Dorinel+Munteanu+si-a+dat+demisia+de+la+Astra+Da+este+adevarat+N|archive-date=1 May 2015}}</ref> It would be Sumudica's third term at the club, following two short spells in 2009 and 2011. His first game in charge was a 2–1 away victory against rivals Petrolul Ploiești. He eventually led the team to a fourth-place finish, assuring qualification for the 2015–16-second round of the UEFA Europa League.

In the second round of the Europa League, Astra were paired with Inverness Caledonian Thistle, which resulted in a 1–0 Astra win on aggregate after a goal from Constantin Budescu.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gsp.ro/international/europa-league/foto-astra-se-califica-in-turul-trei-preliminar-dupa-1-0-la-general-cu-inverness-454567.html|title=Astra se califică în turul trei preliminar după 1–0 la general cu Inverness|trans-title=Astra qualifies for the third round after 1–0 on aggregate against Inverness|newspaper=Gazeta Sporturilor|language=ro|date=23 July 2015|access-date=3 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150809101653/http://www.gsp.ro/international/europa-league/foto-astra-se-califica-in-turul-trei-preliminar-dupa-1-0-la-general-cu-inverness-454567.html|archive-date=9 August 2015}}</ref> The third round proved to be extremely difficult, however, as Astra was drawn with English club West Ham United. A surprising 2–2 draw at London, followed by a 2–1 victory in Giurgiu,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/33738588|title=Astra Giurgiu 2–1 West Ham|publisher=BBC Sport|date=6 August 2015|access-date=3 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118194100/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33738588|archive-date=18 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digisport.ro/Sport/FOTBAL/Competitii/Europa+League/live-text/VIDEO+Astra+West+Ham|title=Astra – West Ham 2–1. Dubla lui Budescu i-a calificat pe giurgiuveni în play-off-ul Europa League|trans-title=Astra – West Ham 2–1. Budescu's "double" qualifies the team for the Europa League play-off round|publisher=Digi Sport|language=ro|date=6 August 2015|access-date=3 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114024054/http://www.digisport.ro/Sport/FOTBAL/Competitii/Europa+League/live-text/VIDEO+Astra+West+Ham|archive-date=14 November 2016}}</ref> qualified Astra for the play-off round, where they faced Dutch club AZ. A 3–2 home victory for Giurgiu was not enough to see Astra qualified to the group stage as AZ won the reverse match in Alkmaar 2–0, thus ending the club's European campaign.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digisport.ro/Sport/FOTBAL/Competitii/Europa+League/live-text/VIDEO+Alkmaar+-+Astra|title=Alkmaar – Astra 2–0. Gafa lui Lung jr. a lăsat România fără nicio echipă în grupele cupelor europene|trans-title=Astra – Alkmaar 2–0. Lung Jr.'s mistake leaves Romania without any teams in the European cups' group stage|publisher=Digi Sport|language=ro|date=27 August 2015|access-date=3 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825191112/http://www.digisport.ro/Sport/FOTBAL/Competitii/Europa+League/live-text/VIDEO+Alkmaar+-+Astra|archive-date=25 August 2016}}</ref>

In the domestic league, Astra managed to impress. Despite having a poor start which included a severe 1–5 defeat from vice-champions ASA Targu Mures, the ''Astralii'' managed to finish the regular seasons champions. During this time, however, manager Marius Șumudică was convicted of betting on domestic matches,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sptfm.ro/2016/02/10/marius-sumudica-prins-si-el-la-pariuri-antrenorul-astrei-va-merge-astazi-la-comisia-de-disciplina-a-frf/|title=Marius Sumudica, prins si el la pariuri? Antrenorul Astrei va merge astazi la Comisia de Disciplina a FRF!|trans-title=Șumudică, also caught betting? Astra's head coach will go to FRF's discipline committee today|publisher=SportTotal FM|language=ro|date=10 February 2016|access-date=3 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501173157/https://sptfm.ro/2016/02/10/marius-sumudica-prins-si-el-la-pariuri-antrenorul-astrei-va-merge-astazi-la-comisia-de-disciplina-a-frf/|archive-date=1 May 2018}}</ref> prompting his suspension by Romanian FA for the remainder of the season. On appeal, Șumudică managed to reduce his suspension to two months, and also begin to apply at the start of the 2016–17 Liga I.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prosport.ro/fotbal-intern/liga-1/pedeapsa-lui-sumudica-redusa-de-la-6-la-2-luni-sanctiunea-intra-in-vigoare-incepand-cu-sezonul-2016-2017-reactia-antrenorului-15100266|title=Pedeapsa lui Şumudică, redusă de la 6 la 2 luni: sancţiunea intră în vigoare începând cu sezonul 2016–2017! Reacţia antrenorului|trans-title=Șumudică's sanction, reduced from 6 to 2 months: the suspension will be applied starting with the 2016–2017 season! The coach's reaction|publisher=ProSport|language=ro|date=8 March 2016|access-date=3 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160613044213/http://www.prosport.ro/fotbal-intern/liga-1/pedeapsa-lui-sumudica-redusa-de-la-6-la-2-luni-sanctiunea-intra-in-vigoare-incepand-cu-sezonul-2016-2017-reactia-antrenorului-15100266|archive-date=13 June 2016}}</ref> On 1 May 2016, after a draw between FC Steaua and Pandurii Tg. Jiu, Astra Giurgiu won the 2015–16 Liga I.<ref name="First_championship"/> This was Șumudică's first domestic title, and also made Giurgiu the 13th Romanian city to have won a national title, after Bucharest, Timișoara, Ploiești, Arad, Craiova, Cluj-Napoca, Pitești, Oradea, Brașov, Reșița, Urziceni and Galați. Astra also later won the 2016 Supercup against CFR Cluj.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.agerpres.ro/sport/2016/07/16/fotbal-supercupa-romaniei-astra-giurgiu-cfr-cluj-0-0-la-pauza-22-42-31|title=Astra Giurgiu a câștigat Supercupa României, după 1–0 cu CFR Cluj|trans-title=Astra Giurgiu won the Romanian Supercup, after a 1–0 victory over CFR Cluj|publisher=Agerpres|language=ro|date=16 July 2016|access-date=3 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160718211610/http://www.agerpres.ro/sport/2016/07/16/fotbal-supercupa-romaniei-astra-giurgiu-cfr-cluj-0-0-la-pauza-22-42-31|archive-date=18 July 2016}}</ref>

Astra qualified for the UEFA Champions League, but were quickly eliminated by Danish side Copenhagen.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ziare.com/astra-giurgiu/meciuri/astra-eliminata-din-liga-campionilor-dupa-o-infrangere-la-scor-la-copenhaga-1431380|title=Astra, eliminata din Liga Campionilor dupa o infrangere la scor la Copenhaga|trans-title=Astra, eliminated from the Champions League after a harsh defeat in Copenhagen|newspaper=Ziare.com|language=ro|date=3 August 2016|access-date=3 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321013919/http://www.ziare.com/astra-giurgiu/meciuri/astra-eliminata-din-liga-campionilor-dupa-o-infrangere-la-scor-la-copenhaga-1431380|archive-date=21 March 2017}}</ref> Astra reached the play-off round of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League and faced West Ham, which they also met – and defeated – one year prior. The club defeated West Ham 0–1<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sport.ro/europa-league/21-45-live-astra-viseaza-sa-dea-o-noua-lovitura-in-anglia-west-ham-astra-alibec-e-titular-echipele-de.html|title=EXTRAORDINAR! Astra elimina din nou West Ham si se califica in grupele Europa League! West Ham 0–1 Astra. Teixeira a marcat, Lung, EROU|trans-title=INCREDIBLE! Astra defeats West Ham again and qualifies for the Europa League group stage! West Ham 0–1 Astra|publisher=Sport.ro|language=ro|date=25 August 2016|access-date=3 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116184939/http://www.sport.ro/europa-league/21-45-live-astra-viseaza-sa-dea-o-noua-lovitura-in-anglia-west-ham-astra-alibec-e-titular-echipele-de.html|archive-date=16 November 2016}}</ref> in London and reached the group stage of the Europa League, where they were drawn in Group E alongside Roma, Viktoria Plzeň and Austria Wien.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digi24.ro/stiri/sport/fotbal/steaua-si-astra-si-au-aflat-adversarele-din-grupele-europa-league-554000|title=Steaua și Astra și-au aflat adversarele din grupele Europa League|trans-title=Steaua and Astra Europa League groups revealed|publisher=Digi24|language=ro|date=26 August 2016|access-date=3 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161102001905/http://www.digi24.ro/stiri/sport/fotbal/steaua-si-astra-si-au-aflat-adversarele-din-grupele-europa-league-554000|archive-date=2 November 2016}}</ref> Despite having zero points after two rounds, Astra Giurgiu managed to defeat Viktoria Plzeň and Austria Wien in away matches; this, in addition to a 0–0 draw with Roma and Austria Wien's failure against Plzeň secured Astra's place in the tournament's round of 32, where they faced Genk. A 2–2 draw at Giurgiu followed by a defeat, 0–1 in Belgium ended Astra Giurgiu's best European campaign in history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digisport.ro/Sport/FOTBAL/Competitii/Europa+League/tragere-la-sorti-europa-league-adversari-astra|title=Astra – Genk, în şaisprezecimile Europa League. Programul complet|trans-title=Astra – Genk, in the Europa League Round of 32|publisher=Digi Sport|language=ro|date=12 December 2016|access-date=3 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161214162414/http://www.digisport.ro/Sport/FOTBAL/Competitii/Europa+League/tragere-la-sorti-europa-league-adversari-astra|archive-date=14 December 2016}}</ref>

In the league, Astra had a very disappointing campaign, struggling for the majority of the regular season in the second half of the table. However, a fantastic streak of 8 consecutive wins<ref>{{cite web|url=http://radiocluj.ro/2017/03/07/astra-giurgiu-a-ajuns-la-8-victorii-consecutive-in-liga-intai/|title=Astra Giurgiu a ajuns la 8 victorii consecutive în Liga întâi|date=7 March 2017|website=radiocluj.ro|access-date=1 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308000010/http://radiocluj.ro/2017/03/07/astra-giurgiu-a-ajuns-la-8-victorii-consecutive-in-liga-intai/|archive-date=8 March 2017}}</ref> allowed the Giurgiu club to finish 3rd in the regular season, and to qualify for the play-offs of 2016–17 Liga 1. The good form didn't last however, as they managed to gather just 5 points in the play-offs and eventually finished 6th. On 27 May, Astra lost the Romanian Cup Final against FC Voluntari after a penalty shootout,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digisport.ro/Sport/FOTBAL/Competitii/Cupa+Romaniei/Voluntari+-+Astra+ora+20+45+IN+DIRECT+la+Digi+Sport+2|title=FC Voluntari – Astra 1–1 (5–3 d.l.d). Minunea din Ilfov! Claudiu Niculescu, performanță istorică în finala Cupei României|trans-title=FC Voluntari – Astra 1–1 (Penalties 5–3). The Ilfov wonder! Claudiu Niculescu, historic performance in the Romanian Cup final|publisher=Digi Sport|language=ro|date=27 May 2017|access-date=19 July 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170621013002/http://www.digisport.ro/Sport/FOTBAL/Competitii/Cupa+Romaniei/Voluntari+-+Astra+ora+20+45+IN+DIRECT+la+Digi+Sport+2|archive-date=21 June 2017}}</ref> however because FC Voluntari didn't apply early enough for a European License to participate in the 2017–18 Europa League, the vacant spot was given to Astra, thus qualifying yet again in Europe.

===Last years in the top division and downfall (2017–2022)=== In the summer of 2017, head coach Șumudică left Astra Giurgiu after his contract expired and was replaced by Edward Iordănescu, and also the first-team squad was almost entirely changed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gsp.ro/fotbal/liga-1/sumudica-pleaca-de-la-astra-cine-vine-in-locul-lui-a-fost-contactat-de-conducere-va-fi-noul-antrenor-nu-iese-fum-fara-foc-507052.html|title=Șumudică pleacă de la Astra! Cine vine în locul lui: "A fost contactat de conducere, va fi noul antrenor. Nu iese fum fără foc"|trans-title=Șumudică leaves Astra! Who replaces him: "He was contacted by the club officials, he will be the new coach. There is no smoke without fire"|newspaper=Gazeta Sporturilor|language=ro|date=7 April 2017|access-date=27 June 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170614213435/http://www.gsp.ro/fotbal/liga-1/sumudica-pleaca-de-la-astra-cine-vine-in-locul-lui-a-fost-contactat-de-conducere-va-fi-noul-antrenor-nu-iese-fum-fara-foc-507052.html|archive-date=14 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.agerpres.ro/sport/2017/06/08/fotbal-edward-iordanescu-noul-antrenor-al-echipei-astra-giurgiu-21-55-11|title=Edward Iordănescu, noul antrenor al echipei Astra Giurgiu|trans-title=Edward Iordănescu, the new coach of Astra Giurgiu|publisher=Agerpres|language=ro|date=8 June 2017|access-date=27 June 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717114541/https://www.agerpres.ro/sport/2017/06/08/fotbal-edward-iordanescu-noul-antrenor-al-echipei-astra-giurgiu-21-55-11|archive-date=17 July 2017}}</ref> The team budget was strictly decreased, and Astra's new squad was the second youngest in the league. In the first match of the season, Astra won 3–1 against Azerbaijani team Zira FK with more than half of the team being debutants. After a 0–0 draw in Baku, they qualified for the Europa League 3rd qualifying round. They faced Ukrainian club FC Oleksandriya, and after an uneventful 0–0 draw at Giurgiu, Astra were beaten 1–0 in Ukraine in the last match ever played in an international competition. Despite a solid campaign, after a surprise elimination from the quarter-finals of the Romanian Cup and public criticism from the owner for the boring style of play, Edi Iordanescu resigned from the job with 8 games left.

{{multiple image | align = right | direction = horizontal | header_align = left/right/center | footer_align = left/right/center | image1 = Denis Alibec Astra 2015.png | width1 = 140 | image2 = Constantin Budescu.png | width2 = 190 | footer = Denis Alibec and Constantin Budescu won Romanian Footballer of the Year awards while at Astra. }} Although the team started the 2018–19 season very well with a surprising 1–0 win over the vice-champions FCSB. A few days later, owner Ioan Niculae announced that Astra Giurgiu managed to buy back their former star attacker, Denis Alibec, for 1 million euros, from FCSB, where he was excluded from the team after a fallout. After many financial problems, the players protested in the media, openly criticizing the owner Ioan Niculae for not paying their wages, and boycotted training. Right-back Claudiu Belu even had his contract terminated after he complained about the money issue in a post-match conference. Many first-team starters filed a memorandum. The last few months of the season were nightmarish, losing eight out of ten games in the play-off, managing to beat only Sepsi OSK. Astra Giurgiu had a very easy road to the final of the Romanian Cup, playing only second division teams or teams who were not interested in the competition, using their B-side. After breezing past CS Luceafărul Oradea, FC Universitatea Cluj, FC Dunărea Călărași, and CFR Cluj, Astra faced FC Viitorul Constanța in the final. Alibec opened the score from a free-kick right before half-time against the run of play. Viitorul dominated the game, and Astra was forced to defend with all its resources and hoped to clinch the victory. However, in the 72nd minute, a series of unfortunate events started. Alibec was injured and substituted. Five minutes later, Viitorul equalized from a corner, and another five minutes later, Romário Pires was sent off for a second yellow. In extra time, Astra changed the system to five defenders but still conceded a goal and lost their second final in the last three years, losing the chance to play in the Europa League next season.

In the summer of 2019, Dan Alexa was named as the new coach. The biggest transfer was the surprising return of former star playmaker Constantin Budescu, reforming the unstoppable duo Alibec-Budescu. Throughout the season, a lot of former players returned to the club. Former title winners Gabriel Enache, Alexandru Dandea, Alexandru Ioniță and club legend Takayuki Seto returned to the team alongside former goal-scorer Kehinde Fatai. Despite the quality of his squad, Alexa had a short and awful stint as Astra Giurgiu manager. With one of the best squads in the league he managed only four wins, four draws and four losses. The naming of Dan Alexa in charge of the club was a big failure.

Bogdan Andone, Sumudica's former assistant from the 2016 title winning squad, was put in charge of the team in October 2019. Impressively, he won his first ten league games in charge, grinding many 1–0 wins. Before the winter break, the team even got in the first place of the league for the first time in the last four years and had aspirations for a new title. Unfortunately, the ever present money problems took a toll on the team. Astra was even docked three points, and failed to win any of their last four games of the regular season, barely qualifying for the play-offs, after a lucky draw against Sepsi OSK in which they scored 2 goals in only one minute. Qualified in the play-off for the 5th season in a row (a record held only by them and FCSB) the team regained its form. But, during the COVID-19 quarantine, disappointment struck again, because, for financial reasons, Astra Giurgiu failed to gain the European license, meaning that they couldn't play in the Europa League next season. Even though Astra had nothing left to play for, the team easily finished on the podium of Liga 1. Although the team was heavily held back by its money problems and had potential to achieve even more, Astra had a great campaign, finishing in third place and losing only one game at home all season.

As a result of the club's worsening financial difficulties, Astra's focus shifted from progressing to European competitions to simply remaining in the top league for the new season. The pandemic worsened Astra's already poor financial situation, leading to them falling behind on player wages. The club was also at risk of relegation due to doping charges, with three of their key players, Ioniță, Seto, and Fatai, being investigated for using illegal methods of vitaminization. As a consequence, the three players were suspended.

Furthermore, in February 2021, the club owner, Ioan Niculae, was sentenced to five years in prison for money laundering. At the end of the 2020–21 Liga I season, Astra Giurgiu was left without its best players and was struggling due to financial pressures. They subsequently performed poorly in the play-out, leading to their relegation to the second division of Romanian football after 12 years. Despite reaching the 2021 Cupa României final, they lost 3–2 to Universitatea Craiova in extra time.

Astra Giurgiu submitted a request to withdraw from Liga III on 18 October 2022, the club folding after 101 years of existence.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-29 |title=Astra Giurgiu goes pop |url=https://6foot2.co.uk/astra-giurgiu-go-pop/ |access-date=2023-06-18 |website=Six Foot Two |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Crest and colours==

===Emblem=== The teams last crest was adopted in July 2009, following the team's promotion from Liga II. The design was based on a classical template, and was characterized by the same black and white stripes which could be found on the team's shirts. The numerous stars which adorn the crest have their origin in the club's name, with ''Astra'' (like ''Steaua'') being a Romanian word which translates as "The Star".

===Kit=== Astra Giurgiu's primary colors were white and black, although the kit design also included red on many occasions, especially on away outfits.

==Grounds== {{Main|Stadionul Marin Anastasovici|Stadionul Astra}} Astra played its home matches in Giurgiu at the Marin Anastasovici Stadium, which had a current capacity of approximately 8,500 spectators.<ref name="Stadium"/> With the club having moved here since September 2012, the former Astra Stadium in Ploiești now acts as a training ground.

==Support==

===Rivalries=== {{Main|Former Ploiești derby}} After Astra's first promotion to the Divizia A in the summer of 1998, its fans engaged in a grudge with their cross-town rivals Petrolul Ploiești. Often, the matches between Astra and Petrolul ended with clashes between the supporters. Most Astra fans considered Petrolul as their main rivals, however ''Lupii galbeni'' regard Rapid București as their principal arch-enemies. The rivalry was kept despite Astra's move to Giurgiu,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.gsp.ro/fotbal/cupa-romaniei/foto-fanii-petrolului-jigniti-dur-de-ioan-niculae-patronul-astrei-se-ia-si-de-clubul-din-ploiesti-nu-are-nici-un-palmares-424009.html|title=Fanii Petrolului jigniţi dur de Ioan Niculae! Patronul Astrei se ia şi de clubul din Ploieşti: "Nu are nici un palmares"|trans-title=Petrolul's fans, insulted by Ioan Niculae! He also talks about the club from Ploiești|date=16 April 2014|work=Gazeta Sporturilor|language=ro|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821071603/http://www.gsp.ro/fotbal/cupa-romaniei/foto-fanii-petrolului-jigniti-dur-de-ioan-niculae-patronul-astrei-se-ia-si-de-clubul-din-ploiesti-nu-are-nici-un-palmares-424009.html|archive-date=21 August 2014}}</ref> and the match was sometimes referred to as ''Fostul derbi al Ploieștiului'' (''Former Ploiești derby'').

==Honours==

===Domestic===

====Leagues==== *'''Liga I''' **'''Winners (1):''' 2015–16 **Runners-up (1): 2013–14 *'''Liga II''' **'''Winners (1):''' 1997–98 **Runners-up (1): 2008–09 *'''Liga III''' **'''Winners (1):''' 2007–08

====Cups==== *'''Cupa României''' **'''Winners (1):''' 2013–14 **Runners-up (3): 2016–17, 2018–19, 2020–21 *'''Supercupa României''' **'''Winners (2):''' 2014, 2016

=== Astra II Ploiești === *'''Liga a IV-a – județul Prahova''' **'''Winners (1):''' 2013–14 *'''Cupa României – județul Prahova''' **'''Winners (1):''' 2013–14 ::Seasons in Liga a III-a: '''8''' ::Best place in Liga a III-a: '''4th''' (2017–18) ::Best performance in Cupa Romaniei: '''Round 1''' (2014–15, 2015–16)

== European competition notable wins == {| class="toccolours" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="left" style="margin:0.5em;" |- bgcolor=#CADCFB ! Season ! Match ! Score |- !colspan="4" bgcolor=#EFEFEF |UEFA Europa League |- | align="center" | 2014–15 | align="left" | '''Astra'''&nbsp;– {{flagicon|CZE}} Slovan Liberec | align="center" | '''3&nbsp;– 0''' |- | align="center" | 2014–15 | align="left" | '''Astra'''&nbsp;– {{flagicon|FRA|}} Olympique Lyon | align="center" | '''2&nbsp;– 1''' |- | align="center" | 2014–15 | align="left" | '''Astra'''&nbsp;– {{flagicon|CRO}} Dinamo Zagreb | align="center" | '''1&nbsp;– 0''' |- | align="center" | 2015–16 | align="left" | '''Astra'''&nbsp;– {{flagicon|SCO}} Inverness | align="center" | '''1&nbsp;– 0''' |- | align="center" | 2015–16 | align="left" | '''Astra'''&nbsp;– {{flagicon|ENG}} West Ham United | align="center" | '''2&nbsp;– 1''' |- | align="center" | 2015–16 | align="left" | '''Astra'''&nbsp;– {{flagicon|NED}} AZ Alkmaar | align="center" | '''3&nbsp;– 2''' |- | align="center" | 2016–17 | align="left" | '''Astra'''&nbsp;– {{flagicon|ENG}} West Ham United | align="center" | '''1&nbsp;– 0''' |- | align="center" | 2016–17 | align="left" | '''Astra'''&nbsp;– {{flagicon|CZE}} Viktoria Plzeň | align="center" | '''2&nbsp;– 1''' |- | align="center" | 2016–17 | align="left" | '''Astra'''&nbsp;– {{flagicon|AUT}} Austria Wien | align="center" | '''2&nbsp;– 1''' |- |} {{clear}}

==Rankings== This was the UEFA club's coefficient as of August 2020:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/uefarankings/club/#/yr/2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113004406/http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/uefarankings/club/#/yr/2020 |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 January 2013 |title=UEFA Club Coefficients |publisher=UEFA |date=6 August 2020}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- !style="background:#DCDCDC"|Pos. !style="background:#DCDCDC"|Team !style="background:#DCDCDC"|Points |- |align=center|129||align=left|{{Flagicon|POR}} Arouca||align=center|9,889 |- |align=center|130||align=left|{{Flagicon|POR}} Belenenses||align=center|9,889 |- style="background:#dfd;" |align=center|'''131'''||align=left|{{Flagicon|ROU}} '''Astra'''||align=center|'''9,500''' |- |align=center|132||align=left|{{Flagicon|RUS}} Arsenal Tula||align=center|9,109 |- |align=center|133||align=left|{{Flagicon|RUS}} Ufa||align=center|9,109 |}

==Shirt sponsors and manufacturers== {| class="toccolours" |- ! style="background:#000010;color:#fefefe;{{box-shadow border|a|#fe0000|1px}};" |Period ! style="background:#000010;color:#fefefe;{{box-shadow border|a|#fe0000|1px}};" |Kit manufacturer ! style="background:#000010;color:#fefefe;{{box-shadow border|a|#fe0000|1px}};" |Period ! style="background:#000010;color:#fefefe;{{box-shadow border|a|#fe0000|1px}};" |Shirt partner |- | 2009–2012 | rowspan=1| {{Flagicon|GER}} Adidas | 2009–2012 | rowspan=1| {{Flagicon|ROU}} InterAgro |- | 2012–2016 | rowspan=1| {{Flagicon|GER}} Puma | 2012–2016 | rowspan=1| {{Flagicon|ROU}} InterAgro |- | rowspan=3| 2016–2022 | rowspan=3| {{Flagicon|ESP}} Joma | rowspan=1| 2016–2017 | rowspan=1| {{Flagicon|ROU}} Tinmar |- | rowspan=1| 2017 | rowspan=1| {{Flagicon|ROU}} Maurer Imobiliare |- | rowspan=1| 2018–2022 | rowspan=1| {{Flagicon|ROU}} Tinmar, Pambac |}

==Records and statistics==

===League history===

{|class="wikitable collapsible autocollapse" |- style="background:#efefef;" ! Season ! League ! Pos. ! M ! W ! D ! L ! GS ! GA ! Pts. ! Notes |- |- |style="background:#e6e6e6"|<small>Before 1992</small> |colspan="9" style="background:#e6e6e6"|{{center|<small>'''''Data unavailable'''''</small>}} |style="background:#e6e6e6"| |- |1992–93 |align=center|Liga III |align=center|'''6''' |align=right|38||align=right|19||align=right|4||align=right|15 |align=right|57||align=right|51||align=right|'''42''' | |- |1993–94 |align=center|Liga III |align=center|'''12''' |align=right|36||align=right|14||align=right|6||align=right|16 |align=right|40||align=right|47||align=right|'''34''' | |- |1994–95 |align=center|Liga III |align=center|'''3''' |align=right|36||align=right|21||align=right|3||align=right|12 |align=right|68||align=right|35||align=right|'''66''' | |- |1995–96 |align=center|Liga III |align=center|'''14''' |align=right|36||align=right|15||align=right|3||align=right|18 |align=right|51||align=right|52||align=right|'''48''' |Merged with ''Danubiana București'', who won the promotion to the 2nd league.<ref name="The history of Danubiana">{{cite web |publisher=Ilfov Sport |title=The history of Danubiana |url=http://www.ilfovsport.ro/reportaj-istoria-clubului-danubiana-fotbal-mort-pe-un-stadion-jefuit/ |access-date=8 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403200517/http://www.ilfovsport.ro/reportaj-istoria-clubului-danubiana-fotbal-mort-pe-un-stadion-jefuit/ |archive-date=3 April 2015 }}</ref> |- |1996–97 |align=center|Liga II |align=center|'''8''' |align=right|34||align=right|14||align=right|9||align=right|11 |align=right|42||align=right|31||align=right|'''51''' |Played under the name of ''AS Danubiana Ploiești''.<ref name="The history of Danubiana"/> |- |1997–98 |align=center bgcolor="#DDFFDD"|Liga II |align=center bgcolor="#DDFFDD"|'''1''' |align=right|34||align=right|28||align=right|4||align=right|2 |align=right|80||align=right|20||align=right|'''88''' |Changed its name back to ''Astra Ploiești''. |- |1998–99 |align=center|Liga I |align=center|'''10''' |align=right|34||align=right|13||align=right|7||align=right|14 |align=right|40||align=right|38||align=right|'''46''' | |- |1999–00 |align=center|Liga I |align=center|'''10''' |align=right|34||align=right|13||align=right|8||align=right|13 |align=right|43||align=right|41||align=right|'''47''' | |- |2000–01 |align=center|Liga I |align=center|'''10''' |align=right|30||align=right|11||align=right|7||align=right|12 |align=right|41||align=right|36||align=right|'''40''' | |- |2001–02 |align=center|Liga I |align=center|'''12''' |align=right|30||align=right|9||align=right|10||align=right|11 |align=right|29||align=right|28||align=right|'''37''' | |- |2002–03 |align=center|Liga I |align=center|'''9''' |align=right|30||align=right|13||align=right|3||align=right|14 |align=right|42||align=right|42||align=right|'''42''' |Changed its name to Petrolul Ploiești.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=România Liberă |title=Here is Petrolul Ploieşti! |date=15 April 2009 |url=http://www.romanialibera.ro/sport/sporturi/aici-este-petrolul-ploiesti--151476 |access-date=15 April 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524115708/http://www.romanialibera.ro/sport/sporturi/aici-este-petrolul-ploiesti--151476 |archive-date=24 May 2014 }}</ref> |- |2005–06 |align=center bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Liga II |align=center bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|'''10''' |align=right|30||align=right|12||align=right|4||align=right|14 |align=right|45||align=right|50||align=right|'''40''' |Refounded as ''Astra Ploiești''. |- |2006–07 |align=center|Liga III |align=center|'''5''' |align=right|32||align=right|15||align=right|7||align=right|10 |align=right|48||align=right|40||align=right|'''52''' | |- |2007–08 |align=center bgcolor="#DDFFDD"|Liga III |align=center bgcolor="#DDFFDD"|'''1''' |align=right|34||align=right|31||align=right|2||align=right|1 |align=right|83||align=right|18||align=right|'''95''' |Renamed and promoted under the name of ''CSM FC Ploiești''.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Romanian Soccer |title=2007–08 Season of Liga III |url=http://www.romaniansoccer.ro/divizia_c/tables/C2007-08.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924114531/http://www.romaniansoccer.ro/divizia_c/tables/C2007-08.shtml |archive-date=24 September 2015 }}</ref> |- |2008–09 |align=center bgcolor=silver|Liga II |align=center bgcolor=silver|'''2''' |align=right|30||align=right|21||align=right|4||align=right|5 |align=right|62||align=right|32||align=right|'''67''' |Promoted under the name of ''FC Ploiești''.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Romanian Soccer |title=2008–09 Season of Liga II |url=http://www.romaniansoccer.ro/divizia_b/tables/2008_09.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329230428/http://www.romaniansoccer.ro/divizia_b/tables/2008_09.shtml |archive-date=29 March 2016 }}</ref> |- |2009–10 |align=center|Liga I |align=center|'''14''' |align=right|34||align=right|8||align=right|12||align=right|14 |align=right|33||align=right|45||align=right|'''36''' |Changed its name back to ''Astra Ploiești''. |- |2010–11 |align=center|Liga I |align=center|'''11''' |align=right|34||align=right|10||align=right|15||align=right|9 |align=right|36||align=right|30||align=right|'''45''' | |- |2011–12 |align=center|Liga I |align=center|'''12''' |align=right|34||align=right|11||align=right|8||align=right|15 |align=right|36||align=right|43||align=right|'''41''' | |- |2012–13 |align=center|Liga I |align=center|'''4''' |align=right|34||align=right|17||align=right|9||align=right|8 |align=right|64||align=right|37||align=right|'''60''' |Moved from Ploiești to Giurgiu and was renamed ''Astra Giurgiu'', Qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League |- |2013–14 |align=center bgcolor=silver|Liga I |align=center bgcolor=silver|'''2''' |align=right|34||align=right|22||align=right|6||align=right|6 |align=right|70||align=right|28||align=right|'''72''' |Qualified for the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League |- |2014–15 |align=center|Liga I |align=center|'''4''' |align=right|34||align=right|15||align=right|12||align=right|7 |align=right|53||align=right|27||align=right|'''57''' |Qualified for the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League |- |2015–16 |align=center bgcolor=gold|Liga I |align=center bgcolor=gold|'''1''' |align=right|36||align=right|21||align=right|10||align=right|5 |align=right|62||align=right|38||align=right|'''73''' |Qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League |- |2016–17 |align=center|Liga I |align=center|'''6''' |align=right|36||align=right|14||align=right|7||align=right|15 |align=right|42||align=right|45||align=right|'''49''' |Qualified for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League |- |2017–18 |align=center|Liga I |align=center|'''5''' |align=right|36||align=right|16||align=right|7||align=right|13 |align=right|41||align=right|39||align=right|'''55''' | |- |2018–19 |align=center|Liga I |align=center|'''5''' |align=right|36||align=right|13||align=right|9||align=right|14 |align=right|42||align=right|43||align=right|'''48''' | |- |2019–20 |align=center|Liga I |align=center|'''3''' |align=right|34||align=right|16||align=right|9||align=right|9 |align=right|50||align=right|37||align=right|'''57''' | |- |2020–21 |align=center bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Liga I |align=center bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|'''15''' |align=right|39||align=right|10||align=right|13||align=right|16 |align=right|44||align=right|51||align=right|'''43''' |Relegated to Liga II |- |2021–22 |align=center bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Liga II |align=center bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|'''20''' |align=right|25||align=right|5||align=right|4||align=right|16||align=right|23||align=right|53||align=right|'''-1'''||Relegated to Liga III |- |2022–23 |align=center bgcolor="#FFCCCC"| Liga III <small>(Seria IV)</small> |align=center bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|'''10''' |align=right| ||align=right| ||align=right| ||align=right| |align=right| ||align=right| ||align=right| | Dissolved |}

{| class="wikitable" |bgcolor=gold|<small>Champion</small> |bgcolor=silver|<small>Runner-up</small> |bgcolor="#DDFFDD"|<small>Promoted</small> |bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|<small>Relegated</small> |}

===League Cup history===

{|class="wikitable collapsible autocollapse" |- style="background:#efefef;" ! Season ! Opponent ! 1st Leg ! 2nd Leg ! Cup Round |- |- |style="background:#e6e6e6"|<small>Before 2014</small> |colspan="4" style="background:#e6e6e6"|{{center|<small>'''''The competition had a friendly character'''''</small>}} |- |2014–15 |Steaua București |0–3 |2–0 |Semi-finals |- |2015–16 |Steaua București |0–1 |0–2 |Semi-finals |- |2016–17 |Dinamo București |2–5 <small>'''(a.e.t.)'''</small> | |Quarter-finals |}

===European Cups history=== {{Main|FC Astra Giurgiu in European football}}

{| class="wikitable collapsible autocollapse" |- ! Season ! Competition ! Round ! Club ! Home ! Away ! Aggregate ! |- | rowspan="4"| 2013–14 | rowspan="4"| UEFA Europa League | 1Q | {{flagicon|SLO}} Domžale | bgcolor="#ddffdd" align="center"| 2–0 | bgcolor="#ddffdd" align="center"| 1–0 | bgcolor=lightgreen align="center"| '''3–0''' | 17px |- | 2Q | {{flagicon|CYP}} Omonia | bgcolor="#ffffdd" align="center"| 1–1 | bgcolor="#ddffdd" align="center"| 2–1 | bgcolor=lightgreen align="center"| '''3–2''' | 17px |- | 3Q | {{Flag icon|SVK}} AS Trenčín | bgcolor="#ffffdd" align="center"| 2–2 | bgcolor="#ddffdd" align="center"| 3–1 | bgcolor=lightgreen align="center"| '''5–3''' | 17px |- | PO | {{Flag icon|ISR}} Maccabi Haifa | bgcolor="#ffffdd" style="text-align:center;"| 1–1 | bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"| 0–2 | bgcolor=pink style="text-align:center;"| '''1–3''' | 17px |- | rowspan="5"| 2014–15 | rowspan="5"| UEFA Europa League | 3Q | {{Flag icon|Czech Republic}} Slovan Liberec | bgcolor="#ddffdd" align="center"| 3–0 | bgcolor="#ddffdd" align="center"| 3–2 | bgcolor=lightgreen align="center"| '''6–2''' | 17px |- | PO | {{Flag icon|France}} Lyon | bgcolor="#ffdddd" align="center"| 0–1 | bgcolor="#ddffdd" align="center"| 2–1 | bgcolor=lightgreen align="center"| '''2–2''' (a) | 17px |- | rowspan="3"| Group D | {{Flag icon|Austria}} Red Bull Salzburg | bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"| 1–2 | bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"| 1–5 | rowspan="3" bgcolor=pink align="center"| '''4th''' | rowspan="3"| 17px |- | {{Flag icon|Scotland}} Celtic | bgcolor="#ffffdd" style="text-align:center;"| 1–1 | bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"| 1–2 |- | {{Flag icon|Croatia}} Dinamo Zagreb | bgcolor="#ddffdd" style="text-align:center;"| 1–0 | bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"| 1–5 |- | rowspan=3| 2015–16 | rowspan=3| UEFA Europa League | 2Q | {{Flag icon|Scotland}} Inverness CT | bgcolor="#ffffdd" align="center"| 0–0 | bgcolor="#ddffdd" align="center"| 1–0 | bgcolor=lightgreen align="center"| '''1–0''' | 17px |- | 3Q | {{flagicon|ENG}} West Ham United | bgcolor="#ddffdd" align="center"| 2–1 | bgcolor="#ffffdd" align="center"| 2–2 | bgcolor=lightgreen align="center"| '''4–3''' | 17px |- | style="background-color:| PO | style="background-color:| {{flagicon|NED}} AZ | bgcolor="#ddffdd" align="center"| 3–2 | bgcolor="#ffdddd" align="center"| 0–2 | bgcolor=pink align="center"| '''3–4''' | 17px |- | rowspan="6"| 2016–17 | UEFA Champions League | 3Q | {{flagicon|DEN}} Copenhagen | bgcolor="#ffffdd" align="center"| 1–1 | bgcolor="#ffdddd" align="center"| 0–3 | bgcolor=pink align="center"| '''1–4''' | 17px |- | rowspan="5"| UEFA Europa League | PO | {{flagicon|ENG}} West Ham United | bgcolor="#ffffdd" align="center"| 1–1 | bgcolor="#ddffdd" align="center"| 1–0 | bgcolor=lightgreen align="center"| '''2–1''' | 17px |- | rowspan="3"| Group E | {{flagicon|Czech Republic}} Viktoria Plzeň | bgcolor="#ffffdd" style="text-align:center;"| 1–1 | bgcolor="#ddffdd" style="text-align:center;"| 2–1 | bgcolor="silver" rowspan="3" align="center"| '''2nd''' | rowspan="3"| 17px |- | {{flagicon|Italy}} Roma | bgcolor="#ffffdd" style="text-align:center;"| 0–0 | bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"| 0–4 |- | {{flagicon|Austria}} Austria Wien | bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"| 2–3 | bgcolor="#ddffdd" style="text-align:center;"| 2–1 |- | R32 | {{flagicon|Belgium}} Genk | bgcolor="#ffffdd" align="center"| 2–2 | bgcolor="#ffdddd" align="center"| 0–1 | bgcolor=pink align="center"| '''2–3''' | 17px |- | rowspan="2"| 2017–18 | rowspan="2"| UEFA Europa League | 2Q | {{flagicon|Azerbaijan}} Zira | bgcolor="#ddffdd" align="center"| 3–1 | bgcolor="#ffffdd" align="center"| 0–0 | bgcolor=lightgreen align="center"| '''3–1''' | 17px |- | 3Q | {{flagicon|UKR}} Oleksandriya | bgcolor="#ffffdd" align="center"| 0–0 | bgcolor="#ffdddd" align="center"| 0–1 | bgcolor=pink align="center"| '''0–1''' | align="center"| 17px |- |}

Notes for abbreviations in the above table:

* '''1Q''': First qualifying round * '''2Q''': Second qualifying round * '''3Q''': Third qualifying round * '''PO''': Play-off round

===European cups all-time statistics=== {{Updated|9 March 2018}} {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |- !width="318" style="background:#DCDCDC"|Competition !width="35" style="background:#DCDCDC"|{{Tooltip| S | Seasons}} !width="35" style="background:#DCDCDC"|{{Tooltip| P | Played}} !width="35" style="background:#DCDCDC"|{{Tooltip| W | Won}} !width="35" style="background:#DCDCDC"|{{Tooltip| D | Drawn}} !width="35" style="background:#DCDCDC"|{{Tooltip| L | Lost}} !width="35" style="background:#DCDCDC"|{{Tooltip| GF | Goals for}} !width="35" style="background:#DCDCDC"|{{Tooltip| GA | Goals against}} !width="35" style="background:#DCDCDC"|{{Tooltip| GD | Goal difference}} |- |align=left|UEFA Champions League |1||2||0||1||1||1||4||−3 |- |align=left|UEFA Europa League |5||38||15||12||11||48||50||−2 |- |-class="sortbottom" ! Total || 6 || 40 || 15 || 13 || 12 || 49 || 54 || −5 |}

==Notable former players== The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level and/or more than 100 caps for FC Astra Giurgiu. {{For|a list of all former and current FC Astra Giurgiu players with a Wikipedia article|Category:FC Astra Giurgiu players}}

{{Col-begin}} {{Col-4}} * {{flagicon|ROU}} Marius Alexe * {{flagicon|ROU}} Ștefan Bărboianu * {{flagicon|ROU}} Dănuț Coman * {{flagicon|ROU}} Mihai Dăscălescu * {{flagicon|ROU}} Florentin Dumitru * {{flagicon|ROU}} Gabriel Enache * {{flagicon|ROU}} Marius Lățescu * {{flagicon|ROU}} Valerică Găman * {{flagicon|ROU}} Liviu Ganea * {{flagicon|ROU}} Lucian Goian * {{flagicon|ROU}} Róbert Ilyés * {{flagicon|ROU}} Dan Lăcustă * {{flagicon|ROU}} Florin Lovin * {{flagicon|ROU}} Andrei Mureșan * {{flagicon|ROU}} Bogdan Nicolae * {{flagicon|ROU}} Cristian Oroș * {{flagicon|ROU}} Ion Sburlea * {{flagicon|ROU}} Pompiliu Stoica {{Col-4}} * {{flagicon|ROU}} Sorin Strătilă * {{flagicon|ROU}} Costel Lazăr * {{flagicon|ROU}} Silviu Lung Jr. * {{flagicon|ROU}} Alexandru Mățel * {{flagicon|ROU}} Ovidiu Mihalache * {{flagicon|ROU}} Cătălin Mulțescu * {{flagicon|ROU}} Daniel Niculae * {{flagicon|ROU}} Daniel Petroesc * {{flagicon|ROU}} Gheorghe Rohat * {{flagicon|ROU}} Cristian Săpunaru * {{flagicon|ROU}} Alexandru Stan * {{flagicon|ROU}} Alexandru Ioniță * {{flagicon|ROU}} Denis Alibec * {{flagicon|ROU}} Constantin Budescu ;Brazil * {{flagicon|BRA}} Fernando Boldrin * {{flagicon|BRA}} William De Amorim * {{flagicon|BRA}} Júnior Morais {{Col-4}} ;Bosnia and Herzegovina * {{flagicon|Bosnia and Herzegovina}} Daniel Graovac ;Bulgaria * {{flagicon|BUL}} Plamen Iliev ;Croatia * {{flagicon|CRO}} Filip Mrzljak ;Cyprus * {{flagicon|CYP}} Vincent Laban ;France * {{flagicon|FRA}} Mike Cestor * {{flagicon|FRA}} Anthony Le Tallec * {{flagicon|FRA}} Karim Yoda ;Ghana * {{flagicon|GHA}} Seidu Yahaya * {{flagicon|GHA}} Sadat Bukari {{Col-4}} ;Japan * {{flagicon|JPN}} Takayuki Seto ;Macedonia * {{flagicon|MKD}} Mirko Ivanovski ;Nigeria * {{flagicon|NGA}} Kehinde Fatai ;Portugal * {{flagicon|POR}} Geraldo Alves * {{flagicon|POR}} Filipe Teixeira ;Senegal * {{flagicon|SEN}} Ousmane N'Doye ;Tunisia * {{flagicon|TUN}} Syam Ben Youssef ;Zambia * {{flagicon|ZAM}} Fwayo Tembo {{Col-end}}

==Notable former managers==

{{For|a list of all former and current FC Astra Giurgiu managers with a Wikipedia article|Category:FC Astra Giurgiu managers}} {{div col|colwidth=22em}} * {{Flagicon|ROU}} Valentin Sinescu (2012–2013) * {{Flagicon|ROU}} Marius Șumudică * {{Flagicon|ROU}} Daniel Isăilă * {{Flagicon|ROU}} Costel Enache {{div col end}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{official website|http://www.afcastragiurgiu.ro}}. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210402102119/https://platform.twitter.com/widgets/widget_iframe.0edc1ef9f8b82d9b79c6115bda79f63f.html?origin=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.afcastragiurgiu.ro |date=2 April 2021 }}. * [https://www.uefa.com/nationalassociations/teams/69611--astra/ Club profile] on UEFA's official website * [https://lpf.ro/cluburi/fc-astra-giurgiu/3 Club profile] on LPF's official website. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111152108/https://lpf.ro/cluburi/fc-astra-giurgiu/3 |date=11 November 2017 }}.

{{FC Astra Giurgiu}} {{Navboxes|titlestyle=background:#000010;color:#fefefe;{{box-shadow border|a|#fe0000|1px}}|list1= {{Liga III}} {{Liga I}} }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Astra Giurgiu}} Category:FC Astra Giurgiu Category:Defunct football clubs in Romania Category:Football clubs in Giurgiu County Category:Sport in Giurgiu Category:Association football clubs established in 1921 Category:Association football clubs disestablished in 2022 Category:Liga I clubs Category:Liga II clubs Category:Liga III clubs Category:1921 establishments in Romania Category:2022 disestablishments in Romania Category:Sports club and team relocations Category:Sport in Ploiești