FC Politehnica Timișoara
Fotbal Club Politehnica Timișoara (Romanian pronunciation: [poliˈtehnika timiˈʃo̯ara]), commonly known as Politehnica Timișoara or simply Poli Timișoara, was a Romanian football club from Timișoara, Timiș County, established in 1921 and dissolved in 2012. During its existence, the team won two Cupa României trophies and was twice runner-up in the Liga I. It amassed 49 seasons in the latter competition.
| Full name | Fotbal Club Politehnica Timișoara | ||
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| Short name | Poli Timișoara | ||
| Founded | 4 December 1921 | ||
| Dissolved | 2012 | ||
| Ground | Dan Păltinișanu | ||
| Capacity | 32,972 | ||
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Named after and initially run by the Polytechnic University of Timișoara, the club was founded in 1921 by mathematician Traian Lalescu. After two decades spent in the regional leagues, Politehnica promoted to the top flight in 1948. It claimed its first trophy in the 1957–58 season, when it defeated Progresul București in the national cup final. Internationally, "the White-Violets" made their European debut in the 1978–79 UEFA Cup, when they went past MTK Hungária in the first round.
Politehnica obtained its highest result in the national championship after finishing second in the 2008–09 Liga I. It repeated the performance in the 2010–11 season, but was relegated after not being able to obtain a new participation license due to unpaid debts, and was eventually dissolved in 2012.
Following Politehnica Timișoara's dissolution, two entities claimed to be its moral successors—ACS Poli Timișoara and SSU Politehnica Timișoara. The Polytechnic University, the owner of the brand and all of FC Politehnica records, ceased these for free use to ACS Poli between 2012 and 2021, but then moved them to SSU Politehnica starting from 2021. SSU also inherited the old club's fanbase since inception.