First Division. This was definitely Steaua’s season. Political maneuvers aside, great teams usually have at least one all-conquering season and that was the year of Steaua – they dominated the championship. No fun at the opposite side of the table:
FC Bihor (Oradea) was the hopeless outsider – last and relegated with 17 points.
Other teams fought for survival, almost half the league, but at the end ASA (Targu Mures) was 17th with 26 points and relegated.
Politehnica (Timisoara) was the third relegated team this season: 16th with 27 points.
Gloria (Buzau) survived – 15th with 28 points.
Chimia (Ramnicu Vilcea) – 14th with 29 points.
FC Olt (Scornicesti) – 13th with 29 points.
Victoria (Bucharest) – well, it was Dinamo-Victoria at first, eventually becoming just Victoria, but really… former and future Dinamo (Bucharest) players here. Take a look and some well-known names of the 1990s will catch your eye – presently, only promising youngsters, not good enough yet for Dinamo. Helped by well known players from the 1970s, now too old to play for Dinamo. Was this a separate club, or second Dinamo in the same league? 12th with 29 points.
FCM Brasov – 11th with 30 points.
SC Bacau – 10th with 30 points.
Petrolul (Ploiesti) – 9th with 31 points.
Rapid (Bucharest) – 8th with 33 points.
Universitatea (Cluj) – 7th with 33 points.
Arges (Pitesti) – 6th with 36 points.
Corvinul (Hunedoara) – 5th with 37 points. They were the second highest scorers this season with 84 goals.
Dinamo (Bucharest) – 4rd with 46 points. The best teams were way above the rest, no matter how murky the way they got points, but may be Dinamo was caught by surprise by the sudden strength of Steaua and were not title contenders at all.
Universitatea (Craiova) was not giving up the fight with foes backed up by mighty powers – 3rd with 46 points.
Sportul Studentesc (Bucharest) – 2nd with 48 points. Perhaps their best season ever and the highest scoring team in the championship: 87 goals. The club was never able to build a squad on the level of Steaua and Dinamo, but they had Gheorghe Hagi. Well, they had him so far – soon he will be ‘loaned’ for 1 match by Steaua and will never come back.
Steaua (Bucharest) did not permit anybody to come even close to them – 26 wins, 5 ties, 3 lost games, 79-25 goal-difference and 57 points. Sportul Sturdentesc was 9 points behind. It was beautiful squad with Boloni as the key man. Jenei was already the leading Romanian coach and he left the club after the end of the season, but not before winning the European Champions Cup and preparing very talented young coach to take his place – Iordanescu. Who was an assistant coach this season, but played one match – at 36, he came on the pitch as substitute in the European final and helped his teammates against Barcelona. It was interesting nice touch – risky, but also a tribute for former star player. Steaua already had wonderful team and whatever really happened to Duckadam, his sudden disappearance did not affect the team – Stingaciu was a long-serving national team goalkeeper and played for Steaua many years already. Duckadam disappeared, but Hagi appeared. But that was later – 1985-86 was not great: it was the greatest season of Steaua ever. Second consecutive title and 9th altogether.