The club was founded in 1962 and enjoyed its most successful period in the second division, playing no less than seventeen seasons between 1973 and 2014. Its best finish came at the end of the 1982–83 and 1996–97 seasons, when it placed 4th.
History
The history of football in Motru traces back to 1962, when the initiative to form a football team was driven by Hariton Niculescu and Dumitru Dijmărescu, pioneers of the mining industry in the
Motru Basin. Initially named Minerul Horăști, the club was based in the village of Însurăței (now part of Motru municipality), where the team members were housed.[1][2]
The club's first president was Ion Crivăț, the Director of the Leurda Mine, and the team's first coach was Vasile Eordogh, who was also a player and included among others, Bogdan Oprea, Dumitru Pop, Emil Cîşu, Petre Tănase, Petre Hoară, Horațiu Cuțui and the Râbu brothers. The team first played in the Baia de Aramă District Championship and promoted to the Oltenia Regional Championship in 1964.
In 1966, along with the attestation of the city of Motru, the club changed its name to Minerul Motru. In the 1966–67 season, finishing 1st in the second series, Minerul won the Oltenia Region Championship in the final played against Progresul Goicea Mică, after three drawn matches, due to the younger average age of its players.
The Miners reached Divizia C in 1968, finishing 2nd in the second series of the Oltenia Regional Championship. After five seasons in the third division, with rankings of 7th in the 1968–69 season, 12th in 1969–70—just one point above the relegation line—11th in 1970–71, and 4th in 1971–72, promotion to Divizia B was achieved at the end of the 1972–73 season.
However, the White and Blacks quickly returned to the second division, finishing 1st in the fourth series at the end of the 1974–75 season. Unfortunately, struggling to stay in Divizia B, Minerul ranked 15th once again in the following season, and were relegated back to the third division.
In the 1981–82 season, Minerul finished 1st in its series promoted to second division once again. The squad led by Titu Nicolicescu was composed from following players: Lupui, Anghel, Mircea Pruteanu, Bălan, Văduva, Nicolae Ciornoavă, Mirea, Ionel Catană, Cățan, Mihai Ghițulescu, Mircea Gașpar, Lazăr, Marcel Ploaie, Nicolae Laurențiu, Aspricioiu, Mircea Drăguț, Mihordea, Gutuie, Nicoloff, Dan Stoenac, Tudor Dobrică and Alecu.[3]
Minerul competed in the second division for three consecutive seasons. In the 1982–83 season, the team finished a respectable 4th out of 18. However, in 1983–84, there was a slight decline, finishing 11th out of 18. Unfortunately, in the 1984–85 season, Minerul ended up in 18th place out of 18, resulting in relegation to the third division.
In the following three seasons in the third division, Minerul placed 8th in 1985–86 under the guidance of Constantin Oțet. The team narrowly missed promotion in 1986–87, finishing as runners-up just one point behind Gloria Reșița. Finally, in the 1987–88 season, Minerul secured 1st place, earning a return to Divizia B.
In the 1988–89 season, Minerul secured a 13th-place finish out of 18, successfully maintaining its status in the second division. The following season showed improvement, with Minerul climbing to a safer 9th-place position. However, in the 1990–91 season, Minerul faced significant challenges and finished in 17th place, which ultimately led to relegation back to Divizia C.
In the 1991–92 season, Minerul finished mid-table, securing 7th place in the ninth series of the third division. However, following a reorganization of the competitive system in the summer of 1992, the team was relegated to the Gorj County Championship.
After an unsuccessful promotion attempt in the 1992–93 season, club president Marcu Burtea decided to merge Minerul with third-division team Venus Lugoj through absorption, renaming the club Minerul Venus Motru. The club took Venus' place in the third division, finishing the 1993–94 season as runners-up in the fourth series of the third division.
In the 1994–95 season, Minerul won the third series of the third division under the guidance of Silviu Lung, earning a return to the second division.
Assigned to the second series, Minerul played four consecutive seasons in Divizia B. In the 1995–96 season, the team ended in 11th place, but showed improvement in the 1996–97 season, finishing 4th. The next two years saw consistent mid-table results, with 7th place in 1997–98 and 9th place in 1998–99. However, the 1999–2000 season proved difficult, and a last-place finish resulted in relegation to the third division.
Minerul finished as runners-up in the fifth series of Divizia C for two consecutive seasons. In the 2000–01 campaign, the team was tied on points with Internațional Pitești, narrowly missing out on promotion due to tiebreaker criteria. The following season, Minerul again came close, finishing just one point behind Gilortul Târgu Cărbunești.
In the 2002–03 season, Minerul finished second in the fifth series of Divizia C and earned promotion to Divizia B. Under the guidance of Gabriel Zahiu, the team reached the Round of 32 in the Cupa României, defeating second division sides Extensiv Craiova (1–1, 6–4 on penalties) and Gilortul Târgu Cărbunești (2–0), before being eliminated by first division side FCM Bacău following a 2–2 draw and a 5–6 defeat in the penalty shootout. The squad included players such as Antici, Ștefănică, Purcel, Ion Constantin, Mirea, Ploscariu, Emanuel Pătrașcu, George Bertea, Petre Gheorghe, Attila Soo, Alin Crișanov, Volocaru, Adrian Nueleanu and Paul Glișcă.
The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level and/or more than 50 caps for CS Minerul Motru.
^"Motrenii, în sărbătoare" [Motrenii, in celebration] (in Romanian). sportingorj.ro. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
^"Primăria Motru" [Motru City Hall] (in Romanian). primariamotru.ro. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
^"Vă prezentăm noile promovate în "B"" [We presents the new ones promoted in "B"] (PDF). Sportul. 10 August 1982. p. 3. Retrieved 16 November 2024 – via bibliotecadeva.eu.
