Бухаресттің «Прогресул» футбол клубының тарихы

Fotbal Club Progresul București, commonly known as Progresul București or simply as Progresul, was a Romanian football club based in Bucharest. The team was founded in 1944 as B. N. R. București, being the team of the National Bank of Romania (B. N. R.). In 1947, B. N. R. was promoted to Divizia B. In 1955, B. N. R. made its debut in Divizia A, under the name of Progresul Finanțe Bănci București. Since then, Progresul has experienced various successes and setbacks, in total spending no less than 32 seasons in the top flight, being ranked 15th in the Liga I All Time Table. Progresul was runner up of the league three times (1995–96, 1996–97, 2001–02), won the Romanian Cup in the 1959–60 season, and was also the finalist of the Cup on four other occasions (1957–58, 1996–97, 2002–03, 2005–06). Unlike the three biggest teams of Bucharest and Romania—Steaua, Dinamo and Rapid—Progresul was not historically supported by the communist regime. This, however, drew the sympathy of many supporters, including actors, artists and the then bourgeoisie of Bucharest. In April 2009, due to financial problems, Progresul was kicked out from the Cotroceni Stadium by the National Bank of Romania, which was no longer part of the club, but was still the owner of the stadium. In the same month, the club was excluded from the Liga II and subsequently declared bankrupt. One of Romania's most well known footballers, Dan Petrescu, finished his career at the club.

On 11 August 2009, AS Progresul București was founded and enrolled in the fourth tier of the Romanian football league system. Tudor Iacov, brother of Constantin Iacov, the last president of the former club, was named chairman. Supporters returned to the club, and AS Progresul București considered itself as the successor of SC FC Progresul SA, although, technically it was not a legally recognised successor. In the summer of 2014, due to financial difficulties and rising internal tensions, the club experienced a split. Supported financially by Gabriel Rădulescu, Andrei Erimia, coach of a youth squad, founded on 14 June 2014 a new club, AFC Progresul Spartac 1944 București. The new entity does not claim the record, logo or the succession of FC Progresul, but nonetheless uses some elements of the original brand (bleu and blue colors; the sycamore leaf). It also calls itself the "direct descendant of Progresul București", with an objective of "reviving the spirit of Progresul from Cotroceni". The name of the new club is a combination of names "Progresul" (the most used name of the old club), "Spartac" (name used by FC Progresul between 1950 and 1954) and "1944" (foundation year of the original entity). Despite complications, AS Progresul went on to win Liga IV, Bucharest Series, qualifying for the 2015–16 promotion play off. It nonetheless lost 1–6 on aggregate against Arsenal Malu, who were the Giurgiu County champions. In the summer of 2015, a second new entity CS Progresul 2005, split from AS Progresul. Nonetheless, the majority of fans pledged their support to the Progresul Spartac faction. Despite the tough situation, AS Progresul made another good season and qualified for the Bucharest series promotion play off, where it played against Progresul Spartac. In committees and through the press, both clubs accused each other of irregularities on the ground. Progresul Spartac București is currently playing in Liga III, while CS Progresul 2005 is in the 4th tier.

Founded on 10 May 1944 at Rășinari, and where the National Bank of Romania moved its headquarters to during the World War II, Progresul started to play in Bucharest after the end of the war. Dr. Staicovici Stadium, with a capacity of 8,000 seats, situated on the street with the same name, and in the center of the capital, became the home ground of the barbers for more than 40 years, when it was closed and decommissioned in September 1986.

In 1995, after almost 10 years without a constant home stadium, Progresul returned home to the newly built Cotroceni Stadium. The first stadium built after the Romanian Revolution of 1989, it was regarded as a jewel for its time, with a capacity of 14,542 seats, covered stands, electronic scoreboards, and modern floodlights. Next to the stadium was a gym, hotel, and tennis complex. The stadium is located in the same zone as the old Dr. Staicovici Stadium, in the downtown of the city in the Sycamore Park (Parcul cu Platani), close to the Palace of the Parliament, Ministry of National Defence and Arenele BNR. In early 2009, Progresul was evacuated from the Cotroceni Stadium because of its debts. For the last decade, the stadium has only seen use for a few championships of oină.

Progresul spent almost 10 years in exile, the first period being between 1986 and 1995. Their home ground comprised various stadiums in Bucharest, among them: Autobuzul, Giulești, ICSIM, Mecanica Fină, Metalul, 23 August or Voința. The second period started in 2009 after the bankruptcy of SC FC Progresul SA. AS FC Progresul was forced for years to play at stadiums of varying, often poor, quality. Some of the football grounds used in the 2010s were Coresi, Viitorul, Granitul and Prefabricate. In 2015, Progresul Spartac bought and renovated Prefabricate Stadium, renaming it to the Progresul Spartac Stadium.

Progresul was from the beginning a team with an anti communist fragrance, which led to the sympathy of supporters who did not wish to associate themselves with the Red Army or KGB. A big part of early supporters were actors, artists and bourgeoisie. Despite the fact that it was repeatedly relegated, the love of supporters remained constant in the 20th century. The home games of the 1970s and 1980s saw at least 6–7,000 people in the stands. The year 1986 is regarded by some as the moment when a part of Progresul's spirit died. That year, Dr. Staicovici Stadium hosted Victoria București matches. Securitate's team fell in love with the arena, so much that they thought considered buying it. Former player, Dumitru Bolborea remembered: "No one expected that. They came with a trailer, some of them were cutting the stands with the welding machines and others were carrying them." Following their separation from their home stadium, the club played at the Voința Stadium, IMGB, ICSIM or Automatica, suffering weakened performance and being relegated to the third tier. At the beginning of their hardship, loyalty remained constant, with Progresul bringing in 5–6,000 spectators at Divizia C matches. Over time, the number of supporters decreased, the years of exile leaving deep traces. Valentin Caltuț later recounted, "Think about having to play nine years away. How do you make a kid stay with this team?". After 1995, supporters were few, mostly those nostalgic at old victories. Still, in 2003, a new active group came at the initiative of younger fans a group named "F. A. N. S". Progresul supporters consider FC Argeș Pitești supporters to be their allies, with fans of both teams supporting the other during matches.