Cluj derby
The regions known as Transylvania (including Crisana and Maramures) and Banat, on either side of the Mures river, were part of the Kingdom of Hungary within the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
They vied for the Eastern regional championship, the champion would play in a final against the winner in the Budapest group which had 11 teams.
KTC(the later CFR Cluj) won the 1911 championship for the first time[2] against KKAS(Commercial Academy), but were eliminated by FC Kosice in the semifinals.
Even though the two clubs fought fiercely for the championship, when [Galatasaray] Constantinople(today Istanbul) visited Cluj in a rematch after CFR's visit in Turkey at the inauguration of the stadium, the combined teams of CFR and Commercial Academy won with 8–1, showing they can also work together really well.
[3] After World War I, Transylvania was given to Romania at the treaties of Paris in 1919–1920 so during that year all the clubs in the region including the ones in Cluj were reformed.
[5][6] Very soon after, Victoria took the upper hand and by the season 1921-1922(the first after the unification of all Romanian lands) it became the regional champion and reached the final by eliminating Staruinta Oradea and Tricolor Bucuresti, but lost against to Chinezul Timișoara.
After eliminating Înţelegerea Oradea and Venus Bucuresti(champions in 1920 and 1921) they met on 26 August 1923 again Chinezul, this time in Cluj.
U met in the quarter finals the same opponent AMEFA which eliminated Victoria Cluj the year before.
Chinezul were to become the national champions that year, so after beating U in the semifinals they won against Coltea Brasov as well.
While representing Cluj nationally they eliminated Staruinta Oradea in the preliminary round, but lost in the quarter finals against Jiul Lupeni.
Nationally they eliminated Staruinta Oradea in the preliminary round and Societatea Gimnastica Sibiu in the quarter finals, but lost against Gloria CFR Arad in the semifinals.
U in 1942 played the second final of the Romanian Cup in the club's history, but lost against Rapid Bucuresti.
After a pause of 5 years and due to the troubled historical frame, many teams were dissolved, others were newly founded and submitted directly in the Divizia A or Divizia B and also the teams which were moved in the Hungarian football league system in 1940 after the signing of the Second Vienna Award were moved now back in the Romanian football league system after the signing of the Paris Peace Treaties.
In the second league(Divizia B), a new team that was founded in Cluj, Dermata, finished first in the Seria III.
[10] Since Universitatea spent most of its history in the top tier of the Romanian football, and CFR in the lower leagues, the rivalry was almost forgotten until the 1970s.
Since then, for the major part of their histories, Universitatea spent ages in Divizia A, while CFR was a piece between second and third tier.
From then, CFR became one of the most important teams in Romania, winning three league titles (in 2008, 2010, 2012) and playing in European competitions, most notably UEFA Champions League group stages, while Universitatea became the underdog team in Cluj.
While financial problems and insolvency struck both clubs as of 2014, CFR remained in the top tier, unlike Universitatea, which relegated from Liga I the next year.
On March 23 2023, CFR won at home against the rival with a score of 4-0, in an incendiary atmosphere created by more than 5000 U Cluj fans.
[11] In 2023-2024 season, the first meeting was on August 21, at Cluj Arena, where CFR won with a score of 4-3 after being led by 0-2, in front of approximately 22,000 spectators.
[12] On November 2, the two rivals met in a cup match, which ended in a tie (1-1), but with a show in the stands with more than 3 choreographies performed by U Cluj fans.
