2008–09 Liga I
# 2008–09 Liga I

The 2008–09 Liga I was the ninety-first season of Liga I, the top-level football league of Romania. Season began on 26 July 2008 and ended on 10 June 2009. CFR Cluj were the defending champions.

## Teams

### Promoted

Teams promoted from Liga II at the beginning of the season.

* Serie 1 Champions: Brașov
* Serie 2 Champions: Argeș Pitești
* Serie 1 Runners-up: Otopeni
* Serie 2 Runners-up: Gaz Metan Mediaș

### Relegated

Teams relegated to Liga II at the end of season.

* Argeș Pitești
* Farul Constanța
* Otopeni
* Gloria Buzău

### Venues

| FC Timișoara | Steaua București | FC U Craiova | CFR Cluj |
| - | - | - | - |
| Dan Păltinișanu | Steaua | Ion Oblemenco | Dr. Constantin Rădulescu |
| Capacity: 32,972 | Capacity: 28,365 | Capacity: 25,252 | Capacity: 23,500 |
| Gloria Buzău | Farul Constanța | Dinamo București | Argeș Pitești |
| Municipal | Farul | Dinamo | Nicolae Dobrin |
| Capacity: 18,000 | Capacity: 15,520 | Capacity: 15,032 | Capacity: 15,000 |
| Oțelul Galați | BucharestArgeșBrașovBuzăuCFRCraiovaFarulGaz MetanGloriaOtopeniOțelulPanduriiPoli IașiTimișoaraUrziceniVasluiBucharest teams Dinamo Rapid Steaua2008–09 Liga I (Romania) DinamoRapidSteauaclass=notpageimage| Location of Bucharest teams. | BucharestArgeșBrașovBuzăuCFRCraiovaFarulGaz MetanGloriaOtopeniOțelulPanduriiPoli IașiTimișoaraUrziceniVasluiBucharest teams Dinamo Rapid Steaua2008–09 Liga I (Romania) DinamoRapidSteauaclass=notpageimage| Location of Bucharest teams. | Rapid București |
| Oțelul | BucharestArgeșBrașovBuzăuCFRCraiovaFarulGaz MetanGloriaOtopeniOțelulPanduriiPoli IașiTimișoaraUrziceniVasluiBucharest teams Dinamo Rapid Steaua2008–09 Liga I (Romania) DinamoRapidSteauaclass=notpageimage| Location of Bucharest teams. | BucharestArgeșBrașovBuzăuCFRCraiovaFarulGaz MetanGloriaOtopeniOțelulPanduriiPoli IașiTimișoaraUrziceniVasluiBucharest teams Dinamo Rapid Steaua2008–09 Liga I (Romania) DinamoRapidSteauaclass=notpageimage| Location of Bucharest teams. | Giulești-Valentin Stănescu |
| Capacity: 13,500 | BucharestArgeșBrașovBuzăuCFRCraiovaFarulGaz MetanGloriaOtopeniOțelulPanduriiPoli IașiTimișoaraUrziceniVasluiBucharest teams Dinamo Rapid Steaua2008–09 Liga I (Romania) DinamoRapidSteauaclass=notpageimage| Location of Bucharest teams. | BucharestArgeșBrașovBuzăuCFRCraiovaFarulGaz MetanGloriaOtopeniOțelulPanduriiPoli IașiTimișoaraUrziceniVasluiBucharest teams Dinamo Rapid Steaua2008–09 Liga I (Romania) DinamoRapidSteauaclass=notpageimage| Location of Bucharest teams. | Capacity: 11,704 |
| Politehnica Iași | BucharestArgeșBrașovBuzăuCFRCraiovaFarulGaz MetanGloriaOtopeniOțelulPanduriiPoli IașiTimișoaraUrziceniVasluiBucharest teams Dinamo Rapid Steaua2008–09 Liga I (Romania) DinamoRapidSteauaclass=notpageimage| Location of Bucharest teams. | BucharestArgeșBrașovBuzăuCFRCraiovaFarulGaz MetanGloriaOtopeniOțelulPanduriiPoli IașiTimișoaraUrziceniVasluiBucharest teams Dinamo Rapid Steaua2008–09 Liga I (Romania) DinamoRapidSteauaclass=notpageimage| Location of Bucharest teams. | FC Vaslui |
| Emil Alexandrescu | BucharestArgeșBrașovBuzăuCFRCraiovaFarulGaz MetanGloriaOtopeniOțelulPanduriiPoli IașiTimișoaraUrziceniVasluiBucharest teams Dinamo Rapid Steaua2008–09 Liga I (Romania) DinamoRapidSteauaclass=notpageimage| Location of Bucharest teams. | BucharestArgeșBrașovBuzăuCFRCraiovaFarulGaz MetanGloriaOtopeniOțelulPanduriiPoli IașiTimișoaraUrziceniVasluiBucharest teams Dinamo Rapid Steaua2008–09 Liga I (Romania) DinamoRapidSteauaclass=notpageimage| Location of Bucharest teams. | Municipal |
| Capacity: 11,390 | BucharestArgeșBrașovBuzăuCFRCraiovaFarulGaz MetanGloriaOtopeniOțelulPanduriiPoli IașiTimișoaraUrziceniVasluiBucharest teams Dinamo Rapid Steaua2008–09 Liga I (Romania) DinamoRapidSteauaclass=notpageimage| Location of Bucharest teams. | BucharestArgeșBrașovBuzăuCFRCraiovaFarulGaz MetanGloriaOtopeniOțelulPanduriiPoli IașiTimișoaraUrziceniVasluiBucharest teams Dinamo Rapid Steaua2008–09 Liga I (Romania) DinamoRapidSteauaclass=notpageimage| Location of Bucharest teams. | Capacity: 9,240 |
| Pandurii Târgu Jiu | BucharestArgeșBrașovBuzăuCFRCraiovaFarulGaz MetanGloriaOtopeniOțelulPanduriiPoli IașiTimișoaraUrziceniVasluiBucharest teams Dinamo Rapid Steaua2008–09 Liga I (Romania) DinamoRapidSteauaclass=notpageimage| Location of Bucharest teams. | BucharestArgeșBrașovBuzăuCFRCraiovaFarulGaz MetanGloriaOtopeniOțelulPanduriiPoli IașiTimișoaraUrziceniVasluiBucharest teams Dinamo Rapid Steaua2008–09 Liga I (Romania) DinamoRapidSteauaclass=notpageimage| Location of Bucharest teams. | FC Brașov |
| Tudor Vladimirescu | BucharestArgeșBrașovBuzăuCFRCraiovaFarulGaz MetanGloriaOtopeniOțelulPanduriiPoli IașiTimișoaraUrziceniVasluiBucharest teams Dinamo Rapid Steaua2008–09 Liga I (Romania) DinamoRapidSteauaclass=notpageimage| Location of Bucharest teams. | BucharestArgeșBrașovBuzăuCFRCraiovaFarulGaz MetanGloriaOtopeniOțelulPanduriiPoli IașiTimișoaraUrziceniVasluiBucharest teams Dinamo Rapid Steaua2008–09 Liga I (Romania) DinamoRapidSteauaclass=notpageimage| Location of Bucharest teams. | Silviu Ploeșteanu |
| Capacity: 9,200 | BucharestArgeșBrașovBuzăuCFRCraiovaFarulGaz MetanGloriaOtopeniOțelulPanduriiPoli IașiTimișoaraUrziceniVasluiBucharest teams Dinamo Rapid Steaua2008–09 Liga I (Romania) DinamoRapidSteauaclass=notpageimage| Location of Bucharest teams. | BucharestArgeșBrașovBuzăuCFRCraiovaFarulGaz MetanGloriaOtopeniOțelulPanduriiPoli IașiTimișoaraUrziceniVasluiBucharest teams Dinamo Rapid Steaua2008–09 Liga I (Romania) DinamoRapidSteauaclass=notpageimage| Location of Bucharest teams. | Capacity: 8,800 |
| Gloria Bistrița | CS Otopeni | Unirea Urziceni | Gaz Metan Mediaș |
| Gloria | Astra | Tineretului | Gaz Metan |
| Capacity: 7,800 | Capacity: 7,000 | Capacity: 7,000 | Capacity: 5,300 |

* ↑ Capacity of Giulești-Valentin Stănescu Stadium has been reduced from 19,100 to 11,704 due to advanced degradation of the resistance structure of the South End.
* ↑ CS Otopeni was relocated to Astra Stadium from Ploiești because Otopeni Stadium from Otopeni does not meet the standards for Liga I.

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt Sponsor |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Argeș Pitești | Ionuț Badea | Daniel Bălașa | Adidas | Pic |
| Brașov | Răzvan Lucescu | Robert Ilyeș | Diadora | Roman |
| CFR Cluj | António Conceição | Cadú | Nike | DOMO Group, Sigma Towers |
| Dinamo București | Mircea Rednic | Marius Niculae | Nike | Orange |
| Farul Constanța | Lucian Marinof | George Curcă | Umbro | SNC |
| FC U Craiova | Ionel Gane | Dorel Stoica | Adidas | editie.ro |
| Gaz Metan Mediaș | Cristian Pustai | Claudiu Boaru | Joma | RomGaz |
| Gloria Bistrița | Ioan Sabău | Adrian Nalați | Puma | Teraplast, Aldis, Darimex |
| Gloria Buzău | Constantin Cârstea | Mansour Gueye | Hummel | — |
| Otopeni | Liviu Ciobotariu | Florin Pârvu | Kappa | Urban |
| Oțelul Galați | Petre Grigoraș | Gabriel Paraschiv | Hummel | ArcelorMittal |
| Pandurii Târgu Jiu | Sorin Cârțu | Florin Stângă | Umbro | USMO |
| Politehnica Iași | Cristiano Bergodi | Bogdan Onuț | Nike | Iulius Mall |
| Rapid București | Viorel Hizo | Vasile Maftei | Lotto | Arsis |
| Steaua București | Massimo Pedrazzini | Sorin Ghionea | Nike | CitiFinancial |
| Timișoara | Valentin Velcea | Artavazd Karamyan | Lotto | Balkan Petroleum |
| Unirea Urziceni | Dan Petrescu | George Galamaz | Givova | Alexandrion |
| Vaslui | Cristian Dulca | Gabriel Cânu | Umbro | Kia Motors |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Dinamo București | Cornel Țălnar | Contract not renewed | 17 April 2008 | Mircea Rednic | 17 April 2008 |
| Rapid București | Marian Rada | Contract not renewed | 3 June 2008 | José Peseiro | 3 June 2008 |
| Vaslui | Emil Săndoi | Contract not renewed | 10 June 2008 | Viorel Hizo | 10 June 2008 |
| Otopeni | Liviu Ciobotariu | Contract not renewed | 18 June 2008 | Miodrag Ješić | 21 June 2008 |
| Gloria Buzău | Ștefan Stoica | Sacked | 11 August 2008 | Álvaro Magalhães | 12 August 2008 |
| Otopeni | Miodrag Ješić | Caretaker | 18 August 2008 | Gabriel Mărgărit | 18 August 2008 |
| CFR Cluj | Ioan Andone | Sacked | 30 August 2008 | Maurizio Trombetta | 1 September 2008 |
| Otopeni | Gabriel Mărgărit | Sacked | 8 September 2008 | Marian Bucurescu | 8 September 2008 |
| Pandurii Târgu Jiu | Eugen Neagoe | Sacked | 21 September 2008 | Sorin Cârțu | 21 September 2008 |
| Rapid București | José Peseiro | Sacked | 2 October 2008 | Nicolae Manea | 3 October 2008 |
| Gloria Buzău | Álvaro Magalhães | Sacked | 3 October 2008 | Mario Marinică | 9 October 2008 |
| Rapid București | Nicolae Manea | Caretaker | 9 October 2008 | José Peseiro | 9 October 2008 |
| Steaua București | Marius Lăcătuș | Resigned | 22 October 2008 | Dorinel Munteanu | 26 October 2008 |
| Vaslui | Viorel Hizo | Sacked | 1 November 2008 | Viorel Moldovan | 1 November 2008 |
| Otopeni | Marian Bucurescu | Resigned | 24 November 2008 | Liviu Ciobotariu | 24 November 2008 |
| Timișoara | Dušan Uhrin, Jr. | Sacked | 2 December 2008 | Gavril Balint | 29 December 2008 |
| Gloria Buzău | Mario Marinică | Sacked | 17 December 2008 | Constantin Cârstea | 28 January 2009 |
| Steaua București | Dorinel Munteanu | Sacked | 31 December 2008 | Marius Lăcătuș | 1 January 2009 |
| CFR Cluj | Maurizio Trombetta | Sacked | 6 January 2009 | Ales Jindra and Dušan Uhrin, Jr. | 8 January 2009 |
| Politehnica Iași | Ionuț Popa | Resigned | 11 January 2009 | Cristiano Bergodi | 18 January 2009 |
| Rapid București | José Peseiro | Sacked | 12 January 2009 | Marian Rada | 14 January 2009 |
| CFR Cluj | Ales Jindra and Dušan Uhrin, Jr. | Sacked | 5 April 2009 | Toni | 6 April 2009 |
| Farul Constanța | Ion Marin | Resigned | 13 April 2009 | Lucian Marinof | 13 April 2009 |
| Rapid București | Marian Rada | Resigned | 17 April 2009 | Viorel Hizo | 3 May 2009 |
| Universitatea Craiova | Nicolo Napoli | Sacked | 15 May 2009 | Ionel Gane | 15 May 2009 |
| Steaua București | Marius Lăcătuș | Resigned | 17 May 2009 | Massimo Pedrazzini | 18 May 2009 |
| Vaslui | Viorel Moldovan | Resigned | 26 May 2009 | Cristian Dulca | 26 May 2009 |
| Timișoara | Gavril Balint | Sacked | 31 May 2009 | Valentin Velcea | 1 June 2009 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Unirea Urziceni (C) | 34 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 51 | 20 | +31 | 70 | Qualification to Champions League group stage |
| 2 | FC Timișoara | 34 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 58 | 38 | +20 | 67 | Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Dinamo București | 34 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 56 | 30 | +26 | 65 | Qualification to Europa League play-off round |
| 4 | CFR Cluj | 34 | 16 | 11 | 7 | 44 | 26 | +18 | 59 | Qualification to Europa League play-off round |
| 5 | Vaslui | 34 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 44 | 37 | +7 | 57 | Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round |
| 6 | Steaua București | 34 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 44 | 27 | +17 | 56 | Qualification to Europa League second qualifying round |
| 7 | Universitatea Craiova | 34 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 44 | 25 | +19 | 56 | |
| 8 | Rapid București | 34 | 16 | 7 | 11 | 44 | 34 | +10 | 55 | |
| 9 | Brașov | 34 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 35 | 25 | +10 | 55 | |
| 10 | Argeș Pitești (R) | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 41 | 47 | −6 | 44 | Relegation to Liga II |
| 11 | Pandurii Târgu Jiu | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 27 | 36 | −9 | 43 | |
| 12 | Oțelul Galați | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 37 | 48 | −11 | 40 | |
| 13 | Gloria Bistrița | 34 | 11 | 5 | 18 | 32 | 44 | −12 | 38 | |
| 14 | Politehnica Iași | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 32 | 47 | −15 | 37 | |
| 15 | Gaz Metan Mediaș | 34 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 36 | 51 | −15 | 36 | Spared from relegation |
| 16 | Farul Constanța (R) | 34 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 27 | 56 | −29 | 30 | Relegation to Liga II |
| 17 | Otopeni (R) | 34 | 5 | 7 | 22 | 32 | 54 | −22 | 22 | Relegation to Liga II |
| 18 | Gloria Buzău (R) | 34 | 4 | 5 | 25 | 23 | 62 | −39 | 17 | Relegation to Liga II |

* ↑ Timișoara were docked 6 points after not respecting a ruling from CAS. However, this decision was revoked by the CAS on 11 June 2009.
* ↑ CFR Cluj as the 2008–09 Cupa României winners qualified for the play-off round of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League.
* 1 2 STE 2–1 CRA; CRA 0–0 STE
* 1 2 RAP 3–1 BRA; BRA 0–0 RAP
* 1 2 Argeș Pitești were relegated to the Liga II due to allegations of referee bribery. Gaz Metan as best-placed relegated team were therefore spared from relegation.

### Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Argeș Pitești | 9 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Brașov | 4 | 8 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| CFR Cluj | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Universitatea Craiova | 3 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 |
| Dinamo București | 9 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Farul Constanța | 4 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| Gaz Metan Mediaș | 7 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| Gloria Bistrița | 17 | 11 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Gloria Buzău | 13 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| Otopeni | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 |
| Oțelul Galați | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 |
| Pandurii Târgu Jiu | 9 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 |
| Politehnica Iași | 16 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Rapid București | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Steaua București | 13 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| Timișoara | 9 | 4 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Unirea Urziceni | 13 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Vaslui | 4 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 |

## Results

| Home \ Away | ARG | BRA | CFR | UCR | DIN | FAR | GAZ | GBI | GBU | OTO | OȚE | PAN | PIA | RAP | STE | TIM | URZ | VAS |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Argeș Pitești | — | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 5–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Brașov | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| CFR Cluj | 2–0 | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| Universitatea Craiova | 1–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | — | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Dinamo București | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 |
| Farul Constanța | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–4 | — | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Gaz Metan Mediaș | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–5 | 1–1 | 0–1 | — | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Gloria Bistrița | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 |
| Gloria Buzău | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | — | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–5 | 4–1 |
| Otopeni | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 6–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | — | 0–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 |
| Oțelul Galați | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | — | 0–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| Pandurii Târgu Jiu | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–5 | 1–0 |
| Politehnica Iași | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 |
| Rapid București | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | — | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 |
| Steaua București | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | — | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Timișoara | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 1–2 | 3–1 |
| Unirea Urziceni | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 |
| Vaslui | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–3 | 0–2 | — |

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Florin Costea | Universitatea Craiova | 17 |
| 1 | Gheorghe Bucur | Timișoara | 17 |
| 3 | Spadacio | Rapid București | 16 |
| 4 | Ionel Dănciulescu | Dinamo București | 12 |
| 4 | Marius Niculae | Dinamo București | 12 |
| 6 | Pantelis Kapetanos | Steaua București | 11 |
| 6 | Bogdan Stancu | Steaua București | 11 |
| 8 | Yssouf Koné | CFR Cluj | 10 |
| 9 | Gabriel Paraschiv | Oțelul Galați | 9 |
| 10 | Alexandru Curtean | Gaz Metan Mediaș / Timișoara | 8 |
| 10 | Mike Temwanjera | Vaslui | 8 |
| 10 | Chico | Farul Constanța | 8 |
| 10 | Marius Onofraș | Unirea Urziceni | 8 |
| 10 | Marius Bilașco | Unirea Urziceni | 8 |
| 10 | Romeo Surdu | Brașov | 8 |
| 10 | Cristian Bud | Gaz Metan Mediaș | 8 |

Source: Liga1.ro (in Romanian)

## Champion squad

* Unirea Urziceni
* Goalkeepers: Giedrius Arlauskis (30 / 0); Cătălin Grigore (2 / 0); Daniel Tudor (2 / 0).
* Defenders: Valeriu Bordeanu (30 / 0); Pablo Brandán (26 / 1); George Galamaz (32 / 4); Ersin Mehmedović (18 / 0); Bruno Fernandes (19 / 0); Epaminonda Nicu (30 / 0).
* Midfielders: Iulian Apostol (28 / 2); Tiberiu Bălan (25 / 4); George Bârlădeanu (2 / 0); Jacob Burns (10 / 0); Sorin Frunză (25 / 1); Răzvan Pădurețu (31 / 3); Ricardo Vilana (20 / 1); Dinu Todoran (22 / 2); Dacian Varga (14 / 4).
* Forwards: Bogdan Aldea (1 / 0); Marius Bilașco (27 / 8); Cristian Dănălache (20 / 3); Bogdan Mara (17 / 5); Marius Onofraș (22 / 8); Raul Rusescu (23 / 5).
* (league appearances and goals listed in brackets)
* Manager: Dan Petrescu.

## Season statistics

### Scoring

* First goal of the season: Andrei Prepeliță for Craiova against Iași, 64 minutes (Round 1 – 26 July 2008)
* Last goal of the season: Claudiu Niculescu for Dinamo against Argeș, 90+3 minutes (Round 34 – 10 June 2009)
* Fastest goal in a match: Andrei Cristea for Iași against Pandurii, 10 seconds (Round 30 – 9 May 2009)
* Fastest two goals in a match: Pandurii 1–1 Bistrița, minutes 2 and 4 seconds (Round 14 – 8 November 2008)
* Goal scored at the latest point in a match: Cristian Oroș for Brașov against Unirea, 90+4 minutes (Round 1 – 26 July 2008)
* First own goal of the season: Zhivko Zhelev (Oțelul) for Gaz Metan, 31 minutes (Round 1 – 27 July 2008)
* Two own goals by the same team in a match: Diogo and Alexandru Tudose (both Buzău) for CFR, minutes 14 and 79 (Round 2 – 3 August 2008)
* Two goals in one minute and one second: Farul 1–1 Brașov, between 5:53 and 6:54 (Round 13 – 1 November 2008)
* Three goals in three minutes: Farul 1–4 Steaua, minutes 89, 90 and 90+2 (Round 7 – 13 September 2008)
* Six goals in 30 minutes: Gaz Metan 5–1 Timișoara, minutes 60 through 90 (Round 3 – 9 August 2008)
* Most goals in one half: Gaz Metan 0–0 at half time, 5–1 final Timișoara (Round 3 – 9 August 2008)
* Widest winning margin: Otopeni 6–0 Farul (Round 34 – 10 June 2009)
* Hattricks scored: 4
   * Alexandru Curtean for Gaz Metan against Timișoara, minutes 65, 75 and 81 (Round 3 – 9 August 2008)
   * Marius Niculae for Dinamo against Vaslui, minutes 24, 78 and 90 (Round 24 – 11 April 2009)
   * Marius Niculae for Dinamo against Bistrița, minutes 20, 56 and 72 (Round 26 – 21 April 2009)
   * Victoraș Iacob for Otopeni against Farul, minutes 4, 34 and 50 (Round 34 – 10 June 2009)

### Cards

* First yellow card: Attila Hadnagy for Brașov against Unirea, 19 minutes (Round 1 – 26 July 2008)
* First red card: Rafael Pereira for Gaz Metan against Dinamo, 22 minutes (Round 2 – 3 August 2008)
* Most red cards in a single match: 3
   * Dinamo 1–0 Craiova – 2 for Dinamo (Júlio César, Adrian Ropotan) and 1 for Craiova (Josh Mitchell) (Round 6 – 30 August 2008)
   * Argeș 1–1 Craiova – 2 for Craiova (Mircea Bornescu, Michael Baird) and 1 for Argeș (Daniel Bălașa) (Round 10 – 3 October 2008)
* Match without any cards: Unirea 1–1 Steaua (Round 34 – 10 June 2009)
