| Season | 1996–97 | 
|---|---|
| Champions | Steaua București[1] | 
| Relegated | Politehnica Timișoara Braşov  | 
| Champions League | Steaua București | 
| Cup Winners' Cup | Naţional București | 
| UEFA Cup | Dinamo București Oţelul Galaţi  | 
| Intertoto Cup | Rapid București Gloria Bistriţa  | 
| Matches played | 306 | 
| Goals scored | 871 (2.85 per match) | 
| Top goalscorer | Sabin Ilie (31) | 
| Biggest home win | Petrolul 7–1 Sportul Braşov 6–0 Jiul  | 
| Biggest away win | Cluj 1–7 Steaua | 
| Highest scoring | Steaua 5–4 Cluj Cluj 5–4 Ceahlăul Petrolul 4–5 Politehnica  | 
| Longest winning run | Steaua (5) | 
| Longest unbeaten run | Steaua (10) | 
| Longest losing run | Politehnica (7) | 
← 1995–96  1997–98 →   | |
The 1996–97 Divizia A was the seventy-ninth season of Divizia A, the top-level football league of Romania.
Teams

League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steaua București (C) | 34 | 23 | 4 | 7 | 87 | 40 | +47 | 73 | Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round | 
| 2 | Național București | 34 | 21 | 5 | 8 | 69 | 36 | +33 | 68 | Qualification to Cup Winners' Cup qualifying round | 
| 3 | Dinamo București | 34 | 18 | 5 | 11 | 56 | 34 | +22 | 59 | Qualification to UEFA Cup first qualifying round | 
| 4 | Oțelul Galați | 34 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 54 | 39 | +15 | 58 | |
| 5 | Bacău | 34 | 16 | 5 | 13 | 43 | 41 | +2 | 53 | |
| 6 | Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț | 34 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 51 | 50 | +1 | 52 | |
| 7 | Argeș Pitești | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 46 | 37 | +9 | 50 | |
| 8 | Rapid București | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 45 | 41 | +4 | 48 | Qualification to Intertoto Cup group stage | 
| 9 | Petrolul Ploiești | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 48 | 43 | +5 | 46[lower-alpha 1] | |
| 10 | Farul Constanța | 34 | 14 | 4 | 16 | 46 | 52 | −6 | 46[lower-alpha 1] | |
| 11 | Universitatea Craiova | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 48 | 52 | −4 | 43 | |
| 12 | Sportul Studențesc București | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 36 | 52 | −16 | 42 | |
| 13 | Gloria Bistrița | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 41[lower-alpha 2] | Qualification to Intertoto Cup group stage | 
| 14 | Jiul Petroşani | 34 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 33 | 61 | −28 | 41[lower-alpha 2] | |
| 15 | Universitatea Cluj | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 52 | 67 | −15 | 39 | |
| 16 | Chindia Târgoviște | 34 | 11 | 5 | 18 | 32 | 55 | −23 | 38 | |
| 17 | Politehnica Timișoara (R) | 34 | 10 | 5 | 19 | 45 | 65 | −20 | 35 | Relegation to Divizia B | 
| 18 | Brașov (R) | 34 | 9 | 5 | 20 | 42 | 61 | −19 | 32 | 
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored. Head-to-Head: used when head-to-head record is used to rank tied teams.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Positions by round
Results
Top goalscorers
| Position[2] | Player | Club | Goals | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sabin Ilie | Steaua București | 31 | 
| 2 | Mugur Gușatu | Politehnica Timișoara | 17 | 
| 3 | Leonard Strizu | Braşov | 16 | 
| 4 | Bănică Oprea | Farul Constanța | 15 | 
| 5 | Dumitru Târțău | Rapid București | 14 | 
Champion squad
| Steaua București[3] | 
|---|
| 
 Goalkeepers: Bogdan Stelea (22 / 0); Daniel Gherasim (11 / 0); Zoltan Ritli (6 / 0). Manager: Dumitru Dumitriu.  | 
References
- ↑ 1996–97 Divizia A
 - ↑ "Top Scorers". www.romaniansoccer.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 13 May 2021.
 - ↑ "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 13 May 2021.