January 14, 2022
The Romania Casa Liga
went into its mid-season break after the completion of round 21 on December 20th,
with the season recommencing on January 21st, 2022. These diaries
covered the first two weeks of the season in July, at which point champions CFR
Cluj and newly promoted Rapid Bucharest were the only two sides to still have
100% records. At the other end of the table, four sides had lost their first
two matches, namely Arges Pitesti, FC Voluntari, Academica Clinceni and CS
Mioveni.
By the end of the
year, the top of the standings had a fairly predictable look to it, with Cluj
looking in a strong position to secure a fifth consecutive title, sitting 10
points clear of FCSB, last season’s runners-up. Third place Voluntari, who last
season had to win a relegation play-off to stay in the division, lay a further
ten points behind.
Any of the top 10 will
retain realistic hopes of making the top 6, and the three sides below them could
also make it if they have an inspired run of form from now to the end of the
regular season. The system in Romania is that the top 6 after the regular 30
game season split to form the Play-Off round, in which the teams play each
other twice for a further 10 matches, but only half of the points from the
regular season are carried forward.
At the bottom,
Academica Clinceni and Dinamo Bucharest have been cut adrift from the rest of
the division. The bottom 10 sides in the league form the Play-Out round, in
which the first two places ie 7th and 8th play a single
match to determine who will proceed to another play-off match for a possible
place in the Europa Conference. The bottom two sides are automatically relegated,
whilst 13th and 14th face two legged play-offs against 3rd
and 4th from Liga II
A brief club-by-club
summary to-date :
Despite being well
clear at the top of the table, CFR Cluj have hardly been dazzling, with
their success being built around a defence that has conceded only 8 goals in 21
games. All 11 home games have been won, with only 4 goals conceded, two of
which came in a 3-2 opening day win over U Craiova 1948. Ten matches have been
won 1-0 !
Cluj started with six
victories by a single goal margin before finally looking the part with a 4-1
hammering of FCSB in a monsoon. However, their next outing resulted in their
first loss of the season, going down 0-1 at Botosani. After three more single
goal victories, Cluj went down 0-2 at Rapid Bucharest. Subsequently, Cluj are
on a run of 9 consecutive wins without conceding a goal. Veteran midfielder
Ciprian Deac is the top scorer with 5, the same as ex-Marseille striker Billel
Omrani.
Defenders Cristian
Manea and Andrei Buca were part of the last national squad, together with
forward Denis Alibec.
The coach is currently
ex-Chelsea, Sheffield Wednesday, Bradford and Southampton defender Dan
Petrescu, who was appointed at the end of August.
After a slow start FCSB,
who claim the legacy of Steaua Bucharest, are on an unbeaten run of 14 games to
become the only realistic challengers to Cluj. Despite an encouraging 4-1 win
over Universitatea Craiova in round 2, FCSB’s early results included draws at
Botosani ( 0-0 ) and Arad ( 1-1, with three substitutions in the 34th
minute and an equalizer in the 90th minute ! ) and at home to Sepsi
( 1-1 ), as well as losses at Rapid ( 0-1 ) and Cluj ( 1-4 ). Since the defeat
to Cluj only Voluntari and Sepsi have avoided defeat against FCSB, with both
sides claiming 0-0 home draws. Nine of ten home matches have been won.
FCSB’s key player has
been International midfielder Florian Tanase, who has grabbed 8 goals. Veteran
national striker Claudiu Keseru signed from Ludogorets at the end of August but
the talented Florinel Coman has only played 6 matches due to injury.
FC Voluntari only stayed in the Casa Liga by winning a relegation
play-off last season, and after losing three of their opening 4 matches it
looked like another tough season was in store. However, a run of 5 consecutive
wins saw them move up the table, but after a blip of losses to Arges and Cluj,
they ended the year with 7 games unbeaten. The double has been achieved over
Farul, home draws recorded against FCSB and Universitatea Craiova, as well as
at Botosani.
36 year old Slovak
midfielder Adam Novak ( ex-Kaiserslautern, Genk and Union Berlin ) has proven
to be an important signing after being released by Dinamo Bucharest. Moldovan
midfielder Vadim Rata has scored 6 goals since signing from Chindia Targoviste,
whilst Moldovan defender Igor Armas has started 20 matches.
FC Botosani have again been a difficult side to beat, with just
one away defeat in 11 matches ( 1-3 to FCSB ) and with victories at Voluntari (
1-0 ) and Universitatea Craiova ( 2-1 ), whilst at home Cluj were vanquished
and FCSB, Voluntari and Universitatea Craiova held. Only 21 goals have been
scored but just 19 conceded. They
entered the winter break with one win and 4 draws in their final 5 matches.
Botosani lost last
season’s top scorer Hamidou Keyta to Portuguese side Santa Clara and Argentine
attacking midfielder Jonathan Rodriguez moved to Cluj so goals were likely to
be at a premium, but French midfielder Malcolm Edjouma, signed from Belgian
side Roeselare, has netted 4 times. Keeper Eduard Pap, German defender
Christopher Braun and Bogdan Racovitan have appeared in all 21 games.
After a strong
challenge last season before fading in the play-off round, CS Universitatea
Craiova will be disappointed to be 25 points off the lead. They have
already lost 7 matches ( Cluj A 0-1, FCSB H 2-3 A 1-4, Botosani H 1-2, Farul A
0-1, Arges A 2-3 & Arad A 0-1 ) , having lost only 4 in the regular season
last year.
Last season’s top
scorer, international midfielder Alexandru Cicaldau, left to join Galatasaray
but despite this they are still he second highest scorers in the league. Andrei
Ivan was the second highest scorer in the league with 10 goals and was recalled
to the national side, together with defender Nicusor Bancu
Farul Constanta were formed following the merger of FC Viitorul
Constanta and second level Farul Constanta, with the newly merged club taking
Viitorul place in the league. Joint owner, Romanian football legend Gheorghe
Hagi, took over the coaching duties. Farul started the season brightly, and
after 10 round were in 3rd place, with only two defeats, at Cluj and
Chindia. Although strong at home, with only FCSB and Cluj leaving Constanta
with all three points, moderate away form has held them back, possessing a
2-4-5 record. Spanish forward Jefte Betancor, signed in the summer from
Voluntari, is the division’s top marksman on 11 goals.
Newly promoted Rapid
Bucharest topped the league after two rounds and continued to impress in
the first quarter of the season, taking 16 points from the first 6 matches including
a 1-0 home victory over FCSB in a feisty derby. Despite defeats to
Universitatea Craiova and Gaz Metan Media they sat in third place after nine
rounds. Ironically, their only win in a run of 8 was a 2-0 triumph over leaders
Cluj, and they finished the year with just one victory in the last 6. They had
remained unbeaten in their first 8 away matches but slipped to defeat at Farul
and FCSB in their final two trips. Striker Adrian Balan has found the net 6
times.
Arges Pitesti started the season poorly taking only one point from
their first 4 outings, but a run of 7 matches without defeat saw them move up
the table to harbor realistic hopes of a place in the Play-Off rounds. After
round 16 they were just 4 points off third place even though they were 9th.
However, three losses and a draw in the last 4 games of 2022 resulted in the
gap to 6th increasing to 4 points. Their 5-2-4 away record is the
fourth best in the division but goals have been a bit of a problem, with only
19 scored, and their top scorer, Christian Tanase, has only 3 goals.
In contrast UTA
Arad, whose home match last season against Botosani was covered by these
diaries, began the season regularly in the top 6, and were third after 7 games
with just one loss ( 1-2 at Botosani ),
but finished the year with 4 draws and 4 losses. They have fairly
identical home and away records, 3-4-3 at home and 3-5-3 away, but goals have
been at a premium in their matches, scoring 17 times themselves and conceding
just 15. Their highlights so far are probably the home wins over Voluntari (
2-0 ) and Universitatea Craiova ( 1-0 ). Young striker David Miculescu is their
top scorer on 6.
Sepsi OSK are the league’s draw kings, with 11 games finishing
even, with 5 wins and 5 losses. Creditable draws were recorded at FCSB and
Universitatea Craiova but disappointingly fixtures against Arges, Mioveni and
Voluntari were home losses. Italian coach Cristiano Bergodi was appointed in
early October, after having fallen to 14th but they went into the
break on the back of 4 wins and 4 draws from round 13 onwards. Centre-back and
captain Bogdan Mitrea has 4 goals whilst Dutch forward, Kevin Luckassen, on
loan from Kayserispor and previously with Ross County and Northampton Town, has
4.
Chindia Targoviste have spent most of the season in either 10th
or 11th place. They had the second worst home record with just two
victories and 5 losses, but a solid 3-4-4 away record has kept them out of
trouble. With a paltry 13 goals, they
are the joint lowest scorers in the Liga 1. Daniel Popa had scored 4 times.
Newly promoted CS
Mioveni have found scoring goals a problem, and like Chindia have only
found the target 13 times. They started the season well, with 10 points from
their opening 7 matches to reach the heights of 7th but life has
been harder since and took only three points from the next 8 matches before
stopping the rot with a home win over Gaz Metan Medias ( 2-1 ), and three
points from Dinamo in round 19 helped put more distance between them and the
bottom two. Only 5 players have got their names on the scoresheet, with Bogdan
Rusu scoring 7 of the 13 days.
After an opening day
victory over Mioveni, Gaz Metan Medias have been in the bottom six
virtually all season. Only one other home win was achieved, over Dinamo, and 7
home matches lost, but there were three successes on opposition soil, with
Rapid, Arges and Chindia being beaten. Brazilian centre-back Yuri Matias tops
their scoring charts with 4 goals.
Newly promoted FC U Craoiva 1948 are one of the two sides
claiming to be the legitimate successor to the original Universitatea Craiova
club which was dissolved in 1991. After bankruptcy, the club was reformed in
2017 and have risen from the fourth level of Romanian football to take their
place in Casa Liga 1. They made a reasonable start, with two wins and two draws
from their opening 7 matches. One point from the next 4 matches led to the
sacking of coach Adrian Mutu after a
0-2 defeat in the derby with CS Universitatea Craiova. His replacement, Flavius
Stoican, lasted less than a month and a mere three games before being shown the
door. This led to the return of Eugen Trica, who had been sacked in May, and
after five matches with just two points, they finished the year with a 3-0 win
in Targoviste and a goal-less draw with Mioveni. However, they have failed to
beat anyone outside of the bottom 6. Claudiu Balan is the top scorer with 5
goals.
Last season Dinamo Bucharest were engulfed with rumours of
financial difficulties and non-payment of player’s salaries and perhaps as an
indication of their money troubles, the Dinamo squad that started the season
was entirely Romanian. A few foreigners have subsequently been signed as the
season has progressed although that hasn’t led to improved results. Dinamo
actually started the season with a 3-2 home victory over Voluntari, with Deian
Sorescu claiming a hat-trick and won their third match, against Academica
Clinceni, to go fourth. The next 15 matches yield just three draws until
Chindia were overcome 1-0 in round 19. Two managers have
been sacked already, and in the winter break Flavius Stoican was appointed after
his brief sojourn in Craiova. Sorescu has scored 8 of their 15 goals.
After a 5th
placed finish last season and their match at Gaz Metan Medias being featured in
these diaries, Academica Clinceni lost their first five matches and
recorded a mere 4 draws from their opening 17 matches. Having looked marooned at the bottom of the
table, they then beat Dinamo Bucharest ( H 1-0 ), U Craiova ( A 2-1 ) and then
drew with Voluntari ( H 0-0 ) to give some hope of survival, although a 0-1
home defeat to Chindia Targoviste deflated them a little. Last season’s top
scorer Tsvetelin Chunchukov returned to Sepsi after a season on loan but ex-Estudiantes
Argentinian midfielder Bautista Cascini has found the net 7 times this season.
Attendances
The season began with
no restrictions on the number of people allowed inside stadiums, and a crowd of
35,500 attended the Rapid vs FCSB Bucharest derby. The atmosphere was described
by Look Sport “as just like the old days !”.
Unfortunately, by the
end of September, increases in Covid cases resulted in matches either being
played behind closed doors or with significantly reduced numbers, and from
mid-October onwards all matches were played without spectators.
Rapid had been the
best supported side, with an average of 11,793 from the 7 matches where
supporters were allowed to attend. FCSB had an average of 10,076 from 6 matches
whilst Arad attracted an average of 7,729 over 7 matches. The overall average
for the league was 4,202.
Romanian Cup
The Romanian Cup has
reached the semi-final stage, with the four surviving teams being CS
Universitatea Craiova, Sepsi OSK, FC Voluntari and Arges Pitesti. The draw is
still to be made.
Cluj were eliminated
at Universitatea Craiova, Botosani lost a penalty shoot-out at Arges and FCSB
were unable to play their tie against FC Voluntari due to Covid and forfeited
the match.
Rapid had been
eliminated by second tier Politehnica Timisoara, Arad were knocked out at third
division Filiasi and Academica Clinceni lost 0-1 at second division Buza.
Sepsi have won at Farul,
FC
U Craoiva 1948 and Chindia
European Campaigns
Champions CFR Cluj
needed extra-time to overcome Bosnian side Borac Banja Luka in the First
Qualifying round, after becoming the first side not to be eliminated on away
goals since the rule change. Two far from convincing performance saw them get
past Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar 4-1 on aggregate, but their luck ended in
the next round, where they were eliminated 2-4 on aggregate by Young Boys
Berne.
Matters didn’t improve
in the Europa League qualifiers where a 0-4 drubbing to Red Star in Belgrade led
to a 1-6 exit overall and the sacking of coach Marius Sumudica. The Europa
Conference group stage was also a disaster, with 4 defeats in the first 5 games
( Jablonec A 0-1, AZ Alkmaar H 0-1 A 0-2, Randers A 1-2 ) before an academic
2-0 win over Jablonec in their final match.
All three Romanian sides
in the Europa Conference exited at the first hurdle, FCSB falling to
Shakhtar Karagandy after a penalty shoot-out after a 1-0 home win and a 1-2
loss in Kazakhstan. Similarly, Universitatea Craiova were eliminated by
Albanian side FK Laci in their only tie, failing to overturn a 0-1 deficit from
the first leg and Sepsi OSK lost a penalty shoot-out to Spartak Trnava
after two dra
Round 22
Friday January 21,
2022
Arges Pitesti vs
Dinamo Bucharest
Saturday January 22,
2022
Chindia Targoviste vs
FC Voluntari
CS Universitatea vs
Rapid Bucharest
Sunday January 23,
2022
CS Mioveni vs
Academica Clinceni
UTA Arad vs Gaz Metan
Medias
FCSB vs CFR Cluj
Monday January 24,
2022
FC Botosani vs Sepsi
OSK
Farul Constanta vs F U Craiova 1948
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