Romanian Football

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2011-06-06T14:20:00.003-04:00

Join the football/soccer forum at FootyBoards.net today!

We have moved...

2010-10-05T11:51:00.001-04:00

Sorry for all the delays and non-activity.
We now have a blog about world football, although we will be posting many articles about Romanian football on there as well.

Occasionally you can come back here for other things we might post, but much of the action is now here:

The Football Critic

All the best,

Hagibest

Vuvuzelas banned in Romanian football championship

2010-07-30T12:18:00.002-04:00

The famous vuvuzelas from the World Cup 2010 in South Africa

Romania’s Professional Football League (LPF) boss Dumitru Dragomir said today (Tues) that all vuvuzelas will be banned at Romanian stadiums for the championships on 23 July.

And anyone caught bringing a vuvuzela to a League I match will be denied access to the stadium, the LPF president added.

"There will be no vuvuzelas at a League I championship! Who liked what happened at the World Cup?" Dragomir said.
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Please feel free to comment on this subject. Do you think what he did was right? or wrong?

Personally I think he did well to ban them as Romania isn't of the same culture as South Africa, and anyway those things were extremely noisy and irritating to other fans as well as the players not used to such things.

ProjectFooty.Com - A Great Football Community Forum

2010-07-18T15:29:00.000-04:00

Hey guys, I know I haven't posted for a long time, but I'm back. I will cover a lot as we approach the new Liga I season, a lot has happened this summer. Spain has won the World Cup with a 1-0 win over the unlucky Dutch, many transfers and rumours have been made (Fabregas to Barca, Henry to NY Red Bulls, etc), and soon Romania will be playing in the Euro Cup 2012 Qualification Groups. Steaua and CFR Cluj seem to have very strong teams this year and I think they will do some damage in the continental cups.

Friendlies so far:

Steaua beat Olympiakos 1-0
U Craiova beat Fleetwood Town 3-0 and an Austrian second division club 14-0
CFR defeated Anderlecht by a score that I do not fully recall
etc

BACK ON TOPIC:
I found a great football/soccer forum the other day, it is new and looking for members and staff. I highly recommend it to all of my readers. There is even a Romanian football forum area, it is great! :)

Please join, I'm Hagibest on there. http://projectfooty.com

Zenga wishes Romania played for the World Cup

2010-05-31T20:19:00.001-04:00

Former Italian international, Walter Zenga, said the South Africa World Cup would have been much more beautiful with Romania playing, it was reported today (Thurs).

Zenga was quoted making the remarks at the Football Academy in Mogosoaia, saying: "It would have been more beautiful with Romania playing at the World Cup. I am sorry it didn't qualify, but I trust Razvan Lucescu will qualify the team for the Euro 2012."

Romania failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, in Group 7, where it played against France, Serbia, Austria and the Faroes Islands

Zenga trained in Romania in the League I teams: FC National, Steaua Bucharest and Dinamo Bucharest. He is also married to a Romanian, Raluca, and they have a baby girl.

He is currently coach of Al Nasr, in Saudi Arabia.

CFR Cluj won Romania´s Cup for third year in a row

2010-05-31T20:15:00.003-04:00

CFR Cluj has won the Romania's Cup competition for the third time in a row after beating FC Vaslui last night (Weds) 5-4 (0-0) in Iasi.

CFR Cluj won on penalty kicks after 120 minutes of play ended 0-0.

Gabriel Muresan, Nicolae Dica, Ciprian Deac, Cristi Bud and Ricardo Cadu scored for CFR Cluj, while Nemanja Milisavljevici failed to score for FC Vaslui.

CFR Cluj also won the Romanian League I this year, while Vaslui finished third in the local championship.

Sabau resigns from Timisoara

2010-05-26T20:03:00.001-04:00

Ioan Ovidiu Sabau resigned from his position as coach of FC Timisoara, Gazeta Sporturilor reported today (Weds).

Sabau refused to give any explanation for his reasons, saying only that financer Marian Iancu accepted his resignation.

Sabau, 42, came to train Timisoara in June last year.

FC Timisoara finished only 5th in the local Liga I.

Romania will reach Euro 2012, says coach

2010-05-26T19:56:00.000-04:00

Romania's national football team will qualify at the European Championship in 2012, coach Razvan Lucescu said today (Mon).

Lucescu said he was "convinced" Romania would play for the Euro 2012.

Romania failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, in Group 7, where it played against France, Serbia, Austria and Faroes Islands.

He also said Cristian Chivu is the symbol of the Romanian national team, referring to the fact that Chivu won on Saturday the Champions League final, as he played until minute 68 for his team Inter Milan.

The team is preparing for three friendly matches scheduled for May and June.

Chivu: I have never dreamed of winning the Champions League

2010-05-26T19:53:00.000-04:00

Chivu enjoying his glory with Mourinho and the staff

Romanian international Cristi Chivu won the Champions League title with his team, Inter Milan, after securing a 2-0 (1-0) victory against Bayern, on Saturday, in Madrid.

This is Chivu’s third success this year following Inter winning the Italian Series A championship, the Italy's Cup competition and the Champions League.

Defender Cristi Chivu, Romania's national team captain, told ProSport:
"When it was difficult for me, I never dreamed of winning the Champions League title, I barely hoped for it."

Chivu played the match in a specially designed helmet after suffering a head injury in January.

He was back on the pitch at the end of March, after 77 days.

Boloni wanted at FC Porto

2010-05-21T22:00:00.000-04:00

Romanian coach Laszlo Boloni is wanted by former Champions League winner, FC Porto, according to the Portuguese press.

Boloni, 57, is wanted to replace current coach Jesualdo Ferreira, who ends his contract this summer.

Boloni trained Standard Liege until recently and he is well known in Portugal for his succes with Sporting Lisbon.

Boloni is the coach who discovered and encouraged Cristiano Ronaldo, while he was playing at Sporting Lisbon (2001-2003).

Mutu´s price dropped five times

2010-05-21T21:08:00.001-04:00

Fiorentina striker, Adrian Mutu, is wanted by AS Rome, for a price five times smaller than what it offered two years ago, according to La Nazione.

The Romanian football player, who is currently suspended for failing anti-doping tests, is wanted for 4 million Euros, while the same team offered 20 million Euros two years ago.

Mutu, 31, will return to the pitch in October, after being suspended for nine months by the Italian Olympic Committee for twice testing positive for sibutramine, a banned substance.

The sports press previously reported Mutu was also wanted by Buniodkor Taskent, Fenerbahce Istanbul and Besiktas Istanbul.

Lazio Rome player ditched from national team

2010-05-21T20:58:00.000-04:00

Lazio Rome player, Romanian Radu Stefan, has been ditched from the national team for not answering phone calls from team coach Razvan Lucescu.

Speaking on Thursday Romanian Football Federation manager Ionut Lupescu said: "Radu Stefan hasn't been answering the phone for three months. It is a problem of attitude on his part. If he doesn't answer the phone, I don't understand how can he be called in to the national team."

Romania meets Ukraine on 29 May, Macedonia on 2 June and Honduras on 5 June in friendly matches.

Steaua Bucharest to move to stadium in small town

2010-05-21T20:22:00.000-04:00

Steaua Bucharest financer Gigi Becali said yesterday (Thurs) the team would play at Buzau, a small town nearly 120 km from Bucharest.

His decision comes after the Defence Ministry said yesterday that the lease contract for the Ghencea stadium had ended, as Steaua Bucharest had not paid rent for more than 60 days.

"It is clear the team is not going to play in Ghencea anymore. Now I'll start to take out all seats. I won't leave anything there, in Ghencea sports base. I'll take all! The lightning equipment for night matches, the scoring panel...all that I can take, legally, I'll take!" Becali said.

Becali added he may appeal to the CFR Cluj stadium in case Steaua reaches the Champions League, as the stadium in Buzau is not approved for CL matches.

Buzau is a small town nearly 120 km eastern Bucharest, with around 130,000 inhabitants. The town's team, Gloria Buzau, is currently in the second league.

Steaua has no stadium!

2010-05-19T19:33:00.000-04:00

Legendary football team Steaua Bucharest may lose its stadium because it hasn’t paid rent for over 60 days.

The stadium’s owners - the Romanian Defence Ministry - said today (Weds) that because it hadn’t received any payment for either March or April the lease contract for the stadium had been cancelled.

According to the contract Steaua Bucharest has to pay 21,600 Euros per month for the 90,000 sqm stadium and buildings. The club has also failed to pay a further 5,000 Euros (20,000 lei) expenses.

Steaua financer, MEP Gigi Becali said Defence Minister Gabriel Oprea had increased the rent to 65,000 Euros per month, but this was flatly denied by the Ministry which issued a statement saying: "The Army Sports Club hasn't modified the contract clauses and hasn't increased the value of the rent."

Steaua is fifth in the local championship, one match before the end of League I season.

Unirea Urziceni to play in the preliminaries of the Champions League

2010-05-19T19:27:00.001-04:00

Unirea Urziceni has secured second place in the Romanian football championship after victory last night (Mon) against Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt.

Unirea Urziceni, last year's champion, is now through to the preliminaries of the Champions League.

This year's champion is CFR Cluj, which also won in 2008, and will represent Romania in the Champions League.

Unirea won 4-0 against Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt on Monday night, in an away game.

Also on Monday night, FC Timisoara drew 0-0 against Pandurii Targu Jiu and lost the chance for the two first positions, dropping on third in the Romanian League I.

CFR Cluj are crowned new champions of Romania

2010-05-19T19:15:00.000-04:00

Romanian football team CFR Cluj has won the Romanian First League Championship after beating International Curtea de Arges on Saturday.

It is the second time in the club's history that the team has won the local championship.

CFR Cluj beat International Curtea de Arges 2-1, in a home game, winning the championship one match before its end, with 66 points.

CFR Cluj won its first Romanian Championship in the 2007/2008 season.

Last year's champions, Unirea Urziceni, are currently second, with 60 points and one match ahead.

Forlán double gives Atlético glory

2010-05-12T17:38:00.001-04:00

Club Atlético de Madrid 2-1 Fulham FC (aet)
Diego Forlán struck twice, the second four minutes from the end of extra time, to decide the first UEFA Europa League final.

Diego Forlán struck with four minutes of extra time remaining as Club Atlético de Madrid ended a 48-year wait for major continental silverware, beating Fulham FC 2-1 in the inaugural UEFA Europa League final.
There had been little to choose between the sides throughout. Forlán and Simon Davies exchanged first-half goals then, as fatigue set in, they matched each other for endeavour. Yet as those around him tired the Uruguayan international gained energy. With the lottery of a penalty shoot-out looming, he did just enough to divert Sergio Agüero's cross into the far corner via Brede Hangeland. The wait was over.

If this was to be the night Fulham introduced themselves to the big stage after 131 years in the shadows, there were few obvious signs of nerves. They started confidently, expansively, passing from the back. That almost proved their undoing on 12 minutes, as Agüero pounced on a loose Danny Murphy pass just inside the Fulham half. He fed Forlán with only Mark Schwarzer to beat from the angle but the striker, in such fine form, fluffed his lines – his low shot across goal hitting the upright.

Fulham heeded the warning, finding a more natural rhythm and, midway through the half, a long-range shot from Davies to warm David de Gea's hands. Agüero was knocking on the door in more subtle style at the other end, ever a threat cutting in from the left flank. His contribution to the opener, though, was less refined. José Antonio Reyes outstripped Dickson Etuhu on the right, lofting a pass for Simão to direct into Agüero's path. The striker miscued his effort but it fell perfectly for the lurking Forlán, who made no mistake this time.
But Fulham have performed so many Lazarus acts this term that they could reasonably have the feat renamed in their honour, and within five minutes it was all square. Bobby Zamora did well to turn inside Luis Perea on the left though the opening it brought had all but closed when the ball rolled to Zoltán Gera. The Hungarian international steadied himself and crossed towards the far post where Davies lashed in.

After surviving more Atlético pressure as half-time approached, Fulham emerged for the restart a renewed force. The Spanish side were indebted to the reactions of De Gea, the goalkeeper wary to the threat of Gera after a brilliant Murphy pass, then beating away Davies' shot after the ball dropped fortuitously for the winger. In between Zamora, a major injury doubt before the game, had made way for Clint Dempsey – it failed to stem the Fulham tide, though as the game became more and more fractious Atlético got on an even keel.

Extra time was increasingly inevitable, a test for any side let alone two who have played over 60 games of the season. Forlán has played the majority for Atlético but ominously for Fulham he looked fresh – Quique Sánchez Flores's greatest regret must have been that his No7 was not on the end of his own surging run and cross on 105 minutes as Eduardo Salvio and Agüero both failed to capitalise. And then, with penalties approaching he was in where it mattered; nearly half a century after Atlético beat ACF Fiorentina to claim their first major European honour, they have a second.

CFR Cluj wins with penalty kick in minute 93

2010-05-11T19:02:00.000-04:00

Leaders CFR Cluj won with a final goal in the third minute of extra time giving them a 3-2 victory in Monday’s match against Universitatea Craiova.

CFR Cluj managed to win despite playing with only ten players after Hugo Alcantara was sent off with a red card in the 37th minute.

Universitatea Craiova seemed to have the match in the bag as half time finished with them 2-0 up with goals from Alexandru Piturca in minute 12 and Mihai Costea in minute 21.

But CFR Cluj came out fighting in the 2nd half with goals from Lacina Traore (minute 63), Cristi Bud (minute 84) and then Rocardo Cadu (minute 93) with a penalty strike.

CFR Cluj has now secured another step towards winning the local championship, having 63 points, four more than FC Timisoara, with 59.

Chivu suspended for one match

2010-05-11T18:56:00.001-04:00

Romanian international Cristi Chivu has been suspended after his team Inter Milan won the Italy Cup for obscene gestures he made against AS Rome supporters a week earlier.

Inter Milan won this year Italy Cup, 1-0, against AS Rome.

Francesco Totti has also been suspended for four matches, after a violent attack against Mario Balotelli, in the same match. And Balotelli has been suspended for one match, for protesting.

Chivu, who is the captain of the Romanian national team, played for AS Rome between 2003 to 2007, when he transferred to Inter Milan.

Inter Milan has also qualified in the Champions League final, where it meets Bayern.

Chelsea (Emphatically) Wins Premier League

2010-05-10T12:50:00.001-04:00

Didier Drogba celebrating Chelsea’s 8-0 victory against Wigan. Drogba scored three goals, giving him 29 this season, to edge Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney for the Premier League scoring title.

Chelsea is the best team in England, and anyone who disputes that need only look at the scoresheet from its final victory — an 8-0 thrashing of visiting Wigan on Sunday. Chelsea’s Premier League crown was its third in six years.
Didier Drogba led the way Sunday with three goals, giving him a Premier League-best 29 this season, though it would be just as easy to list the players who didn’t find the net.
Nicolas Anelka gave Chelsea the lead in the sixth minute, and Frank Lampard doubled it with a penalty kick in the 32nd. Wigan defender Gary Caldwell drew a red card for the challenge that brought down Lampard, leaving his teammates defenseless for what was to come: Salomon Kalou, Anelka again, Drogba (three times) and a 90th-minute left-footed rocket by Ashley Cole. (Drogba had a full-bodied hat trick, scoring left-footed, right-footed and on a header.)

Manchester United beat Stoke, 4-0, to finish 1 point behind, but all a disappointed Sir Alex Ferguson could do was try his best to be gracious.

“When we heard Wigan was down to 10 men, our hopes evaporated then,” Ferguson said. “We know how difficult it is to win the Premier League and that’s why we congratulate Carlo Ancelotti and his team.
“It’s a great achievement to beat Manchester United. Losing this title makes you appreciate the achievement of winning the last three and also getting so near. We’ve got to try again.”

Ancelotti’s team finished with 103 goals, becoming the first Premier League team to top the century mark and the first to do it in England’s top division since Tottenham in 1963.

The Blues finished with an astonishing goal difference of 71, and went a perfect 6-0 against the rest of England’s big four — Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool. And they did it all despite not one but two sex scandals, Drogba’s pining for his Marseille days, and an injury list that, had it competed on its own, probably could have finished in the top half of the Premier League.

Not a bad year (not an unbeaten one, but still …). And it will only get better if they beat Portsmouth in F.A. Cup final on Saturday at Wembley.

Chivu wins Italy´s Cup

2010-05-07T18:18:00.000-04:00

Romanian international Cristi Chivu's team, Inter Milan, beat AS Roma last night (Weds) in the final of the Italian Cup.

Inter Milan won 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome with Diego Milito scoring in minute 40 for Inter.

This is the sixth Italian trophy won by Inter Milan in their history.

The captain of Romania's national team, Chivu played the whole game but got a yellow card in minute 47.

Chivu is also through to the final of the Champions League, where Inter meets Bayern in Madrid, on May 22nd.

Lucescu wins fourth title in Ukraine

2010-05-07T18:13:00.000-04:00

Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu had led his team Shakhtar Donetsk to victory for the fourth time in Ukraine.

Shakhtar Donetsk went six points ahead of its main rival, Dinamo Kiev, with a 1-0 victory on Wednesday in a home game.

Ilsinho scored for Lucescu's team in minute 15.

Lucescu also won the title in Ukraine, with Shakhtar Donetsk, in 2005, 2006 and 2008.

Lucescu, 64, was ranked as the fifth best coach in 2009 by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).

Wotte suspended from Craiova for poor results

2010-05-07T18:09:00.000-04:00

Football coach Mark Wotte has been suspended from coaching his team, Universitatea Craiova, for poor results obtained until now and indiscipline, according to the club.

The club posted on its website an announcement saying Mark Wotte and his deputy, Gerard van Ruitenburg, have been suspended from their positions for 30 days, following poor results obtained by Universitatea Craiova.

The club also said, in another statement, that Wotte has been suspended for "lack of professionalism" and "repeated indisciplinary acts".

The club also announced that player Eugen Trica and George Bita are going to train the team until the end of the championship.

Football club Universitatea Craiova announced in January that its new coach was Dutchman Mark Wotte.

Wotte should coach the club for a year-and-a-half, according to his contract.

Universitatea Craiova currently ranks 13th in Romanian League I, with 33 points. On Saturday, Craiova lost by 3-1 against International Curtea de Arges.

Wotte has previously coached RKC Waalwijk and Southampton.

Steaua loses to last-place Unirea Alba Iulia

2010-05-03T20:11:00.000-04:00

Legendary Steaua Bucharest has dropped to fifth place in the Liga I after its shameful 1-2 defeat by last place Unirea Alba Iulia in an away match this past week-end.

Unirea Alba Iulia thereby improved its chances of avoiding relegation to the second league. It is in 17th place with 26 points in the 18-team league.

Veljovici and Florin Dan scored for Alba Iulia in the 24th and 83rd minutes, respectively, while Arman Karamyan scored in the 43rd minute for Steaua.

Steaua lost for the second time this season to the last-place team in the Liga I, having earlier been defeated by then last-place Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt.

Steaua is currently in fifth place with 53 points, six fewer than leader CFR Cluj has.

Mutu makes way for Jovetic at Fiorentina

2010-05-01T14:10:00.003-04:00

Striker Adrian Mutu has been put on the transfer list by his team Fiorentina after his suspension for nine months following positive testing for sibutramine in January.

According to the Italian press, Mutu has been put on the transfer list although his contract runs until 2012.

The Italian club also decided this week that Mutu would be only paid half of his salary.

Romanian striker Mutu transferred to Fiorentina for a 2.2-million-Euro annual salary.

Fiorentina sports manager Pantaleo Corvino was quoted by the Italian press as saying:

"Mutu made a severe mistake. We're going to talk with Prandelli (the coach), but one thing is certain. The future of Fiorentina is named Stevan Jovetic".

Jovetic, 21, transferred to Fiorentina in 2008 for a reported eight million Euros from Serb club Partizan.

Mutu, 31, called "Il Fenomeno" at Fiorentina, was one of its most-admired players.

Mutu is wanted by Turkish clubs Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, according to the local press.

Mutu will be back on the field at the end of October after testing positive for sibutramine, a banned substance in sporting activity.

He was suspended in February, and his team Fiorentina dropped to 10th place in the Italian Serie A league.
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I honestly think Jovetic deserves his spot in the lineup, most of the time he plays for them he does fantastic and he creates a lot of goals and scoring loads himself. I'm happy for Serb, but also (still) very disappointed at Mutu for having done this twice in his career... even if it was a very obscure substance and he may not have known it was illegal (doesn't do much anyway, more medical than anything), it's still been regarded as something he shouldn't have used according to the FIGC or whatever. He should get picked up by a team like Galatasaray or Fehnerbace or that Al-Sadd club... not the best teams but still not bad at all, I would like to see him play for the same team as Hagi did for a bit of his career (Galatasaray).