Andone resigns as coach of CSKA Sofia

Romanian coach Ioan Andone has ended collaboration with Bulgarian team CSKA Sofia after two and a half months, the Bulgarian media reported yesterday (Tues).


Andone, 49, had signed a year-and-a-half contract. He has coached United Arab Emirates champion Al Ahli, Dinamo Bucharest and CFR Cluj.

According to sportal.bg, club president Dimitar Borissov said a new head coach would not be appointed and Andone's assistant, Adalbert Zafirov, would be interim coach of the team.

He is the new coach of Rapid Bucharest, GSPTV announced yesterday (Weds).

Andone will coach Rapid until summer and continue on as its coach for three more years.

He is Rapid's third coach this year after Viorel Hizo and Nicolae Manea.

Bud helps the Liga I Leaders get past Brasov in an away match

Today, CFR Cluj played away and defeated FC Brasov 1-0 with a goal from Bud early in the first half of the match, assisted by the top class Yssouf Kone.

This is Brasov's fourth lost match in a row, and they now lie in 9th place in the top-flight Romanian league, only 1 point ahead of Gloria Bistrita.


Goals:
FC Brasov - none.
CFR Cluj - C. Bud (19').


Have anything to say about this result? Share your views with the world and post a comment below.

Vaslui overpower FC Timisoara

FC Vaslui won 1-0 today versus FC Timisoara, in Timisoara.

FC Timisoara had many chances to score in this match, especially near the end, and it was a very aggressive game.

Goals:
FC Timisoara - none.
FC Vaslui - C. Costly (12')

Bookings:
FC Timisoara - none.
FC Vaslui - M. Pavlovic (red card; 37').

Also, you can watch the Brasov - CFR Cluj match coming up in a little over an hour (after the end of this match) using the SopCast channels.

Craiova defeat Rapid Bucuresti 1-0 added time!

U Craiova won 1-0 yesterday (Sat.) in Bucharest thanks to a goal from Constantin Gangioveanu, who is a very technical player. He scored a formidable goal in the second minute of stoppage time (92nd minute), it was a diagonal from nearly outside the box and it passed through a Rapid defender's legs and into the back of the net!

I thought we were going to tie, which isn't bad against Rapid, especially since we were playing away, but we managed to get the full 3 points here! We are now in 12th place, we started the season off very bad but now it looks like the new Dutch coach, Mark Wotte (who coached the Dutch National Team for several years), has cleaned up some of our problems and doing a better job than our previous Italian manager. I hope we continue all these wins we're getting and hopefully clinch a Europa League spot!! :-)

We also didn't have Florin Costea for two matches, so that's a big blow... he will be out for the rest of the season.

Constantin Gangioveanu's goal:

Unirea and Dinamo play to a 4-4 draw

Unirea Urziceni and Dinamo Bucharest played to a 4-4 (2-2) draw today (Sun).

Urziceni is currently in fifth place in the top football league, with 42 points, the same as Dinamo in fourth and Timisoara in third, but they have scored more goals.

CFR Cluj is the leader with 43 points, followed by Steaua Bucharest, also with 43 points but with fewer goals scored.


Goals:
Unirea Urziceni - M.D. Onofras (2'), A.P.S. Semedo (10'), and M.I. Bilasco (70'; penalty and 90').
Dinamo Bucuresti - B. Fernandes (6'; own goal), A. Cristea (8' and 64'; penalty), and G. Torje (48').

Dinamo and CFR play to a 1-1 draw

 
Dinamo and CFR Cluj played to a 1-1 draw last night (Weds) in the semi-finals of Romanian Cup competition in Bucharest.

Lucian Goian scored in the 10th minute for Dinamo, and CFR Cluj got the equaliser by Yssouf Kone 15 minutes later.

The second-leg match will be played in Cluj on 14 April.

Messi may spend Easter in Romania

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, the world's greatest footballer, may spend the Easter holidays in Romania, it was revealed today (Weds).

The information was made public by the president of the local council in Suceava in northern Romania, Gheorghe Flutur, who said that Messi was going to visit the Bukovina region.

Flutur added that Messi was coming at the invitation of former Romanian international Gica Popescu, who played for Barcelona in 1995-1997.

No further details were provided about Messi's schedule.

Bukovina is a region in northern Romania famous for its colourful 14th-century monasteries.

On UNESCO's list of world heritage monuments, they are unique in the world for their architecture and the paintings on their facades.

Romanian international praised by the German press

Romanian international Ciprian Marica was praised today (Tues) by the German press for having scored five goals this year in the Bundesliga for his team Vfb Stuttgart.

Marica scored two goals at the end of last week in a match with Hanovra.

The German newspaper Bild wrote about the "miraculous" Marica: "It looks like Marica, it talks like Marica, has always been said. But now, there is a new Ciprian Marica, the one we've been seeing in the last three months."

Under new coach Christian Gross, Marica is playing well. Before this season, he had scored only five goals in 56 matches in the Bundesliga.

Marica transferred to VfB Stuttgart in 2007 for 8.3 million Euro from Shakhtar Donetsk and was often criticised by the German press, which considered the transfer a bad one. Until now.

CFR Cluj still the leader in Romanian football

Unirea Urziceni defeated Unirea Alba Iulia in an away football game today (Mon) by a score of 2-1.

Bucurica scored for the host team in the 39th minute, but Unirea’s Brandon managed to score the equaliser in the 48th minute, and Onofras made it 2-1 in the 53rd minute.

Romanian League I leader is CFR Cluj, with 43 points, after its 1-0 defeat of Pandurii Targu Jiu over the weekend.

FC Timisoara is second, with 42 points, and Steaua Bucharest is third, also with 42 points but with fewer goals scored.

Romania to have three friendly football matches

 

Romania will have three friendly football matches starting in May, the Romanian Football Federation has announced today (Fri).

Romania's national football team will meet Ukraine on 29 May in an away game. Romania will then begin training in Austria and have two friendly matches with Macedonia on 2 June and with Honduras on 5 June. Romania missed qualifying for the South Africa World Cup competition and is presently fighting to qualify for Euro 2012.

Dinamo defeats eternal rival Steaua

Dinamo Bucharest won the match with its eternal rival Steaua Bucharest at Stefan cel Mare stadium in Bucharest last night (Weds) by a score of 2-0 (1-0).


Marius Alexe scored in the 40th minute and Adrian Cristea in the 81st minute.

The match was full of yellow and red cards as the tension was at maximum level. Dinamo players got five yellow cards, while Steaua players received three yellow cards and one red card, for Golanski in the 66th minute. Steaua had to play with only 10 men thereafter.

Over 15,000 spectators attended the match.

Dinamo is fourth in the top league, with 38 points, the same as Rapid but with more goals scored. The leader is still CFR Cluj, with 40 points, followed by Steaua, with 39 points.

Match Highlights:

Only three stadiums suitable for Euro 2012 preliminary matches

Only three stadiums in Romania can host preliminary matches for the Euro 2012 competition, the Romanian Football Federation  (FRF) said today (Weds).

FRF said that UEFA standards had been raised and only the following three stadiums would be allowed to host such matches: Steaua in Bucharest, Dr. Constantin Radulescu in Cluj and Dan Paltinisanu in Timisoara.

The FRF will ask UEFA to inspect other two stadiums, Ceahlaul in Piatra Neamt and Ion Oblemenco in Craiova.

Dinamo claims Steaua fans want to set fire to the stadium

Dinamo Bucharest football club Executive President Cristian Borcea said today (Tues) that Steaua supporters intended to set fire to the Dinamo stadium during the match scheduled for tomorrow (Weds).

The two rivals - Steaua and Dinamo - are meeting in a match tomorrow at Dinamo stadium Stefan cel Mare in Bucharest.

Borcea said Steaua supporters wanted to take revenge on Steaua owner tycoon Gigi Becali and set fire to the part of the stadium reserved for visiting team fans. Borcea added that all measures had been taken to prevent such a thing from happening.

Borcea said only 676 tickets have been sold to Steaua supporters, based on a protocol between the two teams.
__________________________________________________________
What a stupid thing to assume, but I guess you can never be too careful in football. I want to see a Steaua win here!

Fans fined at the Dinamo-CFR Cluj game

Eight fans were fined by gendarmes at the Dinamo-CFR Cluj match on Saturday evening in Cluj-Napoca.

Five were fined for trying to scalp tickets before the match, and three others were fined for throwing items at gendarmes and starting a fight.

CFR Cluj managed only a 2-2 (0-1) draw at the match on Saturday night against Dinamo.

CFR Cluj continues to lead the top league with 39 points, followed by Steaua, with the same number of points but fewer goals scored, and Rapid Bucharest with 38 points.

Mutu to find out about his suspension at the end of April

Fiorentina football club striker Adrian Mutu is going to find out the results of the investigation of his doping case at the end of April, according to the newspaper Corriere Fiorentino.

Mutu risks from one to four years’ suspension since prosecutors consider him a recidivist because he tested positive for cocaine in 2004 while playing for Chelsea.

Mutu, 31, has been questioned by Italian Olympic Committee anti-doping prosecutors in Rome in his sibutramine doping case.

Mutu was suspended indefinitely after testing positive for sibutramine in tests carried out on 10 January after a match with Bari and on 20 January after a match with Lazio.

Craiova smashes top class Brasov

I know this was from this past weekend, but I was busy celebrating!:

FC Universitatea Craiova played at home (even though they weren't actually playing in their own stadium) against one of the top Liga I clubs, FC Brasov, defeating them by a wide score of 3-0. The match was rather exciting, and the Oltenii created many chances and I honestly think that they should have won by at least a score of 10-0 or 15-0.

The stiinta completely dominated the match and Brasov had only a very few chances near the goal against Craiova and didn't cause much of a problem for U Craiova. Iliev, the Bulgarian new signing for Craiova, was doing a great job in midfield despite being a little too aggressive at times.

The Oltenii were also missing out on their national team and number one defender in the Liga I, Ovidiu Dananae, yet were able to get 3 points out of this one. This was a very important win as it elevated their rank from a dangerous position to a less threatening one.

Goals: Valerica Găman ('16), Radu Barbu ('25), Mihai Costea ('36).

__________________________________________________________

I am hoping and now more confident that we can do much better in the rest of the season if we continue this type of football, we could even reach the UEFA Qualification spot!

FC Timisoara awarded three points by LPF

FC Timisoara is the new leader of the Romanian first league after a decision made today (Weds) by the Discipline Commission of the Professional Football League (LPF).

LPF decided to accept Timisoara's contention that Rapid Bucharest had unfairly used two players in a match it won by a score of 1-0 against Timisoara, according to Gazeta Sporturilor.

Rapid Bucharest used Dacian Varga and Tibi Balan when they were not club players.

LPF decided today that the match had been won by FC Timisoara by a score of 3-0 as Rapid had broken the rules and deserved to forfeit it.

Timisoara leads the first league with 38 points on goal difference, followed by previous leader CFR Cluj, with 38 points, and Unirea Urziceni, with 36 points.

Coach says Romania will qualify for Euro 2012

Romania is going to qualify for Euro 2012, national football team coach Razvan Lucescu said today (Tues).

Lucescu said it wasn't a tragedy that Romania had lost the friendly match with Israel, as nine players had not been available and he had been forced to call up new players.

Romania lost to Israel by a score of 2-0 (1-0) yesterday (Mon) evening in a friendly at Dan Paltinisanu stadium in Timisoara.

Romania, France, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belarus, Albania and Luxembourg will play in Group D in qualifying competition for Euro 2012.

Lucescu was appointed coach of the national team in April last year. Romania failed to qualify for World Cup 2010.
__________________________________________________________
I agree with him, even though I believe he is a horrible manager. Please comment below to tell us what you think about this.

Kapetanos strikes late to give Steaua draw

An injury-time goal from Greek striker Pantelis Kapetanos gave Steaua Bucharest a dramatic 2-2 draw with Unirea Urziceni on Saturday in Urziceni.


Sorin Frunza gave the home side the lead in the third minute, but Ovidiu Petre put Steaua back on level terms five minutes later. 

With 18 minutes to go, Marius Onofras made it 2-1 to Unirea, but in the 92nd minute, Kapetanos struck to give Bucharest a share of the spoils.

Lawyer says Mutu could receive a less-severe sanction

"A famous Italian lawyer has said Romanian international Adrian Mutu can get a less-severe sanction if he proves his sporting efficiency wasn’t boosted by the use of sibutramine.


According to tuttomercatoweb.com, lawyer Pier Filippo Capello, a well-known lawyer on sports matters in Italy and the son of England's coach Fabio Capello, said the Fiorentina player could receive a less-severe sanction.

Capello also said that any sports player who had used dope before risked a serious penalty for another violation.

Mutu may also be considered a recidivist, as he tested positive for cocaine in 2004 while playing for Chelsea.

Mutu recently appeared before Italian Olympic Committee anti-doping prosecutors in Rome in the sibutramine doping case.

The Italian National Anti-doping Court indefinitely suspended Mutu in February after he had failed anti-doping tests.

Mutu tested positive for sibutramine in tests carried out on 10 January after a match with Bari and on 20 January after a match with Lazio.

Mutu scored two goals in the match against Lazio Roma that Fiorentina won by a score of 3-2. His team thereby qualified for the Italy Cup semi-finals.

Sibutramine is an anorectic or appetite suppressant that reduces a person’s desire to eat."

Chivu to play for Inter Milan again in April

Inter Milan football player Cristi Chivu is going to return to the pitch in April, according to FCInternews.it.

Chivu, who is also the captain of the Romanian national football team, is probably going to play in the match with Inter-Bologna on 3 April.

His manager, Giovanni Becali, has been quoted as saying: "I think he is going to be ready to go back on the pitch in a month. He has been recovering very well."

Chivu suffered a skull fracture during a match his team won against Chievo on 6 January in Italian Series A play.

Chivu, 29, injured his head in a duel with Sergio Pellissier and had to undergo head surgery.
_____________________________________________________
Glad to see him back on his feet again. One of Romania's most disciplined and top players, just love the guy. Get in there, Cristi! I just hope he hasn't been affected too negatively by that horrible injury, hopefully he'll play with the same quality again.

Mark Wotte: tough start with Craiova

"Universitatea Craiova had a terrible start of season, losing two games out of two, and this beloved club is in deep trouble in the standings, lying in 15th place, one that offers a trip to the second division at the end of the season.

A recent interview offered by Mark Wotte to the Dutch press revealed a coach rather intrigued by the things saw so far in Liga I and motivated by the club's perspective, rather than scared by Craiova's fears of relegation. He dribbled with elegance an episode that would have angered anyone else: Craiova had the most clear penalties in the world against the rivals from Dinamo and ended up losing that game by one goal, yet Wotte thought that is enough to consider this a mistake, "while in Romania the press talked about this episode for three days". He also had no reaction regarding the huge scandal that surrounds his team, after club owner decided to move it from its town, as part of a fight with the mayor, and avoided to speak about the poor performances of the team's best players, starting with topscorer Florin Costea.

This guy is definitely from another planet: some call it Holland, others the Netherlands..."

More information

Steaua down five places to 45th in IFFHS rankings

Steaua Bucharest is down five places to 45th, with 167.5 points, in February rankings of football clubs by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) issued today (Weds).

Steaua remains the highest-ranked Romanian team. CFR Cluj, in first place in the top Romanian league, is 69th, with 143.5 points, while FC Timisoara is up five positions to 80th, with 133 points.

Dinamo Bucharest is up to 85th from 94th, with 127.5 points.

Romania has another three teams in the top 250 - Vaslui in 91st, with 123 points, Unirea Urziceni in 105th, with 118.5 points, and FC Brasov in 239th, with 80.5 points.

Comment below and let us know what you think about this!

Mutu faces prosecutors in sibutramine doping case

The fate of Romanian football star Adrian Mutu will be decided today (Weds).

He will appear before Italian Olympic Committee anti-doping prosecutors in Rome in the sibutramine doping case.

Mutu, 31, currently playing for Italian club Fiorentina, will defend himself, saying he didn't know pills for losing weight that he had been taking had contained the banned substance as their label hadn’t mentioned it. The pills were said to be 100 per cent natural, according to the label.

The Italian National Anti-doping Court indefinitely suspended Mutu in February after he had failed anti-doping tests.

Mutu tested positive for sibutramine in tests carried out on 10 January after a match with Bari and on 20 January after a match with Lazio. Mutu scored two goals in the match against Lazio Roma that Fiorentina won by a score of 3-2. His team thereby qualified for the Italy Cup semi-finals.

Sibutramine is an anorectic or appetite suppressant that reduces a person’s desire to eat.

Last year, Mutu was ordered to pay Chelsea more than 14 million GBP in compensation for having tested positive for cocaine in 2004 while playing at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge.

Cocis to play football for FC Timisoara

Romanian Rozvan Cocis will play for football club FC Timisoara, the club announced yesterday (Mon) evening.

Cocis, 27, failed to transfer to Portsmouth, ranked last in the English Premier League at the beginning of the year, because of an injury to his right arm.

Cocis was without a contract after expiration of the one he had with Lokomotiv Moscow.

Cocis, who played for Sheriff Tiraspol from 2004 to 2007, has 32 caps with the national team.