Archives - November 2008

It's Official: Trica to Anorthosis

November 30, 2008

CFR playmaker, Eugen Trica, will be leaving for Anorthosis Famagusta after the match against Medias on Monday. Trica has been guaranteed a €700,000 deal for the next year and a half, but according to UEFA regulations, he cannot play for Anorthosis in any European competition this season. The transfer sum for the 32-year-old is rumoured to be €200,000.

CFR - AS Roma 1-3 (1-2)

November 30, 2008

An exciting match in Gruia ended with a tragic loss for CFR. After a near-perfect start in the Champions' League, Cluj have not managed to continue their positive run and have succumbed to Bordeaux and now Roma. Roma  proved their status as a big club. In the first half, they had a mere two shots on target and no further chances, and yet they scored twice which was enough for them to win the match. CFR, on the other hand, created countless chances all but one of which were smacked wide or at the keeper.

CFR began the match exactly as the fans wished them to. The Transylvanians dominated and Yssouf Kone missed a nice demi-volley from a fairly acute angle, while Trica's shot was knocked away by Doni. Then, contrary to the run of play, Roma drew first blood. Galiassi's marking was poor and a Roma player chased down a long ball down the side. Stancioiu hesitated to come out and meet the ball twice, so Perotta managed to slip the ball to Brighi who leisurely tapped it in. CFR was then forced to press for the equalizer. Eugen Trica missed the target again as his effort from an ideal position went ten centimeters wide of Doni's left post. Yet again, against the course of action, Roma put the ball into the back of the net. Muresan fouled Baptista 25 meters from Stancioiu's net. Roma captain, Totti, then drove the ball into the top corner with a beautiful strike directly from the free kick. Still, Cluj kept on coming. Alvaro Pereira attacked the Roma goal frontally. His shot was stopped by Doni, but Yssouf Kone was in the right place at the right time to head in the rebound from close range. Thus, Yssouf Kone scored for the first time in the Champions' League for his new team, which raises his career total to three at this level of the competition. In the 38th minute, Juan Culio had a good run, but Yssouf Kone hit the ball just wide after a nice build-up. Less than a minute later, Taddei missed at the other end when his running header sailed well wide. There were no further chances in the first half, so both teams went back into the dressing rooms with Roma leading 2-1.

CFR: Stancioiu - Panin, Cadu, Galiassi, Pereira - Dani (Peralta 73'), Muresan - Dubarbier (E. Kone 70'), Trica (Deac 84'), Culio - Y. Kone

Coach: Maurizio Trombetta

Roma: Doni - Casetti, Mexes, Tonetto, Juan - De Rossi, Taddei, Baptista, Perrotta - Brighi, Casetti

Coach: Luciano Spaletti

The second half was far less dramatic than the first had been. Yssouf Kone's glancing header off a Pereira cross failed to trouble Doni. However, as the game progressed, Cluj had more and more trouble breaking the increasingly crowded Italian defense. Roma even went on to increase their lead, after a quick counterattack leading to Brighi's low shot in. Thus, Roma had scored three after having only three shots on goal. There was nothing of note after Roma's third goal, as Cluj's foreign legion ran out of energy and the fixture ended in a 3-1 loss. A loss that, along with Chelsea's 1-1 draw at Bordeaux, means CFR are eliminated from European competition until the 2009-2010 season. Thus, the Transylvanians will go to London in December having nothing to gain, but nothing to lose either. It is a bitter defeat after hopes were so high at the start of Cluj's first Champions' League adventure. Nonetheless, CFR managed to gather four points from the toughest CL group this season. These four points mean so much not only for the club, but also from Romanian football in general. The victory at Rome, the draw against Chelsea and even the excellent tempo of play shown by Cluj when losing, have given hope to so many football fans and Romanians worldwide. A hope that this performance can not only be repeated in the coming years, but also regularly bettered. A hope that international club competition will continue to put out some exciting and historical results. A hope. 

Player-by-Player Analysis:

Stancioiu 4: Hesitated to come out and grab the ball twice on the first Roma goal. Also was partially at fault for Roma's second. Clearly with the mistakes he's been making in the past year, Stancioiu cannot rise up to the level that is expected of him. He will surely be sitting on the bench at least for the next game.

Panin 6: Was defensively sound, but had a few very poor passes. He should have also marked Brighi better when Roma scored in the second half.

Cadu 6.5: He was strong on the defense and raided well into the Italian half.

Galiassi 5.5: Erred on Roma's first goal. Good in the air, but slow on the ground (as he usually is). A new center-back may arrive in Cluj this winter to provide Andre with some competition.

Pereira 6: Failed at times to help the center-backs when they were overwhelmed. His offensive runs were tantalizing, though. A left-back will probably be brought to Cluj this coming winter, so Pereira can take his rightful place as a left midfielder.

Dani 6.5: Did a good job of breaking the Italian attacks. He doesn't seem likely to lose his spot in the first team anytime soon.

Muresan 5: Did little to block Roma's frontal runs. Also fouled on Roma's free kick goal. Muresan needs to be more cautious in his tackles and more insistent in his one-on-one duels. 

Dubarbier 7: Sebastian created panic among the Italian wing-backs and his numerous crosses were very dangerous. His possible departure this winter would be a big blow to the team.

Trica 6: Passed well, but missed an enormous chance in the first half.

Culio 6: Passed and crossed well, but he sometimes overdid it when dribbling.

Y. Kone 6.5: Muscled much space among the Italian defense, but he continues to lack concentration when finishing.   

Subsituted In: E. Kone, Peralta, Deac

Pandurii Tg. Jiu - CFR 2-1 (2-0)

November 24, 2008

CFR surprisingly lost yet another away game at Targu Jiu. The southerners outclassed the Transylvanians in the first half scoring two nice goals, both from Florin Stanga. The first came after the Cluj back four could not block Piturca, who's pass flew past Galiassi and found Stanga free on the left side of defense. The second came after a Pandurii cross was not properly cleared. The same Stanga then volleyed the ball in. The second half began well, when Cluj scored off of a powerful Eugen Trica header. However, the visitors could not capitalize any further on Pandurii's defensive weaknesses as Dubarbier and Yssouf Kone both missed big chances.

Conclusion: Poor game from CFR. The back four looked shaky, especially in the first half when they conceded two goals. The offence was inexistent in the first half, but did manage to score and create some opportunities later on. Overall, a lousy game and a lousy result, which will certainly not boost the players' morale in light of the decisive Champions' League match against Roma on Wednesday.

Videos of the goals can be seen on cfrmania.ro here.

Player by Player Analysis:

Stancioiu 5.5: He could not do too much about the goals. Otherwise he stopped a few Pandurii shots, but he also had some potentially costly hesitations.

Panin 6: Better than most of the other Cluj players, but he was evidently fatigued after playing for the National Team two days earlier.

Cadu 5.5: He was overwhelmed at times by the home team's forwards.

Galiassi 5: His marking was poor on both goals and he is drifting out of form.

Pereira 5.5: He also played two days earlier for the Uruguay National Team, so he seemed tired.

Dani 6: Attempted to hold the Targu Jiu attacks, but he had some trouble blocking the opposition.

Culio 6.5: Tried to dribble and pass rapidly, but his teammates simply were not on the same level as him.

Peralta 5: Did not accomplish anything.

Deac 5: The 22-year-old seems to be fizzling out. Once upon a time he was a promising young footballer, but his days at CFR seem numbered.

Y. Kone 5.5: Hit the bar once, and missed whatever other chances he got.

Dubarbier 6.5: Probably the most dangerous Cluj player offensively.

Substituted In:

Trica 6.5: Scored a goal and injected energy into a lifeless attack.

Manuel Jose 6: Crossed well. His form is improving and he should play more in the next few games.

Emmanuel Kone: Played far too little to make any impact.

CFR - FC Arges 2-0 (1-0)

November 19, 2008

The team didn't have too much trouble defeating FC Arges. Arges, the surprise package this autumn, was in 5th spot prior to this matchday, so the match looked tough at first glance. Cluj went at it though with no difficulties and dominated the visitors in the first 45 minutes. Eugen Trica pivoted at the edge of the box in the 2nd minute, but his shot went well wide of Bosneag's net. Later on, Sixto Peralta's volley was barely snapped up by Bosneag. In the 27th minute, Juan Culio attempted some neat tricks on the right side and managed to cross. Yssouf Kone attacked the short side and easily deflected the ball into the back of the net with a coolie-taken header. 

The second half began extraordinarily. 21-year-old Emmanuel Kone came on for an injured Gabriel Muresan and his presence was felt immediately. Kone dribbled two Arges defenders right outside the box and passed to Culio. Culio then suprisingly back-heeled the ball right into Emmanuel's path. The Cote d'Ivoire international then had his first effort on goal parried, but his subsequent shot off the rebound could not be saved. Arges, until now completely unresponsive, finally opened up and attacked. They missed two chances in the 52nd and 54th minutes when Tames and Dulcea's efforts were picked up by Stancioiu. However, the home team was still the more dangerous of the two. First, Manuel Jose's two demi-volleys were caught by the keeper. Then, Yssouf Kone missed an open-net chance from only 6 meters when the ball hit his ankle instead of his boot. This chance came after the same Kone missed another chance one-on-one with the keeper. After that there were no further events and the game ended in a well-earned 2-0 victory.

Conclusion: Good hustle by the entire team, especially in the first half when Arges could literally not get out of their own half. The visitors did have some dangerous situations in the second half, but overall CFR was the better team at both ends of the pitch.

Player-by-Player Analysis:

Stancioiu 6: Missed two clearances but saved a few shots.

Panin 6.5: Was hesitant in defense early on, but later had a great game and provided the offence with some much needed support.

Cadu 7: Another good game by the stopper, he had virtually no trouble.

Galiassi 6.5: Same as Cadu, but he was a bit slow sometimes and he did pick up a silly yellow card which means he will be suspended next round.

Pereira 7: Sound defensively and had some good passing at the other end of the pitch.

Muresan 6: Clearly the holding midfielder is not in the best of form. He had some poorly calculated tackles in midfield, but he did break up many of Arges's attacks in the center.

Dani 6.5: Invisible as he usually is, but recovered the ball plenty.

Trica 5.5: Inexistent in midfield. He didn't achieve anything of note. Clearly the position of right midfielder does not suit him.

Peralta 6: Had some nice passes but was a bit slow getting back at times.

Culio 7.5: Excellent game. He had two assists and countless successful deeks and passes.

Yssouf Kone 6.5: Scored a nice goal, but he also missed two massive chances late in the match.

Substituted In:

Manuel Jose 7: Crossed dangerously a few times, and had two big scoring opportunities.

Emmanuel Kone 6.5: Scored a nice goal after a lovely one two with Culio. Didn't do much after that, though.

Deac: He played only ten minutes, but he showed ambition and he may play more in the near future.

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