Archives - April 2009

Uhrin and Jindra Out, Conceicao In

April 6, 2009

CFR head coach Ales Jindra and his consultant Dusan Uhrin were both sacked yesterday by club executives. According to owner Arpad Pazskany, the Czech duo attempted to implement a Germanic style of play and discipline at Cluj, which did not sit well with the players. Replacing the two is the former FC Porto defender, Antonio Conceicao. Conceicao has recently managed Trofense, leading them from the Portuguese Liga de Honra to the Superliga. He has also had coaching spells at Vitoria Setubal, Estrela da Amadora and Naval. Despite the departure of Jindra and Uhrin, both Alin Minteuan and Horea Carlan will stay on as assistant and goalkeeper trainers, respectively. 

Judging these events from a completely external and objective viewpoint, one can clearly see that the decision to sack the coaching staff was forced upon the board by the players, the majority of whom were revolted by Uhrin's iron-fisted rule in the dressing room. If this assumption is true, than the entire club is in a very dangerous situation. Any team in which the players have too much sway tends not to perform too well, and future coaches tend not to earn the respect they need and deserve as professionals. In other words, the players will allow their excessive power in club affairs to get to their head. On the other hand, it is almost always much cheaper to replace a coach than to replace an entire team, so the decision may be partially understandable. In the end, though, the complete lack of stability and continuity in the coaching staff is alarming and usually leads to disaster. Hopefully that will not be the case with CFR.

The match tomorrow at Poli Iasi is Conceicao's first test and a critical one. If the 48-year-old can earn a clear win, then the players can gain some confidence in themselves, improving morale and most likely leading to further positive results. Politechnica, though, has been one of the strongest teams in the league so far this spring. Christiano Bergodi's arrival as manager has brought about some major transformations at the Iasi-based club. Poli's play is now based on the short quick passing and defensive perfection that brought Bergodi such success at Cluj back in 2007. Tomorrow's fixture will be an especially difficult one simply because of Bergodi's expert coaching abilities. On a more hopeful note, Tony and Muresan will most likely both be back on the pitch and may even appear on the starting lineup. Whether their presence (or Antonio Conceicao's, for that matter) will influence the outcome remains to be seen.

CFR Cluj - FC Vaslui 3-0 (1-0)

April 4, 2009

After a disastrous performance at Craiova, CFR seems to have recovered some sense of dignity and responsibility. The players fought to keep their personal dignity and (unlike two weeks ago) to satisfy the fans who came to Dr. Constantin Radulescu to watch a good show, to watch some football. In the end, the fans were not at all disappointed as CFR earned their first clear win so far this year.

Prior to this game, there were certain signs of tension in the dressing room, especially between the players and the coach. Many of the players resented the fact that Uhrin and Jindra's new, more Germanic style of play did not suite them. Others were simply annoyed that they had not seen enough time on the pitch. One can certainly understand that these footballers are right, but only to a certain degree. They have an obligation to be professionals, to train hard and to listen to the coach's indications. In what other way should they earn their salaries?

The first half was very uneventful at both ends of the pitch. Vaslui could not break the Cluj defense, but the home team's attacks were futile as well. However, late in the half, Culio struck a free kick with his left foot on the long side and Alcantara headed the ball in. The second half began well for the visitors, but Kirovski failed to hit the target with a powerful header. Ysouff Kone then missed a major chance, narrowly smashing wide. Just a few minutes later though, the same Kone capitalized off of a miscommunication in the Vaslui defense and CFR doubled their lead. Finally, in the third minute of added time, Panin curved in a beautiful free kick which bounced off the bar and in. Overall, this was a rather mediocre match if one were to only look at the number of chances. Still, CFR's overwhelming defensive strength was a major plus which made up for the unimpressive display put forth up front.

Also, 19-year-old Lacine Traore made his debut in Liga 1 for Cluj. The 2.01 meter, Cote d'Ivoire forward was on the field for a mere three minutes. Yet, even having such little time to accomplish anything of note, he did manage to muscle his way past the visitors' defense and earn the free kick off of which Panin scored.

A video of the main events can be seen on gsp.ro here.

CFR: Stancioiu - Vieira, Galiassi, Alcantara, Panin (c) - Dani, D. Flores - Deac (Mara 78'), Culio, Dubarbier (Peralta 84') - Y. Kone (Traore 90+1')

Coaches: Dusan Uhrin and Ales Jindra

FC Vaslui: Kuciak - Akakpo, Canu, Farkas, Hugo Luz - Pavlovic (Burdujan 63'), Genchev, Ljubinkovic, Wesley (Gheorghiu 66'), Milisavljevic - Kirovski (Temwanjera 72')

Coach: Viorel Moldovan

Player-by-Player Analysis:

Stancioiu 6: He didn't have much to do.

Vieira 7: As usual he was rudimentary from a technical viewpoint, but just as in previous games, his determination was enough to earn him some points with the fans.

Galiassi 6.5: Helped his teammates out when the need arose and never gave up his ground.

Alcantara 6.5: Scored a goal and played well defensively (especially in the air). In the second half, though, he nearly made a costly individual mistake.

Panin 7: The man of the match. He scored one of CFR's most lovely goals so far this season and there was never any danger on his flank.

Dani 6: He lost the ball several times in midfield, but always put the effort in to withdraw and recover it.

D. Flores 6.5: Vaslui's futile attacks smashed against him. In addition, his passes up front were generally accurate.

Deac 6: His offensive exploits were less than stunning. On the other hand, his presence was crucial in stopping the Vaslui attacks on the right flank.

Culio 6.5: Two assists for the Argentine. He still dribbles too much, but he did put in a great effort.

Dubarbier 5.5: Caught offside several times. Nothing positive to note.

Y. Kone 6.5: Scored a goal, but also missed a big chance and had trouble when attempting to dribble.

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