CFR CLUJ WINS THE CUP! - June 13, 2009

CFR won their second ever Romanian Cup after trouncing FC Timisoara 3-0 at Targu Jiu! Due to this magnificent win, the trophy will stay in Gruia for at least another year. The entire team played very well and they truly deserved a victory. Congratulations to the players, who gave it their all, and to the coaches, who led the team to a glorious victory!

CFR Cluj (4-1-4-1): N. Claro - Tony, Muresan, Alcantara, Panin - Dani - Mara (Ruiz 81'), Peralta (Pereira 58'), Deac (Dubarbier 69'), Culio - Y. Kone

Coach: Antonio Conceicao

FC Timisoara (4-4-2): Pantelimon - Badoi (Arman Karamyan 46'), Cisovsky, Nibombe, Latovlevic - Stancu, Alexa, Borbely (Vrsic 58'), Artiom Karamyan - Bucur, Parks

Coach: Vasile Velcea

Overall, the match was one dominated by CFR and mired by a small minority of the Timisoara fans, who chose not to support their team, but to instead engage in violent acts of hooliganism. It is these vandals who give Timisoara and its true supporters a bad name. On the other hand, CFR's fans continuously encouraged their team, proving that civil behaviour still has a place in Romania's stadiums. 

Again, CFR was by far the better team. Besides a few defensive errors, the Transylvanians simply overwhelmed the opposition, especially in the first half. Antonio Conceicao surprised everyone by starting Ciprian Deac instead of Sebastian Dubarbier, but the decision was to prove an inspired one. After just six minutes, Deac scored with a header off a corner kick after hopping back from Pantelimon's goal-line. Timisoara then attempted to reach Nuno Claro's net, but their attacks failed to break the Cluj defense. In the 28th minute, Tony's incursion into the box was halted by what appeared to be a foul. The referee of the day, Cristian Balaj decided to award CFR a penalty. The decision was quite literally 50-50. Some referees would have given it, others would have not. In any case, Sixto Peralta doubled his team's lead with a low shot to the left of the goalkeeper. After this, Deac's shot from an excellent central position was barely saved by Pantelimon, while Emmanuel Culio failed to find the target as well several minutes later. So, the score at half-time was 2-0.

Near the end of the first half, some of the Timisoara fans began to throw flares onto the field, attempting to hit the players. These wild and reckless actions were only the beginning of what was to come.

Although they were down two to nil, Timisoara came out of the dressing room with new resolve. Karamyan's cross threatened Nuno Claro's net early on, but nobody could tap the ball in. At the opposite end of the pitch, Deac ridiculed the Timisoara defense with his quick passing and clever dribbling, earning a free kick in a dangerous position. Peralta succeeded in tricking the opposing defenders, his low cross finding Culio in the box. The "Emperor" then smacked the ball into the top corner with a one-time shot. The score was 3-0 and the game was virtually finished.

Timisoara "woke up" too late and began to assault the CFR goal, but Claro's fine saves near the end of the match kept Cluj's clean-sheet intact. The men in yellow did eventually manage to score a goal, but it was disallowed. Why was it disallowed? Ironically enough, two Timisoara hooligans (their own supporters!), broke out onto the field and directly interfered with the play. This though was merely the first sign of an imminent riot. The Timisoara "ultras" began to battle the gendarmes, breaking down the fence in between them and using sticks as weapons. The savages dismantled dozens of plastic chairs and hurled them at the police who were simply doing their jobs and trying to maintain order.

Player-by-Player Analysis:

N. Claro 7: He saved several difficult shots in the second half.

Tony 6.5: He was strong on his flank, but his crosses were poor.

Muresan 6.5: More secure than he normally is as a center-back.

Alcantara 6: He hesitated several times, which could very well have proven fatal. Otherwise, he was very strong in the air.

Panin 6: He had little trouble defensively, but offered little offensive support to his colleagues.

Dani 7.5: He was the one who made the link between defense and midfield. His elegant dribbling and accurate passes were critical in ensuring the ball got up front.

Mara 6.5: He was a bit slow, which is understandable after traveling around with the national team. He had several decent passing moves with the other midfielders.

Peralta 7: Sixto scored off a penalty and he opened up play on the wings many times.

Deac 8: The Man of the Match. He scored a goal early on, and then absolutely ridiculed the Timisoara defense. His dedication and work ethic, as well as his talent, probably earned him a spot on the squad for next year's campaign (and possibly a spot on the Romanian National Team as well).

Culio 7: He passed quickly and well in the first half, though he sometimes failed to come back and help the defense. He did not hold onto the ball as long as in the past, plus he scored a superb goal in the 54th minute.

Y. Kone 6.5: Though he did not show anything special, he did recover many loose balls in midfield and he was a resilient offensive pivot.

Substitutes:

Pereira 6: He did very little as a midfielder. Still, the best of luck to him at his new team, Porto.

Dubarbier 6.5: His speed gave the opposing defense some trouble, but overall he did not show up in the spotlight.

D. Ruiz: Came on late in the game. His lack of speed did not help him in capitalizing on counter-attacks.

        Next match:

First Round 2010/11

Season

U Craiova - CFR Cluj

Cluj-Napoca

July 18/2010

Romanian Supercup 

CFR Cluj-Unirea Urziceni

2-0 

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