Dan's east european adventure

[Jack Fulham]

Good to see you back on track in the league Dan, hope you win the cup final, do you get into Europe if you do?

 

[Pompey_Dan]

Good to see you back on track in the league Dan, hope you win the cup final, do you get into Europe if you do?

Finally managed to stop the rot, it's not exactly been the grandstand finish to the season I had hoped for... then again there is that cup final to get excited about! In answer to your question, we will get into the UEFA cup if we win the domestic cup (last years winners, CFR Cluj, lost all 6 of their UEFA cup group games!)

Just got to get one more win in the league first though... :S

 

[Jack Fulham]

I'm sure you'll be fine in the league, be amazing if you qualified for Europe so early on into your adventure, especially with a side of Cluj's quality and stature

 

[Pompey_Dan]

Just five points clear of the relegation places with four league games to go, most expect U Cluj to be safe but football is a funny old game...

drew 1-1 v Universitatea Craiova
A mature performance by the U Cluj players that was really deserving of a win. Striker Flavius Băd gave U Cluj the lead with a powerful effort in the 22nd minute. U Cluj barely gave their opponents a sniff of the ball yet failed to extend their lead. It was 38 year old midfielder Juan Jayo who equalised for U Craiova on 74 minutes with a sweet shot from 20 yards. Jayo was sent off just three minutes later but the scoreline remained 1-1.

lost 0-1 v Otelul
Ivory Coast boss Vahid Halilhodzic was at Clujana today, casting an eye over the progress of Kouassi N'Goran before naming his next Ivory Coast squad. N’Goran is uncapped at international level and a call up would round off a good first season at U Cluj.
N’Goran had an average game and did little to prevent his team going down 1-0 to a superior Otelul side. Gabriel Siminic got the only goal of the game in the 88th minute. The defeat left U Cluj 3 points from danger with only two games to go.

won 4-2 v Gaz Metan
The Sepcile Rosii fan’s had seen their team slide closer to relegation in the run up to this match. Just three points from safety the team really needed to win if they wanted to be playing Liga I football next season. GSP TV had chosen this game to be televised live.
A sturdy defence and a battling midfield display were the foundations upon which CFM Universitatea Cluj-Napoca built their 4 - 2 victory over CS Gaz Metan Mediaş this evening. A brace from Bogdan Dolha helped U Cluj to victory. Their other goals came from Ghanian Charles Taylor and Andrei Voican. With the teams at the bottom of the table losing, U Cluj cannot now be relegated.

won 1-0 v Dinamo Bucharest
Dinamo Bucharest still harboured hopes of snatching the title from city rivals Steaua Bucharest, to do so they would need to beat U Cluj and hope that Steaua lost to relegation haunted International.
A stunning goal and a performance brimming with pace, power and confidence saw U Cluj overcome the odds to beat Dinamo Bucharest. Striker Flavius Băd claimed his fifteenth goal of the season with a blistering strike from 25 yards that threatened to burst the net. Dinamo had chances to claw themselves back into the game but the U Cluj defence was resolute.

The Liga I season finished with U Cluj in 10th place, a satisfactory start to this spell in the top flight. But before the players can leave for their summer holidays there is the small matter of the Romanian Cup final to contest!

 

[_perfido_]

Good job mate, seems u r a bugbear for the teams of the capital.

Waiting for the cup, good luck

_perfido_

 

[TeddyBearChelsea]

Good luck in the cup final =) Still enjoying your story, keep up the great work

 

[Max]

Great read. Hope you smash em in the final

 

[Pompey_Dan]

Cupa României

Sunday 5th June 2011, it’s Cup Final day!

It’s a beautiful day here in Bucharest, with temperatures reaching high’s of 27’ Celsius, as FC Timisoara and CFM Universitatea Cluj-Napoca contest the final of the Romanian Cup (Cupa României).

This competition was founded in 1933/34 and has been won by 18 different teams. The team who have lifted the trophy the most often is Steaua Bucharest with 20 wins to their name.
The last two cup finals has seen CFR Cluj-Napoca beat today’s finalists FC Timisoara, 3-0 and 2-1. U Cluj have won the cup once in their history, in the 1964-65 season, whilst FC Timisoara have never managed to bring the trophy home despite appearing in three finals.

All roads lead to Bucharest

To reach the final FC Timisoara beat CS Otopeni (1-0), Universitatea Craiova (2-1 aet), Pandurii (2-0) and Rapid Bucharest (5-3).

Whilst U Cluj saw off Sebis (1-0), Dinamo Bucharest II (1-0 aet), Poli Iasi (1-0), CFR Cluj (1-1 pens), Dinamo Bucharest (1-0) and Astra 2009 (3-3 away goals).

At EVENS FC Timisoara are favorites to lift the trophy, U Cluj are 11-5 to win today.
(Odds courtsey of Liga I sponsors Gamebookers.com)

Ones to watch

Victor Faizulin (midfield, FC Timisoara)
Gigel Bucur (striker, FC Timisoara)
Adrian Ionescu (midfield, U Cluj)
Flavius Bad (striker, U Cluj)

Kick off!

3mins
Gabriel Bucur advances and the U Cluj players hold back, his shot from the edge of the area goes high, wide and handsome.

28mins
Andrei Ionescu brings down Timisoara’s Pablo Barros 20 yards out. Victor Faizulin steps up and his freekick curves viciously but goes narrowily wide. The U Cluj manager can be seen on the touchline urging his players to push higher up the pitch.

Half time
An uneventful first half draws to a close with the teams level 0-0. The fan’s will certainly be hoping for more entertainment from the next 45mins.

55mins
A seemingly innocuous freekick 35 yards out is taken by U Cluj's Bogdan Ungurusan, whose effort flies through the air and strikes the foot of the post before going out of play! No-one expected him to try for goal from out there!


58mins
Gabriel Bucur finds Faizulin unmarked on the edge of the area and his drive beats the U Cluj keeper, Sebastian Hutan, hands down... 1-0 to FC Timisoara.

59mins
From the kick-off U Cluj work the ball into the box and Michael Baird has a pop, but Timisoara keeper Taborda is equal to it and makes a fine save.

74mins
U Cluj’s Ivorian defender Kouassi N’Goran is deemed to have held Gabriel Paraschiv in the box to give FC Timisoara a penalty. Fullback Sergio steps up and clamly puts the ball past Hutan. It’s 2-0 to FC Timisoara.

79mins
Mansour’s cross goes deep and is hit on the volley by Stelian Stancu, Hutan is helpless as Timisoara take an unassiable 3-0 lead. U Cluj have simply run out of ideas and look lost, despite the introduction of Dragan Zarkovic, Gabriel Machado and winger Rares Stan.

Fulltime
With U Cluj’s spirit crushed FC Timisoara shut up shop for the remaining 11mins and saw themselves to a comfortable 3-0 win. After the game Dan Lake was gracious in defeat saying "it wasn’t a classic today, but the best team did win. At the end of the day, Timisoara proved too good for us but I would like to thank all my players for the effort they have put in, not just today but all season. I am extremely proud of each of them.”

For U Cluj the dream of glory and european football is over... for this season anyway.

 

[Pompey_Dan]

Just want to post a big thank you to all who have been following my story so far and to those who have left supportive comments. I hope you've enjoyed it up to now and will continue to follow my exploits in east Europe next season.

Cheers!

 

[_perfido_]

It's a pity mate, just Timisoara took the best from their opportunities. Only 13 shoots in a whole match, this gave me the idea of a very tactical game.

U'll try again next year.

Good luck

_perfido_

 

[Pompey_Dan]

It's a pity mate, just Timisoara took the best from their opportunities. Only 13 shoots in a whole match, this gave me the idea of a very tactical game.

U'll try again next year.

Good luck

_perfido_

You're absolutely right, I tried to open the game up but it was too late... in hindsight I should have pushed up more and tackled aggressively (my team's tackling % was terrible in this match!) But there is always next year and I am really pleased with all we've achieved in just 2 years. I hope that I've caught the eye of some bigger clubs.

 

[Jack Fulham]

Really unlucky Dan, they certainly had you worked out during that game, hopefully you can do better next season and maybe they will give you a budget

 

[James_Art46]

nice lay out for the final match bud ...
hope for your even greater success ...

 

[Tomrok]

Well done Dan, excellent season you've just had, and the first one wasn't too bad either ;-)

Gotta say, this is the only story that I'm actively following on here, very well written. Some managers have taken a lot longer than 2 seasons to reach promotion and a cup final, so you're definitely on your way to creating a mini-empire. Romanian Alex Ferguson anyone?

 

[Pompey_Dan]

Really unlucky Dan, they certainly had you worked out during that game, hopefully you can do better next season and maybe they will give you a budget

nice lay out for the final match bud ...
hope for your even greater success ...

Well done Dan, excellent season you've just had, and the first one wasn't too bad either ;-)

Gotta say, this is the only story that I'm actively following on here, very well written. Some managers have taken a lot longer than 2 seasons to reach promotion and a cup final, so you're definitely on your way to creating a mini-empire. Romanian Alex Ferguson anyone?

Cheers for the support guys, despite losing the cup final I was happy with the way the season went, and I'm quite proud of my team's promotion and cup final appearance in 2 years! Without making excuses, I was without two key players for the final as Charles Taylor and Andrei Voican got international call ups. I especially missed Taylor who had the league's 2nd highest assist rate on 14, and 20yr old Voican has improved quickly over the second half of the season.

Not sure that I can turn U Cluj into "the Man United of Romania" without an influx of cash though, the club made a modest loss this season and I can't see that I am going to be given a decent transfer budget in 2011/12. I am tracking the job market in hope of a decent move to match my ambitions, and I notice that the managers of Rapid Bucharest and FC Timisoara are under pressure. There are also a couple of interesting teams in the Ukraine Premier League showing a lack of patience with their main men, so might even have to move countries.

Things might be a bit quiet from me for a day or two, but I will be posting again soon.

 

[Div_Muzza]

Keep at it mate youll only improve.

 

[Pompey_Dan]

Meltdown at U Cluj...

Monday 6th June 2011
Just a day after U Cluj’s defeat in the final of the Cupa României three of their biggest stars made public their desire to move on. Sebastian Hutan, Michael Baird and Charles Taylor all discussed their desire to prove themselves at “bigger clubs” in the future during an interview on Romanian television channel GSP TV. This is not good news for U Cluj fans as all three players have been instrumental in the club's success' over recent years.

Thursday 16th June 2011
In an interview with Romanian sports paper, Gazetta Sporturilor, U Cluj manager Dan Lake talked of his ambition to lead a team to domestic and European glory. When asked whether he believed it was possible to achieve his dreams with a club of U Cluj’s size and stature, Lake was quoted as saying “That is something I doubt, the club just do not have the necessary financial muscle to compete at this level.” Speculation is rife that three of the team’s highest paid stars will be leaving the club this summer, and now it seems their manager wants out as well. Although they have refused to comment publicly, there is no doubt that the U Cluj board will be unhappy with Lake’s comments.

Monday 20th June 2011
The U Cluj board today vetoed plans to improve the club’s training facilities and youth academy. In an official statement issued on the website they stated that there they had “been unable to raise the funds necessary to undertake a project of this nature.”

Wednesday 22nd June 2011
In a recent newspaper article, Dan Lake fuelled speculation that he was going to leave U Cluj in the near future. When he said “I want to be at a top club winning the big trophies” many believed that he meant away from Clujana. Today, there have been newspaper reports linking him with FC Moscow and Spartak Moscow of Russia and a move really could be imminent. In other news, the U Cluj board accepted four bids of approximately €1.5million for Australian striker Michael Baird in an effort to reduce the club’s wage bill. The clubs to have made offers for Baird include SK Brann of Norway and Dinamo Bucharest, U Cluj bought the player for just €220k two seasons ago.

Friday 24th June 2011
After being linked with a move for U Cluj manager Dan Lake, Spartak Moscow issued a statement denying any approach and giving the current incumbent Valery Karpin their full backing.

Sunday 26th June 2011
With the club just one point from the relegation places, FC Moscow sack their manager Yury Krasnozhan and immediately ask U Cluj for permission to approach their English boss Dan Lake. U Cluj reluctantly give their consent to talks and late on Sunday evening FC Moscow and Lake agree terms. Although the two clubs have yet to finalise a compensation package Lake will take immediate charge of the FC Moscow team, his first test will come in the UEFA Cup 1st qualifying round against Tobyl Kostanay of Kazakhstan.


Monday 27th June 2011
Lake is unveiled to the fans as the new manager of FC Moscow, with the club in a lowly 13th place in the league he will be expected to lift them clear of relegation. Early reports suggest that Lake will be given a transfer fund of around €11million when the transfer window next opens in August.

Founded in 2004, FC Moscow are a professional Russian club currently playing in the Russian Premier Division. The club play their home games at Eduard Streltsov and possess relatively average training facilities and only a very basic youth setup. With no real competition history of note, Moscow are a club with a trophy cabinet waiting to be filled. They did, however, finish runners-up in the Russian Cup in 2007.

During the introductory press conference Dan Lake spoke very highly of his previous club and refuted suggestions that he had fallen out with the board. Lake said "The time was right for both me and the club to move on, I have a huge deal of affection for the team and wish them every success in the future." When asked what message he had for the U Cluj fans, Lake responded with "I just ask them to remember where the club were when I took over and to look at where they are now."

 

[Nick.]

unlucky, that you had to leave. just not enough money. fc moscow could be good though. tobyl kostanay are not a pushover

 

[Div_Muzza]

Good luck with Moscow

 

[Pompey_Dan]

unlucky, that you had to leave. just not enough money. fc moscow could be good though. tobyl kostanay are not a pushover

Really did feel that I'd taken the team as far as I could, the lack of finance was a real problem. It was going to be a struggle keeping Charles Taylor beyond next season and there wasn't sufficient funds to bring in replacements, then the board not agreeing to improve the facilities really was the last straw!

Looking forward to UEFA cup football this season and with 11 million euro's to spend it should be interesting come August!

Good luck with Moscow

Thanks Div_Muzza, appreciate your support mate!