Article by Aurelian Botezatu – published on Friday, 08 August 2025, 08:17 / Updated on Friday, 08 August 2025 08:20
The Varșovia Legia, the team coached by Edi Iordănescu, was defeated with 4-1 by AEK Larnaca in the first leg of the preliminary round in the Europa League.
The Legia suffered in Larnaca the first defeat under the command of Edi Iordănescu, in 8 matches. However, it was a tough one, 1-4, after 1-1 at the break, which endangers the qualification in the Europa League play-off.
Edi Iordănescu: “We cannot be so naive at this level”
After the final whistle, the former Romanian coach spoke about the naivety of his team. “When you have opportunities in Europe, you have to materialize them. We did not.
“Sometimes you can't win, but you can't get so many goals. I apologize to everyone, especially fans who came to encourage us. We need to show character“, Added the Romanian technician. Previously, at the press conference, he had assumed” full responsibility “for the failure suffered.
Then he wanted to specify that he has “100%trust” in his players, in the perspective of the return of August 14: “until now, everything was going well, we were happy, but now I have to take a step forward. It is not an easy moment, but it is not the first of my career.”
The Legia finished in inferior
With a fennel Horațiu at the center, assisted by assistants Valentin Avram and Alexandru Corb, the Legia scored the first goal after only 16 minutes in Cyprus. The Spanish Pere Pons opened the scoring, making the mission of the Legia difficult from the beginning. The Poles equalized two minutes later, through Jean-Pierre Nsame.
But the draw resisted on the table only until the 48th minute. Angielski made 2-1 for AEK, and Chacon (68) and Rajovic's autogole (85) completed Edi's team disaster. The legia lost in extensions on Kapustka, to whom the second “yellow” showed.
