Article by Tudor Belivacă – Published Saturday, October 18, 2025, 7:46 p.m. / Updated Saturday, October 18, 2025, 7:51 p.m.
Ioan Ovidiu Sabău, the coach of the U Clujsubmitted his resignation at the end of the match lost at home against FC Botoșani, score 0-2.
Dissatisfied with the way his students express themselves lately, Ioan Ovidiu Sabău said it's time for a change.
UPDATE / U Cluj confirms Sabău's departure
The management of Cluj University has this time accepted the resignation submitted by coach Ioan Ovidiu Sabău.
Following the request made this evening by coach Ioan Ovidiu Sabău, FC Universitatea Cluj accepted the amicable termination of the contract. The decision taken by mutual agreement is to be formalized as soon as possible. FC Universitatea Cluj would like to thank Ioan Ovidiu Sabău for the work he has done at the club this term, crowned with the qualification in the Conference League at the end of last season.
– Communiqué U Cluj
Ioan Ovidiu Sabău reacted after U Cluj – FC Botoșani 0-2: “It can be seen that we are a squeezed team, without moisture, which cannot be motivated”
After the match with Botoșani, Ioan Ovidiu Sabău spoke about the problems within the club, criticized his players and hinted that he could leave the team, even if he was reconfirmed in his position during this competitive break.
“As I showed, it's not hard to digest. It's a normal defeat because we were dominated in all chapters, we didn't have the courage to play. You can see that we are a squeezed team, without moisture, which cannot be motivated at the moment. The causes are many. I'm not ready to say everything I feel and the reality inside.
I limit myself to saying what can be seen from the television, from the stands. We are a tough team. You can't pass to a colleague, dribble. You have the ball and you put them two or three times on the counterattack. There are many issues that you, as a coach, have to take on. You work with them.
A lot has happened since the summer. It's a very difficult situation for me as a coach. I don't know what the players feel, but I know what the fans feel. After a flawless year, to end up looking the way you do.
We see. We'll see after I finish the interview what happens. I'm still the coach of the team.
That's what happened last year, players kicked out by other teams played very well at U Cluj. I was in first place for 18 stages. Many questioned why he plays so well at U Cluj and was on the bench at his former teams. Important players left, everything that was done in the summer was done badly. It is clearly visible. We cannot say anything other than what is seen. The players don't bond with each other, they don't feel good. There is no group that leads to performance, it shows in the field.
You can't score a goal, you can't not be focused when you're in front of the goal. We look totally different. I am the same. I have the courage to apologize to them when I am wrong. I'm trying to correct myself, to help everyone, and maybe that's where I made the mistake of trying to please everyone.
I made changes just to help certain players, but in this job it has to be different because some people take this as a weakness,” Ioan Ovidiu Sabău said, according to digisport.ro.
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After the defeat in the last stage, Sabău announced that he would resign, and then he was turned away by the leaders from Cluj. The “Red Caps” are in 10th place in the Superliga, with 14 points accumulated in 13 stages
