“BOMB” from midnight » Iuliu Mureșan fires Mandorlini from CFR Cluj and starts negotiations with Dorinel Munteanu
Article by Andrei Crăiţoiu, Cezar Titor – Published Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 00:48 / Updated Tuesday, October 21, 2025 01:14
CFR Cluj continued its modest period in the championship and lost to Petrolul in the away game on Monday eveningscore 0-1. In these conditions, Iuliu Mureșan, just returned as president of Transylvania, made the decision to fire Andrea Mandorlini (65 years old) and bring a Romanian coach to the team, according to information obtained exclusively by GSP.
It is about Dorinel Munteanu (57 years old), currently without a commitment after breaking up with Sepsis in the spring.
And the new president from CFR Cluj will start negotiations with “Munti” on Tuesday morning to take over the team, hoping to produce a spark in the team, vital in the fight for play-off qualification this season. Currently, after 13 stages, CFR has only obtained 13 points and is in 11th place in the Superliga.
I have to have a talk with the president, with the boss. We all need to have a discussion because it is important to change something. I am disappointed because I did not expect this
Andrea Mandorlini, CFR Cluj coach
Mureșan begins negotiations with Dorinel Munteanu
So, according to Gazeta information, Iuliu Mureșan wants to make a drastic decision, less than 24 hours after returning to the team. The Italian Mandorlini is not to the liking of the new president and hopes to convince Dorinel Munteanu to return to Gruia.
The two have already collaborated at CFR Cluj, even in the first coaching term of the former great international. And Iuliu Muresan always had words of praise for the coach:
“I learned many things from Dorinel Munteanu, from discipline to mentality. He brought training aids with things for the table. He changed a lot and for that I want to thank him. I will remember him for the rest of my life. With him I played the final of the Intertoto Cup, in 2004-2005″, said the president of Cluj in an older interview.
Dorinel Munteanu
“I'm a man of action. I'll take action, clearly”
And on Monday evening, at Digisport, immediately after the failure with Petrol, Iuliu Muresan spoke about the situation of Andrea Mandorlini, but did not want to confirm that he would fire him:
“I can't tell you if we continue with Mandorlini. I came from today. I was at the club for 4 hours. I start tomorrow at 9. It's very difficult for me to make my entrance by changing the coach. It's difficult. I'm not a man to sit passively, I'm a man of action. I will take measures, clearly”, he told Football Club.
However, GSP information says that Dorinel Munteanu is the track he is trying at the moment. It remains to be seen if the 57-year-old technician will accept the proposal from Transylvania.
Dorinel Munteanu started his coaching career at CFR Cluj
Few remember that the team from Gruia is the very first one that Dorinel Munteanu coached as head coach. It happened between July 2005 and October 2006, during which he led the Transylvanian team in 48 games. He was a player-coach at the time.
Dorinel Munteanu in the CFR shirt. Photo: sportpictures.eu
The most important moment in the coach's career was at the end of the 2010-2011 season, when he won with Oțelul the only championship title in his record. He also has a Supercup, also won with Oțelul, in the next season.
Dorinel Munteanu also coached in his career at: FC Argeș, FC Vaslui, U Cluj, FCSB, Dinamo, Mordavia, Gabala, Scolar Reșita, Kuban, Astra, Zakho, Concordia, CSM Reșita and Sepsi.
The last adventure, the one at Sepsi, was an unsuccessful one. He trained Covasneni in 5 games and recorded 4 failures and a draw. He was replaced by Csaba Laszlo, who was also relegated at the end of last season.
