Praise for the SuperLiga technician: “He has the most merit! If he achieves his goal, his contract will be automatically extended”
Coach Adrian Mihalcea, in the match between CFR 1907 Cluj and UTA Arad, at the Dr. Constantin Rădulescu stadium in Cluj-Napoca, on September 21, 2025. PHOTO: Flaviu Buboi/NurPhoto / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
Alexandru Meszar, financier of the UTA Arad club, spoke about the contractual situation of coach Adrian Mihalcea, after the team reached five positive results in all competitions.
Since the end of November, the group from Arada prevailed against FCSB (Romanian Cup), FC Hermannstadt, Petrolul Ploiești and Dinamo and drew with Farul Constanța (SuperLiga). UTA occupies the 8th place in the ranking of the first league, with only one point less than Oțelul Galați, the 6th team, the last position that ensures presence in the play-offs.
Adrian Mihalcea, praised by the financier: “He made the team play”
Meszar stated that Adrian Mihalcea's goal is to rank in one of the first 12 places in the hierarchy, a situation in which his contract will be automatically extended. At this moment, Petrolul Ploiești, the team in position 13, has 20 points, so it is very likely that the technician will reach his goal.
“Adi is not aiming for the play-offs, but he has done a very good job so far in the team and we are very happy with him. He has made the boys believe in themselves a lot more and forget that he has brought them to fight for the play-offs. And why shouldn't we hope for the play-offs too?
If Adi Mihalcea fulfills his goal at the end of this season, place 1-12, then his contract with UTA Arad will be automatically extended. He signed for a year with the right to an automatic contract extension if he meets his goal in this championship. But, Adi has so far made the team play.
We are happy with Costache, who I think has perhaps his best numbers in recent years. Abdallah also had a good season. Padula is a versatile player who can help us in several positions. But there are others in the batch who have done very well.
However, the greatest credit for all these things goes to Adi Mihalcea, the one who made the boys play well. It is clear that we will try to strengthen ourselves, and we know in which positions Adi needs players”, said Meszar, quoted by prosport.ro.
In the first stages of 2026, UTA Arad will face Unirea Slobozia (away), Rapid (home), FC Argeș (d), CFR Cluj (a) and Csikszereda (d).
