Daniel Pancu expects a complicated year at CFR Cluj: “We have almost zero chance of play-off” » What he says about departures: “The club must survive”

After the 2025 European Championship, where he led the national youth team, Daniel Pancu accepted at the end of the year the challenge of bringing CFR Cluj back to the top of the Superliga, after a start below expectations. The coach spoke with Gazeta Sporturilor and revealed what was the biggest regret of the year and what is to come for CFR Cluj in 2026.

Daniel Pancu: “We have almost zero chances in the play-offs”

– Mr. Pancu, how was the year 2025 for you?
– It was a good year. I went with the national team to a final tournament, a major competition, where we had very, very strong opponents, from whom you can only learn. It's an environment I'd like to come back to again. I felt again what it means to be at the highest European level. I remembered again the times when I was a footballer and played in European cups. And I want to be a coach at this level as well. In the end, a new challenge came, at CFR Cluj, a very important club in Romania, even if it is in a less happy period. But I hope that together we can get out of this situation quickly.

– What is the regret in 2025?
– I really wanted to get out of the group at the EURO and equal the performance of the 2019 generation, with Mirel Rădoi as coach. It was not possible, unfortunately. We were also deprived of chances in important moments. It will remain a disappointment for me that I did not get any points.-

– Professionally, what did you want for Christmas?
– So that at the end of the season we will qualify for the European Cups. Now let's see which way: from the play-off, from the play-out through the play-off or through the Romanian Cup.

– Is it difficult for CFR Cluj to talk about the possibility of playing in the play-out?
– There is no… The chances of us making the play-offs are almost zero, from my point of view. Maybe 1% if that. It's 7 points to 6th place with 6 teams ahead of us. And there are still 9 stages to play. If we won 7 games out of 9, we would catch the play-off. But who succeeds in such a thing in Romania? In the situation where the team is weak. A very important player has left and it is very possible that others will also leave. We will play all matches to win. Look, we went to Botoșani without half the team, but we won. We have value, but there are still 27 points at stake and 6 teams to overcome. I don't know if anyone else has succeeded in such a situation. But we will not give in. It doesn't mean we won't aim to win. But they talk like this, very easily, about the play-off at CFR Cluj. It would be equal to a miracle or a title.

– Still, you finished the year well.
– In a championship round, CFR Cluj had two victories. With me he has 4 in 6 matches. Double. But we are 7 points away from the play-offs. I also took the team when it was 6 points from the play-offs. It's very complicated.

“The club must survive”

– How does Emerllahu's departure feel?
– He was an important player, but the club has to survive. It's a big loss. He is a player with all the future in front of him and who had integrated well. But we have solutions, we are well covered in that area.

– It is heard that other departures would follow.
– I don't know and I'm not involved. I'm not a manager. I train what the club makes available to me.-

– Is it difficult to manage such a large batch?
– Yes, yes. It was numerous, especially in the conditions in which it came out of the European cups and there were no more matches every three days. It's almost impossible to train everyone and keep everyone under observation very well. Things have changed. There were players who stayed at the base or in the gym. We rarely had more than 24 players, but it was tough.

– Will there be any changes from winter?
– I don't know… The management can tell you more about comings and goings. I kind of know what kind of players we're going to need. And management knows it. I can't say, maybe it doesn't happen. Those in the club know very well. We'll see what happens. But we won't be 32 anymore. For sure.

– Have you also submitted which players you want?
– No, no. I'm talking about player profiles. It is possible that tomorrow I will no longer be the coach of the CFR. But the players remain. So it's normal for the management to take care of this. I do my job with what I have available. With Lou

– Have you spoken with Louis Munteanu these days?
– I was angry that he played football on the parquet. And a lot can happen, especially since we are in a period where people eat more, sleep less or more. Unfortunate events can happen. On the parquet we play, at the old boys. An unfortunate event can happen at any time, even if you say you don't use much. For the rest, the phase with the T-shirt… He gave explanations. It was his friend's shirt, which he supported. I have no more to comment here. After all, he scored many goals in FCSB matches. He scored in almost every game. Yes, it definitely looks weird. But that's my point. He scores goals with FCSB and I think he will continue to do so, if he stays.-

– It would be another loss.
– Yes, we would lose the goal scorer. There will be… Losses will continue to be high. But I have to make do with what I have.

– What awaits the players in the training camp?
– The break is not long, only two weeks. They have their schedule for the holiday, a workout every other day to keep them toned. The period of readjustment to the effort will last two or three days. After that we will go into strength, explosiveness and intensity training. And it's important that they do their home schedule. We will also have two friendlies, which will be very welcome. We will meet Gent and one more team, probably one from Germany, but it is not set. With we all wish for a shorter period, but we can't help it. On the 14th we return and, after four days, we will meet the Steel.