Article by Alexandru Barbu – Published Friday, January 16, 2026, 9:57 p.m. / Updated Friday, January 16, 2026 10:18 p.m.
For the residents of Pitesti and FCSB, the mercato was also boccan, not only the lawn on “Orăsenesc”. The contenders for the play-off started with the trimmings from the autumn season, minus two basic players, sold to countries that show us the mirror of regression: Caio was recruited by Latvia, Șut found a job in the United Arab Emirates.
It was not impossible weather at game time, -4 degrees, zero precipitation. And yet, the surface did not fit a game of 100,000 euros, which is how much each match in the Superliga costs. The white ground, the crooked and multi-colored lines, the organizer unable even to dedicate the table to the press… the press. The media area was annexed by the locals, the whole landscape reminded of a deplorable era.
But football has always been possible anywhere and anyway. A tense but accessible sport. Good in the first minutes of Argeș – FCSB, when Moldoveanu shook Târnovanu, when Bîrligea ticked off the first raid of the year. The month break did not act as an enemy of the rhythm.
Streamed by “Stanciu”
Argeș ran nervously, perhaps against the cold. Angry manager and Bogdan Andone on the sidelines, yellowed early by Marcel Bîrsan. With Caio gone, the violets apply more of their coach's principles and seriousness.
Organized with a ruler, speculative, the newly promoted team inaugurated 2026 after the Croatian Blagaic read Toma's pass. Instant counterattack, Moldoveanu to Yanis Pîrvu and 1-0! Because on frozen grass it's much easier to progress than to retreat.
VIDEO | Yanis Pîrvu's goal:
Forgive Bîrligea
And Pîrvu's mature execution salutes Pancu's statement from September: “Yanis is my favorite from Argeș. I wanted to invite him to the Euros. I see him as a good copy – both in running and in style – of Nicușor Stanciu. Good-good! You can tell by someone who has seen him in many matches in the 2nd League.”
The connection to FCSB, which finds it exasperating to open a sealed defense, especially when Bîrligea ignores a goal pass served by Rață. Until the break, the champion had the possession and the misfortune of an opponent who always knew in this championship how to isolate her advantage.
In a rush to nothing
At the restart, FCSB crowded Argeș as much as it could. The balls distributed by Olaru-Chiricheș-Tănase sometimes exceeded the center of Pitesti, only that the front men, isolated, suddenly ended the attacks, little supported by the side defenders Crețu&Radunovic, invisible in the crosses.
Next, the team led by Andone worked the match, won duels and fired phases until the encounter with the champion faded.
Time passed, Miculescu was swimming between Garutti and Borța. FCSB's passes, although double in volume relative to the opponent's statistics, were not direct enough to be useful in an anti-possession field.
FC Argeș opens mercato at FCSB!
Of course, the people from Pitesti are skilled in defense, in not conceding goals after the 70th minute. The team that played in the 2nd League a year ago lost and is one foot in the play-off, 5th place, 37 points, thanks to a Petresciian expression.
FCSB did everything perfectly – training camp, drawing the squad – until the first whistle of 2026. Lixandru stopper, Chiricheș starting at 36 years old, Alibec reinvented, all seemed remarkable ideas. It was about the title.
Still outside the Top 6, with only 8 stages left to play in the regular season, FCSB is now in the hands of the choleric financier, who will rush transfers without asking first. The purchase window opens from this evening for the champion of Romania, grab your popcorn!
