Article by Mihai Șovei – Published Sunday, January 18, 2026, 10:30 / Updated Sunday, January 18, 2026 10:34
Ioan Ovidiu Sabău (58 years old), dismissed in October 2025 from Cluj University, is still free of contract.
The former Transylvanian coach says that he would accept an offer even from a team that is in the second league, if the club would offer him stability.
Sabău: “You need stability and conditions”
Asked about a possible return to the technical bench, Ioan Ovidiu Sabău said that there were some discussions, but he was not convinced by any club. He said that he is considering signing even with a team from the second echelon, if the project would have stability. Coming to the University bench in 2023, Sabău was dismissed in the fall of 2025.
“It depends on what offers come. There were other offers, but I refused them from the start. I don't want to go just to tick off a team. You need stability and conditions. It can also be League 2, no problem, but let it be a club that offers you stability. To have peace so that you can work, to feel good as a coach, to be respected and to see your work”, declared Ioan Ovidiu Sabău, according to Sport Total FM.
Ioan Ovidiu Sabău, PHOTO: Imago Images
He also spoke about the situation in which Cluj University is, a team that is fighting for a place in the play-offs. The technician believes that the team coached by Cristiano Bergodi will be in the top 6 teams at the end of the first 30 stages.
“I'm glad the team is getting results. From my point of view, we made the summer period more intense than the year before.
The team is ready and it's very good for the players we trained and for the supporters who have this satisfaction, that the team is slowly recovering and I think he will qualify for the play-off. I respect him a lot and I have a very good opinion of Cristiano Bergodi”, Sabău continued, according to the aforementioned source.
At the moment, the University of Cluj is in 8th place, with 33 points, two less than the last place that leads to the play-off.
