Article by Daniel Grigore – Published Tuesday, January 20, 2026, 07:40 / Updated Tuesday, January 20, 2026 07:41
Former international great Ilie Dumitrescu (57 years old) was impressed by Craiova University, the author of a resounding victory in the epilogue of stage 22, 4-0 with Petrolul. It is the success after which the white-blues returned to the first place.
In Ploiești, the University started the year as it had ended 2025, with a score victory. In December he crushed Csikszereda, 5-0, now Petrolul was his victim.
The result returned the white-blues to the top of the Superliga, Craiova now having 43 points, one more than Rapid and two more than Dinamo. After the 3rd place, the ranking starts to break, Botoșaniul being at the 38th post.
Beyond the ranking data, Ilie Dumitrescu was impressed by Craiova's game. Precisely for this reason, he made an early prediction that Olten would become the champions of this edition! It would be the first title from Banie after 35 years.
At the end of the stage, Ilie Dumitrescu is convinced: “She will win the championship!”
“Craiova looks very good, I think it is the team that will win the championship, from what I see, from what I saw in the first stage. It is premature, but it is a team that looks very good at the moment.
In this system, 3-4-2-1, they play with two defenders, with Cicâldău and Anzor. Depending on the opponent, you can also play with two integers, with an eight and a ten, or with an eight and a five, to be stronger in the mid lane. But so, it seemed to me demonstration of Craiova's strength“, said Ilie Dumitrescu, according to digisport.ro.
Eugen Neagoe: “Craiova deserves 1st place”
And the coach defeated on Monday night, Eugen Neagoe, praised Craiova:
“It's a good, strong team. It's not by chance that it's in first place. But that wouldn't have mattered, it's a good team, like Dinamo, Rapid. At the moment, they're the most fit teams. Yes, [Craiova] is a very good team and deserves the 1st place in the ranking”.
