Article by Maria Olteanu – Published Saturday, January 24, 2026, 08:35 / Updated Saturday, January 24, 2026 08:35
Paul Răducan, manager of the “Gică Popescu” Football Academy and former coach at FCU Craiova, as a technician with a Pro license, analyzed the fight in the Superliga, in an interview for Gazeta Sporturilor, considering that at the moment it would be a miracle for Farul to catch the play-off.
The team chaired by his good friend is in 11th place, with 28 points, 7 less than UTA, the last place holder leading to the play-offs.
He believes, instead, that FC Botoșani can no longer lose its place in the leading platoon and that the teams must be careful especially at FC Argeș, with Bogdan Andone's group approaching two points from the podium.
Gică Popescu's collaborator does not believe that Farul can fight for the play-offs
“Pitești will have a little more difficult life from now on, because I think all the teams that will play with them will be careful. I say that Botoșani is resisting because it had a large number of successes and a large number of points until the end of the year. The team from Botoșani will resist.
Farul has a very, very hard time to get a place in the play-offs. This means that I would have to pass it to the category of miracles, so that it can catch the play-off. Although, if Gică Hagi were next to me, he would be upset. I'm not saying that the team is poorly trained, they look good, but…”said Paul Răducan, for GSP.ro.
Lighthouse – Hermannstadt // PHOTO: sportpictures.eu
It goes hand in hand with Craiova in the fight for the title
Asked about the fight for the title, he claims that at the moment the main favorite is the University of Craiova, in the context in which it will be difficult for FCSB to reach the top 6.
He praised Dinamo and Rapid, but believes that none of them can claim the first position.
“The fight for the play-offs will certainly be very nice. Indeed, in the Superliga you have to go step by step, you can't skip stages. The first objective in the Superliga is to reach one of the 6 places. Now, of course, if you arrive with a minimum of points and there is a big difference from the first place, you, as the 6th place, have no chance, unfortunately.
But you participate and you have secured your stay in League 1 and so on. Things that are Romanian, when you settle for a little. But, this is the championship, this is the regulation and often you know very well that the world is unhappy. Effectively unhappy that, as a rule, places 5, 6, if not even 4, 5, 6 are places that don't really shoot anymore and people look at them.
Not that they are going away, but they no longer have the ambition to shoot. So, that's why, in a way, this system is good, it has pluses, but it also has minuses, that if they enter there with a minimum number of points, enough to enter, surely then in this situation the play-off is played for nothing for them.
Regarding the title, I think that really, this time, the University of Craiova has a great, great chance to win, to win it back. The others are not really very inspired, even if FCSB comes from behind, because they still had a little retrograde. But it seems to me that they come to catch you and overtake you, they have to do it with revving engines and at some point they do it on the basis of fatigue, which in the end-final is very difficult to be fresh.
Paul Răducan, former coach at FCU Craiova
Dinamo, indeed, is a good team, they have a good coach, but I think that Dinamo cannot win the championship, because they are not worth more than at least two teams here, not to say three. I don't see Dinamo taking the title, CFR Cluj I don't know if they will catch the play-off.
And Rapid, indeed, stand for the title, because they usually play in 12 players. They have that audience that really is peppered, it's gorgeous. Great, that's it. That's how they've been. And Craiova has a nice audience and a gallery, but also the Rapidul, why not the FCSB. But, as I was telling you, the FCSB is in the play-out places, it has to be closer to talk about them.
And when they are, I think, they will have to accelerate to the maximum, so that they will surely work all the games and all the minutes against the background of fatigue. And the number of successes in such situations will surely decrease. Certainly the accuracy will be lower and the level lower. And if they change, it will be seen, because the reserve is never like the holder.
Even if I use the reserves, the first field players talk. The first 12-13 players maybe, the rest no, they have no value. And if he plays like that, for sure the level drops slightly”, said Paul Răducan.
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