Article by Alexandru Tomuțiu – Published on Sunday, January 25, 2026, 11:01 p.m. / Updated on Sunday, January 25, 2026, 11:07 p.m.
Despite the categorical victory in FCSB – CFR Clujscore 4-1 in favor of the Transylvanians, Daniel Pancu had reason to be angry immediately after the match.
For Pancu's CFR, the Romanian Cup is the main objective. The team from Gruia is 2nd in group B and must beat Rapid on February 10 to be sure of qualifying for the quarterfinals.
The coach is very dissatisfied with how the matches were scheduled during that period, with the Giulești players having an extra day to prepare for the match. He remembered this and started screaming at the flash interview.
Daniel Pancu got angry after FCSB – CFR Cluj: “Is it equality or not?!”
“We play the most important match of the season on Tuesday, against Rapid. We play U Cluj on Saturday, they play on Friday. Now I found out too. Is it equality or not?! I am very dissatisfied! Either we play for a draw or what do we do?
We play U Cluj, they play on Friday, we play on Saturday. CFR is not dead!! What do we do? One extra day, during this period, matters enormously. It quickly got stronger, U Cluj is where it is, it's not normal!
I'm not satisfied, I repressed. There are things we are improving. The victory against the champion team is very important, but I'm thinking about the match against Metaloglobus, which is very difficult”, said Pancu, at Prima Sport.
Daniel Pancu, about FCSB – CFR Cluj: “It could have been 5-0 for them”
Pancu admitted that his team could lose the match on score if the people from Bucharest took advantage of the opportunities they had through Toma, at 1-0.
“It was difficult, I had seen the game before, I have so much experience. A team that has two games in a few days meets a team with a new goalkeeper and two new central defenders. Matei Ilie did not play, he had a cold. Sinyan had a stretch. Mihai Popa was their debut. FCSB, a team with a much better tone. We escaped, God helped us. They had some very big opportunities, it could be a difference of two or three goals.
In the 30th minute I told those on the bench that the game would change. Ask them. I attacked the depth and that's how I came back. In the second half, after Cordea's goal, the problem did not arise. We closed the spaces, that's how history was written. I changed the seating at halftime. We had spoken before but because of the pace the players couldn't follow through.
Toma's misses were the biggest. It's 2-0, it can end 5-0 for them. We can talk about the play-offs, finally, although we are far away, but we can say it half-heartedly. Abnormal things happen. FCSB and CFR obtained many points in Europe, there are also financial problems”, Pancu said.
