Vote for “Player of the Month” and “Coach of the Month” HERE! » Here are the nominees for January 2026!

The Superliga has become, stage by stage, a guaranteed spectacle, difficult to anticipate and impossible to ignore. The leaderboard is like a crazy carousel where a win can put you on the podium, and a wrong step throws you into the middle of the fight for survival.

Nothing seems certain anymore: the favorites stumble, the outsiders strike decisively, and each round rewrites the hierarchies that seemed nailed down just a few days before.

The teams play without complexes, with a courage that defies paper calculations, and “unexpected” results are no longer exceptions, but part of the nature of the championship.

So, the time has come to open the online voting procedures for “January Player of the Month” and “January Coach of the Month”, where GSP.ro readers can choose their favorites!

Player of the month January 2026 – nominations

For the “January Player of the Month” trophy, Gazeta nominated 5 footballers:

• Andrei Cordea (CFR Cluj). The lethal man for Cluj, who hopes to catch, in the last hundred meters, a place in the play-offs. In January, Cordea was the king of the team: goal with FCSB, then a “double” with Metaloglobus and a decisive assist. Cluj are the only ones in the Superliga with three wins out of three in January.
• Marius Coman (UTA Arad). An extremely spectacular start to the year for the top of the Arad mountains. Three matches, three goals! He put his signature on the matches with Unirea Slobozia, Rapid and FC Argeș, matches from which Mihalcea's UTA ​​got six points out of nine possible. In all, Coman was the starter.
• Alibek Aliev (CFR Cluj). Just arrived from Sweden, Alibek showed his class as a top footballer. Two goals in January, with FCSB and Metaloglobus, plus two decisive assists with Oțelul Galati (a match in which he was also the best from Cluj on the field), but also with Metaloglobus, when he also scored a penalty.
• Raul Opruț (Dinamo). The “Dogs” are in good form and continue the course from the end of last year. Opruț also had a good start to 2026 and scored a “double” in a 2–1 win against Hermannstadt with 3,000 fans in the gallery. Good developments including the success with U Cluj and the draw with Petrolul.
• Steven Nsimba (U Craiova). Olten had only two games in January, but Nsimba showed his talent and flashes. The “double” to put in the frame in the victory with Petrolul and the title of MVP of the game in Bănie, plus a decisive pass in the success with FC Botoșani brought him the nomination in the month just ended.

Also on the preliminary list were: Alexandru Dobre (Rapid), Robert Moldoveanu (FC Argeș), Christ Afalna (Hermannstadt) and Nuno Pedro (Oțelul Galați).

Coach of the month January 2026 – nominations

For the “January Coach of the Month” trophy, Gazeta nominated 3 technicians:

• Daniel Pancu (CFR Cluj). Came as a savior in Gruia, Pancu showed his coaching class. Three wins out of three in January, CFR being the only undefeated team at the start of 2026. Success with Oțelul Galați (1-0), FCSB (4-1) and Metaloglobus (4-2), and the play-off is the great desire of Cluj.
• Zeljko Kopic (Dinamo). The “Dogs” started like a gun in 2026, but the end of the month fell hard for them: only a draw, on their own ground, unexpectedly, with Petrolul Ploiești. In the rest, the Croatian Kopic shows from match to match that he has turned Dinamo into a big family and achieved victories with U Cluj and Hermannstadt.
• Filipe Coelho (U Craiova). Coming to Bănie after the departure of Rădoi, who could not withstand the pressure, the Portuguese Coelho brought calmness and pragmatism to the bench. He only had two games in January, but being the leader at the end of the month, there was no way he wouldn't be nominated. Victories with Petrolul (4-0) and FC Botoșani (2-0).

The preliminary list also included: Cristiano Bergodi (U Cluj), Adrian Mihalcea (UTA Arad) and Bogdan Andone (FC Argeș).

How to choose “Player of the Month” and “Coach of the Month”

Very briefly, about the algorithm used for tie-breaking to determine the winners. The GSP editors make the nominations, based on statistics and clear performance figures, then they will vote for 3 categories:

• GSP.ro readers
• journalists in the newsroom
• 5 specialists (former footballers or coaches)