Andrei Cordea and Daniel Pancu won the trophies for the Player and Coach of the month of January 2026

For the “Player of the month of January” trophy, Gazeta nominated 5 footballers: Andrei Cordea (CFR Cluj), Marius Coman (UTA Arad), Alibek Aliev (CFR Cluj), Raul Opruț (Dinamo) and Steven Nsimba (U Craiova).

Andrei Cordea won the “Player of the Month” award for the first time

After centralizing the votes from the three categories, Andrei Cordea, from CFR Cluj, was chosen as the winner.

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 were the only ones in the Superliga with three wins out of three in January, and the prize for Cordea is a fully deserved one.

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

Daniel Pancu does the “double” with the “Coach of the Month” trophy

In the second category, “Coach of the month”, Gazeta nominated 3 technicians: Daniel Pancu (CFR Cluj), Zeljko Kopic (Dinamo) and Filipe Coelho (U Craiova).

For the second time in the GSP project, Daniel Pancu is designated “Coach of the month”, this time with 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.

The previous trophy was won in October 2024, as “main” in the national Under 21 team.

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

HOW THE FIVE SPECIALISTS VOTED

• Ilie Dumitrescu » Steven Nsimba (U Craiova) / Daniel Pancu (CFR Cluj)
• Costel Pantilimon » Andrei Cordea (CFR Cluj) / Zeljko Kopic (Dinamo)
• Ionut Rada » Marius Coman (UTA Arad) / Daniel Pancu (CFR Cluj)
• Vasile Maftei » Andrei Cordea (CFR Cluj) / Daniel Pancu (CFR Cluj)
• Gabriel Enache » Steven Nsimba (U Craiova) / Zeljko Kopic (Dinamo)

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)

Player-coach pairings that won “Best” in the same month

• August 2021 » Cristian Săpunaru – Mihai Iosif (Rapid)
• October 2021 » Andrei Ivan – Laurentiu Reghecampf (University of Craiova)
• May 2022 » Marius Ștefănescu – Cristiano Bergodi (Sepsis)
• July 2022 » Marius Ștefănescu – Cristiano Bergodi (Sepsis)
• September 2022 » Baba Alhassan – Marius Măldărășanu (Hermannstadt)
• May 2023 » Tudor Baluta – Gheorghe Hagi (Lighthouse)
• October 2023 » Dan Nistor – Ioan Ovidiu Sabău (Cluj University)
• February 2024 » Albion Rrahmani – Cristiano Bergodi (Rapid)
• March 2024 » Alexandru Mitriță – Ivaylo Petev (University of Craiova)
• April 2024 » Florinel Coman – Elias Charalambous (FCSB)
• August 2024 » Astrit Selmani – Zeljko Kopic (Dinamo)
• November 2024 » Daniel Bîrligea – Elias Charalambous (FCSB)
• February 2025 » Risto Radunovic – Elias Charalambous (FCSB)
• March 2025 » Alexandru Mitriță – Mirel Rădoi (University of Craiova)
• April 2025 » Juri Cisotti – Elias Charalambous (FCSB)
• May 2025 » Daniel Bîrligea – Elias Charalambous (FCSB)
• August 2025 » Steven Nsimba – Mirel Rădoi (University of Craiova)
• September 2025 » Caio Ferreira – Bogdan Andone (FC Arges)
• October 2025 » Alexandru Dobre – Constantin Gâlcă (Rapid)
• November 2025 » Claudiu Petrila – Constantin Gâlcă (Rapid)
• December 2025 » Nuno Pedro – Laszlo Balint (Galati Steel)
• January 2026 » Andrei Cordea – Daniel Pancu (CFR Cluj)

FINAL RANKING January 2026 Player of the Month

DETAILED RANKING

Readers' vote

Vote of GSP journalists

Expert vote

FINAL RANKING Coach of the month January 2026

DETAILED RANKING

Readers' vote

Vote of GSP journalists

Expert vote