Article by Ovidiu Ioanițoaia – Published Tuesday, 03 March 2026, 15:55 / Updated Tuesday, 03 March 2026 15:55
When there is only one stage left in the regular season, two things cannot change. And if it loses on Sunday in Giulesti, Craiova University will remain the leader, with a point ahead of Rapid.
On the other hand, the huge surprise of the season, which some did not hesitate to call “shame”, consists in FCSB's non-qualification in the Top 6! Which means the champion team will not be able to defend their crown. I've said it and I'm not taking my words back, the absence of the reigning champions from the title fight will reduce interest around the play-offs. Of the Superliga in general, both as a show and from a financial aspect, of receipts.
But it's nobody's fault that FCSB missed the Top 6. It belongs to the players, the coaches and above all the boss. To Gigi Becali, who got involved in technical issues, but also imagined that his boys would crush their opponents, convinced that the value on paper, real, would automatically be reflected on the pitch. Where Fl. Tănase, Olaru and the others will be unstoppable. Look, they weren't!
Elias Charalambous will be dismissed if he fails to qualify for the Conference. Photo: Imago Images
FCSB took everything lightly, at matinee prices, and when he woke up it was too late! He had reached the hand of indirect results, so he no longer depended solely on her. He made his bed badly and slept the same. As such, instead of pointing the finger at others, it wouldn't hurt to look at yourself in the mirror. Where Becali will see the main culprit.
He, however, in his well-known style, will continue to blame the referees and consider himself a victim. The target of a conjuration that, forgive me, existed only in his imagination. Because, in fact, the knights of the whistle were wrong sometimes against, sometimes in favor of FCSB, they were not looking to jump the champion, but neither to drown her. This is why I think that today's hierarchy, with Craiova at the top of the series and with FCSB in 7th place, is a correct one. Rather, the referees gave Becali's formation about as much as they took from them and vice versa. It's not because of them that he didn't get FCSB Top 6.
Precisely because it can invoke some mitigating circumstances, the suite of injuries and, to be taken into account, the fatigue of participating in Europe, we are still talking about our representative with the longest continental journey and with the highest contribution of points, FCSB is not in a position to turn the failure to qualify for the play-off into a drama. It is not necessary to make it the end of the country, but to avoid repeating the old errors. As long as the chance of entering the Conference League is within reach, he has no reason to complain endlessly. It's less than before, all right, but more than nothing.
