“These will be the batch salaries. We are not crossing the red line anymore!”

FC Botoșani parted ways with Leo Grozavu the other day after dramatically missing out on the play-off. And the management is on the last hundred meters of the consultations to choose the successor on the technical bench. This is after Saturday's game with Petrolul, at home, which will be managed by interim Nicolae Roșca, Grozavu's second-in-command.

Minority shareholder at the club, Petru Parfenov reveals that he has already met with Marius Croitoru for an applied discussion. He is the main favorite to take over the reins, but there is one more name on the short list of Moldovan bosses. However, all of them also depend on the connection to the new plan of the Moldovans, a total reconsideration from the budget and salaries to the structure of the team and the approach to the next season. Parfenov provides the details now on the financiers' table.

Petru Parfenov: “We have to draw a conclusion by Saturday”

Petru Parfenov (left) is one of the founders of the ELSACO company, together with Valeriu Iftime, both of whom are shareholders in the company that finances FC Botoșani. Photo: fcbt.ro

“It's true that I saw Croitoru the other day. I asked him to come from Bacău to discuss some issues in more detail. We've known each other for so long, there was never any problem of enmity or other approaches of this kind. The idea is that by Saturday we have to draw a final conclusion to see exactly which coach we sign,” Parfenov pointed out for GSP.

He explained that the second name on the shortlist is that of the Spaniard Otger Canals, the principal of Inter d'Escaldes, the leader in Andorra. It is the team that gave emotions to FCSB in the fall of 2022 in the Champions League preliminaries: 3-1 for the Romanians at home, 1-2 away. The option was recently revealed by the main shareholder, Valeriu Iftime, in an intervention at DigiSport.

Otger Canals is part of the staff of Inter d'Escaldes from 2021, where he was second coach for a time

“A more flexible batch, it is possible to make some terminations”

Parfenov emphasizes that “I have this habit of explaining the club's strategy and philosophy, because things will change substantially after missing the play-off. We want to think of a more flexible, less expensive batch, because a year ago we signed a number of footballers that were quite expensive, however, for our financial level. Some of the contracts will end in 2026, with others it is possible to terminate or no longer be in the sights of the future coach”.

And he continues: “We are obliged to stabilize things. Let's draw a red line in terms of the budget, which we will not exceed under any circumstances. This is exactly what we are discussing now, let's already calibrate for the next season. Marius also gave me an idea of ​​how much the staff would cost, we will see how we can fit into the new budget strictures.”

The Botoșani team will probably undergo serious adjustments after missing the play-off / Photo: Facebook FC Botoșani

We are thinking about lower expenses and forecast to make a saving of 1-2 million euros to the budget to compensate for the money lost by not qualifying for the play-offs. I am referring, first of all, to the amounts we would have accessed from the TV rights. This is about the framework in which we are discussing between the four shareholders and it remains to choose between Croitoru and Canals
Petru Parfenov, member of the Board of Directors of FC Botoșani

“We sometimes splurged on flights and accommodation after matches”

The Botoșani official also says that “we are talking about the deficit rather than the budget at the level of financial calculations. We spent, in general, 7.5-8 million euros, we only attracted about two or so. Therefore, it is a minus somewhere around five million euros, which we want to reduce by two million. We must also be more active in the area of ​​marketing, sponsorships, online presence, sales, so that we attract more money from other sources.”

He adds: “Perhaps we sometimes splurged a bit on air transport, with accommodation after the matches as we usually returned home every time. And here are the things where we cut back.”

The bosses of Botoșani are planning new strategies to keep the stands of the archaic stadium in the city full Photo: https://www.facebook.com/fcbotosani

He returns to the meeting with Croitoru: “One of the targets will be to be able to sell better, as we did with Marius five or six years ago. He often had a good hand with some players. To be able to get 600,000-700,000 for a footballer. We should also bring boys from the back, from the junior center. We gave Marius time to think about these aspects and we will see if he wants to hire or not under these conditions drawn by the shareholders”.

Anestis, Ongenda and Miron, the salary peaks: “We pay about 170,000 euros per month”

Parfenov agrees to also refer to players' incomes, stating that “it costs us around 170,000 euros per month for the salaries of those in the batch, net amount. The average varies around 6,000-7,000 euros. But maybe there are some with high salaries without deserving and others with too low salaries, who would, in fact, deserve more. Here we look at how we can motivate everyone. We want to form a group of about 30 players, with doubles in positions of significantly equal values, with reserves able to enter at any time at the level of the others. And, with 30 players, multiplied by an average of 6,000 euros per month, we reach somewhere around 180,000 per batch. This is where we want to move.”

Giannis Anestis was a successful purchase for FC Botoșani / PHOTO: Imago

He does not shy away from pointing out that Anestis, Ongenda and Miron are among the salary peaks: “They are basic players, with Miron we have extended, Anestis has until 2027 – it was a successful acquisition. A very good goalkeeper, who we also made maybe big in the sense that the team made some weaker defensive matches, and he had the opportunity to stand out. He had many balls to save”.

We will also see what claims Canals has, plus what conditions we can offer him. If they expect a high-performance training base, some recovery solutions at Champions League level and so on, we will not be able to provide. You know very well that in Botoșani the conditions are moderate, on the limit, so he himself might say “Thank you! Goodbye!”. Leo knew what he was getting into, and so did Marius – he knows what he would be getting into
Petru Parfenov, member of the Board of Directors of FC Botoșani

Incredible contract for Croitoru: “Six months, then we discuss another six months or a year”

What contract would Marius Croitoru have on the table? “We discussed a budget for the staff, somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 euros. It would mean five people, i.e. head coach, two seconds, a trainer and a coach with the goalkeepers”, says Parfenov.

And he surprises when it comes to the periods considered: “We will have a different approach in this chapter as well. With Leo we had signed for two and a half years, and now this separation was born due to the lack of results. There were also some compensations, normal. But with Marius we would like to make a six-month commitment in the first phase, until the end of the season. Depending on how things go, we continue for another six months or a year. We no longer extend ourselves for long periods, from the same reasons of financial balance. And the future is unpredictable – today it is like this, tomorrow it happens differently”.

Valeriu Iftime and his associates are preparing an unusual contract for the future coach. Photo: Cristi Preda (GSP.ro)

“We believe a lot in Marius' potential”

But would Croitoru accept such an uncomfortable approach professionally and mentally? “He is our friend, a super OK man, we don't go back to the statements in the press between him and other people from the club. We believe a lot in Marius' potential. Valeriu Iftime was the man who gave him his first chance in football when no one paid attention to him after he finished his playing career. He has some undeniable qualities, he also got his PRO license in the meantime, he accumulated a life experience”, said Parfenov.

And he concluded: “It's been two years since he trained and we, having faith in him, are willing to give him this new chance, to move forward together, under the conditions we explained to you. We'll see what decision we make at the weekend, also depending on Croitoru and Canals' answers.”