Article by Cezar Titor – Published Thursday, April 16, 2026, 7:49 p.m. / Updated Thursday, April 16, 2026, 7:58 p.m.
Victor Angelescu, 41 years old, president and minority shareholder of those from Rapidand Adrian Mutu, the all-time top scorer of the national team and former coach in Giulesti, engaged in an interesting dialogue live.
The theme was the value of the cherry-white batch. Mutu drew a comparison between the current squad and that of the Cristiano Bergodi era, when the team finished second at the end of the regular season.
The “Brilliant” believes that the current squad cannot be considered the best because it lacks the essential piece: a class striker, capable of deciding matches and bringing the title.
He offered Dugandzic or Rrahmani as examples, which he says made the difference. Mutu believes that, after four consecutive years in the play-offs, Rapid should have built a stronger team than the current one.
Dialog Mutu – Angelescu live: “You don't have a title striker!”
Adrian Mutu: “Is this the best batch in all these years?”
Victor Angelescu: “Yes, I would say… the squad now and the squad from when we entered the play-offs from 2nd place, with Bergodi, are noticeably equal. Then there were better offensive players, with better numbers, Petrila was also then. They're about there, only in both play-offs… then there was the “Pyro case”, we had other problems then. I think it's one of the best squads.”
Victor Angelescu and Adrian Mutu, heated live debate
Adrian Mutu: “I don't agree. As many times as I talked about Rapid, I also told you when we were training… The difference between this year and the year with Bergodi is that you don't have a striker. At Rapid, without a striker, a Dugandzic, a Rrahmani, Rapid cannot win the title. I don't think you made the best team or a title team in my opinion. It's been 4 years since you've been in the play-offs, a much stronger team should have been built than the one now. It doesn't seem much stronger to me than the team that started with me and finished with Bergodi. That was the strongest. If it was completed, the players who were plus other transfers were kept…”
Victor Angelescu: “I heard this from many people in football. There is no way you can keep players like Rrahmani in Romania.”
Adrian Mutu: “When you have one Rrahmani and he leaves, you bring another Rrahmani. I think Rapid is a pragmatic, good team, only they don't have a championship striker. Both Paraschiv and Koljic, I don't think they missed 5 goals. Lukic has 18 goals and this team is in first place. From that point of view, Rapid could do a lot more.”
6 goalstogether Koljic and Paraschiv succeeded: 4 the Bosnian, 2 the Romanian transferred in the winter.
Victor Angelescu: “It doesn't mean that we didn't want to replace Rrahmani. Unfortunately, some transfers did not work out for us. I think there is a difference between the lot, the individual value and the style of the Rapid. I think we have one of the best teams, and that's not me saying that, but the sites that make statistics. All in all, we have the second batch”.
Adrian Mutu: “Correct, but the most important piece is missing, the one that makes the difference: a class striker“, said “Briliantul” on “Fotbal Club”, DigiSport show.
Victor Angelescu: “When we transferred, we didn't take players thinking that they would score 2-3 goals. Certain transfers did not work out for us. Rapid's game was a pragmatic one, maybe it wasn't the most spectacular at times, but in terms of team value we are in the top 2-3 teams. Burmaz was in the team for the first time in this match and, in the last matches, he will get 15-20 minutes each, let's hope”.
Adrian Mutu: “Burmaz is not number 9, he is not a striker. If Rapid had a striker, besides Dobre, he was in first place 100%. I'm glad that Rapid was pragmatic in some matches, it's important to get the points, you have to bring a title, something. You play nice for nothing. Points and wins bring peace of mind.”
