Constantin Gâlcă, the coach of Rapid, held the press conference prior to the match in the 4th stage of the play-off, against Craiova University. The technician of Giulești confirmed that Alex Dobre is no longer the captain of the team, after the tense episode in the previous stage.
Alex Dobre was in the spotlight in the previous play-off match. After being substituted, the player refused to shake hands with his teammates and had a nervous reaction on the bench. Moreover, at the end, he reproached the coach for the tactical decisions.
Costel Gâlcă, before Craiova – Rapid: “The goal now is to get a place in the European Cups”
The technician from Giulești spoke about the match in Craiova and the importance of points in this phase of the season.
“We are going to Craiova in a less good time, with a team that lost, but we also need points. It will be a tough match, but I think we have to improve the defensive phase, be more compact, and in the attack to complete the actions more, because in the last match with Argeș we had several phases in the first half, but we did not manage to complete them.
Defensive organization is important for us, because they too, even if they have a good and balanced team, leave spaces quite often. Let's not forget that in the last match in Bănie, even if the start was not very good, we managed to surprise the counterattackers a few times.
I told you that from my point of view the objective now is to get a place in the European Cups, because we are a long way away. It is important to manage this moment, even if we are playing a team that is fighting for the title. The players are connected to this game and we are confident that we can go for the win.
When asked about the unavailable players, Gâlcă said: “Vulturar and Bolgado are unavailable, Burmaz we hope to bring him to another level and give him some minutes and Iliev will be out for a few weeks.
Costel Gâlcă: “Dobre was the captain of the team, he is no longer”
Constantin Gâlcă explained the decision and confirmed the change in Dobre's status.
“Regarding Dobre's statements, from my point of view he made a very serious mistake, especially since he is the captain of the team. But, as I also said at the press conference, if he does not adapt, someone else will play who understands, wants and maybe more and who gives more.
Yes, I said it right: he was the captain of the team, he is not anymore. We all had a meeting, he said what he had to say, and so did I. I think he shouldn't have gone public with things like that, he should have spoken to me directly. He said he doesn't adapt and can't perform, but I think we have to have a different attitude towards the club.
I trusted him, but I think I was very wrong.”
The Rapid technician also addressed the criticism regarding his style of play and the lack of cards received.
“I've heard all kinds of opinions, that I don't get cards. So what do you want me to do? Go and swear at the referees? Give them a slip? I go and communicate with them civilly. This is me”, said Gâlcă.
What happened to Dobre?
At the time of the change in the last stage, Alex Dobre was visibly disturbed. He did not greet his colleagues on the bench and refused to shake hands with them, the reaction being interpreted as a gesture of frustration after being substituted around 30 minutes before the end.
