Article by Adrian Duţă – Published Sunday, April 19, 2026 11:37 p.m. / Updated Sunday, April 19, 2026 11:53 p.m.
University of Craiova – Rapid 1-0. Nicușor Bancu, the captain of the Olten team, declared himself satisfied after the victory in Bănie, after which the blue-and-white team climbed to first place, tied with U Cluj.
For Bancu, all that matters at the end of the season is winning the title. The left defender wants to break the “curse” of the last years, when Craiova was in the play-offs every time, but did not win the title.
Nicușor Bancu: “We want the championship, it's the main objective both for me and for the others in the club”
“It was important to win. We played a good game, even if they put pressure on us after the goal. All in all, we deserved the victory, I'm happy and proud. Last night was a good result (no – Dinamo – U Cluj 2-1), we talked today that we have to do more, to live up to the demands of the coach, the management, the supporters.
All thoughts were on this match, on victory, in order to equal those from U Cluj. It was a tough situation for Christensen, I thought he scored. But I saw her at Mora's feet and I was happy, I'm glad it happened that way.
And the teams at the back can fight for the title, if we lose and they win, they come close. There are still direct matches. We have to go with the thought of victory, the people who were in the stadium with us deserve to give our lives,
Many pay tickets from their salary, for them it is something unique to come to see us, we fought for them too. We all want to win the title this year.
No feeling tries me. For so many years since I've been here I've been talking and achieving nothing. Only one Cup and two Supercups. Of course, the Cup is also important, but now we want the championship, it's the main objective both for me and for the others in the club”, said Bancu, on Digi Sport 1.
It's hard when you get red, in two out of 4 games I got red. It was also seen today when I didn't receive any more, otherwise you fight 11 to 11.
– Nicușor Bancu, defender Craiova
Finally, when asked about the appointment of Hagi to the national team bench, Bancu declared: “It would be an honor for me to work with Mr. Hagi, I hope he calls me in the summer and we do a good job at the national team.”
