Former international Gică Craioveanu (58 years old) enjoyed the University's victory Craiova FROM the semi-final of the Betano Romanian Cup with Dinamo4-1 in penalty kicks, after 1-1 at the end of overtime.
However, Craioveanu raised an alarm regarding the game played by the Olteni on the “National Arena”.
Gică Craioveanu, after Craiova qualified for the Romanian Cup final: “You can't expect a miracle, because that's what it was!”
“Happy, in the end, for the qualification to the final. Dissatisfied with the game, with the suffering. In many moments, including the attitude. I expected more from Craiova. It is co-leader of the championship, Dinamo is not going through the best period in recent months. You can't wait for a miracle, because this was it! A miracle to score in that minute. It's luck, honestly.
I think that there are more problems in Craiova. First of all, the team seems to me physically squeezed, it's at the limit, that gives me the feeling. There were moments in the second half when the team fell apart physically. And then the pressure to win, I saw it in the game with Rapid, I saw it tonight. It's not good to play with the sword of Damocles over your head match by match, one day it will break,” said Gică Craioveanu, on the “Footbal Club” show on Digi Sport.
Gică Craioveanu revealed that before the start of the penalty kicks, he told those close to him that Laurențiu Popescu, the goalkeeper of the University of Craiova, would be decisive in the “penalty lottery”.
“I told everyone, “Popica” will take us to the final. He is a specialist, there have been many penalties. I had confidence, but I didn't expect the players to shoot with such nonchalance. They executed the shots perfectly, even the Teles. I was scared at first, it's always the hardest.
Anzor, Mora played a sensational match. I didn't dislike the three defenders. Matei had a sensational first half. He tried, shot at the goal. He seemed to me a much more mature player than his age. He also fell physically in the second half”.
Regarding Dinamo's performance, Craioveanu scored: “You can't score in the final minutes, leading 1-0 at home. I was taking it out of the stadium, they were running out of balls. You have to defend, but not in the box. There any clearance, any ball is dangerous. This is where I think Dinamo made a mistake.
I liked Gnahore. I liked Pop's mobility a bit when he came on and George (nr Puscaș) needs to change his attitude a bit, he didn't hold any balls there. Dinamo was also unlucky to have two important players injured”.
Mike is happy, the team is doing well in the championship, they have the chance of the Cup, they are playing with a trophy on the table. So already the team will be in Europe next season. He, apart from his passion, invested a lot of money.
– Gica Craioveanuabout Mihai Rotaru
