Article by Daniel Grigore – Published Saturday, 02 May 2026, 23:06 / Updated Saturday, 02 May 2026 23:12
Alexandru Chipciu (36 years old), the captain of U Cluj, commented the victory obtained in extremis with FC Argeș1-0, from a penalty scored by him and converted by Dan Nistor.
The points won today made U Cluj equal the Universitatea Craiova, in anticipation of the Olten team's match with Dinamo, scheduled for Sunday evening, at 21:00.
How did Chipciu comment, decisively tonight with the penalty obtained in the extra time of the second part?
Alexandru Chipciu, decisive for U Cluj: “Playing against FC Argeș is like visiting the dentist”
“I wouldn't have wanted it to be that crazy. I was very emotional at the penalty shootout, I was looking at Dan and trying not to panic, but my legs were shaking, even though I'm 80 years old.
We didn't want to win like that, but if you want to fight for the first places, there are matches like that, when you win very hard. Especially against a team like FC Argeș. As Guardiola says, it's like going to the dentist when you play against these teams.
That's right, they fight for every ball, they give their lives, they hit hard, they give their lives on the field for a point and they are to be appreciated for this work, even if during the match they annoy you. That's their style, we had to adapt. We had some opportunities in which we could score at the start of the second half, Macalou also had, but in the first half we were soft, without energy.
I don't know if it's because of the pressure or whether it's mental and physical fatigue. We also play a lot of matches. We are not complaining, we want to play a lot of matches, but we have to think that in Romania there are Romanian conditions, not the Premier League. Now we are happy around here, we scream, last game we cried.
Rapid follows, and they are struck in their pride. Dan also said to them, I don't know what. I put Dan on, he has to score. He gave, let's give one more”, said Chipciu to DigiSport.
Chipciu: “We now want Dinamo to beat Craiova”
“During the match I was thinking: “I have to do something, I have to do something”, I had this thing in my head all the time. If I don't do it, I couldn't have expectations from the youngsters, Omar, Trica, to come and do it.
I had to force her somehow and I saw the opportunity, Borța is a strong player who enters the duel hard. I realized that he was going to attack me hard, I managed to pinch the ball and it hit my legs. It was an indisputable penalty.
Chance was on our side. I don't know if we played well overall, if FC Argeș deserved to beat us or not, but these are my warm feelings. If I didn't score, I was on vigil tonight. It will be difficult in the future: Rapid, Craiova in the Cup, Craiova in the championship.
Honestly, we now want Dinamo to beat Craiova. We can't be pathetic, let's say we don't want Dinamo to beat. We are thinking about the first 3 goals, to secure Europe, then we have the Europa League, because we have the possibility of the Cup final, and match by match we are thinking about more, of course”, added the Cluj University captain.
