Article by Cezar Titor – Published Monday, May 18, 2026, 11:10 p.m. / Updated Monday, May 18, 2026, 11:11 p.m.
Dorinel Munteanu, 57, the technician from Hermannstadt, congratulated his team for the concentration shown in an extremely tense moment, after the success with FCSB, score 2-0. The Sibians go to the retention/promotion stage, where they will meet FC Voluntari.
The technician said that the main objective is to recover quickly before the tie with FC Voluntari, who he considers “a 'mature and solid' opponent”, and insisted that the players must approach the decisive double with confidence to stay in the Superliga. He showed his respect towards the coaches, managers and players of the opponents, being convinced that the last play-out round was played “cleanly”.
Dorinel Munteanu: “We all know that we were thinking about the other results as well”
“I want to congratulate my team for having maximum concentration, if I may say so. We all know the other results were on our minds too, but the boys are to be congratulated for believing in themselves. We will also have confidence in the play-off games, in everything we do, even though we are very few.
The main objective now is to recover as quickly as possible and approach the play-off matches with confidence. We have a good team in front of me, from my point of view. Each of the Superliga coaches would have wanted 6-7-8 players from those who were on the field today at FCSB. It was always speculated that they were coming with the reserves, but UTA, Oțelul Galati and Metaloglobus proved that things have changed.
Calculations were made over calculations, but it matters that there are also coaches who respect their job, as well as managers or players. That's how it was with us today. We told the boys not to think about other results. The straight save depended on the game and our result.
Voluntari is a mature, solid team. I also watched her in this championship. We're going to take a good look at it this week. There are two games in which we want to reach our goal, that is to stay in the Romanian Superliga. I think it is better to leave this question for after the play-offs. It's best for everyone.
– Dorinel Munteanu, about the roadblock with the Volunteers and the chance to leave Sibiu
The outcome of the play-out:
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Petrol was saved directly, being the only team that did not benefit from points rounding;
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Unirea Slobozia relegated to the 2nd League;
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Farul and Hermannstadt will play the tie. The Constantinians, with Chindia Târgoviște, the Sibiians, with FC Voluntari. The round-robin leg will be played between May 23-24, and the return leg on May 30-31 or June 1.
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UTA Arad won the play-out;
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FCSB finished 2nd, FC Botoșani 4th. The two will play the semi-final of the Conference League bracket, being the best ranked teams with a European license. This duel will take place on Sunday, May 24, from 20:30;
