Article by Remus Dinu – Published Friday, December 19, 2025, 3:26 p.m. / Updated Friday, December 19, 2025, 3:27 p.m.
Muscelul Câmpulung, second to last in League 2a private club, risks disappearing from the competition in the winter, overwhelmed by the financial rigors that the club supported by businessman Claudiu Ciolan can no longer cope with. The president and the coach talked about the non-involvement of the town hall led by Elena Lasconi in the life of the team, GSP sources saying: “They will go to talk to the Town Hall. If they don't get something, that's it!”. League 2 would thus remain with 21 teams.
The second division Muscelul Câmpulung is again on the edge of the precipice, in the second consecutive season spent by the people of Arges in the second league.
Although they were relegated in the spring, the Muscelans took advantage of the exclusions of FCU Craiova and FC Buzău, continuing for another year at League 2 level. In terms of results, the club could not surpass its condition of last year.
Does the Campulung Mussel disappear in the middle of the season?
The group from Câmpulung accumulated only 9 points in 17 matches, has a terrible goal difference, 8-41, and the officials considered for the first time a withdrawal from the championship. The liga2.ro portal also wrote about the subject.
Last Saturday, the president Costin Ghiță reacted to “warm”, shortly after the failure with FC Voluntari, 0-2. In a press conference, next to head coach Alexandru Popovici, the official offered several gloomy statements.
Former Dynamo player Alexandru Răuță plays at Muscelul Câmpulung / Photo source: Facebook
Muscelul Câmpulung is financed by Claudiu Ciolan, a local businessman who financially supported Dinamo during the years of collapse due to the pandemic.
“If we want results, we need support. The boss of the team cannot support the team alone, we can live up to the expectations of people who give to the team.
I do not hide, there is a possibility that we will not start the championship in 2026. There will be discussions based on which we will draw conclusions. We will see what we will do, but at the moment the team cannot continue
(…) Now we have more points than last year, with lessons learned, but everyone in Campulung only talks bad things about this team. A conclusion can be drawn, let it be seen that we are a private team in League 2, the only team helped by the mayor's office only with the stadium and some utilities“, President Ghiță “thundered”.
GSP sources confirmed that club officials would hold a round of decisive discussions with representatives of the town hall.
We're not asking for millions from the mayor's office or anyone, but I'm talking to certain coaches and I'm embarrassed. They say they have budgets of 4 million euros, 3, 5…
We just want a budget enough to support the payment of salaries. We have the lowest salary budget in League 2 and below teams in League 3. I, at least, am disappointed, nervous, sad!
– Alecsandru Popovici, coach Muscelul Câmpulung
*Thursday evening, Gazeta requested, on WhatsApp, a point of view from the mayor's office Elena Lasconi. By the time of publication of this article, the mayor had not responded to the message sent by the GSP reporter.
**Friday afternoon, Gazeta also called Claudiu Ciolan, dentist by profession. Busy with appointments, he could not comment on the subject.
“Elena Lasconi didn't really help”
In an interview given to Gazeta in November 2024, Muscel's former coach, career speedster Costin Lazăr, spoke about the contribution of the City Hall led by Elena Lasconi to the life of the team.
The explanation for the absence of funds to be directed to the Muscel team? “I really don't want to say big or ignorant things, but things did not move in sports with the help of the City Hall. It didn't help much. There were two clubs, ARO and Muscelul, supported by private individuals and that's about it”, stated Costin Lazăr.
With Costin Lazăr on the bench, Muscelul promoted to League 2 in the summer of 2024.
At that time, Elena Lasconi gave the impression that the football team was the ideal electoral vehicle, especially since the former #1 in USR was preparing to award his second mandate as mayor. The former TV star even appeared in the middle of the supporters, at the decisive matches for promotion.
Campulung has another team, ARO, in League 3. This summer was a derby!
It seems hard to believe for a city the size of Câmpulungului – about 27,000 inhabitants -, but Muscelani still have a team in the first three leagues. ARO, another private club, plays in Series 6 of League 3, where it ranks tenth.
This summer, Muscelul and ARO met in the third round of the Romanian Betano Cup. The team from the second league was victorious, winning 2-0.
None of them have anything to do with the defunct ARO, the former second division that went bankrupt at the end of the 2003-2004 season.
