Elias Charalambous, totally unexpected reaction about Daniel Bîrligea's anger

Ashley Davis21/12/2025

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Article by Sergiu Alexandru, Maria Olteanu – Published Sunday, December 21, 2025, 22:52 / Updated Sunday, December 21, 2025 22:52

FCSB – Rapid 2-1. Elias Charalambous (45 years old), the FCSB technician, analyzed at the press conference what happened at the National Arena, in the last derby of 2025, against Rapid, won by his team. He also analyzed the excess of anger of Daniel Bîrligea (25 years), from the moment of change.

In the 66th minute, Bîrligea was replaced, and the decision made him terribly unhappy, visibly disturbed, cursing on the field and then shouting on the bench. Elias Charalambous did not get angry at his student at all, but on the contrary appreciated him, saying after the match that he loves such reactions, seeing how motivated the players he trains are.

“I love such reactions from players who come out. They want to continue playing. Bîrligea made a very big effort to play. And he was upset that he was changed. I repeat, I love such reactions. Everyone wants to play. It's not about anything else. It's very normal. I like his reaction”said the Cypriot technician, after the match.

Other thoughts of Elias Charalambous after the victory with Rapid

“When you win it's nice, especially matches like this, derbies. I said before that it's very important to win, especially against a direct opponent. The most important thing is that the boys showed a very good attitude again. I said before the match that it's very important to win.

I feel like I dominated the whole 90 minutes. We started aggressively, played well and scored. Maybe we should have scored more goals in the first half. Then, right after the break, we had Bîrligea's chance. If he made it 2-0, everything would have been different.

Then we were focused again, played with a lot of energy and made it 2-0. But Rapid scored at the end and we suffered. If it had ended differently, I would have said it was an unfair score. We were the better team that wanted more. So it's a fair result.

I've been through hard times, but that's how you learn. We must learn from them. Players have often been unfairly criticized. They have done a lot for club and country. I have always said that I trust them and let's see where we are in May. I don't mind being criticized, that's how I get better.

It's too early to talk about points, distances. The teams are very close, there are only 8 points to the leader. Everything is played. We take it step by step and match by match. I also want to thank the fans, who have always been with us, even when it was difficult. They are very important to us.

We went through a tough time, but all teams go through that. We have shown in the last matches that we are on the right track. We want to play better and better after the holiday and reach our goal, winning the championship.

Now we have to relax and sit. With families. I want to wish everyone in Romania a Merry Christmas and a pleasant new year. I wish you all good health,” said Elias Charalambous, after the match, at the press conference.