Article by Cezar Titor – Published Monday, April 27, 2026 11:07 p.m. / Updated Monday, April 27, 2026 11:10 p.m.
Filipe Coelho, 45 years old, is one step away from writing history and bringing a title that Oltenia has been waiting for 35 years. However, the Lusitanian technician still shies away from talking directly about winning the championship, addressing the philosophy of taking things step by step, game by game, including in the flash interview after FC Arges – University of Craiova 0-1match decided by the success of Samuel Teles in the 10th minute.
Coelho pointed out that his team wanted to decide the match from the first half, but met an uncomfortable and strong opponent in the fixed phases. He appreciated the maturity of the players, saying that they knew how to suffer and adapt to the demands of the game, and the most important thing remains the three points. In addition, he said that he is already focusing on the derby with Dinamo, a team that the Oltenians defeated on Thursday, in the penalty shootout, in the penultimate act of the Romanian Cup.
Filipe Coelho: “We started from the idea that we want to kill the match in the first half”
“We started from the idea that we want to kill the match in the first half. We could have scored, but the opponent, from my point of view, has different characteristics compared to the other opponents. They don't play a lot in our half, they are very strong in the lanes, set-pieces, corners or throw-ins and they don't take a lot of risks.
We had to suffer, we cannot control for 90 minutes. As I said before, all the other teams are very good and so are all the coaches. Now it's important to recover and prepare for the next match in the best possible way.
I played exactly what I needed to in this game. It is important sometimes to play as the game, the field, the opponent demands. At this point, the most important thing is the points. We already have more points than last season,” the Portuguese coach saidat the end of the game in Mioveni.
“At the end, I said the ball was ours, I put my hands in the air, I didn't say anything. Maybe I should be better at this sort of thing.
I always showed respect to the referees, I didn't complain about anything, I just raised my hands and said it's our ball. I have to accept this,” said the Portuguese, referring to the warning he received at the end of the game.
We are close to the match with Dinamo, we are only focusing on that. The objective is to earn points. We must try to get them. As a coach, since I came here, I only think about the next game.
We have to see what Dinamo does. In the last match they played with a defensive line of five. Now we rest and then try to work for Sunday's game. It will be very difficult, for sure.
– Filipe Coelho, coach University of Craiova
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