Romario Benzar, the 34-year-old captain of Poli Timișoara, expressed his disappointment after his team fell 0-2 to Rapid in the opening match of the Betano Romanian Cup group stage. Despite a commendable effort throughout the match, Poli was unable to secure a point as Rapid scored twice in the final minutes of the game, with goals from Kamara and Bubanja in the 85th and 88th minutes, respectively.
Following the defeat, Benzar stated, “I cannot say that I am satisfied. I wanted us to achieve more, but considering that Rapid is a strong team, I believe we held our heads high, although I feel we could have done better. Since we kept the match scoreless until late, I think we could have held on longer to secure at least a point. We have a professional squad; we did not sacrifice the Cup. It was important not to lose and to start with at least one point, but in the next match, we will play to win and hope until the end.”
Benzar, who joined Poli Timișoara this summer as a free agent after leaving FC Botoșani, has an extensive career in Romanian football. He began his journey at Viitorul and was transferred to FCSB in 2017 for €700,000. Two years later, he was sold to Lecce for €1.7 million. Benzar has also played for Perugia, Farul, and UTA Arad before returning to Romania with Botoșani in September 2023.
