The University of Craiova is the second finalist of the Romanian Cup, going to fight for the trophy with the University of Cluj, the one with which it is also fighting for the title, in the Superleague (they are equal on points at the top of the ranking, 39, after 5 rounds of the play-off).
On Thursday evening, Olteni qualified in the last act of the Cup, after 4-1 with Dinamo, at the “Arena Națională”, on penalty kicks.
After 90 minutes, the score was equal, 0-0. For Dinamo, the Togolese Kennedy Boateng opened the scoring in the 105th+1st minute, and defender Adrian Rus equalized in the 118th minute and sent the semi-final to penalties.
8 times winner of the Romanian Cup, Craiova University last lifted the trophy in 2021.
Cluj University won the trophy only once, in 1965, but lost five other finals, the last in 2023, on penalties, with Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe.
The final of the Romanian Cup will be played on May 13, in Sibiu. The winner of the trophy will collect 240,000 euros, an amount much higher than the one that will enter the loser’s accounts, 10,000 euros.
Hagi, first appearance as a selector
Gică Hagi (61 years old), the new selector of the Romanian national team, also attended the match. “The King” saw the match next to Anghel Iordănescu (75 years old), the coach with whom he achieved the greatest performances as a tricolor (5th place at the American World Cup), but whom he does not consider the greatest Romanian coach, a title he gave to Mircea Lucescu, who died on April 7, at the age of 80.
Hagi had the second Cătălin Anghel by his side, with whom he will also work at the national team, and with whom he also had at Viitorul/Farul. While at the match, Ianis Hagi was an unused “substitute” in the 3-0 Beşiktaş – Alanyaspor quarter-final match of the Turkish Cup.
From the FRF, the institution that organizes the competition, Mihai Stoichiță, Vlad Munteanu, Ionel Gane and Răzvan Rotaru, among others, came to the country’s biggest arena.
