CFR Cluj and the Hungarian team Paksi FC ended up, 0-0, on Thursday evening, on Paksi FC Stadion in Paks, in the first leg of the Europa League football. The “return” from Cluj will play over a week.
Louis Munteanu does not want to run for Cluj
“We lacked the empty, to put the ball in the gate. I don’t want to talk how important Louis Munteanu is, but that’s it. With a little luck, we could give empty. Okay I didn’t get empty“, At the end, Dan Petrescu said.
Returning from the youth national team, the striker would have been rested, but he would also have an administrative problem, not being paid for several months, according to Digi Sport sources, which is why he would not want to play. The president of the club, Cristi Balaj, denies a conflict between the team of the team and the management. Another possible explanation would be the fact that Munteanu is to not get injured, being desired by clubs from abroad.
Departed with his tail between Bucharest, where on Saturday he lost the Romanian Super Cup in front of the FCSB champion, the holder of the Romanian Cup, CFR Cluj, had the chance to rehabilitate in the European Cups. It was not fruitful, showing gaps.
Zoltan Szondi, the president of the Csikszereda-newly promoted team, spoke about the “double” that CFR has in front, in the context in which his band played a friendly with Paksi (won 2-0).
“Although the owner of Paksi is a friend, I tell you that CFR has 90% chance of qualifying. Knowing the CFR, I say they have 90% chances and 10% Paksi. Paksi is not yet at the tactical parameters to have a real chance, meaning I saw this in this match. I don’t want to throw myself, I saw a 120 -minute match but I talk to what I saw“said the president of Csikszereda.
The client of the Romanians
Paksi is not foreign to football in Romania. The winner of the Hungarian Cup met in season 2024/2025 with Corvin in the first round of the Europa League preliminaries. Then, the Hunedoans produced the surprise and eliminated the Hungarians 4-2 in general. The entire Paksi FC group is listed at 9.48 million euros, well below the market share of CFR Cluj, which is 25.28 million euros. Thus, the Transylvanians start with the first chance in this double sleeve. Paksi finished in 3rd place in the Hungarian championship in the previous season, with 57 points, 12 points away from the Ferencvaros champion. The Paksi club was established in 1952 and has three trophies in the record. This is the Hungarian League Cup in the 2010/2011 season and two Hungarian cups, won in seasons 2023/2024 and 2024/2025. In the 2010-2011 season, Paksi ended the Hungarian championship and evolved for the first time in the preliminary rounds of the Europa League. Since the 2006/2007 season, Paksi has evolved only in the first league in Hungary. Romania has not lost a European “double” against a group from Hungary in 1978.
The gaps of “railways”
The former CFR striker, Cristi Bud (40 years old), 31 goals in 97 team matches, radiographed the “railway” attackers who evolved on Saturday in Ghencea. After Supercapă, Bud was the most vehement about Virgiliu Postolachi, titled by Dan Petrescu, in the context in which Louis Munteanu was not available: “No, I did not like Postolachi in the match with FCSB. He did not win any duel, he did not hold the balls, he did not deviate. that wins the air duels, which are the ball. Postolachi scored 5 goals at CFR, in 38 official matches. The new striker of the “railways”, Marko Gjorgjievski, made in the Super Cup. The Macedonian replaced him right on Postolachi, in the 78th minute. “Gjorgjievski, as he played, had a first-won duel, then had a ball on the side that he kept very well. Too little to evaluate it. I would like to see him more in the next matches,” Bud said. “Reinforcements at CFR Cluj still needs a central defender, a right defender …”, he said for GSP.
Craiova and “U” Cluj start later
Craiova University and Cluj University, qualified in Conference League as a result of the leading superligation, will not enter the European competition this week, being qualified in the second preliminary round of the UEFA Conference League, where they already know their opponents. Craiova University will play against FK Sarajevo, while “U” Cluj will face Ararat-Armenia. Both bands will play away in the first leg, on July 24, while the “return” is July 31. In the Europa League today plays the Varșovia Legia, coached by the former Romanian coach, Edy Iordănescu, also on the bank of the CFR Cluj band. The Polish band has a match with Aktobe (Kazakhstan).
