After Oțelui’s victory, FCSB knows that it has to win Sunday night’s derby with Rapid, from 20:00, in order not to lose contact with the play-off zone. If they draw or win, the Giulio team collects 40 and 42 points, respectively. In both situations, they are not afraid of the University of Craiova, which can collect the maximum points (lower goal difference, +15, compared to +12), if it passes Monday against Csikszereda, provided that the Oltenians do not impose themselves with a high score.
FCSB – RAPID 0-0 // LIVE
There will be around 30,000 spectators in the stands. By the morning of the match, approximately 24,000 tickets had been sold, of which approximately 6,000 were purchased by the supporters of Rapid, considered the visiting team.
The atmosphere will be incandescent, taking into account the inclement weather. At game time, the thermometers indicate a temperature of 4-5 degrees Celsius, but the lawn will be in optimal conditions.
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The 21st stage of the Superliga, the last of 2025, proposes the derby between FCSB and Rapid on Sunday, a duel between a force from the past and one from the present. The last stage of the championship scheduled for 2025 brings the current champion, FCSB, and the current leader of the Football Superliga, Rapid, face to face. Basically, former and current power. The match takes place on Sunday evening, from 20:00. Before round number 21, there are 11 points between the two. FCSB is in 9th place and hopes to catch the play-off, an area from which it is separated by two points. The game is extremely important for both teams. With a win, Rapid will end the year in first place in the ranking, thus maintaining its supremacy in 2026, while the group patronized by Gigi Becali (67 years old) has the chance to climb into the Top 6, provided they win. If FCSB prevails, Dinamo can take advantage to finish the year in the leader’s seat. In the round on August 17, in the 6th leg, it was 2-2, with Rapid coming back from 0-2 down and equalizing in extra time.
Bîrligea forces the return
Former emblematic player of Giulești, Cristi Săpunaru (41 years old) believes that the pressure will be on FCSB. “The team with pressure is FCSB. They are shooting there to catch the play-offs, and Rapidul is already there. They are sure to be in the play-offs!”, declared the former Rapidul player. FCSB is making desperate efforts to recover Daniel Bârligea (25 years old), an important piece in the offensive. The international, the author of a “double” in the tour, has been injured for three weeks and is forcing his return. Bîrligea was one of the best players of the champion this season. In 23 matches he scored 7 goals and provided 5 decisive assists. A key player in the national team, he is quoted by the specialized website Transfermarkt at 5 million euros. In his position, the technical staff used David Miculescu, Florin Tănase and Mamadou Thiam in the last 4 championship matches.
The leader is looking for reinforcements
Rapid is preparing for shopping during the winter break, especially since the championship matches will resume in mid-January. “Minimum two players (no – wants to transfer Rapid in winter). A striker and a number 10, if more players leave, if there are more transfers, we’ll see. We are not in advanced negotiations with any players. We’ll see after the FCSB match“, said Victor Angelescu, a minority shareholder in Giulesti and president of Rapid. The official commented on the latest rumors related to transfers to Rapid: the bringing of Joao Paulo from Oțelul Galați, the repatriation of Nicolae Stanciu from Genoa and the departure of Andrei Borza from the cherry team. About Nicolae Stanciu, he said: “100% we would need Nicolae Stanciu but it is unlikely. Excluded is almost nothing. We want him, it’s normal that Stanciu is needed at Rapid. It’s a rhetorical question. I don’t think there’s a problem with him returning to the country.
Malcolm Edjouma, saved
In the rival camp, the game of kicking out the players continues. After one unsuccessful match, Becali made it a habit of his collaborators to announce layoffs, then suddenly revert to the decisions. This is the case of Malcolm Edjouma, with a remarkable performance, the Turks from Fenerbahce counted in the 4-3 victory. The FCSB boss explained that he decided to keep the Frenchman out of “gratitude” and not necessarily for footballing reasons, and reported that Edjouma was very surprised to be offered a contract extension. Also, Gigi Becali announced that he is keeping Malcom Edjouma in the team only until the summer. “I don’t know, I think so (no – if Edjouma signed). I told MM. He (no – Edjouma) went to MM and said “is the boss joking?”. And he said it’s gratitude, that he came with Feyenoord and changed the whole game and, as gratitude, he extends you six months, no more“, said Gigi Becali, on television, where he likes to be heard and seen.
Concerts block “Arena”
The fact that “Arena Națională” becomes unavailable for football matches starting from May 2026, exactly the period in which the last part of the Superliga play-off will take place, caused a real revolt from the leaders of FCSB and Dinamo. MM Stoica declared himself dismayed by the fact that the stadium under the supervision of the Capital City Hall will organize two concerts in May. The performances will be supported by Metallica and Iron Maiden. The FCSB official also brought up the assumption that a possible FCSB – Dinamo derby, which would be decisive for the title fight, could be played on the “Arcul de Triumf”, a stadium with a capacity of 8,000 seats. On the other hand, Dinamo cited financial reasons, exemplifying that in the regular season, it organized matches with lower-ranked teams on the “National Arena”, which caused a low attendance at the stadium, and compensation for the losses would have come in the play-offs, where theoretically the interest of the fans will be much greater. The last 4 stages of the Super League play-off take place in May 2026, in the periods 2-3 May, 9-10 May, 16-17 May and 23-24 May. Metallica will perform the concert on May 13, 2026, and Iron Maiden will perform the recital on May 28, 2026. FCSB has the option to return to the “Steaua Stadium”, where it started its season, also because of the summer concerts. On the other hand, the “Arc de Triumf”, Dinamo’s host in the previous seasons, is no longer a real option for the club, and the “Municipal Stadium” from Sibiu and the “Cluj Arena” are taken into account.
Rechristened stadium in Giulesti
The stadium where the Rapid team plays at home is changing its name again, after the agreement between the Superbet betting house and the Rapid Sports Club, the owner of the arena, came to an end and was not extended. After three years of the contract between the company that holds supremacy on the gambling market in Romania and CS Rapid, the name of the sponsor has disappeared from the facade of the stadium in Giulesti. The construction thus renounces the name “Superbet Arena”, it will be called “Giulești Stadium”, and not “Valentin Stănescu”, as it was known before the demolition. The new stadium was inaugurated on March 23, 2022. But, since the championship match that Rapid played at the weekend against Oțelul, 0-2, the 14,000-seat arena is no longer called “Superbet Arena”. The betting company transferred 600,000 euros for each year of the contract to the accounts of CS Rapid. Even if the partnership with CS Rapid has stopped, Superbet remains the main sponsor on the shirts of the team patronized by Dan Șucu, FC Rapid.
4 draws in the last 5 direct matches
A hot match is announced on the “National Arena”, especially since Rapid is coming after a setback. Rapid’s last success against FCSB happened in May 2024, when Bogdan Lobonț was appointed interim coach, after the departure of Cristiano Bergodi. At that time, Giulești were winning 2-0. Since then, Rapid has lost once, and four matches have ended in a draw.
The last 5 direct matches between FCSB and Rapid
Quick – FCSB 2-2
Quick – FCSB 1-2
FCSB – Fast 3-3
Quick – FCSB 0-0
FCSB – Fast 0-0
Good, on the way
Two scouts from Utrecht, from the Eredivisie, will come to the “National Arena” with the aim of watching Alexandru Dobre (27 years old) in the derby. The winger from Giulești has attracted the interest of the Dutch team for a long time. For his captain, Dan Șucu (62 years old) would like over two million euros. The majority shareholder of Rapid rejected an offer in the summer from Legia Warsaw. After the move to the Polish team fell through, the Rapid player got on the radar of Batavia. The former team of Mihai Neșu (42 years old) is in 8th place in the Eredivisie at the moment, with 23 points in 16 stages. Utrecht is also qualified in the Europa League group, where it is in 32nd place. The Dutch still have to play Genk and Celtic. Those from Utrecht would be willing to offer a salary of 450,000 euros per year to Dobre. At Rapid, the speedster raises 12,000 euros per month. Dobre has impressed this season at Rapid, which is why he was anointed captain. He is the leading goalscorer with 10 goals in League 1. Alexandru also has two assists this season in League 1, being the second player with the most decisive contributions in the Super League this season. Dobre arrived at Rapid last year and played 54 games, scoring 20 goals in all competitions.
Kovacs, called to dispense justice
Rapid contested the refereeing last stage and hopes that a top referee will be delegated to the match with the rival from Bucharest. Both teams call for referee Istvan Kovacs at center. After impressing in Europe, reaching the Champions League final last season, Kovacs (41) is close to ticking off another major goal abroad. The “Central” from Carei has a good chance to catch the group of referees for the final tournament of the World Cup in 2026, where the Romanian national team did not qualify. Each confederation has established its extended pool of proposed referees for next summer’s competition in the United States of America, Canada and Mexico, and Istvan Kovacs’ name appears on UEFA’s list, notes The Ref. The final batch will be decided in March, after a seminar attended by the heads of referees from UEFA and the headquarters from the extended list of 16 names. Istvan Kovacs is the only Romanian on the list and, as in recent years he has refereed the finals of the Conference League, Europa League and Champions League, also having a presence at the Club World Cup, he now has an increased chance of catching the final group. He was on the European refereeing panel at the previous World Cup as well, but did not officiate a match at the Qatar competition. He was a backup in eight rows.
