CFR Cluj, last season’s vice-champion and holder of the Romanian Football Cup, is one signature away from installing Daniel Pancu (48 years old) on the technical bench.
Daniel Pancu, at the time when the tricolor youth antenna
The parties confirmed that an agreement in principle was reached by phone, and the technician is the favorite to replace Andrea Mandorlini (65 years old), dismissed last week. The next step is a decisive discussion with the executive director Iuliu Mureșan, and if the negotiations go according to plan, the former Romanian international will be officially installed at the head of the team.
Daniel Pancu is, moreover, an older desire of the boss Ioan Varga, who also wanted him on the bench of the Gruia formation in the past. The Pancu solution, a character with a “railroad” past, that is, to the liking of the CFR, appeared after Dan Petrescu (57 years old), wanted by management to return to Gruia, stated that he could not come to the team now. The “Badger” needs a few more weeks off to recover his health. Pancu confirmed the move to the Cluj club: “I will get my license on December 8th, that’s when my promotion is complete. Since then I have been entering legallyThe PRO license, which Pancu will receive on December 8, will allow him to train without restrictions in the Super League.
Varga confirmed the move
Shortly after, Nelu Varga, the boss of CFR Cluj, made the announcement regarding Daniel Pancu. All the details discussed on the phone by the two parties are to be put on paper. The vice-champion is only in 13th place after 14 stages, with 13 points, 6 behind Oțelul Galați, the last place in the play-off. Andrea Mandorlini was appointed coach at CFR Cluj after the departure of Dan Petrescu from Gruia. The Italian sat on the “railway” bench for 9 matches: 2 wins, 5 draws and 2 defeats. The failure with Petrolul Ploiești, score 0-1, was fatal for the Italian coach. Pancu takes over the team in a tough situation that seems hopeless at the moment. In the most recent game of the Cherries, 0-2 with Farul, the team was prepared and led by the couple of seconds remaining at the club, Ovidiu Hoban – Laurentiu Rus. “If everything I discussed on the phone with Daniel Pancu is in order and will be put on paper, then he will be the new coach of the CFR“, declared Ioan Varga.
National U21, the last job
The former Rapid forward ended his mandate as the U21 national team coach, where he spent two years on the bench of the team he qualified for the European Youth Championship. However, at the final tournament it did not get a single point in a group with Spain, Italy and Slovakia. After the European Youth Championship, where Romania lost 0-1 to Italy, 1-2 to Spain and 1-2 to Slovakia, Pancu remained free of contract, after the agreement with FRF ended on June 30, 2025. Daniel Pancu’s career on the sidelines of the field began at Rapid Bucharest, the club that also defined his playing career. Between 2018 and 2020, the former striker tried to lay the foundations of a solid project, but the team was then performing in the lower leagues. After parting with Rapid, Pancu made the move to Poli Iasi, in the second half of 2020, where he had a complicated period, marked by fluctuating results.
He complains that he has too many players
Daniel Pancu went live on TV and already spoke as a CFR coach. During the intervention, he named the only problem he encountered in the negotiations. It is about the large group that the vice-champion of Romania has. CFR Cluj relies on 33-34 players, and every match the coach has to leave out 12-13. Pancu claims that he will sit on the bench on Friday, with Dinamo, if he signs the contract by then. On December 8 or 9 he will receive his license, and until then he will be helped by Laurentiu Rus. The new coach from CFR also announced the team’s goal: qualifying for European cups, regardless of whether we are talking about winning the Romanian Betano Cup or through the play-offs. In his view, the team has little chance of entering the play-offs, taking into account not necessarily the difference in points, but the teams involved. He admits that he can qualify for the European Cups with CFR and via the Conference League play-out bracket.
“There is no story. Yesterday I was called by Mr. Varga, before Giovanni Becali. He told me about the interest of the CFR. We talked several times during the day yesterday and today I talked with Mr. President Muresan. I didn’t have to put too many conditions. I think it’s a very big club, very good players, I don’t know how it got to the current situation. It is an unimaginable situation from my point of view, to have only 13 points after so many stages. The only problem I see is with the number of players. I lived as a player in 2012, with Neluțu Sabău at Rapid, a situation in which the club probably made plans for the European cups, groups. There were 31-32 players in the group. Just think on the day of the match, when we entered the training camp with the 20, there were 11 players training! It’s terrible from that point of view, and nowadays mood makes all the difference. With 34 players in the squad, you can’t have… No matter how much goodwill and experience, love the players have, you can’t have a state of mind that will lead you to have good developments, victories. I only know 4 players. I don’t know the rest, I played with Deac and that’s about it. I had a very good relationship with Louis Munteanu“, commented “Pancone”.
Petrescu, involved in the Cup
In the Romanian Cup, CFR Cluj beat the second division CSM Slatina on Tuesday, without emotions, score 4-0, in the first stage of the group stage of the competition. At the end of the game, Laurentiu Rus (40 years old), CFR’s interim coach, revealed that Dan Petrescu (57 years old), although he is no longer on the bench and is not employed by the club, has recently been involved in making technical decisions (after the team parted with Andrea Mandorlini). Rus revealed that he consulted with Dan Petrescu in preparation for the matches with Farul Constanța (failure 0-2) and the victory with CSM Slatina (4-0). The coach continued and said about Dan Petrescu that he will always remain a person close to the CFR Cluj club. “There were also discussions with Dan Petrescu, he was and remains a close friend of our team. Always a phone call from him and a word is extremely important for us, so I don’t deny that we communicated with him in preparation for these matchesRus said at the conference.
