RRI Sports Club – Football
Florin Orban, 09.03.2022, 11:28
The Romanian domestic championship has reached the group phase. Teams ranking in the top six places at the end of regular season will perform in Group 1, aiming to win the title or one of the two spots securing qualification to Europe Conference League, the third-tier European inter-club competition. The remaining 10 teams in League 1 will play in Group 2, where they will try to avoid relegation to the second-tier division.
At the end of the 30 rounds of regular season, the defending champions CFR Cluj ranked 1st with 76 points. CFR will thus start the group phase with half the amount of points, 38. FCSB, in runner-up position, will start the group phase with 31 points. Universitatea Craiova follows with 27 points, while FC Argeș, Farul Constanța and FC Voluntari will each have 24 points. Worth noting is that the point difference between CFR and the other teams is a record since the introduction of the group phase in Romania. Experts believe CFR already enjoys a comfortable position as favorite to win the championship.
Meanwhile, in Group 2, the clubs are struggling to avoid finishing the season in one of the last four spots. Teams in 9th and 10th place, which are currently Academica Clinceni with 7 points and Gaz Metan Mediaș with 5 points, will be relegated directly to the second-tier division. The two teams are facing severe financial difficulties, have lost their top players and, unless a miracle happens, they will most likely be relegated. Teams in 7th and 8th place will play playoff matches to remain in the first league against the teams ranking 3rd and 4th in the second division. Currently ranking 8th is Dinamo Bucharest, a team with a prestigious reputation, which is also facing financial difficulties and has had subpar performances this season. Dinamo starts the group phase with 9 points, 6 points behind the rest of the teams. Also worth mentioning is that, at the end of the group phase, the top two teams in Group 2 will play a playoff match. In turn, the winner will play another playoff match for a spot in Europe Conference League with the team ranking 3rd in Group 1. (VP)
