Sports Weekend

The weekend is dominated by the start of a new season of the Romanian Super League championship

Florin Orban, 11.07.2025, 13:45

This weekend will see matches counting towards the first round of the Romanian Super League. Two matches are scheduled on Friday: Metaloglobus will play Universitatea Cluj, whereas FC Argeş will take on Rapid Bucharest. Two of the newly promoted teams will therefore enter the competition on the first day. The Bucharest team Metaloglobus is a debutant in the first-tier division, also the club with the smallest budget among the 16 first-division teams. FC Argeş, on the other hand, is a team with a rich history and two Romanian championship titles on its track record.

On Saturday, in Arad, the local side UTA is playing Universitatea Craiova. The Transylvanian side has a new coach, Adrian Mihalcea, while Mircea Rednic, the former coach, now leads the Belgian team Standard Liège. In Craiova, coach Mirel Rădoi is eyeing a spot for next year’s European competitions, in line with the value of his team. Also on Saturday, FCSB, the reigning champion and recent winner of the Romanian Super Cup, will play FC Hermannstadt away from home, the finalist of the last edition of the Romanian Cup.

On Sunday, in Galați, Otelul faces Petrolul Ploiești. 60-70 years ago, this match represented a true derby of the working-class teams outside Bucharest. Now, both teams are coming off a difficult season, although they had no trouble securing a spot in the top-tier division. Both teams also have new coaches: László Bálint at Dunăreni and Liviu Ciobotariu at Prahoveni. Also on Sunday, CFR Cluj will play Unirea Slobozia at home. The team from Cluj, last season’s runner-up, is the clear favorite in the fight against a team that struggled to stay in the topflight.

The last two matches of the round are scheduled for Monday. FC Botoşani will play Farul Constanţa at home. The two teams had a similar standing at the end of last season, very close to the relegation zone. The final match game of the day will be hosted by Miercurea Ciuc, where the home team, Csikszereda, will go up against Dinamo Bucharest in their first Super League appearance this season. (VP)