Sports News
FCSB ended its Champions League qualifying campaign in disgrace, with three defeats in four games against teams with much lower odds
Florin Orban, 31.07.2025, 13:45
Romanian football champions FCSB ended their run in Europe’s premier club competition on Wednesday. The Bucharest side exited the Champions League in the second qualifying round. They were overtaken by North Macedonian champions Shkendija, who defeated them both in Skopje, 1-0, and in Bucharest, 2-1. After the away defeat, the Romanian champions seemed convinced that they would settle the dispute in their favor on home turf.
Club officials spoke of their opponents as being at the level of a second-division Romanian team, and the 30,000 fans who came to the National Arena were ready to celebrate qualifying for the third preliminary round. The game started promisingly, with several good scoring opportunities for the Romanians. Coach Elias Charalambous’s players were ambitious, winning the ball and combining well. In the 28th minute, FCSB opened the scoring through Italian Juri Cisotti. The hosts’ joy did not last long. Against the backdrop of a lack of organization in the Bucharest defense, Shkendija equalized in the 33rd minute through Albanian Liridon Latifi.
After the Macedonians scored, the Romanian team lost its composure. The veteran Vlad Chiricheş, who was supposed to be the playmaker, misplaced most of his passes. The offensive players played at a lower speed, especially David Miculescu and Octavian Popescu, and inspiration eluded all members of the team. Judging by the changes made after the break, the coaching staff did not seem very inspired either. Introduced at the start of the second half, Denis Alibec did not justify his presence in the champion’s squad, and his performance on the field was negligible.
A little more can be said about Ghanaian Baba Alhassan, who, apart from not helping his team’s play, was decisive in the visitors’ second goal. In the 87th minute, Vane Krstevski shot from the edge of the box, and the ball, deflected by Alhassan, went over goalkeeper Ştefan Târnovanu and into the net, sealing the Macedonians’ 2-1 victory. The Romanian champions thus end a shameful run in the Champions League qualifiers, with three defeats in four games, one of which, for the first time, was against the Andorran champions, Inter Club d’Escaldes.
After being eliminated from the Champions League preliminaries, FCSB will play in the third preliminary round of the Europa League. The Bucharest team will face Drita, the Kosovo champions, who were eliminated from the Champions League by FC Copenhagen after losing 0-2 and 0-1.
