Posts Tagged ‘CFR Cluj’

CFR Cluj 1-3 Roma: Giallorossi Back in the Driver Seat (UEFA Champions League 2008-09)

Thursday, November 27th, 2008

Roma seem to have taken a fondness for 3-1 wins lately. After Bordeaux and Chelsea, CFR Cluj was the third team Wednesday to fall to the hands of Spalletti’s boys in Europe, enabling the Giallorossi to take sole command of Group A with one match to go.

And indeed that last match against Bordeaux will be determining to seal Roma’s fate: a draw would ensure their mathematical qualification to the next round, but with the first spot of the group on the line, even better would be for them to win.

But speaking of Roma wins, now that is something no man with a sane mind would have bet on just a few weeks ago. Roma were losing match after match in the Serie A, and their 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge seemed like the final nail in the Champions League coffin, a campaign which had already started with the shocking 2-1 loss to Cluj on matchday 1 and could only seem to get worse. Or so we thought.

Instead Roma recovered, recuperated their captain Francesco Totti, and they are back. Alive & kickin’! And kicking is what they did today.

(more…)

AS Roma 1-2 CFR Cluj: Stadio Olimpico Stunned in Giallorossi UCL Debut (UEFA Champions League 2008-09)

Wednesday, September 17th, 2008

There’s an old 1962 movie with Charlton Heston (don’t ask me how I know that) that has a very appropriate title for this match: “The Pigeon That Took Rome“. CFR Cluj being the pigeon, a.k.a the David that no one knew but who at his first UCL appearance defeated the big Roma Goliath. Italian manager Maurizio Trombetta must be happier than a coondog on a bare leg (sorry, I watched Blue Collar TV last night).

Tonight, the Giallorossi were very from being that Goliath. Decimated by injuries in defense (above all: Philippe Mexes), Luciano Spalletti’s men were unrecognizable and simply put, appalling. To add insult to injury, the Giallorossi can’t even use the “we were unlucky” excuse tonight. CFR Cluj (by now most of you are wondering who the hell these guys are… they’re the Romanian first league champions, so there) fully deserved their win, especially in the second half when they had chance after chance to increase their lead.

As for Roma, defensive problems aside (counting the two from tonight, Spalletti’s men have conceded a total of 8 goals in their last 4 matches) the Giallorossi’s current fitness condition is somewhat alarming. And their new acquisitions aren’t playing up to par either: Riise was substituted, Baptista was a ship lost at sea, Loria was jittery, while Ménez was benched and even preferred to Montella as a substitute. One can only hope that by the time of their next match (October 1 against Bordeaux in France) these problems will have been sorted out. Because after that it’s Chelsea, and they aren’t ones to joke with either.

(From Gazzetta): In the first half, Roma started okay but ended poorly. Christian Panucci‘s header (his home special) gave Roma the lead in the 17th minute after a couple of chances to score by Vucinic, one of which bounced off the post. But back to Panucci: when the Roma center-back finished off De Rossi’s right-wing cross, it seemed as if Roma could finally chalk up their first victory of the season (after losing to Inter in the Supercoppa and ending up with only one point in the first two rounds of Serie A). 1-0 Roma.

Instead, Roma seemed distracted… and alarmingly “stretched out” on the field. The defensive line (without injured starters Mexès and Juan) was very far -perhaps too far- from the other lines: in part because they didn’t step up enough, and also because they were left isolated by the midfielders. Cluj on the other hand, who had nothing to lose, started to test the waters. Beginning to take long-distance shots (and showing discrete skills at it: Dubarbier’s left-footed howitzer was punched over the crossbar by Doni), the Romanian team eventually grabbed the equalizer in minute 27. It was a goal by argentine striker Emmanuel Culio, after a good central run finalized by a diagonal left-footer from outside the box. 1-1

The equalizer gave Romanians wings, and Roma started to suffer. Too much. The half-time couldn’t come at a better time, as the Giallorossi needed to clear their heads. But not before Cluj had one more scoring chance (a good shot by Dani deflected wide by Doni) and Spalletti added his nth player to the hospital ward (Panucci having to sub off for a back injury). Uncool… Even more uncool (“uncooler”?) was the 49th minute double by Emmanuel Culio, after a missed Cassetti attempt to head the ball away. It was a nice goal in all honesty (a great on-the run powerful volley), but one that hit Roma hard and with their pants down. 2-1 Cluj.

With his back to the wall, Spalletti couldn’t wait any longer and played the Francesco Totti card (still very far from top form). Riise made way for the Roma captain (who moved to the central forward position), Tonetto backtracked to left-back, and Vucinic reverted to the left wing. However, the Romanians weren’t done yet. Unable to believe their eyes at how much space they had on the field, Cluj came close to scoring some more: a free-kick from Gabriel Mureşan barely missed the net, while ex-Inter player Sixto Peralta sent a header crashing onto the crossbar.

Roma tried to end the game with dignity. De Rossi and Vucinic (the best ones from Roma today) tried to put up a fight, but the chances to score were few and far between. The Azzurri midfielder grazed the post from outside the area, but it was an isolated chance. Roma gave it one last try during the 4 minutes of stoppage time, to no avail. Truly a bad evening in Rome…

.

A.S. Roma
ROMA-CLUJ
1-2
[Match Highlights]
CFR Cluj
GOALSCORERS: 17’ Panucci (R), 27’, 49’ Culio (C).
ROMA (4-2-3-1): Doni – Cicinho, Cassetti, Panucci (47’ Loria), Riise (52’ Totti) – De Rossi, Aquilani – Taddei (77’ Montella), J.Baptista, Tonetto – Vucinic. (bench: Artur, Mar.Brighi, Ménez, Okaka). Coach: Spalletti.
CLUJ (4-2-3-1): Stancioiu – Tony, Cadù, Viera, Pereira – Dani, Muresan – Dubarbier (88’ Panin), Trica (67’ Peralta), Culio – E.Koné. (bench: Nuno Claro, Alcantara, Deac, Didi, Diego Ruiz). Coach: Trombetta.

.

UEFA Champions League – Inter, Roma, Juventus, Fiorentina GROUPS Analyzed

Friday, August 29th, 2008

For the first time in 3 years, the Italian Serie A managed to get 4 Clubs to the UEFA Champions League Group Stage. With the DRAW taking place yesterday, “someone came out smiling” and others not so much. “Four Italian teams and four levels of satisfaction” as Gazzetta would say.

Let’s have a look.

.

.
Group B
.
Inter Milan Inter Milan
Werder Bremen Werder Bremen
Panathinaikos Panathinaikos
Anorthosis Famagusta FC Anorthosis

.

All things considered, Inter were the luckiest ones. Being seeded in the first pot certainly gave them a big advantage, but they also avoided all the tough obstacles (e.g. Bayern Munich & Villareal from pot 2, Zenit & Marseille from pot 3). José Mourinho & Co. will thus face Diego’s Werder Bremen, Panathinaikos and Cyprus’ Anorthosis Famagosta. On paper a fairly easy group, as it’s difficult to find a squad that could cause problems for Inter.

Werder Bremen ranked 3rd in the Bundesliga last year, solidly ranking in the top 3 since 2004. They also have the reputation of being very productive goalscoring-wise, but alas at a cost: they concede a lot too. Against Mourinho’s openly attacking-style 4-3-3 formation (who unlike Werder contains some pretty solid defenders at the back) expect the Nerazzurri to prevail.

As for the other two teams, Panathinaikos should provide an interesting match-up if only to see Giorgos Karagounis meet his old teammates again (the Greek midfielder spent two seasons in Milan, with only 20 club appearances however). Also, the biggest curiosity will be the match against Anorthosis, champions of the Cyprus first division and a first-timer in the Champions League (getting rid of Rapid Wien and Olympiakos on the way). Their nickname is “the Old Lady”, but… does anyone believe they could be as strong as Juve?
.

Match Schedule
16 September Panathinaikos
vs.
Inter
1 October Inter
vs.
Werder Brema
22 October Inter
vs.
Anorthosis
4 November Anorthosis
vs.
Inter
26 November Inter
vs.
Panathinaikos
9 December Werder Brema
vs.
Inter

.
.

.
Group A
.
Chelsea Chelsea
AS Roma Roma
Girondins de Bordeaux Bordeaux
CFR Cluj CFR Cluj

.

The silver medal in satisfaction goes to Roma. As a second seed, the Giallorossi couldn’t avoid one of the big ones, but I’m sure every Romanista smiled when the club dodged the big Man Utd bullet here.

Not that Chelsea is necessarily a better deal mind you. The UCL 2007-08 finalists are back stronger than ever this year, scoring 4 unanswered goals in their EPL debut. Since last season, big-name recruits like Deco (£8m), José Bosingwa (£16m) and very soon, Robinho, have fortified the ranks of the EPL juggernaught, who will undoubtedly have a score to settle with fate after losing last year’s competition to penalty kicks.

Apart from playing against the Blues, Roma will have to face Laurent Blanc’s Bordeaux, Ligue 1 runners-up and the only team that could provide a serious title challenge to Lyon last year. They also now have former AC Milan player Yohann Gourcuff in their ranks.

Finally there is CFR Cluj, a Romanian football club from the city of Cluj-Napoca. Another first-timer in the Champions League, but one who managed to outrank veterans like Steaua Bucharest in last year’s Romanian Liga I. If you have a look at their current team roster, you’ll notice they actually have very few Romanians on the squad. Could *they* be the Inter Milan of Transylvania? :mrgreen:
.

Match Schedule
16 September Roma
vs.
Cluj
1 October Bordeaux
vs.
Roma
22 October Chelsea
vs.
Roma
4 November Roma
vs.
Chelsea
26 November Cluj
vs.
Roma
9 December Roma
vs.
Bordeaux

.
.

.
Group H
.
Real Madrid Real Madrid
Juventus Juventus
Zenit St. Petersburg Zenit
FC Bate Borisov Bate Borisov

.

Things could have turned out a bit better for here. Although they had some luck (Schalke, who had a better UEFA coefficient than the Bianconeri, was conveniently eliminated in the Preliminary Round, putting the Old Lady in pot nº2), Juventus were probably hoping for an easier group.

Real Madrid are a well-known adversary, bringing back painful (1998 UCL Final) but also happy memories (2003 UCL Semi-Finals… I was there by the way :mrgreen: )

Zenit St. Petersburg, who will play the UEFA Super Cup final against Manchester United today, were one of the most feared unknowns. That Andrei Arshavin guy is one freakingly good player, and no, I don’t believe he’s overrated. (and let’s not forget last year’s UEFA Cup topscorer, who managed to score as many goals as Luca Toni, a certain Pavel Pogrebnyak)

Belarus’ Bate Borisov seem to be the easiest opponent in Group H, but let’s not forget they got rid of Anderlecht and Levski Sofia (not exactly UCL newbies) to get here.
.

Match Schedule
17 September Juventus
vs.
Zenit
30 September Bate Borisov
vs.
Juventus
21 October Juventus
vs.
Real Madrid
5 November Real Madrid
vs.
Juventus
25 November Zenit
vs.
Juventus
10 December Juventus
vs.
Bate Borisov

.
.

.
Group F
.
Olympique Lyonnais Lyon
Bayern Munich Bayern Munich
Steaua Bucharest Steaua Bucharest
Fiorentina Fiorentina

.

Finally, those getting the short end of the stick were undoubtedly Fiorentina, something which everyone expected because of their low ranking (pot 4).

With an ironic twist of fate: Toni and Bayern Munich is a recipe for an exciting match, but one which will prove of considerable difficulty for La Viola. The German giants need no introduction really, having regularly appeared on top of European football in the past decade (and beyond). A bleak 2006-07 campaign resulted in the club’s chairmen to make massive moves on the transfer market, resuling in talented recruits such as Hamit Altintop, Miroslav Klose, Franck Ribéry, and the aforementioned Luca Toni. The following year Bayern won 3/4 tournaments they were competing in.

Lyon and Steaua Bucharest aren’t easy opponents either. The French club has been dominating the Ligue 1 scene since 2002 (when, believe it or not, they won their first French championship). From then on, there was virtually only one club dining at the big 1st-spot table in France, all the others playing for scraps. As for the Romanians, they have not won their home league since 2006 but remain the most decorated football club in the country (with 23 championship titles).
.

Match Schedule
17 September Lyon
vs.
Fiorentina
30 September Fiorentina
vs.
Steaua
21 October Bayern Munich
vs.
Fiorentina
5 November Fiorentina
vs.
Bayern Munich
25 November Fiorentina
vs.
Lyon
10 December Steaua
vs.
Fiorentina

.

For the full table of the UEFA Champions League 2008-09 Group Stage draw, see this post.