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Ready to turn on the gas!
Eric de Oliveira failed to force a transfer in the Ukrainian first division. He probably doesn't regret it anymore...
They had finished last season in 7th place, just missing out on a place in Europe, but Cristi Pustai’s men were rewarded in the end, as Gaz Metan Medias was granted the access to the Europa League preliminary rounds after FC Timisoara failed to get a licence and was withdrawn from Europe as well as the Romanian top flight.
Gaz Metan will face on Wednesday KuPS Kuopio, a Finnish club now lying in 7h place in the league, in a game that will mark the club’s debut in the European competitions.
“We’ve been working to get here for the past 4 and a half years”, said the Maths teacher that has recently agreed to continue his work at the club, although a few months ago he was hinting towards a move away from Medias, considering this the end of a cycle.
In my opinion, he’s intelligent enough to find ways to continue the development of this small, yet serious club, and this European adventure should bring enough motivation in a group of players that hasn’t gone through major changes, Pustai sticking to the right kind of strategy in a transfer market that needs a lot of work and some investment, in order to add quality, not quantity.
Gaz Metan’s “major” sigining is Ciprian Petre, a 30 years old winger, who should have done better in his career, but could still add something to this team. He likes to play on the left side, but is right footed, so Pustai could use him on both flanks, even though I believe his aim is to try and develop the talented Paul Parvulescu in a role that suits him better. Used a lot as a left winger, Parvulescu has the potential to become a very good attacking left back and Medias could have a very dynamic and dangerous duo on that side, if these two little guys connect.
These European games should also test the quality of Brazilian ace Eric de Oliveira, who has tried everything to move forward in his career, after proving himself in Romania, but Gaz Metan’s staff somehow managed to trick him into signing a new deal.
The 25 years old attacking midfielder has scored an amazing 15 goals and provided a dozen assists last season, compensating the absence of an efficient goalscorer, and I expect him to be raring to go in Europa League, hoping to convince on this stage even better than he did in Liga I.
Two other players to keep an eye on: the skipper Cristian Todea and Florin Bratu. Both are way past their prime, but would love a classy final show. Todea is a vital player in the middle, one of the best anchormen in the league for years, while a well prepared Bratu should definitely enjoy the service he can get from Gaz Metan’s talented dwarfs: Eric de Oliveira, Alex Muntean, Paul Parvulescu and Ciprian Petre.
Official: Bratu moves to Lovech
It’s a six months loan deal, but Dinamo’s forward stated today that he hopes to impress and earn a permanent move in the winter, which shows that Bratu wants to make it there and isn’t just looking for some time away from Romania. In spite of his medical problems from last season, Bratu is a classy player, a forward who likes to drift wide and cut inside, preferring always a placed shot instead of a powerful finish.
Litex could get their hands on another experienced and good Romanian player very soon, as FC Brasov’s left midfielder Catalin Munteanu is currently between a move to Bulgaria and a return to Dinamo, with Ioan Giovani Becali taking care of negotiations.
Dinamo wants to get rid of the Becalis’ influence – update
With the club seriously affected by the latest and biggest scandal, Dinamo’s bosses have decided to try and avoid similar episodes in the future. After the return of Florin Bratu and Ousmane N’Doye from Dinamo II, the bosses are ready to welcome back the promising Marius Alexe, but will try to limit the influence of agent Victor Becali and his brother, the former FIFA agent, Ioan Giovani Becali. Alexe was asked to part ways with his agent, as well as several other team member, as the Becalis had under contract no less than 17 Red Dogs!
The first Dinamo players to do it are defenders Cosmin Moti and Cristian Pulhac, who are no longer represented by Victor Becali, but, at the same time, according to some people, a lot less chances to move abroad in the near future…
Update: Both players denied the information published in the press and stated that they refuse to terminate their deals with the Becali brothers and that they wouldn’t even consider such a move.
Mutiny at Dinamo, under Giovani Becali’s command!
After Dinamo’s defeat against CFR Cluj, in the semifinals of the Romanian Cup, three players left the hotel in the middle of the night: Ousmane N’Doye, Ze Diabate and Djakaridja Kone went out on their own and returned in the morning. With the other players aware of their departure, talks went on among the team’s leaders, Niculae, Niculescu, Bratu, Moti and Bostina, who agreed that something needs to be done to restore an order too often troubled by N’Doye, who had been recently “rewarded” with an excellent contract and, even more surprising for such an unprofessional player, the vice-captan role.
In the morning, when N’Doye was begging for forgivness, Dinamo’s staff had the surprise to see six players leave the hotel and return to Bucharest. If Florin Bratu had already been sent there, to play for Dinamo II, players like Gabriel Bostina, Andrei Margaritescu, Adrian Cristea, Ianis Zicu and Marius Alexe stated that they’re backing Bratu and would like to protest against the repeated trouble created by the Senegalese midfielder. Read more…
The best winter “transfers”
Dinamo – Florin Bratu (29 years old, right winger/forward)
Injured in October 2008, Bratu returned on the pitch after a 13 months long nightmare, but only played one game for Dinamo’s reserve team, in the second division. He had suffered a severe injury to his knee and was poorly treated while in Romania, but made a complete recovery after spending the last few months in Italy. It remains to be seen if he can display the same pace, confidence and coolness in front of goal, but he has enough time during this long winter break to regain his match fitness and be ready to make an impact in the second half of season.
Bratu has a solid scoring record for the Red Dogs, with 27 goals in 61 matches, while the injury suffered in 2008 came after he had scored 7 times in 9 appearances. His return will bolster an impressive attacking force, as he will compete with the likes of Marius Niculae, Claudiu Niculescu and Andrei Cristea, but will also be an alternative to Gabriel Torje, for the right winger role.
Steaua – Ovidiu Petre (27 years old, central defensive midfielder)
Tormented by injuries, he should finally have a chance to make an impact for Steaua, after recovering completely from his fourth knee surgery of a career that looked very promising indeed. 11 matches last season and only 4 during the current campaign is obviously too little from a player that showed only glimpses of what he could offer to the red and blue outfit.
Strong anchorman, Petre should not only provide the needed cover for a renewed defensive line, but he will also inject a dose of leadership in a team that lost influent figures like Radoi and Ghionea.
Unirea Urziceni – Marius Onofras (29 years old, forward)
Missed almost the entire second half of last season due to a strange injury to his right knee and played only 10 games in the league in the current campaign. A key player in Dan Petrescu’s tactical setup, with a very interesting role on the pitch, where he was always switching between attack and midfield, helping in recovering the ball and then running the channels up front, on paths learned to perfection in training, reminded everyone of his importance with the excellent goal scored in the Champions League against Glasgow Rangers.
Outstanding work-rate and determination, plus the good scoring instincts and solid understanding with key centre-forward Marius Bilasco, make Onofras a valuable asset for Unirea, but we should see if new coach Ronny Levy realizes his importance for the team. In the current campaign, played only 10 games in the league (four starts), scoring 4 goals, and made four appearances as a sub in the Champions League group stage, scoring once.
FC Timisoara – Cristian Mejia (19 years old, forward)
The skilful Colombian forward has arrived in Romania three months ago, but FC Timisoara could not register his transfer due to a conflict between the club that raised Mejia and the club that sold him to Timisoara. Has played only in a friendly match and coach Ioan Ovidiu Sabau hopes that he can add pace and creativity up front and that the time wasted so far at least helped the player adjust to the new lifestyle and blend into the squad.
FC Timisoara – Milos Brezinsky (25 years old, central defender)
Severely injured to his left knee in December 2008, the towering centre-back missed an entire year, but is now back to full fitness and should play as a regular in the second half of season. Has played 21 matches for FC Timisoara since his transfer from Slovan Liberec (after a loan spell at Sparta Prague) and looked strong, confident and a influent figure at the back. Should further improve a strong defense, which relied mostly on the work done by the entire team and a consistent and efficient centre-back like him could allow the coach to replace one of the two central defensive midfielders with a more attacking minded player.
