On Thursday evening, we will play our rescheduled Superliga match from Round 5 against CFR Cluj. After the victory over the other team from Cluj, Universitatea, we aim to double our number of top-flight wins.
On Thursday evening, we will play our rescheduled Superliga match from Round 5 against CFR Cluj. After the victory over the other team from Cluj, Universitatea, we aim to double our number of top-flight wins.
The Municipal Stadium in Miercurea Ciuc will host another historic match, as we have never before played an official game against the “Railwaymen” from Cluj. Following our success against Universitatea, we would like to secure our second Superliga victory.
While the match against “U” once again showed that they struggle at our home ground – we beat them here for the third time on October 6 – we have no point of reference for CFR, since we have never faced them before. That’s because, throughout our club’s modern history, CFR Cluj have constantly competed in the top division, while this is our very first season in Romania’s elite league, and we have never been drawn together in the Cup either.
CFR Cluj, originally named Cluj Railway Sports Club, was founded in 1907 and is one of Transylvania’s oldest football teams. The club has won eight Romanian league titles (2008, 2010, 2012, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022). Their connection with the Hungarian community remains strong, as many ethnic Hungarians support them, and their fan base includes a Hungarian section that communicates actively in Hungarian on social media.
This season has been below expectations for the Railwaymen, who sit 12th in the table with 12 points — just six behind the playoff zone. Following a disappointing exit from European competitions, coach Dan Petrescu was replaced at the end of August by Italian manager Andrea Mandorlini. Their form seems to be improving: they are unbeaten in their last five league matches, although they have won only one — a 2–1 victory over our next opponents, Hermannstadt, before the international break.
Due to their European commitments, CFR requested that our Round 5 match be postponed, and we agreed. How polite they will be on the field remains to be seen.
Head coach Róbert Ilyés and his men will be determined to keep all three points at home. “The win against Universitatea gave the players confidence and extra motivation. It will be crucial how we approach this match mentally because we’re facing a team with multiple league titles. They have a deep squad — 32 quality players — allowing them to replace anyone without losing strength. We must stay disciplined and compact, both in defense and attack. I expect every player to give one hundred percent because a good result could help us climb the standings,” the coach said at the pre-match press conference.
The match kicks off on Thursday at 20:30, live on Digi Sport 1 and Prima Sport 1. The match will be played to a full house, as all available tickets sold out within just thirty minutes on Wednesday afternoon.
Rédai Attila
Photo: Pál Zoltán