Marked for Darius Mocanu
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match29 Apr 2028
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Market1 May 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Concordia Chiajna is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad1 May 2028
15 days out for Darius Mocanu after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Concordia Chiajna will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Boardroom1 May 2028
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Concordia Chiajna is running low.
Market1 May 2028
Patrik Kis hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Concordia Chiajna can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings1 May 2028
A defender's goal wins it for Concordia Chiajna — 7.95
1 for Răzvan Oaidă, marked 7.95, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
The dugout1 May 2028
This is not rotation. Stefan Dražić has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Concordia Chiajna is pretending otherwise.
Squad1 May 2028
Eddy Gnahoré in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Concordia Chiajna this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 May 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jay Kuiper was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Apr 2028
A fracture rules Darius Mocanu out for 22 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Concordia Chiajna will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match22 Apr 2028
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Concordia Chiajna are no longer polite ones.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Silviu Balaure and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eddy Gnahoré was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match22 Apr 2028
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Concordia Chiajna can tell you which week it ends in.
Boardroom24 Apr 2028
100% of the income goes out in wages at Concordia Chiajna
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Squad24 Apr 2028
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mihai Neicuţescu, and the manager let it.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Paul Ratiu chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Apr 2028
Darius Mocanu breaks a bone — 29 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 29 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market17 Apr 2028
Danylo Kucher has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Concordia Chiajna they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match15 Apr 2028
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Concordia Chiajna are no longer polite ones.
Squad17 Apr 2028
At 19, Maxence Soulet is already the best thing here
An average of 7.02 in a first team he is several years too young for. Concordia Chiajna have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Eddy Gnahoré and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Nicolae Carnat will call it something else in private.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Danylo Kucher
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Denis Dumitraşcu falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Apr 2028
Darius Mocanu breaks a bone — 36 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 36 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market10 Apr 2028
Răzvan Oaidă has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Concordia Chiajna they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match8 Apr 2028
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Eddy Gnahoré and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom10 Apr 2028
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nicolae Carnat, and the manager let it.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Words at Concordia Chiajna training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jay Kuiper is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Market10 Apr 2028
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 Apr 2028
A fracture rules Darius Mocanu out for 43 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Concordia Chiajna will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market3 Apr 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Concordia Chiajna is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Eddy Gnahoré, 34, rolls back the years — 7.88
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.88 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
This is not rotation. Stefan Dražić has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Concordia Chiajna is pretending otherwise.
Match1 Apr 2028
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Concordia Chiajna are no longer polite ones.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Silviu Balaure and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words at Concordia Chiajna training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eddy Gnahoré is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad3 Apr 2028
100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Mar 2028
Darius Mocanu breaks a bone — 50 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 50 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Concordia Chiajna may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Eddy Gnahoré was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom27 Mar 2028
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Concordia Chiajna told Eddy Gnahoré something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Loïc Damour falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad27 Mar 2028
14 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mihai Neicuţescu, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match18 Mar 2028
Maxence Soulet had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Gloria Bistrița were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
Squad20 Mar 2028
A fracture rules Darius Mocanu out for 57 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Concordia Chiajna will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Two goals and a mark of 8.82 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market20 Mar 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Concordia Chiajna is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad20 Mar 2028
At 19, Maxence Soulet is already the best thing here
An average of 7.02 in a first team he is several years too young for. Concordia Chiajna have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Eddy Gnahoré and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The terraces20 Mar 2028
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Maxence Soulet has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The dugout20 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Robert Popa, and the manager let it.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Jay Kuiper falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad13 Mar 2028
Darius Mocanu breaks a bone — 64 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 64 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market13 Mar 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Concordia Chiajna is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
No sign of nerves from Darius Grigore at 21 — 7.82
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Darius Grigore did not need any: 7.82, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Silviu Balaure was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom13 Mar 2028
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words at Concordia Chiajna training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eddy Gnahoré is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match11 Mar 2028
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Denis Dumitraşcu, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad6 Mar 2028
Darius Mocanu breaks a bone — 71 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 71 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market6 Mar 2028
Ionuţ Dinu has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Concordia Chiajna they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Concordia Chiajna may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market6 Mar 2028
Roei Zikri hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Concordia Chiajna can pretend not to have heard.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Eddy Gnahoré in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Concordia Chiajna this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Mar 2028
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 35 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
Player ratings6 Mar 2028
Defensive actions: 20, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings6 Mar 2028
Enzo López runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 Feb 2028
Darius Mocanu breaks a bone — 78 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 78 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings28 Feb 2028
At 35 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 7.93, and nobody on the pitch better.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Eddy Gnahoré was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Feb 2028
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Concordia Chiajna can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad28 Feb 2028
A last season at home is what Billel Omrani is after
It is sentimental, it is completely genuine, and it is the beginning of a departure nobody has announced. The club can be gracious about it or it can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom28 Feb 2028
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Paul Ratiu, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ionuţ Voicu, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Feb 2028
85 days out for Darius Mocanu after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Concordia Chiajna will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
A brace, and Enzo López takes the afternoon — 8.87
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Enzo López provided it, and the 8.87 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market21 Feb 2028
Only the photograph left for Danylo Kucher
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Danylo Kucher will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Concordia Chiajna the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market21 Feb 2028
Billel Omrani hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Concordia Chiajna can pretend not to have heard.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Maxence Soulet is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad21 Feb 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Concordia Chiajna this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eddy Gnahoré was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets21 Feb 2028
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match19 Feb 2028
A 2‑0 win over CSM Slatina, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.