Marked for Ovidiu Burca
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
George Deac beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 29. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A falling-out at Pandurii
George Deac and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ionut Stanciu and Pandurii agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The terraces7 Dec 2026
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Marked 7.58 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Pandurii had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
No place for Sergiu Burca on the big day
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Pandurii pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Adam Žulevič makes the team of the month
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Pandurii will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Paul Chiriches after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Sergiu Burca beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 33. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Age has not caught Ovidiu Hagi yet — 7.96
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.96 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad30 Nov 2026
George Deac 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 Pandurii this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match29 Nov 2026
FCSB made Pandurii work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
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 Chiriches, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Ovidiu Burca
“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.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The form table has caught Ovidiu Burca
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Market30 Nov 2026
The Ianis Bancu story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ianis Bancu signs something — a contract at Pandurii or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Looking ahead30 Nov 2026
Astra next, and one man in the Pandurii dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market23 Nov 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Pandurii, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Sergiu Tanase, 33, rolls back the years — 8.03
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.03 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
George Deac beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Florin Bancu, and the manager let it.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Pandurii
Ovidiu Hagi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Paul Chiriches kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Bookings catch up with Ianis Bancu
One yellow too many, and a match watched from the stand. The most avoidable absence in football, and Pandurii will feel it on Saturday.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Ovidiu Burca
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 50. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Florin Bancu 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 Pandurii this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Pandurii know it.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Pandurii are still strangers to each other
6 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 dugout9 Nov 2026
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mate Dibusz, and the manager let it.
Squad9 Nov 2026
One booking too many, and a game watched from the stand. Pandurii lose him for the most avoidable reason in the sport.
Match7 Nov 2026
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Botosani will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
George Deac beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 35. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
At 33 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 7.92, and nobody on the pitch better.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ionut Hagi commits to Pandurii for another 5 years.
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
“I watch every Pandurii game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Puskas Akademia runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Match31 Oct 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ovidiu Hagi. 1‑0 against Voluntari, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Ciprian Maxim is the month’s best young player
At 21 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Pandurii will try not to make too much of it.
Squad2 Nov 2026
The medical room confirms 26 days on the sidelines for Ciprian Cicaldau, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Samy Mahour 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.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market26 Oct 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Pandurii, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Oct 2026
George Deac 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.
Match24 Oct 2026
The goals have deserted Pandurii
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Pandurii can tell you which week it ends in.
Match24 Oct 2026
Universitatea Craiova left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Nicusor Nedelcearu commits to Pandurii for another 3 years.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Paul Chiriches left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Ovidiu Burca
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Sergiu Balasa
“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.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
George Deac beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 12. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Pandurii
George Deac 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Bryan Meyo is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The terraces19 Oct 2026
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Squad19 Oct 2026
The decline has begun for Ovidiu Hagi
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 33 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Pandurii is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Loan watch19 Oct 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Pandurii, and 3 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.26 on the card, and the Pandurii support went home talking about one name.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Paul Chiriches after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ionut Stanciu and Pandurii agree another 1 years.
The terraces5 Oct 2026
The crowd has taken to Ionut Hagi
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Pandurii
Ovidiu Hagi 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.
Match5 Oct 2026
The half-term report on Pandurii
Position 6, 12 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
The afternoon belonged to Ionut Hagi
A mark of 7.37, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Market5 Oct 2026
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Dorin Chiriches has his answer from Pandurii; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Paul Chiriches was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Pandurii dressing room was either.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The form table has caught Ovidiu Burca
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 Sep 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Sergiu Tanase, 33, rolls back the years — 8.17
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.17 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Nicusor Nedelcearu is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Match26 Sep 2026
A 2‑1 win over Viitorul, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The terraces28 Sep 2026
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexandru Moldovan, and the manager let it.
Squad28 Sep 2026
34 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market28 Sep 2026
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Ovidiu Burca has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Pandurii.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
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 Chiriches, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 33. 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.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Florin Bancu 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.
Match20 Sep 2026
3 matches without a goal for Pandurii
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Transfer targets21 Sep 2026
Pandurii asked and Haladas said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match20 Sep 2026
A bad afternoon for Pandurii against Astra
0‑2 to Astra, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Paul Chiriches to a room that had heard them before.
Market21 Sep 2026
Pandurii have made Ianis Bancu available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Ovidiu Burca dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Sep 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Pandurii close the window on a squad of their own making
6 in and 6 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Squad7 Sep 2026
George Deac 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 Pandurii this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Ianis Bancu slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Ianis Bancu is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Pandurii have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Samy Mahour and Pandurii agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market7 Sep 2026
He is 20, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Market7 Sep 2026
The Ianis Bancu story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ianis Bancu signs something — a contract at Pandurii or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.