Marked for Bogdan Coman
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Aug 2027
“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.
Match31 Jul 2027
7 matches without a win for Petrolul
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Petrolul are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Defensive actions: 27, 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 ratings2 Aug 2027
Defensive actions: 26, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Market2 Aug 2027
The paperwork is done: Bogdan Coman joins from Viitorul in a deal worth $150.0K. Now comes the harder part.
Squad2 Aug 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Petrolul this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ionuţ Ban and Petrolul agree another 3 years.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Defensive actions: 23. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Andrei Vlad 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 Viitorul this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market2 Aug 2027
Business is business: Bogdan Coman goes
Petrolul paid $150.0K and Viitorul took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Marked 9.29 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match31 Jul 2027
Three points for Viitorul, 1‑0 the final word against FCSB in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Marked 8.53 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Viitorul are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match24 Jul 2027
6 matches without a win for Viitorul
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Viitorul are no longer polite ones.
The terraces26 Jul 2027
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 6 of the 26 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Andrei Vlad 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.
Squad26 Jul 2027
The manager makes an example of Andrei Vlad
“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.
Match24 Jul 2027
Pandurii left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Loan watch26 Jul 2027
“I watch every Viitorul game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Astra runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Market26 Jul 2027
The Bogdan Coman conversation is coming
Everyone has stopped pretending: Petrolul will make the call about Bogdan Coman this week. Viitorul have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
The terraces26 Jul 2027
Everybody has an opinion about Andrei Vlad
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market8 Feb 2027
“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 Viitorul, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Florin Mihaila 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match14 Nov 2026
Whatever happens, Viitorul do not lose
10 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Market16 Nov 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Andrei Vlad 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 Viitorul this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match14 Nov 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Claudiu Mihaila. 3‑1 against Botosani, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Marked 9.03 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.48 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.12 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Loan watch16 Nov 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 Viitorul, and 0 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad16 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Sergiu Nita
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match12 Oct 2026
Viitorul up to position 3
17 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Andrei Vlad 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Florin Mihaila and Viitorul agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.07, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match10 Oct 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ruggero Villa. 2‑1 against Dinamo Bucharest, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Claudiu Mihaila, and the manager let it.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Andrei Vlad lets one through his hands
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
The terraces12 Oct 2026
Everybody has an opinion about Andrei Vlad
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 10. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.