Mihai Man

Central Midfielder - Petrolul
25 Oct 2026
Sunday
Process

Marked for Mihai Man

12 Edition

The Petrolul Courier

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Daniel Tanase takes the match ball home

3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.

Player ratings

Age has not caught Andrei Marin yet — 7.94

At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.94 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.

Squad

Tempers go at Petrolul

Florin Mitrita 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.

Match

6 goals as Petrolul and Astra go for it

Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Petrolul and Astra, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.

Match

Petrolul see off Astra

Three points for Petrolul, 4‑2 the final word against Astra in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

Halil Bağcı is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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 terraces

The crowd has taken to Willian Peixoto

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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Nicusor Iancu

“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 ratings

Ninety minutes of Daniel Tanase at his very best

Marked 8.44. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Petrolul.

In brief

Back issues
5 Edition

The Petrolul Courier

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Mihai Tanase

Successful dribbles: 38. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

Petrolul turn down Teplice for Ovidiu Mihaila

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Market

Cosmin Dragusin puts it in writing

“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 Petrolul, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Florin Mitrita 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 Petrolul this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Petrolul training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Adrian Chiriches 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.

Match

CFR Cluj take the points off Petrolul

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

In brief