Radio România Internațional

Tag: cup

  • Radio Romania International Sports club

    Radio Romania International Sports club

    Romanian football team FCSB is that close to succeeding a performance which is an absolute first for Romanian football: the qualification to the quarterfinals of a European competition in a new format. Since the Champions League, Europa League then Conference League have replaced the former European Cups, the longest trail of a Romanian football team ended at the round of 16.

    It happened in 2013, when Steaua Bucharest, in Europa League’s round of 16, was defeated by Chelsea, the trophy holders at that time. We recall Steaua won in the first leg, 1-nil, in Bucharest, then sustained a 1-3 defeat on Stamford Bridge. Since 2017, Steaua has become FCSB.

    On Thursday, holders FCSB play the first leg against French team Olympique Lyonnais. FCSB have recently gone past the competitions’ playoffs, defeating Greek opponents PAOK Thessalonica, 2-1, away and 2-nil, at home.

    Olympique Lyonnais have advanced straight to the round of 16, having been 6th-placed in the main group phase. The French team’s record is made of four wins, three draws and only one defeat. Their record is not spectacularly better than FCSB’s record, made of four wins, two draws and two defeats. What made the difference was Olympique Lyonnais’ 4-1 win against Glasgow Rangers on Ibrox park on October 3rd. We recall on October 25th Glasgow rangers trounced FCSB, 4-nil.

    At present, one round ahead of the end of the regular season, holders FCSB are at the top of the table according to the Superleague’s ranking, having one point more than Universitatea Craiova, the team FCSB will confront this coming Sunday. In this past weekend’s round, the match pitting FCSB against Rapid Bucharest ended in a blank draw; FCSB were one man shy on the pitch for almost 60 minutes.

    In the French first League, after 24 rounds, Olympique Lyonnais are 6th-placed, On Sunday, Portuguese head-coach Palo Fonseca’s trainees grabbed a 2-1 home win against Brest, the team that in 2025 represented France in the Champions League.

    In the French championship’s last five fixtures, Olympique sustained only two defeats, by top of the table team Paris Saint-Germain and the runner-up team Olympique Marseille.

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

     

    Romania came out 2nd in Group B of the Rugby Europe Championship, the second most valuable rugby tier on the continent after the 6 Nations Tournament. Romania failed to win the group after being defeated by Portugal in Botoşani on Saturday, 34-6. The semi-finals will take place on March 1. Romania will play away against Georgia, and Portugal will take on Spain, at home. A place among the top 4 teams in the competition ensured the Romanians direct qualification to the 2027 World Cup.

     

    In handball, games took place in the women’s European competitions over the weekend. In the Champions League, Group A, on Saturday, Gloria Bistriţa-Năsăud were defeated at home by the French team Metz, 34-8, and on Sunday, CSM Bucharest won in Norway against Storhamar, 32-21. One round before the end of the group stage, CSM are in 3rd place, and Gloria in 7th. In the last round, the 2 teams will play each other in Bucharest. CSM has secured its qualification in the play-offs for the quarter-finals. The Bistriţa team needs a win in the last round, coupled with a defeat of the Norwegian team Storhamar by the group leader, Metz. In Group B, Rapid did not play, as the team they were supposed to meet, namely the Norwegian group Vipers Kristiansand, withdrew from the competition. Rapid is in 7th place and, in order to qualify for the quarter-final play-offs, they must not lose in the last round, in Podgorica, against Buducnost.

     

    In the EHF European League, both Romanian teams that played on Saturday won their respective matches. In Group A, Dunărea Brăila defeated the Spanish team Elche 32-29 away from home, and in the next round they will take on Ikast (in Denmark). In Group B, SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea defeated the German team Borussia Dortmund at home, 32-27, and will meet the Norwegian team Larvik on Sunday at home. Both Romanian teams lead their respective groups.

     

    The Romanian Men’s Basketball Cup was won by CSO Voluntari, who Sunday won the final against CSM CSU Oradea, 93-83. CSO Voluntari thus won the third Romanian Cup in its history, after the 2021 and 2022 seasons. The Oradea team has played eight finals so far, and has lost all of them.

     

    We end with football. Over the weekend, matches counting for round 27 of the Romanian Super League took place. On Friday, Hermannstadt won against Sfântu Gheorghe 3-2, and Universitatea Craiova beat Oţelul Galaţi 2-1 at home. On Saturday, UTA won in Ploieşti against Petrolul 1-0, and Farul Constanţa beat Dinamo 2-0 in Bucharest. On Sunday, the game in Iaşi between Poli and CFR Cluj ended in a 1-all draw, then FCSB defeated Gloria Buzău 2-0 away from home. The last two matches of the round, pitting Universitatea Cluj against Unirea Slobozia and Rapid Bucharest against FC Botoșani, are scheduled on Monday. FCSB leads the standings with 49 points, and Craiova follows with 48. (AMP)

  • February 9, 2025 UPDATE

    February 9, 2025 UPDATE

    VOTE Over 2 thousand Romanian eligible voters residing abroad have so far registered on the website of the Permanent Election Authority to cast their ballot by mail in the presidential election due in May this year. The registration deadline is March 20th and, according to official figures, most registrations came from Germany, Britain, Switzerland, France and Spain. Romania will be hosting presidential election on May 4 and 18. We recall the first presidential round was invalidated by the Constitutional Court in December last year due to interferences in the election process.

    TALKS Romania’s Senate will next week be hosting talks with representatives of real estate agencies, notary public, and the National Agency for Cadastre. The MPs want to include in the legislation regulations for the better protection of those who want to buy houses from real estate developers. Three draft laws have already been submitted to Parliament in this respect. The move comes after hundreds of people affected by the Nordis fraudulent scheme have called for amendments to the legislation. The former PSD MP, Laura Vicol, her husband Vladimir Ciorba who is also the main shareholder in the Nordis Group, and other three persons have been placed in preventive detention in connection with the aforementioned file. The investigation is focusing on natural persons and companies accused of having raked in more than 195 million Euros from customers without giving them the apartments they paid for.

    CUP Romania’s national fifteen has qualified for World Cup 2027 after a 31-14 win on Saturday against the Belgian side in Rugby Europe Championship. Romania has thus ensured its 10th participation in the World Cup. Only in 2019, Romania was not allowed to attend the competition because it used an ineligible player in the qualifiers. In its debut match in Rugby Europe Championship 2025, Romania secured a 48-10 home win against Germany. Our players will be having their last match at home against Portugal on February 15. Romania ranks first in the standings with nine points followed by Portugal, Germany and Belgium. The first two sides are qualified for World Cup 2027.

    SPORTS CS Gloria 2018 Bistrita Nasaud, a women’s handball side from northern Romania, was outperformed by Slovenian side Krim Ljubljana 28-25 on Saturday in an away match counting towards group A of the Champions League. After that game, Gloria has few chances to qualify for the play-offs. In the same group on Sunday, CSM Bucharest defeated the Croatian side RK Podravka. In the competition’s group B, Rapid Bucharest was outperformed 24-30 by Ludwigsburg of Germany in an away game. In tennis competitions, the Romanian-Italian pair Jaqueline Cristian/Angelica Moratelli has conceded defeat to Magali Kempen of Belgium and Ana Siskova of the Czech Republic in the doubles finals of the tennis tournament Transylvania Open (WTA 250), a competition hosted by Cluj-Napoca, in north-western Romania, with more than 275 thousand dollars in prize money.

    112 Over 100 head offices of public institutions and private companies in Romania will light up in red on Tuesday to mark the European Day of the Emergency Number 112. According to its initiator, the Special Telecommunication Service, the move is aimed at drawing people’s attention to the essential role played by the unique emergency number and encouraging citizens to use it responsibly. The abusive use of the number can hinder the rapid intervention of the specialized teams where they are actually needed. Last year through the combined efforts of intervention institutions such as the police, paramedics, firefighters and others, the number of non-urgent 112 calls dropped by one million as compared to the previous years. Emergency operators received 9.7 million calls out of which 60.45% accounted for emergencies.

    (bill)

  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    Romanian Cup in football’s group phase has drawn to a close. We already know the eight teams that have advanced to the quarterfinals. None of the first three teams of the Superleague is among them, namely Universitatea Cluj, Dinamo and FCSB. For the quarterfinals scheme to be complete, we need to know who the winners are in the two playoff fixtures, crucial for designating the winner of Group D and the second team that has got through, of Group C.

    Then in April we shall have the confrontation for a place in the Cup’s semi-finals, when CFR Cluj are pitted against Universitatea Craiova and Farul Constanţa face the losing team of the match pitting CSM Resita against Unirea Alba Iulia. Also, Metalul Buzau play Rapid Bucharest. The semifinal fight scheme includes one final confrontation: the winner of the match pitting Resita against Alba Iulia plays the winner of the playoff fixture, where Poli Iasi face FC Hermanstadt.

    Matches counting towards the 21st round as part of Romanian Football Superleague are scheduled at the weekend. It is the last round in 2024. On Friday, Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe play Universitatea Cluj. On Saturday in Sibiu, FC Hermannstadt face Farul Constanţa. Farul are fresh from a precious Romanian Cup 5-1 away win against UTA Arad, thus booking their ticket to the quarterfinals.

    FC Hermannstandt have won their last four fixtures in the Superleague and fare better, being 9th-placed, that is two notches up as compared to Farul Constanta. Also on Saturday, Gloria Buzău play Universitatea Craiova. Universitatea’s run has been quite good as of late: this past Wednesday they grabbed a 2-nil away win against FCSB, in Bucharest.

    Gloria Buzau are at the bottom of the table in the Superleague, On Sunday, Petrolul Ploiesti play a home match against Unirea Slobozia. Petrolul are 8th-placed and they have not won a single game in the last five rounds; however, they keep their hopes alive they can win the fixture against 13th-placed team, Gloria.
    21st round’s derby will be hosted by the National Arena in Bucharest, with Dinamo playing Rapid, in a confrontation that has been going on for nearly eight decades now.

    On Monday, UTA Arad play FC Botosani and Poli Iasi take on FCSB. Universitatea Cluj are the leaders in the as-it-stands table, with 36 points. Dinamo and FCSB follow suit, with 35 and 34 points, respectively.

  • Athlete of the week

    Athlete of the week

    Football competitions in Scotland are among the world’s oldest such events. The Scottish League Cup made its debut during the 1873-1874 season. The Scottish championship’s inaugural edition was held in 1891, so tradition is reason enough for such competitions to enjoy world-level prestige, despite the fact that not all the teams vying for titles are top-flight squads.

    Scotland also has a third top-notch competition, The Scottish League Cup, the world’s oldest League Cup. Its inaugural edition was held in the 1946-1947 season. In 2024, in the Scottish League Cup final, a Romanian was on the pitch, Ianis Hagi, currently signed up by Glasgow Rangers. Rangers lost after the penalty shootout in their game against the other Glasgow team, Celtic.

    For his good run in the Rangers-Celtic final, Radio Romania International designated Ianis Hagi the Athlete of the week.

    For Glasgow Rangers, Ianis Hagi was on the pitch all throughout the game, in the 90-minute regular time and in extra time. Glasgow drew first blood late into the first half, Celtic scored twice, securing a 2-1 advantage. Rangers levelled the score but Celtic scored again. The fate of the game was sealed by Rangers’ goal on 88 minutes; the final score after 90 minutes was 3-all.

    Extra time did not bring any change so the penalty shootout followed. Celtic won, 5-4. Ianis Hagi was among Rangers’ scorers.

    Our top-notch footballer is the son of Gheorghe Hagi, one of Romania’s greatest footballers of all time. Ianis Hagi was born on October 22, 1998 in Turkey, at the time when his father played for Galatasaray. He took up football with the Gheorghe Hagi Academy in Ovidiu a locality close to Romania’s greatest Black Sea port, Constanta.

    Ianis made his debut in Romania’s top-tier league with Viitorul Constanta, a team also head-coached by his father, Gheorghe Hagi. Ianis then played for Fiorentina in Italy, for Genk in Belgium and for Glasgow Rangers.

    Ianis Hagi was on loan from Rangers playing for Spanish club Deportivo Alaves, only to be summoned back by the Scottish team. Ianis made his debut with the National team in the fall of 2018, in a League of Nations fixture against Lithuania, a game Romania won, 3-nil.

  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    Romanian football team FCSB has succeeded yet another win in UEFA Europa League. On Thursday, holders FCSB grabbed a 2-nil home win against Danish opponents Mitdjylland. Scoring for FSCB were Florin Tănase, in minute 16, and Daniel Bîrligea, in the 10th second of the second half. With three wins and a defeat, FCSB has climbed to the 8th place.

    We recall that at the end of this phase of the League, the first eight teams in descending order advance straight to the round of 16, while 9th to 24th-placed teams will be engaged in play-off fixtures 25th to 36th-placed teams as well as the teams that re defeated in the playoffs will be eliminated from competition. Holders FCSB’s next match on November 28 is the home confrontation against Greek opponents Olympiakos Piraeus.

    This coming weekend will see Romanian Football Super league matches being played, counting towards the regular season’s 18th-round. On Friday, Oţelul Galaţi play FC Botoşani, while Dinamo Bucharest take on CFR Cluj. On Saturday, Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe play an away match against Poli Iasi, Universitatea Craiova play a home fixture against FC Hermannstadt, Sibiu, while in Bucharest, Rapid receive the visit of UTA Arad. On Sunday in Clinceni, Unirea Slobozia play Farul Constanţa, while in Cluj, FCSB are pitted against top-of-the-table team Universitata Cluj. On Monday, Gloria Buzau play Petrolul Ploiesti.

    Three Romanian women’s handball teams this coming weekend will play their Champions league fixtures.in Group B on Saturday, Rapid Bucharest play an away game against Gyor of Hungary. After 6 rounds, Rapid are 7th-placed in the group, with 3 points. Hungary’s Gyor are 2nd-placed, with 9 points. In Group A on Saturday, Gloria Bistriţa-Năsăud play a home game against Danish opponents Nykøbing Falster. On Sunday, CSM Bucureşti play Hungarian opponents Ferencvàros, also at home. CSM are 4th- placed with 8 points, while Gloria are 7th-placed, with 2 points.

    In Bucharest on Sunday, the Romanian national rugby team will play this fall’s first test-match. The national team goes against Tonga, on November 16 the national team play Canada, then on November 23rd Romania will play Uruguay.

  • Sports flash

    Sports flash

    Attention-grabbing, for starters, are results in men’s basketball. In EuroCup, Group B, U-BT Cluj-Napoca sustained a 80-99 away defat by Turk Telekom in Ankara.

    Agerpress news agency wrote U-BT had an auspicious start in this past Wednesday’s confrontation, they had the upper hand in the first quarter of an hour, yet they were dominated in the other three quarters of the match. U-BT’s best player was the American Zavier Simpson, with 22 points, 6 recoveries and 9 assists.

    Holders U-BT have thus put an end to a series of three consecutive wins in EuroCup, having sustained defeats in the season’s first three matches. U-BT are 6th-placed in the Group. In the 8th round on home turf, they will go against Lithuania’s Lietkabelis Panevezys on November 13.

    In FIBA Europe Cup, CSM CSU Oradea on Wednesday emerged as Group E winners, securing a 85-67 home win against Estonian opponents Parnu Sadam. Vice champions CSM CSU Oradea have already secured their qualification to the competition’s next phase, having ticked their fifth win in a row in the Group, at the end of a game they dominated completely. Of Cristian Achim’s trainees, standing out was Canadian basketball player Kalif Young, with 17 points and 6 recoveries.

    In Group E’s other fixture, FC Argeş grabbed a 77-63 home win against Polish side Spojnia Stargard. For FC Arges, their Serbian player Radovan Djokovic succeeded 18 points. CSM CSU Oradea are at the top of the table, with 10 points. Following are FC Argeş and Spojnia Stargard, with 7, and Parnu Sadam, with 6 points.

    In the last round, in Pitesti, FC Argeş play CSM CSU Oradea, on November 13. Advancing to the competition’s second stage are the winning teams in each of the ten groups, added to which are the six best runner-up teams. teams.

    In women’s volleyball, Voluntary Town Sports Club on Wednesday in Florence sustained a 3-nil defeat by Savino Del Bene Scandicci. In the Challenge Cup, CSM Târgovişte and CSM Lugoj have both won their first leg wins in the round of 32. On home turf, CSM defeated Olymp Praga, 3-1, while CSM Lugoj defeated Hungary’s Székesfehérvár, also at home, 3-1.

    CSM Bucharest are still at the top of the table of the National Women’s Handball League, on a par with Corona Braşov. Defending champions CSM on Wednesday grabbed a 21-18 win against HC Zalău. Vice-champions Rapid Bucharest succeeded a 39-26 away win against SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea. The third Romanian team in the Champions League, Gloria Bistriţa-Năsăud, sustained a 24-26 away defat by Corona from Brasov.

  • Sports flash

    Sports flash

    Romanian women’s basketball team Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe have succeeded their first win in EuroCup’s Group C. On Wednesday, holders Sepsi grabbed a 70-63 home win against Greek opponents Proteas Voulas. Sepsi had the lead all throughout the game save for a short period of time when Proteas took the lead in the middle of the third quarter.

    Sepsi’s top scorer was their American player Ciera Johnson with 24 points and 14 recoveries. In group C’s other fixture, in Belgrade, red Star sustained a 78-80 defeat by Spain’s IDK Gipuzkoa. In Group C, with 8 points, Gipuzkoa are at the top of the table, while Red Star are the runner-up team, with 6 points. Following in descending order are Sepsi and Voulas, with 5 points each.

    In the last-but-one round, Sepsi travel to San Sebastian for their return leg against Gipuzkoa. Advancing to the round of 32 are the first two teams in each group, then the best four 3rd-placed teams and the four 4th-placed teams in Women’s EuroLeague.

    In men’s basketball, on Wednesday U-BT Cluj-Napoca managed a heart-throbbing 86-78 home win against Italy’s Umana Reyer Veneţia in EuroCup’s Group B. Holders U-BT Cluj Napoca have thus succeeded their third consecutive win, in the wake of a sluggish season debut, with three defeats on their record sheet. Umana Reyer Venice had the upper hand for more than three quarters of play, securing a 65-56 advantage ten minutes from time. Yet U-BT had come from behind in the last quarter, securing their win the final part of the game.

    U-BT Cluj Napoca’s best player was the French Adam Mokoka, with 16 points, 4 recoveries and 4 assists. U-BT will next play against Türk Telekom of Ankara, away.
    In Romanian Cup in Football, the first round of the group phase is scheduled this week. On Wednesday, in a Group B fixture, on the National Arena in Bucharest, in Romanian football’s all-time derby, Dinamo Bucharest was pitted against FCSB, also from Bucharest.

    FCSB trounced Dinamo, 4-nil. Scoring were Alexandru Băluţă, in minute 56, then Brazilian Luis Phelipe scored on 70 minutes, while Marius Ştefănescu scored in minutes 81 and 88. We recall that 10 days ago, holders FCSB had also won the League game against Dinamo, 2-nil.

  • Radio Romania International Sports club

    Radio Romania International Sports club

    Romanian Cup in football’s group phase kick-started on Tuesday. As part of the 2024-2025 edition, Romania’s best teams will thus prove their mettle in the Cup’s group phase. These teams in the previous season competed in the Superleague’s Group 2.

    On Tuesday, Petrolul Ploieşti grabbed a 3-nil away win against third-tier team Agricola Borcea, in Group B’s debut match. In Group C in Iasi, the local side Poli drew against UTA Arad, 1-all. Second-tier team FC Arges in Mioveni drew against CFR Cluj, also 1-all. The other matches of the first round as part of the group phase will be played on Wednesday and Thursday.

    Romanian Cup’s groups system has been implemented fairly recently, starting with the Cup’s 2022 edition. Until then, it was a direct eliminatory competition in all its phases. At the moment, the competition begins with the county phase, where taking the start can be all clubs and sports associations registered with the Romanian Federation and all football associations, irrespective of the echelons they are part of.

    The regional phase follows, with 42 teams that emerged as winners at county level and with 7 teams being eliminated. They advance to the first round, alongside the 69 teams that in the previous year competed in the 3rd League. Along the way, the group phase included, entering the competition will also be teams of the upper leagues.

    Romanian Cup in football has been taking place since 1933. The first team to have won the cup was Ripensia Timisoara. We recall that in the 1933-1934 season final, Ripensia defeated Universitatea Cluj. The match was hosted by Bucharest’s ONEF stadium, an arena that after 1948 was known as the Republic Stadium. It was later dismantled to make room for the People’s House, today’s Parliament Palace.

    Most editions of Romania’s Cups have been won by FCSB, former Steaua. FCSB have no less than 24 trophies on the record. FCSB also played 8 finals, where they were defeated. Two other Bucharest teams, Dinamo and Rapid, have each won the Cup 13 times.

  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    Attention-grabbing this coming weekend is the football match pitting Romania against Cyprus. The game will be played in Larnaca and counts towards the third round of the Nations league’ third tier, Group C2. Media in Bucharest has mentioned that roughly 4,000 Romanian supporters are expected to go the stadium, given that the arena playing host to the game has a seating capacity of 8,000 seats.

    The Romania national squad is fresh from two winning confrontations in the Nations League’s first two rounds in September. We recall Romania won the game against Kosovo, 3-nil away, also winning the match against Lithuania at home, 3-1. In the first round, Cyprus defeated Lithuania away from home, 1-nil, then sustained a nil-4 home defeat by Kosovo. The history of the direct confrontations between Cyprus and Romania includes 9 wins for Romania, 3 draws and a win for Cyprus. Head-coach Mircea Lucescu’s trainees’ set target is to obtain six points in two games

    Matches counting towards the Champions League in women’s handball are scheduled at the weekend. In Group A on Saturday, Gloria Bistriţa-Năsăud play a home game against Croatia’s Podravka Koprivnica. According to the as-it-stands table, Gloria are 5th-placed, with two points. With zero points on their record sheet, Podravka and Denmark’s Nykøbing Falster are at the bottom of the table. CSM Bucharest play an away game in Ljubljana, against Krim. Holders CSM are 4th-placed with three wins and one defeat so far. Krim are 2nd-placed, after four consecutive wins.

    In Group B, Rapid Bucharest on Sunday play an away game against Danish team Odense. Rapid have won their first match in the group, against Buducnost Podgorica, at home, and drew against Vipers Kristiansand, away. Then Rapid went no less than eight goals down in the home game against Ludwigsburg, then away from home, Denmark’s Team Esbjerg were seven goals clear in the match against Rapid Bucharest.

    Notwithstanding, Rapid are highly likely to get back into shape: we recall that in the domestic championship this past Wednesday, Romania’s vice-champions trounced SCM Universitatea Craiova, 26 to 17. Also on Sunday, in Europe’s second tier league the EHF European League, in a match counting towards the second preliminary round, Sport Club Municipal Râmnicu Vâlcea play the second leg against Slovak team Dunajská Streda. In the first leg, the Romanian team, won, 28-26.

  • Sports roundup

    Sports roundup

    Romanian women’s handball team CSM Bucharest this past Sunday have added yet another win to their bracing record. In a Champions League Group A fixture, CSM Bucharest defeated Danish challengers Nykøbing Falster on home turf, 27-26. CSM’s top scorer Cristina Neagu, with ten goals. Neagu has thus become the top scorer in the history of Champions League in women’s handball, with a record of 1,155 goals. Neagu outclassed the former record holder, Montenegrin handballer Jovanka Radičević. CS Bucharest are 4h placed in Group A, with a record of three wins and one defeat.

    Another Romanian team, Gloria Bistritsa-Nasaud, are 5h placed, having sustained a 28-32 away defeat by Hungarian opponents Ferencváros Budapest. Rapid Bucharest, competing in the league; a Group B, on Sunday sustained a 32-39 away defeat by Danish opponents Team Esbjerg. Rapid Bucharest is 6th-placed in group B.

    In news from women’s tennis, Monica Niculescu and Gabriela Ruse have won the women’s doubles event as part of the WTA 125 tournament in Hong Kong, a tournament with 115, 000 USD in prize money. In the final, Niculescu and Ruse defeated the all-Japanese pair made of Nao Hibino and Makoto Ninomiya, 6-3, 5-7, 10-5. Niculescu and Ruse will most likely go against Hibino and Ninomya for a second time around, in the Billie Jean King Cup inter-countries competition on November 14 in Malaga in the round of 16, when Romania is pitted against Japan. For Niculescu and Ruse, this was the second women’s doubles title they have won pairing up with one another. We recall in 2021 Niculescu and Ruse won the ITF lawn tournament in Nottingham, an event with 100, 000 USD up for grabs.

    Matches counting towards Romanian football Super League’s 12th round were played this past weekend. In Arad on Friday, the local side UTA defeated Petrolul Ploieşti, 3-1. In Ovidiu, Farul Constanţa and Dinamo Bucharest drew, 1-all. In Clinceni on Saturday, Unirea Slobozia and Universitatea Cluj drew, 2-all, while in Cluj, CFR defeated Politehnica Iași, 2-1. Also on Saturday, in Galati, the local side Otelul and Universitatea Craiova drew, 1-all.

    The 12th round’s last three games were played on Sunday. In Sibiu, Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe trounced FC Hermannstadt, 4-nil, then on home turf FC Botoşani outclassed Rapid Bucharest, 2-nil, while in Bucharest, FCSB grabbed a 3-2 win against Gloria Buzău. Universitatea Cluj are still at the top of the as-it-stands table, with 23 points, followed by Universitatea Craiova, with 20 points.

  • Sports flash

    Sports flash

    Romanian women’s handball team Gloria Bistritsa grabbed a 24-22 away win against Rapid Bucharest. The fixture counted as the derby of the National Women’s Handball League’s third round. Florentin Pera’ s trainees had the lead all throughout the game, so much so that in the first half Gloria Bistritsa were six goals clear of Rapid. Gloria Bistritsa’s top player was Brazilian goal keeper Renata Lais De Arruda, with 18 saves. Gloria’s most efficient scorer was another Brazilian, Tamires Morena, with 5 goals scored. Rapid’s top scorer was the French Aissatou Kouyaté, who scored 5 goals. Gloria is fresh from another great win they grabbed on Saturday in the Champions League, against CSM Bucharest. In the domestic championship, 2023 title holders, CSM, in Bucharest on Wednesday grabbed a 38-24 win against Magura Cisnadie.

    In news from football, Emil Săndoi is Politehnica Iaşi’s newly-appointed head coach. Sandoi’s debut match is this coming Sunday’s fixture pitting Politehnica Iasi against Universitatea Craiova, the team where Emil Sandoi made a name for himself in domestic football. The match counts towards the Romanian Super League’s 9th round. The round’s debut fixtures on Friday will see Sepsi OSK Sfantu Gheorghe playing FC Botosani on home turf, while in Bucharest, in a match hosted by the Triumphal Arch Arena, Dinamo Bucharest faces Unirea Slobozia.

    The Romanian athletes who in 2024 walked home with medals won in the Olympic and Paralympic games, on Wednesday were decorated by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. Among them, swimmer David Popovici and rowers Ancuţa Bodnar, Simona Radiş, Andrei Cornea and Marian Enache. A couple of sports officials and head coaches have also received distinctions. The many-time rowing champion and currently the president of the National Sports Agency, Elisabeta Lipa, was granted the Star of Romania Order in the rank of Grand Officer. The Olympic fencing champion in 2000, the President of the Olympic and Sports Committee, Mihai Covaliu, was granted the Star of Romania National Order in the rank of Knight.

  • Radio Romania International Sports Club

    Radio Romania International Sports Club

    The 2024 edition of Europe’s second-tier rugby competition, second only to Six Nations and known as Rugby Europe Championship, will soon be drawing to a close. Taking the start for the 2024 edition of the event were eight teams, distributed according to two groups. Included in Group A have been Georgia, Spain, The Low Countries and Germany. Group B teams were Portugal, Romania, Belgium and Poland. With 14 points, Georgia emerged as the winner of Group A. It was followed by Spain, with 9 points,The Low Countries, with 6 and Germany, with zero points on their record sheet. Portugal was at the top of the table in Group B, with 11 points. Romanian was the runner-up team, with 9 points. Third and fourth placed were Belgium and Poland, with 9 and zero points, respectively.

     

    The only surprise was provided by Belgium winning the game against Portugal in Group B, 10-6. Advancing to the competition’s semi-finals were Georgia, Spain, Portugal and Romania, while competing for the 5th to 8th-places were the other four teams. In the semifinals, Georgia took on Romania, while Portugal played Spain.

     

    In the Georgian capital Tbilisi, Georgia trounced Romania, 43-5, 10-nil at half time. Scoring for Romania was center Fonivai Tangimana, through a successful try. In the Portuguese capital Lisbon, Portugal defeated Spain, 33-30, 13-20 at half time. In the play-out fixtures, The Low Countries thrashed Spain, 54-7, while Germany outclassed Belgium, 21-11.

     

    All four final confrontations are scheduled on March 17 and will be hosted by the Jean-Bouin stadium in Paris. Competing for the 7th and 8th positions are Poland and Belgium, while The Low Countries will play Germany for the 5th and the 6th positions. Fighting for the bronze medal will be Romania and Spain, while Georgia will play Portugal in the final. The 3rd-place final and the great final are re-enactments of the confrontations as part of Rugby Europe Championship’s 2023 edition.

     

  • Sports roundup


    The
    European U-21 table tennis championship has recently drawn to a close in
    Skopje, North Macedonia. The Romanian participants walked away with 6 medals, of
    which one gold, four silver and one bronze. Gold went to the pair made of Bianca Mei-Roşu and Elena
    Zaharia in the women’s doubles event. Also in the women’s doubles, pairing up with
    Slovenian Sara Tokic, Camelia Mitrofan won silver. In the women’s singles, Elena Zaharia won silver, and also
    silver went to the mixed doubles pair made of Elena Zaharia and Darius
    Movileanu. In the men’s doubles, pairing up with Eduard Ionescu, Movileanu won yet
    another silver medal. Also in the men’s doubles Iulian Chiriţă and Andrei
    Istrate won bronze.


    In high-diving,
    the Romanian swimmer Constantin Popovici has become the new champion of the Red
    Bull Cliff Diving world circuit. We recall Popovici won the last leg in 2023,
    held in New Zealand this past weekend. Overall, 4th placed was another
    Romanian, Cătălin Preda.


    At the Euro
    Meet International Contest held in Luxembourg, Romanian swimmer David Popovici won gold in the 100m and 200m freestyle events. In 100m freestyle, Popovici set a
    new competitional record, clocking 48 seconds and one hundredths of a second. We
    recall that since August 13, 2022, David Popovici holds the record of the event,
    with 46 seconds and 86 hundredths of a second. Popovici will stay focused on his special training ahead of the Summer Olympics Games in Paris, so he
    announced he would not participate in the World Swimming Championships, to be
    held in Doha beginning February 2nd.


    Corona
    Braşov has won Romania’s Cup in Ice Hockey. This past Sunday, in the final,
    Corona Brasov defeated ACSH Gheorgheni, 5-3. The Cup’s final tournament was
    held in Gheorgheni. In the 3rd-place final, Steaua Bucharest defeated
    Fenestela Braşov, 5-4. Following the victories in 2013, 2015 and 2021, Corona
    Brasov won the trophy for the fourth time around.


    Matches counting towards the Romanian football Superleague’s 23rd
    round were played this past weekend. On Friday, in Ovidiu, Farul Constanta
    defeated FC U Craiova, 1-nil. On Saturday, UTA Arad grabbed a 2-1 home win against
    Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe. On the former team’s turf, the match pitting Oţelul Galati
    against Petrolul Ploieşti ended in a blank draw. On the National Arena in Bucharest,
    Rapid defeated Dinamo, 2-1. In Sibiu on Sunday, FC Hermannstadt defeated Botoşani, 2-1. Poli Iasi
    grabbed a 1-nil home win against Universitatea Craiova, while FCSB grabbed a
    3-nil win against Universitatea Craiova. With 50 points, FCSB are at the top of
    the table, 11 points clear of the runner-up team, Rapid Bucharest.

  • Sports flash

    Sports flash



    Fixtures counting towards European basketball competitions were played on Wednesday. In the European first-tier womens competition, the Euroleague, Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe have sustained yet another defeat. Romanian holders were thrashed by Turkish opponents Fenerbahce Istanbul, 110 to 63. A first-timer in the Euroleague, Sepsi are bottom-of-the-table in Group A. In the wake of the six matches they have played so far, Sepsi have a winless record sheet. Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe will next week travel to France, for a fixture against ASVEL Lyon.



    In the second-tier womens European basketball competition, FIBA EuroCup, in Group C, CSM Constanţa sustained a 87-78 away defeat by Lithuanian squad Kibirkstis. Romanian vice-champion team sustained their fifth defeat in the group, in a similar number of fixtures. Next week, CSM Constanta ply French team Angers, away.



    In the mens version of FIBA EuroCup, U-BT Cluj-Napoca on home turf were thrashed by the winners of the FIBA EuroCup 2023, Dreamland Gran Canaria of Spain, 92 to 70. Romanian title holders are second placed in Group B, with 6 wins and 2 draws. Top of the table are Dreamland Gran Canaria, with 8 wins. U-BT Cluj-Napocas next fixture is the home match against Lithuanian opponents Lietkabelis Panevezys, on November 29.



    In Europes mens third-tier competition, FIBA Europe Cup, CSM CSU Oradea have earned their place among the competitions top 16 teams. In Group J, CSM CSU Oradea came in second, having grabbed a 93-74 home win against Legia Warsaw this past Wednesday. In Group B, Baschet Club Sibiu sustained a 71-84 away defeat by Polish opponents Anwil Wloclawek. For Sibiu, it was the sixth defeat in six games played.



    In news from mens volleyball, in the Champions Leagues Group E, Arcada Galaţi sustained a nil-3 defeat by Italys Cucine Lube Civitanova. Arcada Galati as an absolute first have qualified to the Champions Leagues Group stage, yet they sustained the defeat after one hour and sixteen minutes of play. In Group Es other fixture, Czech team Lvi Prague grabbed a 3-nil away win against Belgian team Greenyard Maaseik. Arcadas next fixture is this coming Wednesdays home confrontation Greenyard Maaseik of Belgium.