Liga 1 Standings (After 22 matches -
February 2017):
1. CFR Cluj - 52 points
2. FCSB (Steaua) - 47 points
3. Universitatea Craiova - 42 points
4. Dinamo București - 38 points
5. Astra Giurgiu - 36 points
The gap to Cluj was frustrating but not insurmountable.
FCSB had games in hand, and more importantly, they had momentum. While Cluj focused solely on the league,
FCSB was fighting on two fronts—domestic and European.
The Europa League knockout round draw had been kind and cruel in equal measure. KAA Gent from Belgium—a club that had reached the Champions League round of 16 just two years ago, that had beaten Tottenham at Wembley. They were experienced, organized, and dangerous.
The first leg would be at home in Bucharest. Crucial to get a result before traveling to Belgium.
Training that week was tactical and intense.(Andrei realized he'd been confusing him with Dică in his exhausted state—Dică was the assistant), was a demanding tactician who believed in detailed preparation.
"Gent plays 4-3-3,"
Reghecampf explained, standing before a tactical board covered in magnets. "Their strength is in possession and quick transitions. We cannot give them space in midfield."
He moved the magnets around, demonstrating.
Gent's Expected Formation (4-3-3):
GK: Lovre Kalinić
DEF (RB): Nana Asare
CB: Stefan Mitrović
CB: Rami Gershon
DEF (LB): Brecht Dejaegere
CDM: Samuel Gigot
CM: Danijel Milićević
CM: Moses Simon
RW: Kalifa Coulibaly
ST: Laurent Depoitre
LW: Anderson Esiti
"Their striker Depoitre is big and physical," Reghecampf continued. "1.92 meters, strong in the air. Panțîru, Dawa—you cannot let him dominate."
FCSB's Formation (4-2-3-1):
GK: Andrei Vlad
DEF (RB): Romario Benzar
CB: Joyskim Dawa
CB: Ionuț Panțîru
DEF (LB): Risto Radunović
CDM: Mihai Pintilii
CDM: Filipe Teixeira
RW: Florinel Coman
CAM: Constantin Budescu
LW/CAM: Andrei Luca
ST: Harlem Gnohere
Andrei's position was listed as left attacking midfielder, but his role was fluid—drift inside, combine with Budescu, create space for the Ivorian striker Gnohere. The big summer signing from Sint-Truiden was powerful but needed service.
"Luca," Reghecampf called. "You're key in this match. When Budescu drops deep, you push forward.
When Gnohere holds up play, you run beyond. Constant movement. Make them choose who to mark."
"Yes, Mister."
They drilled the movements repeatedly. Andrei's positioning improved with each repetition:
Positioning: 63 → 63.4
Vision: 61.2 → 61.5
Stamina: 68 (fully recovered)
February 16th, 2017. The Stadionul Național was packed—32,000 fans creating a wall of noise that shook the foundations.
European nights in Bucharest were special, the floodlights painting everything in vivid contrast, the stakes impossibly high.
Andrei stood in the tunnel, controlling his breathing. Beside him, Gent's players looked calm, experienced. They'd been here before. For most of FCSB's squad, this was uncharted territory.
Elena was in the press box. They'd texted earlier:
Remember—just football. You've done this a thousand times.
Never against Belgians who've beaten Tottenham.
They're just humans who happen to be good at football. So are you.
The teams walked out into the cauldron of noise.
Current Rating: 69.4/99
Composure: 60.2/99
Match Importance: Very High
Kickoff.
Gent immediately demonstrated why they were dangerous. Their passing was crisp, their movement coordinated.
Within two minutes, they'd completed more passes in FCSB's half than most Romanian teams managed in ten.
But FCSB was compact, organized. Pintilii and Teixeira screened the defense,
Budescu dropped deep to help maintain possession. Andrei pressed from his left-sided position, forcing Gent's right-back Nana Asare backward.
In the 12th minute, FCSB won the ball high up the pitch. Coman drove at his fullback with pure pace, then cut the ball back to Budescu at the top of the penalty area.
Budescu's shot was goal-bound—until Kalinić produced a brilliant save, tipping it over.
"Keep going!" Reghecampf screamed from the touchline.
The corner came in, was cleared, and Gent immediately countered. This was their strength—turnovers into quick attacks. Laurent Depoitre, the big striker, held the ball up with his back to goal while Moses Simon and Kalifa Coulibaly sprinted forward.
Depoitre laid it off to Simon. The Nigerian midfielder struck from twenty-five yards—a rocket that crashed against Vlad's crossbar and bounced clear.
System Alert: Defensive positioning needed
Team under pressure
FCSB regrouped. The match settled into a rhythm—Gent controlling possession, FCSB dangerous on the counter.
In the 34th minute, everything changed.
Teixeira intercepted a pass in midfield and immediately looked up.
Andrei was already moving, reading the play before it developed. The Portuguese midfielder's pass was perfect—splitting two defenders, finding Andrei in the left channel.
One touch forward, accelerating into space. Gent's right center-back Stefan Mitrović rushed across to cover. Andrei could shoot—tight angle, but possible. Or...
Vision Check: Teammate positioning
Gnohere - Penalty spot - Unmarked - 70% success probability
Andrei didn't hesitate. He cut the ball back with his left foot, a hard, driven pass across the six-yard box.
Harlem Gnohere arrived like a freight train, side-footing it into the empty net.
GOAL. FCSB 1-0 Gent.
The stadium exploded. Gnohere slid on his knees, Andrei was engulfed by teammates. Even normally composed Pintilii was screaming with joy.
Assist recorded
Vision: +0.2 (identified best passing option under pressure)
Decision Making: +0.1
Gent responded with increased pressure, but FCSB held firm. Halftime: 1-0.
In the dressing room, Reghecampf was measured. "Good half, but forty-five minutes remain.
They will push harder. Stay compact, hit them on the counter."
The second half was siege warfare. Gent threw everything forward—Depoitre, Simon, Coulibaly all causing problems. FCSB defended desperately, everyone behind the ball.
In the 71st minute, disaster nearly struck. A corner kick caused chaos, and Depoitre's header beat Vlad—only for Momčilović to clear off the line.
"Hold on!" Pintilii roared, organizing the defense.
Andrei was exhausted, his legs burning. He'd tracked back constantly, helping Radunović deal with Gent's attacking overloads.
Stamina: 31%
Physical output: Extreme
Defensive work rate: Above expectation for attacking player
In the 88th minute, with FCSB hanging on by fingernails, they won a throw-in deep in Gent's half. Benzar launched it long toward Gnohere, who flicked it on.
The ball fell to Andrei, thirty-five yards from goal, Gent committed forward.
He could hold it, kill time. The safe option. But ahead of him, Coman was sprinting into space, only the goalkeeper to beat.
Andrei played the pass—perfectly weighted, bypassing three Gent players.
Coman took one touch and finished clinically.
GOAL. FCSB 2-0 Gent.
This time, Andrei didn't have energy to celebrate. He just raised his arms, overwhelmed by exhaustion and relief.
Second assist
Vision: +0.1
Overall Rating: 69.4 → 70.1
The final whistle blew. FCSB had done it—a commanding 2-0 lead to take to Belgium.
In the mixed zone, European football's mandatory media area, Elena was waiting with her recorder. Professional distance maintained in front of other journalists.
"Andrei, two assists tonight. How does it feel?"
"Good. The team played well. We defended together, counter-attacked well."
Standard footballer answers. But their eyes said more.
Later, at her apartment, away from cameras and professionalism, she told him what she really thought.
"You were brilliant. Not just the assists—your work rate, your decision-making, everything."
"I was just doing my job."
"No." Elena was firm. "You were exceptional. And you need to start believing that."
She showed him the stats she'd compiled: 11.4 kilometers covered, 87% pass completion, two key passes, three tackles. For an attacking midfielder, it was a complete performance.
"The scouts from Inter were there," Elena said quietly. "Along with representatives from Ajax, Lyon, and Sevilla."
Andrei's stomach flipped. "How do you know?"
"I'm a journalist. It's my job to know." She smiled. "They were impressed. Very impressed."
"We haven't won yet. Second leg in Belgium—"
"You'll win. I know you will." Elena kissed him. "But after that, Andrei... your life is going to change. Are you ready for that?"
"As long as you're with me."
"Always," she promised.
They made love that night with unusual intensity, as if both sensing that their small, private world was about to explode outward into something much bigger and more complicated.
New Development: Multiple clubs tracking
Performance trajectory: Upward
Summer transfer: Increasingly likely
Personal complications: Mountingq
The system tracked everything. But it couldn't quantify what Andrei felt lying beside Elena in the darkness—the fear, the excitement, the knowledge that everything was about to change.
Outside, Bucharest slept. Inside, two young people held each other and pretended the future could wait.
Just for tonight.
Liga 1 - Matchday 23 Results:
CFR Cluj 2-1 Astra Giurgiu
FCSB 3-0 FC Voluntari (Andrei: 1 goal, 1 assist)
Universitatea Craiova 1-1 Dinamo București
Viitorul Constanța 2-0 Pandurii
Updated Standings:
CFR Cluj - 55 points
FCSB - 50 points
Universitatea Craiova - 43 points
Dinamo București - 39 points
The title race was heating up. But Andrei's focus was split—between domestic glory and European success, between football and love, between who he was and who he was becoming.