Romanian FM 2012 Story: Another Thrilling Finale

Hello friends and welcome back to my Football Manager 2012 story for the thrilling finale of the 2014-2015 season in the Romanian top flight. As you might remember from the previous post the situation at the end of March was extremely uncertain with the top five teams in the league table within just five points. We were top of the table but tied on 50 points with two other teams so the title was pretty much up for grabs. We also had the Romanian Cup to worry about as we were preparing to face Dinamo Bucharest in the semi final.

The semi finals of the Romanian Cup are played over two legs and I was quite pleased that we had the first leg away from home, I always prefer playing the decisive match at home.

Dinamo vs Viitorul (Romanian Cup Semi Final Leg 1)

Starting Line Up: Octavian Ormenisan — Alvaro Casanova, Edward Motha, Juan Belencoso, Tshepo Tshabalala — Mihai Onicas, Silviu Pana, Nenad Grumic — Joabe, Denis Alibec, Liviu Ganea

The game started with our usual domination but unfortunately it was Dinamo who broke the deadlock after 15 minutes on a corner kick. The goal changed the game a bit as we were unable to pass the ball around as well as we had done before so the first half ended in disappointment for me and my lads.

Sadly the second half didn’t start much better for us as Dinamo took advantage of some rather poor defending on our part and made it 2-0 after just three minutes. There was no reaction from my team and the home side could have scored again on 62 minutes. We were playing quite badly and at that point I was just hoping to keep that result and possibly make things right in the second leg. Things got a lot better when I least expected it though, new signing Silviu Pana unleashed a fierce drive from 30 yards to score his first ever goal for the club which reduced the arrears and boosted our hopes for the second leg.

Match highlights: click here to watch

We had two easy games coming up in the league and thankfully we grabbed all the six points with narrow wins over the last two teams in the league table. Those two wins came at a very steep price though as we had three painful injuries after those games, all of them affecting strikers: Joabe (2 weeks), Denis Alibec (3 weeks), Manoel (2 weeks).

With half of my strikers injured and 7 players unavailable overall I wasn’t too optimistic before the next game, a crucial battle against 3rd placed Dinamo who were just three points behind us in the league rankings. I had no strikers on the bench for this match and I was forced to use youngster Asan as a starter…

Viitorul vs Dinamo (Liga 1)

Starting Line Up: Octavian Ormenisan — Alvaro Casanova, Edward Motha, Juan Belencoso, Tshepo Tshabalala — Mihai Onicas, Alexandru Lazar, Nenad Grumic — Raul Rusescu, Vasilica Asan, Liviu Ganea

Despite all the problems we came very close to breaking the deadlock on 9 minutes but Nenad Grumic‘s superb free kick shot bounced off the crossbar. Seconds later defender Juan Belencoso had the chance to push a free kick cross in from close range but his effort was miraculously stopped by the goalkeeper. And, as it often happens, the team that misses the chances gets punished… Dinamo struck on their first real attack of the game and then held on to that advantage until half time.

Our lack of efficiency in attack was quite obvious after the break too and our defence buried our chances on 55 minutes when Edward Motha was clumsy enough to allow Dinamo to score.  We kept on pushing forward until the final whistle but we couldn’t even manage a consolation goal as Raul Rusescu wasted a huge change on the stroke of full time.

Match highlights: click here to watch

That league defeat was quite painful especially since it was the second time that Dinamo had beaten us in just two weeks. Fortunately we had the chance to get revenge right away, my players had to win the second leg of the cup semi final if they wanted to restore some of the lost pride.

Viitorul vs Dinamo (Romanian Cup Semi Final Leg 2)

Starting Line Up: Octavian Ormenisan — Alvaro Casanova, Edward Motha, Juan Belencoso, Florin Krajcar — Mihai Onicas, Silviu Pana, Nenad Grumic — Raul Rusescu, Vasilica Asan, Liviu Ganea

This time things started a lot better as we managed to convert our first chance of the match after ten minutes: Raul Rusescu worked the ball well before passing to Liviu Ganea who found the bottom corner of the net with a placed shot from inside the penalty area. At that point we were through on away goals but my lads were determined to push for another goal which came on the half hour when Raul Rusescu slotted home on the rebound after Florin Krajcar‘s header had hit the crossbar. Dinamo were unable to reply, in fact they didn’t even try one shot until the end of the game and we deservedly advanced to the final where we were going to meet cup holders CFR Cluj.

Match highlights: click here to watch

Unfortunately the league brought us another disappointment right after the cup match as we drew 1-1 at home against 10th placed Pandurii in a rather unlucky display. Then we made amends by winning the last two league matches of the month, 2-0 at relegation candidates Petrolul and 2-1 in a fierce match at underachieving 7th placed Steaua. Joabe clinched that game for us with a decisive goal while Edward Motha had scored his first ever goal for the club.

The situation at the top of the table was a bit clearer at the end of April as two of the five title chasers seemed out of the race while us, Dinamo and Rapid were all within two points.

We had five more games to play and the schedule was looking quite encouraging as four of those games were against teams from the lower half of the league table.

So, do you think we won the title? How about the Romanian Cup? Go to the next page to find out! :)

Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

There was a lot of tension around, I can tell you that. The rival managers were making all sorts of comments in the media but I refused to get into their mind-games. Well, maybe that was a mistake… The first game of the month brought us an unexpected home draw against 15th placed Gaz Metan in a game that we really should have won. I was pleased to see Manoel celebrating his return from injury with a goal but I was not so happy to see our opponents scoring a late equaliser… To make things even worse Rapid and Dinamo had won their games that day so Dinamo were 1st on 65 points while us and Rapid were tied on 64 points.

Under those circumstances getting a win in the next game was crucial but not easy at all since we were travelling to meet strong 4th placed CFR Cluj…

CFR Cluj vs Viitorul (Liga 1)

Starting Line Up: Octavian Ormenisan — Alvaro Casanova, Edward Motha, Juan Belencoso, Tshepo Tshabalala — Mihai Onicas, Alexandru Lazar, Nenad Grumic — Raul Rusescu, Joabe, Liviu Ganea

I was quite afraid of that game to be honest but my players restored my confidence after just 12 minutes when Alexandru Lazar found Raul Rusescu with a good through pass, the striker held off the challenge of two defenders before firing into the back of the net. Rusescu was in great shape and he proved that again after just two minutes when he bent in a perfect far post cross for Liviu Ganea who headed home! We kept control of the game from that point on and could have scored again after the break but Ganea squandered a good chance. Anyway, we grabbed the three points and moved back in 1st position in the league table because Dinamo lost 1-0 at Steaua. We were tied on 67 points with Rapid though…

Match highlights: click here to watch

The next two games were won by Joabe, the Brazilian striker led the team to victory by scoring twice against Sportul and by providing a goal and an assist against Astra. Meanwhile Dinamo lost again so they were out of the title race with one game left in the season. But Rapid were not giving up, they recorded two wins so we were still tied on points with them before the final match of the season. We had an advantage this time as we had beaten them both home and away this season so we just had to make sure of the three points in our last game to secure the title.

The mission seemed easy as we were facing already relegated UTA Arad at home… And the game was easy, we dominated from the first minute to the last, scored one goal and barely allowed our opponents to get out of their own half. But when they did, during stoppage time, they scored on a free kick! (click here to watch the highlights) I was shocked to say the least… I knew that Rapid were playing at home against underachieving FC Vaslui and I didn’t even check the result during the game because I was 100% sure that they were going to win… The title was lost…

…or that’s what I was thinking while staring at the screen but without really understanding what was written there. I checked the league table and… we were champions! What? Then I checked the results and Rapid were beaten 3-1 by FC Vaslui! Phew, that was close!

I guess you can say that we were quite lucky to win this title but I think we deserved it since we recorded 74 points compared to last season’s 68. But if we were lucky I think I have an explanation: the new items that are sitting on my desk!

I just got my own FMS coffee mug and notebook from our fan shop, plus a Jose FMS T-shirt ;) If you like these items remember that you can either buy them or earn them in our Goal of the Month contest in the forum.

So, there was just one more game to play before the end of the season and we had the historic chance of doing a double by winning the Romanian Cup too. The game was going to be played on the new National Arena stadium in Bucharest, a stadium that is located within walking distance from my apartment :)

Viitorul vs CFR Cluj (Romanian Cup Final)

Starting Line Up: Octavian Ormenisan — Alvaro Casanova, Edward Motha, Juan Belencoso, Tshepo Tshabalala — Alexandru Lazar, Silviu Pana, Nenad Grumic — Raul Rusescu, Joabe, Liviu Ganea

We had only two absences for the game: Mihai Onicas (suspended) and Milton Mella (away on international duty). My boys started the game well, confidence was high and determination too, but we failed to convert a huge chance after nine minutes through Liviu Ganea. CFR were not sitting back either and they squandered a chance too after six more minutes. We were the better team though and we finally made that count on 25 minutes when a good cross from Alvaro Casanova was headed in by Ganea. CFR came close to making it all square just before the break but fortunately we were saved by the woodwork.

The second half started well for us as Nenad Grumic found Alexandru Lazar clean through with a good pass but the midfielder fired straight at the keeper in the 47th minute. Our domination was getting more intense and we found the back of the net again on 54 minutes when Raul Rusescu blasted one home from the edge of the area. The game was all over at that point, we started to move the ball around and our opponents were unable to create any more dangerous situations in our penalty area.

Match highlights:click here to watch

We did the double and I was quite proud, I guess you can imagine that. My youngsters did very well and some of them were rewarded at the end of the season.

I received an award too but that’s not too important.

Denis Alibec has the highest average rating this season but he was mostly on the bench after the winter break due to a couple of pesky injuries. Joabe and Liviu Ganea stepped up though as did Raul Rusescu while Juan Belencoso did a tremendous job on both ends of the pitch. There are some disappointments like Manoel for instance but the Brazilian striker never really got going due to several injuries that made his season one to forget.

Before wrapping up there is an announcement, I don’t know if it’s important or not: the national Under 19 team needed a manager, I applied for the job and immediately received an offer which I accepted. I don’t know if I’ll keep the job for long but I guess it’s a good opportunity to know the best youngsters in the nation.

That was it my friends, another season with a thrilling finale… I hope we’ll be able to avoid such emotions next season though, we should win the title with more ease and maybe make an impact in Europe. But that will all depend on the summer transfer activity, hopefully I will have some money to spend this time. Thanks a lot for reading and for your support ;)