A special Friday night awaits us at the Csíkszereda Municipal Stadium: in the ninth round, we welcome Dinamo Bucharest, who top the table after eight matches.

A special Friday night awaits us at the Csíkszereda Municipal Stadium: in the ninth round, we welcome Dinamo Bucharest, who top the table after eight matches. Our team will be looking to bounce back at home following the defeat in Arad, with two new signings now added to the squad. István Szabó expects a tough encounter but made one thing clear: his players will not take to the pitch with their hands up.

Dinamo’s visit is a major occasion in itself, but the meetings between the two clubs in recent years give this match even greater significance. Although we have yet to defeat the Bucharest side, our encounters with them have marked several important milestones in our club’s history.

Our shared history began with the 2024 SuperLiga promotion play-off. Although we lost the tie 2–0 on aggregate, the goalless draw in the second leg in Csíkszereda strengthened our belief that we belonged in the top flight and that there was no unbridgeable gap between the two teams.

One year later, we earned promotion without having to contest a play-off, and Dinamo were the visitors for our first-ever SuperLiga match. That memorable encounter ended in a 2–2 draw: it was the night on which we scored our first top-flight goals and earned our first point. However, we do not have fond memories of the behaviour of the Red and Whites’ supporters in Csíkszereda. Nobody likes to be humiliated and insulted because of their identity, especially when the aggressor subsequently attempts to portray themselves as the victim.

Whenever we are given the opportunity, we want football to be primarily about football. We want to prove on the pitch that Székely Land and the Székely community can make a significant and positive contribution to Romanian football by bringing values of which everyone can be proud and which also strengthen the identity of our own community.

Looking to recover after a demanding schedule

The two teams approach the match in contrasting circumstances. Dinamo lead the table with five wins, two draws and one defeat, having scored 16 goals and conceded only six. Most recently, they won their derby against FCSB 2–1, while our team will be looking to respond after suffering a 5–1 defeat away to UTA.

According to head coach István Szabó, the extraordinary workload preceding the match must also be considered when assessing the result in Arad. Our team had played at home a week earlier before travelling to Bistrița for a cup match on Wednesday, which we won 2–0. Following a journey of more than nine hours on Friday, the players had to take to the pitch in Arad the very next day.

“Six of our players completed three full matches in the space of six days. At present, our squad cannot cope with that workload. I felt that we were fine until half-time, but after conceding the second goal, it became clear that the team could no longer produce the same level mentally. We also had to commit fully to the cup, and we completed that task with a convincing 2–0 victory, but another four-hour journey followed. These are facts, even if they can easily sound like excuses,” our head coach explained.

István Szabó also pointed out that the coaching staff have now been working with the team for ninety days, during which the players have had only ten days off. The match against Dinamo will be our eleventh competitive fixture since 17 July, seven of which have been played away from home.

After the match in Arad, the team arrived home early on Sunday morning following an eight-hour journey. The players returned to training on Monday, as the next match had been scheduled for Friday.

“We will have made three journeys and played four matches in the space of thirteen days. We play this Friday, after which we will have a ten-day break. I feel that this serious club, FK Csíkszereda, is not always treated with the respect it deserves. I do not know who prepares the schedule or what criteria they use, but I felt that I had to raise the issue now,” said István Szabó.

New additions to the squad, but several players are unavailable

An important step forward in the team’s preparations came at the beginning of the week, when two new players—Slovenian forward Nino Kukovec and Brazilian-Portuguese winger Gabriel Araújo Lima—joined the squad. According to our head coach, both can add genuine quality, although they arrived short of match fitness and will need time to integrate fully.

“In Kukovec, we have signed a well-built, motivated, 25-year-old centre-forward who can fight for a place in the team but can also play alongside Marci. Lima is a natural right winger: left-footed, extremely quick and a player with a truly Brazilian style. They have completed only two training sessions with us so far, so they will need time as well. During the international break, we will be able to work hard with them and gradually integrate them into the team,” István Szabó said of the new arrivals.

However, our captain, Szilárd Veres, will definitely be unavailable against Dinamo after receiving his fifth yellow card. The coaching staff will also be without an injured player, while the administrative process required to obtain another player’s registration has not yet been completed.

“Nobody is unbeatable”

Előd Tóth-Pál has featured in five SuperLiga matches so far this season. Our young forward feels that he has gained a great deal of valuable experience and is gradually adapting to the pace of top-flight football.

“I am delighted to have made my way into the team and to have been given this trust. This is a completely different level from youth football and anything I had previously experienced. I have learned a great deal from the matches so far and from my mistakes as well. I am working to continue improving, to help the team and for us to achieve success together,” said Előd Tóth-Pál.

Every attacking opportunity is likely to be particularly important against Dinamo, which is why the young player believes we must play with courage and precision in the opposition half.

“We know who we are playing against and we respect our opponents, but this time they are the ones travelling to Csíkszereda. Whenever we reach the final third, we must be brave and make the most of every opportunity. Dinamo are a good team, but nobody is unbeatable. I am sure they have weaknesses as well, and we will try to identify and exploit them,” our forward added.

Looking to draw strength from our home ground

Raul Palmeș started last season’s 2–2 draw between the two teams in Csíkszereda. Our defender has particularly fond memories of that first top-flight fixture, in which our team established a two-goal lead inside the opening fifteen minutes.

“I have very fond memories of that match. It was our first game in the top flight, we managed to earn a point and, on top of that, scored two goals in the opening fifteen minutes. We started extremely well and controlled the game early on. Later, Dinamo found their rhythm, and we had to fight even to preserve that one point. That match showed right at the beginning of the season that we could be very strong at home. It was also proven several times throughout the campaign that it is difficult for anyone to beat us in Csíkszereda,” Raul Palmeș recalled.

Dinamo’s tally of 16 goals in eight rounds presents a serious challenge for our defence. Palmeș believes the capital club’s quick and technically gifted attackers can only be stopped through disciplined teamwork.

“They have very good players, so we must remain organised throughout, work together and play with the same aggression we usually show at home. If we can do that, we can be successful,” our defender stated.

István Szabó regards Dinamo as the team currently in the best form in the league and as clear title contenders. In his opinion, Nuno Alexandre Carvalho Campos has managed to convey his footballing philosophy to the Bucharest side in a very short period.

“Of all the opponents we have faced so far, Dinamo clearly play the best and highest-quality football. I know their head coach from Hungary and have also faced him before. He is a very good Portuguese coach, and his team have quickly embraced his style of play and way of thinking. I expect a very serious and difficult match, but we will not take to the pitch with our hands up. We may lose for many reasons, but our attitude will not be one of them,” our head coach stressed.

The match between FK Csíkszereda and Dinamo Bucharest will take place at the Csíkszereda Municipal Stadium on Friday, 11 September, kicking off at 9 p.m. The game will be broadcast live by Digi Sport and Prima Sport, while we also plan to provide Hungarian-language radio commentary on FK Csíkszereda’s Facebook page.

Come on, FK! Come on, Csíkszereda! Come on, Székely Land!