Celtic’s opponents Cluj are a club reborn

Dan Petrescu took charge of Cluj in the summer of 2017, but left for the riches of the Chinese Super League at Guizhou Hengfeng, only to return to the Romanians in March this year. Picture: Getty

Having emerged from obscurity to mix it with the Champions League elite three times from 2008 to 2012 – their group stage appearances included a shock victory over Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United at Old Trafford – Cluj joined a raft of Romanian clubs forced to file for insolvency.

A 24-point deduction from the Romanian FA for failure to pay several players threatened Cluj with relegation and potential oblivion. It was staved off by a successful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and under financial services guru Bagacean, who purchased a majority stake in Cluj, they have re-established themselves as the country’s leading side.

They are now seeking a return to the Champions League group stage for the first time in seven years at Celtic’s expense, their path through the qualifiers guided by manager and national hero Dan Petrescu.

The former Chelsea defender has past experience of the highs and lows which can befall Romanian clubs with ambitious owners who overstretch financially in a bid to dine at Europe’s top table.

Petrescu was previously in charge of Unirea Urziceni, an even more unheralded outfit, when they reached the Champions League group stage in 2008 and enjoyed stunning victories over both Rangers, beating Walter Smith’s men 4-1 at Ibrox, and Sevilla.

Unirea’s flame burned brightly but briefly. They were unable to recover from their own financial collapse two years later and the club was dissolved completely the following year.

Petrescu has continued his own peripatetic managerial career which has now seen service in Poland, Russia, Qatar, China and the United Arab Emirates.

The 51-year-old took charge of Cluj in the summer of 2017, shortly after Bagacean’s takeover of the club, and guided them to the Liga 1 title at the first attempt. Petrescu left Cluj in June last year, tempted by the riches of the Chinese Super League at Guizhou Hengfeng, only to return once more in March this year.

He steered Cluj to the retention of their domestic crown, finishing two points clear of Steaua Bucharest. The onus is now on Petrescu to hit the jackpot in the Champions League as Cluj continue to address underlying financial issues.

This summer they reached a settlement with Uefa’s Independent Club Financial Control Body, having earlier been found in breach of Financial Fair Play break-even regulations. Fined €200,000, which will be withheld from their Uefa prize money this season, Cluj must prove compliance with break-even rules by the end of this season. They have also been restricted to registering a squad of 23 players in Europe this season, rather than the full complement of 25.

It hasn’t had an adverse effect on Petrescu’s side so far. They have enjoyed tense but merited 3-2 aggregate wins in both of their Champions League qualifiers so far, beating Kazakh champions Astana and then Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel. They are unbeaten and joint top of Liga 1, which is four games into the new season already, so match sharpness won’t be an issue against Celtic. While Cluj boast no household names in European football terms, they pose a threat to Neil Lennon’s men through players such as former Marseille striker Billel Omrani who grabbed a hat-trick against Astana and was also on target against Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Romanian international winger Ciprian Deac, pictured left, who scored twice as Cluj came from behind to win 4-1 at Chindia Targoviste on Saturday, had a spell in the Bundesliga with Schalke 04 and is another one to watch from the Scottish champions’ perspective.

“We believe we can overcome Celtic and get to the play-off round against Slavia Prague,” said 33-year-old Deac.

“It’s not easy to reach the group stage – we have already beaten two difficult opponents in the previous rounds and we know Celtic are favourites in this one. But we do not go into it thinking we have no chance. We have shown we can get past anyone. If we play our best on Wednesday, we will get a positive result. It is important to play our own style against Celtic, not to concede at home and then we will see in Scotland next week how it will be.”

Having been absent from European competition for four years following their insolvency, Cluj suffered an embarrassing 5-2 aggregate defeat against Dudelange of Luxembourg in the Europa League play-off round when they made their return last season. They appear better equipped this time around and midfielder Mihai Bordeianu believes they can defy their critics in Romania who questioned their ability to return to the Champions League group stage.

“Many were skeptical about us, but we saw ourselves doing the job this season,” said the 27-year-old. “We believe in ourselves and believe we are on our way. We will have to play better against Celtic than we did against Astana and Maccabi. We have to play with a different pace against Celtic who are more aggressive and have a game based on strength. The difficult work begins now in the Champions League for us – we have taken two important steps, but the road is  still long.”