The Pot 4 Club – Otelul Galati

Last but not least in The Pot 4 Club – Just Football’s analysis of all eight Champions League fourth seeded teams – Romanian champions Otelul Galati. Analysis provided by Romanian football scout Radu Baicu:

Club: Otelul Galati

Straight outta’: Romania

Group: C – with Manchester United, Benfica and FC Basel

Recent History

Their first, probably their last, certainly their everything!

This is the first title in the club’s history, since formation in 1964 and including the first promotion to the top flight in 1986! Only two years later, Otelul was playing in the UEFA Cup against the mighty Juventus, recording a memorable 1-0 at home, before losing 0-5 in the second leg. “La Vecchia Signora” could call on names like Stefano Tacconi, Alessandro Altobelli or Michael Laudrup, while Otelul’s midfield was built around a certain Marius Stan.

With him at the helm, the red and white club from Galati was going to win the Intertoto Cup in 2007, a feat followed by a quick exit from the UEFA Cup, but the current president was going to beat that. His eye for players and ability to negotiate more than fair prices allowed him to create and always enlarge a pool of youngsters, mostly selected from the second division, who under the guidance of Dorinel Munteanu and inspired by an experienced back-bone managed to win a league title that in the past season had no less than 6 contenders. Without Otelul among them…

What to Expect

No home advantage in the Champions League

To be fair, Otelul is in a better position than Unirea Urziceni, the club that collected a record eight points in the group stage, having a small, but growing fan base in their home town, but they should be lucky to get the same type of support when playing “at home” in the biggest club competition of all. Supported only in Galati, Otelul will be hosting games in the newly built National Arena from Bucharest, with just over 55.000 seats available, but with their most devoted fans some 250 kms away from the capital.

Tactics

Tactics? Frustrating for the opponents, annoying for the fans.

Say Manchester United and it won’t matter how well calibrated is Otelul’s 4-2-3-1, but the extreme discipline and commitment might pose some problems to their other opponents. Strong through the middle and quick on the flanks, the ideal setup will look to keep the opposing team at bay and try to reach as quickly as possible “the end zone” once the ball is won, with Gabriel Paraschiv the intelligent front man able to provide the last touch and also move inside the box for the killer blow. It worked great last season and embarrassing at times this term, with the champion’s setup dismantled by CFR Cluj in the last outing before their Champions League debut.

Manager

Munteanu, the man with the fix

Labelled a “match fixer” by his former employer Adrian Porumboiu (who currently owns FC Vaslui), Dorinel Munteanu cleared his name in the right “court”, winning the title against all odds, with a team that looks exactly like he was during his impressive career as a player: hard working, disciplined, ambitious. In the end, we’re talking about Romania’s most capped player.

Key Players

Old dogs, beware!

There are no standout players in this team. Can’t find a lot of flair and the skill lost its importance with the 11 bees spending more time off than on the ball and this team could get slaughtered in the Champions League.

The vital players are in the middle: Sergiu Costin (33) is commanding the back four, Gabriel Giurgiu (29) runs like a maniac in central midfield and Gabriel Paraschiv (33) offering composure and inspiration upfront, usually as the false number 9, but also pulled back in the attacking midfielder’s position, when Munteanu pushes for a goal and decides to bring a natural striker on the pitch, something we shouldn’t see too often in the Champions League…

One to watch

Cornel Rapa, the right back

Cornel Rapa had an excellent season last term, the 22 years old right back becoming a solution for the senior national team, although the new manager decided he needs to take some time off and try to impress for a second season in a row. A few months ago, it would have been between Rapa and the right winger Liviu Antal, who’s also 22, plays also on the right, but higher up the pitch, looking lively and quick on the ball. This year’s new face is Laurentiu Bus (24), a right footed small midfielder, used on the left flank, who started brightly, but didn’t look convincing in the last few games. But this goes for the entire team, so, thinking of Otelul at their best, we should get back to Rapa and pay attention to this honest, no-nonsense full back…

You may not know

Paraschiv, cutting wages and corners to reach the Champions League

We might not need more than one match to agree that Otelul shouldn’t have entered such a strong competition, but, for the love of the game, one of its’ players certainly deserves to be there and enjoy every minute. His name is Gabriel Paraschiv, who last summer, when the club was preparing to battle for survival, not go for the title, went to the club’s president, explained that he was not satisfied with his own performances from the previous season, agreed that there’s a real financial struggle out there and asked for a wage cut. He will now play against guys that earn in a week what he’s making in an entire season and it would be nice to see a Man United player asking for his shirt, at the end of the game. Fantasy football, right?

Radu Baicu is the man behind Scouting Romania

For analysis of all eight Pot 4 Club teams follow the link. Follow Just Football on Twitter to keep updated.

Champions League, Otelul Galati, Romania, The Pot 4 Club