2022–23 CFR Cluj season

CFR Cluj
2022–23 season
Owner	Ioan Varga
Chairman	Cristian Balaj
Manager	Dan Petrescu
Stadium	Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu
Liga I	2nd
Cupa României	Group stage
Supercupa României	Runners-up
UEFA Champions League	First qualifying round
UEFA Europa Conference League	Knockout round play-offs
Top goalscorer	League: ; Cephas Malele; Karlo Muhar; (4 each); All: ; Ciprian Deac; Rangelo Janga; Cephas Malele; (5 each)
	← 2021–22 2023–24 →
	All statistics correct as of 23 February 2023.

The 2022–23 CFR Cluj season is the club's 115th season in existence and the 19th consecutive season in the top flight of Romanian football. In addition to the domestic league, CFR Cluj are participating in this season's edition of the Cupa României, the Supercupa României, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa Conference League. The season covers the period from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023.

Players[edit]

First-team squad[edit]

As of 20 October 2022^[1]^[2]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ITA	Simone Scuffet
2	DF	CRO	Karlo Bručić
3	DF	ROU	Andrei Burcă (3rd captain)
4	DF	ROU	Cristian Manea
6	DF	CMR	Jean-Claude Billong
7	FW	POR	Zé Gomes
8	MF	BRA	Roger
9	FW	SUI	Cephas Malele (on loan from Al-Tai)
10	MF	ROU	Ciprian Deac (Vice-captain)
11	MF	ROU	Claudiu Petrila
12	GK	ROU	Mihai Pânzariu
15	FW	GHA	Emmanuel Yeboah
20	MF	DEN	Vito Hammershøy-Mistrati
21	MF	GHA	Nana Boateng
22	FW	CRO	Gabriel Debeljuh
23	GK	ROU	Rareș Gal
24	DF	ROU	Rareș Bălan


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
28	MF	ROU	Ovidiu Hoban (4th captain)
30	FW	ROU	Daniel Bîrligea
32	FW	CUW	Rangelo Janga
33	DF	CRO	Denis Kolinger (on loan from Vejle)
34	GK	ROU	Cristian Bălgrădean
37	MF	ROU	Mihai Bordeianu
40	MF	CRO	Lovro Cvek
44	DF	BRA	Yuri Matias
45	DF	ROU	Mário Camora (Captain)
47	DF	GER	Christopher Braun
73	MF	CRO	Karlo Muhar
75	MF	ROU	Adrian Gîdea
76	MF	ROU	Tudor Lucaci
90	GK	ROU	Răzvan Sava
92	DF	SEN	Ibrahima Mbaye
94	MF	ROU	Cătălin Itu
99	FW	ROU	Sergiu Buș

Other players under contract[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	MTN	Guessouma Fofana

Out on loan[edit]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
17	FW	ESP	Jefté Betancor (to Pafos)
82	MF	ROU	Alin Fică (to Politehnica Iași)
86	FW	ROU	Denis Rusu (to CS Unirea Ungheni)
89	GK	ROU	Otto Hindrich (to Kisvárda)
92	MF	ROU	George Leață (to CSM Slatina)
—	DF	CIV	Abdoulaye Niakate (to Minaur Baia Mare)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	ROU	Adrian Păun (to Hapoel Be'er Sheva)
—	MF	ROU	Sergiu Luca (to Gloria Bistrița)
—	MF	CIV	Ricky Gnéba (to Minaur Baia Mare)
—	FW	CIV	Kevin Bakare (to Minaur Baia Mare)
—	FW	MDA	Gheorghe Gondiu (to CSM Sighetu Marmației)

Pre-season and friendlies[edit]

Win Draw Loss Fixtures

18 June 2022 Friendly	Koper	0–2	CFR Cluj	Gornja Radgona, Slovenia
17:30 CEST (UTC+2)		Report	Debeljuh 11' Dugandžić 54'	Stadium: Stadion Gornja Radgona

21 June 2022 Friendly	Napredak Kruševac	0–3	CFR Cluj	Gornja Radgona, Slovenia
18:00 CEST (UTC+2)		Report	Dugandžić 57' (pen.) Betancor 73' Cvek 78'	Stadium: Stadion Gornja Radgona

24 June 2022 Friendly	Partizan	0–1	CFR Cluj	Gornja Radgona, Slovenia
17:30 CEST (UTC+2)		Report	Dugandžić 35'	Stadium: Stadion Gornja Radgona

25 June 2022 Friendly	Hajduk Split	0–2	CFR Cluj	Dietersdorf bei Fürstenfeld, Austria
18:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Krolo 69'	Report	Deac 39' (pen.) Manea 42' Burcă 87'	Stadium: Sportplatz Dietersdorf Referee: Michael Steindl

11 January 2023 Friendly	Holstein Kiel	1–1	CFR Cluj	Oliva, Spain
15:15 CET (UTC+1)	Mühling 75'		Petrila 67'	Stadium: Oliva Nova Golf & Beach Resort Campo 1

Competitions[edit]

Overview[edit]

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Liga I	16 July 2022	May 2023	Matchday 1		26	17	2	7	41	23	+18	065.38
Cupa României	10 November 2022		Group stage		1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Supercupa României	9 July 2022		Final		1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
UEFA Champions League	5 July 2022	13 July 2022	First qualifying round	First qualifying round	2	0	2	0	2	2	+0	000.00
UEFA Europa Conference League	21 July 2022	23 February 2023	Second qualifying round		14	6	5	3	11	7	+4	042.86
Total					44	23	10	11	56	35	+21	052.27

Last updated: 23 February 2023
Source: Soccerway

Liga I[edit]

League table[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Farul Constanța	30	19	7	4	54	28	+26	64	Qualification for the Play-off round
2	CFR Cluj	30	20	3	7	54	28	+26	63
3	FCSB	30	17	6	7	51	35	+16	57
4	Universitatea Craiova	30	16	6	8	37	27	+10	54
5	Rapid București	30	15	7	8	40	26	+14	52

Source: LPF (in Romanian) Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored; 7) Play-off.^[3]

Results summary[edit]


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
15	10	1	4	26	15	+11	31	7	0	2	18	8	+10	3	1	2	8	7	+1

Last updated: 7 November 2022.
Source: Liga 1

Results by round[edit]

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Ground	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A
Result	W	L	W	W	L	P	L	W	P	W	W	W	D	W	W	L	W
Position	5	9	5	1	4	7	10	6	7	5	4	4	3	3	3	3	3

Updated to match(es) played on 7 November 2022. Source: Liga 1
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches[edit]

The league fixtures were announced on 1 July 2022.^[4]

16 July 2022 1	CFR Cluj	v		Cluj-Napoca
--:-- EEST (UTC+3)				Stadium: Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu

Cupa României[edit]

Group stage[edit]

20 October 2022 1	Universitatea Cluj	1–1	CFR Cluj	Cluj-Napoca
21:00 EEST (UTC+3)	Roger 64' (o.g.)		Bîrligea 2'	Stadium: Cluj Arena

10 November 2022 2	Dumbrăvița	0–5	CFR Cluj	Cluj-Napoca
18:15 EET (UTC+2)		Report	Hammershøy-Mistrati 42' Hoban 50' Malele 81' Bîrligea 87' 90' 90+1'	Stadium: Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu Referee: Robert Avram

7 December 2022 3	Farul Constanța	v	CFR Cluj	TBD
--:-- EET (UTC+2)

Supercupa României[edit]

9 July 2022 Final	CFR Cluj	1–2	Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe	Arad
20:30 EEST (UTC+3)	Păun 2'	Report	Matei 45+3' Rondón 85'	Stadium: Stadionul Francisc von Neuman Attendance: 10,571 Referee: Adrian Cojocaru

UEFA Champions League[edit]

First qualifying round[edit]

5 July 2022 First leg	Pyunik	0–0	CFR Cluj	Yerevan, Armenia
20:00 AMT (UTC+4)		Report		Stadium: Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Bastian Dankert (Germany)

13 July 2022 Second leg	CFR Cluj	2–2 (a.e.t.) (2–2 agg.) (3–4 p)	Pyunik	Cluj-Napoca, Romania
21:30 EEST (UTC+3)	Adjei-Boateng 6' Petrila 94'	Report	Gajić 89', 119'	Stadium: Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu Attendance: 7,017 Referee: Michael Fabbri (Italy)
	Penalties
	Dugandžić Petrila Burcă Muhar Camora		Cociuc Dashyan Harutyunyan Avagyan

UEFA Europa Conference League[edit]

Second qualifying round[edit]

21 July 2022 First leg	CFR Cluj	3–0	Inter Club d'Escaldes	Cluj-Napoca, Romania
20:30 EEST (UTC+3)	Betancor 5' (pen.) Debeljuh 38' Feher 84' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu Attendance: 4,421 Referee: Alex Troleis (Faroe Islands)

27 July 2022 Second leg	Inter Club d'Escaldes	1–1 (1–4 agg.)	CFR Cluj	Andorra la Vella, Andorra
19:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Soldevila 21'	Report	Deac 51' (pen.)	Stadium: Estadi Comunal Attendance: 242 Referee: Kristoffer Hagenes (Norway)

Third qualifying round[edit]

4 August 2022 First leg	Shakhtyor Soligorsk	0–0	CFR Cluj	Adapazarı, Turkey
20:00 TRT (UTC+3)		Report		Stadium: New Sakarya Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Ioannis Papadopoulos (Greece)
Note: Due to the country's involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Belarusian teams were required to play their home matches at neutral venues and behind closed doors until further notice.^[5]

11 August 2022 Second leg	CFR Cluj	1–0 (1–0 agg.)	Shakhtyor Soligorsk	Cluj-Napoca, Romania
20:00 EEST (UTC+3)	Betancor 37'	Report		Stadium: Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu Attendance: 6,700 Referee: Morten Krogh (Denmark)

Play-off round[edit]

18 August 2022 First leg	Maribor	0–0	CFR Cluj	Maribor, Slovenia
20:15 CEST (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Ljudski vrt Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Pavel Orel (Czech Republic)

25 August 2022 Second leg	CFR Cluj	1–0 (1–0 agg.)	Maribor	Cluj-Napoca, Romania
20:00 EEST (UTC+3)	Cvek 90'	Report		Stadium: Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu Attendance: 9,852 Referee: John Beaton (Scotland)

Group stage[edit]

The draw for the group stage was held on 26 August 2022.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	SIV	CLJ	SLP	BLK
1	Sivasspor	6	3	2	1	11	7	+4	11	Advance to round of 16	—	3–0	1–1	3–4
2	CFR Cluj	6	3	1	2	5	5	0	10	Advance to knockout round play-offs	0–1	—	2–0	1–0
3	Slavia Prague	6	2	2	2	6	7	−1	8		1–1	0–1	—	3–2
4	Ballkani	6	1	1	4	8	11	−3	4		1–2	1–1	0–1	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

8 September 2022 1	Ballkani	1–1	CFR Cluj	Pristina
18:45 CEST (UTC+2)	Ar. Thaqi 65'	Report	Matias 90+1'	Stadium: Fadil Vokrri Stadium Attendance: 5,673 Referee: Urs Schnyder (Switzerland)
Note: Ballkani played their home matches at Fadil Vokrri Stadium, Pristina, instead of their regular stadium, Suva Reka City Stadium, Suhareka, which did not meet UEFA requirements.

15 September 2022 2	CFR Cluj	0–1	Sivasspor	Cluj-Napoca, Romania
19:45 EEST (UTC+3)		Report	Gradel 28' (pen.)	Stadium: Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu Attendance: 7,026 Referee: Allard Lindhout (Netherlands)

6 October 2022 3	Slavia Prague	0–1	CFR Cluj	Prague, Czech Republic
21:00 CEST (UTC+2)		Report	Janga 45'	Stadium: Fortuna Arena Attendance: 18,271 Referee: Fabio Maresca (Italy)

13 October 2022 4	CFR Cluj	2–0	Slavia Prague	Cluj-Napoca, Romania
19:45 EEST (UTC+3)	Deac 11' (pen.) Matias 84'	Report		Stadium: Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu Attendance: 11,218 Referee: Luís Godinho (Portugal)

27 October 2022 5	Sivasspor	3–0	CFR Cluj	Sivas, Turkey
22:00 TRT (UTC+3)	Yatabaré 22', 73' Janga 64' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: New Sivas 4 Eylül Stadium Attendance: 6,050 Referee: Rohit Saggi (Norway)

3 November 2022 6	CFR Cluj	1–0	Ballkani	Cluj-Napoca, Romania
19:45 EET (UTC+2)	Adjei-Boateng 17'	Report		Stadium: Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu Attendance: 11,723 Referee: Daniel Schlager (Germany)

Knockout phase[edit]

Knockout round play-offs[edit]

The draw for the knockout round play-offs was held on 7 November 2022.

16 February 2023 First leg	Lazio	1–0	CFR Cluj	Rome, Italy
21:00 CET (UTC+1)	Immobile 45+4'	Report		Stadium: Stadio Olimpico Referee: Craig Pawson (England)

23 February 2023 Second leg	CFR Cluj	0–0 (0–1 agg.)	Lazio	Cluj-Napoca, Romania
19:45 EET (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu

References[edit]

^ "Echipa" [Squad] (in Romanian). CFR Cluj. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
^ "FC CFR 1907 CLUJ" (in Romanian). Liga Profesionistă de Fotbal. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
^ "Liga I 2022/2023". Soccerway. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
^ "Programul complet al etapelor din Superliga 2022–2023". July 2022.
^ "Belarus teams to play on neutral ground in UEFA competitions". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.

[1] "Echipa" [Squad] (in Romanian). CFR Cluj. Retrieved 23 November 2020.

[2] "FC CFR 1907 CLUJ" (in Romanian). Liga Profesionistă de Fotbal. Retrieved 23 November 2020.

[sw-3] "Liga I 2022/2023". Soccerway. Retrieved 7 June 2022.

[4] "Programul complet al etapelor din Superliga 2022–2023". July 2022.

[5] "Belarus teams to play on neutral ground in UEFA competitions". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.

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