Craiova Topples Baciu's Coaching Legitimacy in a Historic Massacre.. and Palestinian Al-Hamlawi Writes His Name in Gold
By: Dr. Talal Othman, General Manager — GCC Sport
Craiova, Romania
Five clean goals, the "Ion Oblemenco" stadium shaking, and FCSB's bench collapsing before the very eyes of Gigi Becali, who had declared just three days earlier: "I won't say 'if' anymore, because I want to win at any cost." The response on the pitch was blunt and brutal: a 0-5 defeat that wasn't merely a scoreline, but a tactical and psychological death sentence for Marius Baciu's project at the helm of the capital's champions.
The match, pitting the title-holders against the capital club in Round 10 of the Romanian Superliga, was never even from the first minute. FCSB's goalkeeper, Târnovanu, spared his side an earlier catastrophe with a string of first-half saves, while a goal for Etim was correctly ruled out for offside in the 27th minute — before everything unraveled under the home side's relentless attacking rhythm.
Al-Hamlawi.. The Palestinian Rewriting the Underdog Story
The name that dominated the occasion was neither Romanian nor Portuguese, but Palestinian. Assad Al-Hamlawi, born in Sweden to a Palestinian father, and a capped member of the Palestinian national team, opened the scoring in the 29th minute then doubled it in first-half stoppage time (45+3), handing his side a decisive edge before the break. A striker who moved through Sweden, Thailand, and Poland before finding in the city of Oltenia a stage worthy of his talent the same man who scored the first hat-trick in Craiova's European history against Sarajevo last summer. Today's performance was no fluke, but confirmation that the investment in him reportedly around one million euros including bonuses is paying off beyond what the club itself expected.
After the break came the third goal, scored by Cicâldău in the 57th minute off a Bancu cross, before Simon Elisor sealed the match with a personal brace in the 68th and 87th minutes, turning the encounter from a win into total humiliation. Adding to FCSB's misery, striker Drăguș was forced off injured in the 42nd minute in what appeared to be a significant injury raising fresh concerns over his availability for the Romanian national team under Hagi.
Two Contrasting Projects: Craiova's Stability vs. FCSB's Chaos
The numbers tell a deeper story than a single match result. Craiova, last season's champions, move to 20 points in second place, just behind Dinamo (21 points), continuing a quiet build overseen by Filipe Coelho since he took charge last November, succeeding Mirel Rădoi. A gradual project, without noise, but one reaping its rewards on the pitch today.
FCSB, meanwhile, sinks deeper into its structural crisis. The team sits tenth with just 12 points, having taken only 6 points from the last 21 available the worst run of results the club has endured in years. Marius Baciu, who took over in May with a win rate barely above 43% the weakest in the club's modern history was playing his "last chance" match after a direct ultimatum from Becali: four points from the Petrolul and Craiova fixtures, or else. A draw against Petrolul followed, then a total collapse in Bănie, effectively putting Baciu out of the equation and making him a likely candidate to become the fifth coach to leave FCSB's bench during 2026 alone a level of instability the club hasn't seen since 2010.
This isn't merely a results crisis, but a crisis of institutional identity. When sticking with a coach becomes a matter of "points tallied weekly" rather than a clear vision, the inevitable outcome is exactly what we saw today: a team that lost its spirit before it lost its organization. Craiova, by contrast, offers the opposite model entirely smart investment in talents like Al-Hamlawi, administrative continuity under Coelho, and a team playing with the confidence of one that knows where it's headed.
The question now being asked in Bucharest isn't "will Baciu stay?" but "who's next?" a question that has become far too familiar in FCSB's recent story.
