Reghecampf Returns to His First Home: Steaua Recalls Its "Man of Titles" to Rescue a Season on Fire

Reghecampf Returns to His First Home: Steaua Recalls Its "Man of Titles" to Rescue a Season on Fire

• Back for a Third Time: Reghecampf Leaves Tunisia to Take On FCSB's Rescue Mission
• From Espérance to Bucharest: Reghecampf Returns to the Red-and-Blue Fortress
• FCSB Bets on Memory: Reghecampf Named Head Coach for the Third Time

Dr. Talal Othman, General Manager — GCC Sport

In football, some coaches pass through clubs, and some coaches are the ones clubs pass through and then come back to. Laurențiu Reghecampf belongs to the second kind. On Thursday, 24 September 2026, FCSB (formerly Steaua București) officially named the Romanian coach as first-team head coach. It is his third spell in charge of Romania's most decorated club, and the club welcomed him with a short line: "Welcome back!"

A Return Through the Door of Crisis

Reghecampf has not arrived at a quiet moment. The team sits 11th in Romania's top flight, the SuperLiga, with only 12 points from ten matches. Those numbers don't fit a club used to fighting for the title and for European places. The break came after a humiliating 5–0 defeat to Universitatea Craiova. The club then ended the contracts of coach Marius Baciu and his assistants Sorin Bucuroaia and Alexandru Ioniță. It was a new chapter in a troubled season that began after the end of Cypriot Elias Charalambous's era (2023–2026).

Romanian football knows this story well. Since 2003, 28 coaches have led the club, and many of them left because owner Gigi Becali interfered in technical matters.

The Return Deal: Home Before Money

Reghecampf left Tunisia's Espérance Sportive de Tunis after only about two months in charge, having taken over in summer 2026. The contract was ended by mutual agreement on the evening of Monday, 21 September, after a long meeting with club officials. Majdi Traoui was named Espérance's interim coach.

Becali revealed that the coach turned down lucrative offers from the Gulf to return home. Romanian reports point to a five-year contract worth up to around €2 million a year, or close to €10 million in total if targets are met. Reghecampf's only condition was a €1 million bonus for reaching the Champions League. Becali quoted him as saying: "Give what you want, make the contract however you want. I want to come home and live in peace in my own country."

The New Coaching Staff

• Head coach: Laurențiu Reghecampf
• Assistants: Viorel Dinu, Lucian Filip, Alin Stoica
• Goalkeeping coach: Marius Popa
• Fitness coaches: Thomas Neubert, Adrian Popa
• Also on the staff: Ionuț Zottu

First Words

At his official presentation, Reghecampf said: "I'm very happy to be here. It was a difficult week for me, but I wanted this very much." He said his first goal is to win the next match "so the players regain their confidence and their appetite for the game." He added: "The ambitions are always the same. What we want is victory."

Club president Mihai Stoica introduced him with: "I present to you the new coach, Laurențiu Reghecampf, with whom I have pleasant memories."

The coach's first official test is against Oțelul Galați on 10 October 2026. It comes after the international break, which gives him two weeks to put the house in order.

Coach Profile

• Full name: Laurențiu Aurelian Reghecampf
• Born: 19 September 1975, Târgoviște (Romania); he is 51
• Playing career (1993–2009): A midfielder who played for clubs in Romania, Austria, Bulgaria and Germany. He won two league titles with Steaua București and the 1999 Bulgarian title on loan at Litex Lovech. He earned one cap for Romania, in 2003.

Coaching Career Highlights

First spell at Steaua (May 2012 – May 2014):
He won two league titles in a row (2012/13 and 2013/14) and the Romanian Super Cup. He was named Romania's Coach of the Year in 2013.

Al-Hilal, Saudi Arabia (2014–2015):
He led the club to the 2014 AFC Champions League final, a run Gulf fans still remember.

Second spell at Steaua (December 2015 – May 2017):
This spell brought a strong presence in Europe.

Al Wahda, UAE (2017–2018):
He won several domestic trophies, including two UAE Super Cups.

Later stops:
He coached Al-Hilal Omdurman (Sudan) and Universitatea Craiova, then Espérance de Tunis in summer 2026.

Overall record:
More than 600 matches as a coach, with a win rate above 52%.

Reghcampf's return is a bet on memory before it is a bet on a project. FCSB is bringing back the man who restored the red-and-blue shirt's prestige last decade, and who knows well how to deal with Becali. But Romania in 2026 is not Romania in 2013. The domestic league is fiercer, European money is harder to win, and the team is starting from 11th place, not from the top.

The real question isn't whether Reghecampf can win; his record already answers that. The question is whether the club will give him time. A five-year contract signals confidence, but a history of 28 coaches in two decades points the other way.

The match against Oțelul Galați won't decide the project. It will show whether the "difficult week" the coach spoke about is over, or only the beginning.