The 2014–15 season is Petrolul Ploiești's 85th season in the Romanian football league system, and their fourth consecutive season in the Liga I. Petrolul came third in the 2013–14 Liga I, earning a place in the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round.
Month by month review
June Petrolul signed a one-year kit deal with American sportswear company Nike, after the association with Puma came to an end. Also, Acıbadem Healthcare Group became the team's medical sponsor until the end of the season, with an extension option being available. Gevaro Nepomuceno, Patrick N'Koyi, George Mareș, Jean-Alain Fanchone, Alberto Cobrea, Mirel Bolboașă, Andrei Peteleu and Mourad Satli were transferred to Petrolul. Roberto Alecsandru and Alexandru Radu were also promoted from the academy.
July On 7 July, Petrolul announced that they had signed winger Victoraș Astafei on a free transfer. On 20 July, using many players that would normally be substitutes and having a player sent off in the second half, Petrolul was beaten by Universitatea Cluj in the Cupa Ligii () round of 16, a competition which was reenacted after fourteen years of pause. In Europa League, "The Yellow Wolves" eliminated Flamurtari Vlorë 5–1 on aggregate. On 27 July, Petrolul confirmed on its official website that Opel will continue being the shirt sponsor until the end of the season.
August Petrolul had bad luck at the Europa League third qualifying round draw, confronting Czech side Viktoria Plzeň, a club which in the previous season took part in the Champions League group stage. After a draw at Ploiești (1–1), "The Yellow Wolves" impressively beat Viktoria scoring four goals and conceding only one. The Romanian side's captain, 35-year-old Adrian Mutu, played a big role in his team's qualification, scoring both home and away. However, losing both of the play-off legs against Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia, Petrolul yet again missed the chance of advancing to the group stage.
September On 3 September, Uruguayan footballers Rodrigo Pastorini and Sebastián Gallegos joined Petrolul's squad. One week later, Ovidiu Hoban was transferred to Israeli club Hapoel Be'er Sheva. He was Petrolul's only Romanian player called by the national team for a match against Greece, which was played on 7 September. Ioan Filip signed with Petrolul to replace Hoban. On 16 September, Răzvan Lucescu was sacked. Gheorghe Mulțescu, who coached Petrolul twice in the past, took his place one day later. On the same day, "The Yellow Wolves" transferred Kristijan Ipša, a Croatian central defender. Mulțescu made his début against rivals Steaua București, on the 21st. Israeli international striker Toto Tamuz scored a double, but unfortunately, Petrolul lost the match 2–3. After many rumours, Adrian Mutu eventually broke his contract with "The Oilmen", on the 26th. He was the best paid footballer, and was often criticised for playing bad. Cosmin Contra, Petrolul's coach from October 2012 to March 2014, said that the signings of Adrian Mutu and Ianis Zicu (both joined in January 2014) were a "failure".
October On 16 October, Shai Haddad signed a one-year contract with Petrolul, on Toto Tamuz's recommendation.
November On 25 November, president Daniel Capră, general director Marius Bucuroiu and five other persons faced preventive detention for 24 hours, being suspected of tax evasion and money laundering. The loss would amount to 15.4 million euros. The press suggested that these criminal matters could cause serious financial problems for Petrolul and important players might want to leave the club.
December Petrolul had the chance to finish the year on the second place of Liga I, but drawn at home against Concordia Chiajna, subsequently keeping the third place.
January On 10 January 2015, ex-Standard Liège coach Mircea Rednic replaced Gheorghe Mulțescu on the bench. During the winter transfer window, five footballers left Petrolul, including important ones like Juan Albín and Soni Mustivar.
February At the beginning of February, due to president Capră still being under detention, the club faced financial problems and entered insolvency, meaning that the participation in UEFA Europa League and UEFA Champions League is denied. However, among others, Mircea Rednic convinced 31-year-old striker Mohamed Tchité, who spent most of his professional career in Belgium, with Standard Liége, Anderlecht and Club Brugge, and in Spain with Racing de Santander, to be part of the team until the end of the season at the least.
March Mohamed Tchité made his début on 5 March in the first leg of the Romanian Cup semi-final against rivals Steaua București, scoring his team's only goal in a 1–1 draw.
April On 3 April, Petrolul missed the qualification to the Cupa României final for the second year in a row, losing the semi-final second leg against Steaua at Arena Națională. However, only a week later, "The Yellow Wolves" defeated them in the championship, after more than 15 years. Curaçaoan winger Gevaro Nepomuceno netted the only goal of the match.
May On 5 May, it was announced that manager Mircea Rednic left "The Yellow-Blues". Assistant coach Valentin Sinescu continued as the caretaker of the team. Eventually, Petrolul finished the season on a disappointing place six.
Players
First team squad At the end of the season.
Name Position(s) Since Date of Birth (Age) Signed from Contract End Goalkeepers 1 Peterson Peçanha GK 2013 Rapid București 64 0 Free 2015 12 Alberto Cobrea GK 2014 Concordia Chiajna 3 0 Free 2018 33 Mirel Bolboașă GK 2014 Viitorul Constanța (on loan) 0 0 Undisclosed 2015 95 Iuliu Oprea GK 2014 Petrolul Academy 0 0 -/- Undisclosed Defenders 2 Jean Sony Alcénat RB 2012 Rio Ave 74 2 Undisclosed 2015 5 Dean Beța RB / LB 2013 Sportul Studențesc 9 0 Free 2016 8 Mourad Satli CB / LB / RB 2014 Charleroi 25 0 Free 2017 35 Marian Marin RB 2015 Fortuna Poiana Câmpina 3 0 Free 2015 39 Jean-Alain Fanchone LB 2014 Udinese Calcio 16 0 Undisclosed 2017 40 Roberto Alecsandru CB 2014 Petrolul Academy 1 0 -/- Undisclosed 77 Andrei Peteleu RB 2014 Săgeata Năvodari 16 0 Free 2017 86 Kristijan Ipša CB / RB 2014 Reggina Calcio 21 1 Free 2015 Midfielders 4 Ioan Filip DM 2014 Oțelul Galați 24 0 Free 2015 5 Ciprian Vasilache AM / RW / LW 2015 Gangwon FC 8 1 Free 2015 7 Gevaro Nepomuceno LW / RW 2014 Fortuna Sittard 25 1 Free 2017 11 Rok Kronaveter CM / AM 2015 Győri ETO 11 2 Free 2015 13 Sebastián Gallegos AM / RW / LW 2014 Calcio Como 2 0 Free 2015 20 Alexandru Coman DM / CM 2015 Rapid București 7 0 Free 2015 21 Victoraș Astafei RW / LW / CF 2014 Oțelul Galați 29 5 Free 2017 30 Laurențiu Marinescu DM / AM 2012 Universitatea Cluj 53 3 Undisclosed 2016 91 Pablo de Lucas DM / CM / AM 2013 Salamanca 52 2 Free 2016 93 Alexandru Chiriță AM / RW 2014 Dinamo București II 1 0 Free Undisclosed Forwards 9 Patrick N'Koyi CF 2014 Fortuna Sittard 17 1 Free 2017 10 Mohamed Tchité CF / RW 2015 Club Brugge 11 0 Free 2015 18 George Mareș CF 2014 Sportul Studențesc 6 0 Free 2018 23 Rodrigo Pastorini CF / AM 2014 Montevideo Wanderers 16 0 Free 2016 29 Alexandru Radu CF 2014 Petrolul Academy 1 0 -/- Undisclosed 99 Toto Tamuz CF 2014 Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast 36 14 Free 2016
Transfers
In
Out
Competitions
Overall
Liga I
League table
Results summary
Results by round
Matches
Last updated: 27 May 2015
Cupa României
Round of 32
Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Last updated: 5 April 2015
Cupa Ligii
Round of 16
Last updated: 21 July 2014
UEFA Europa League
Qualifying rounds
Second qualifying round
Third qualifying round
Play-off round
Last updated: 29 August 2014
Squad statistics
Goals Updated as of 27 May 2015.
RankPlayerPositionLiga IEuropa League1Cupa RomânieiTotal1 Toto Tamuz1130142 Filipe Teixeira820103 Juan Albín5117 Victoraș Astafei5024 Adrian Mutu22045 Pablo de Lucas1203 Kristijan Ipša1026 Geraldo Alves2002 G. Nepomuceno110 Patrick N'Koyi101 Rok Kronaveter2007 Jean Sony Alcénat1001 Shai Haddad001 Njongo Priso010 Mohamed Tchité001 Ciprian Vasilache100Total4112861 1 Includes qualifying rounds and play-off round.
Pre-season and friendlies
Last updated: 15 February 2015
See also
2014–15 Cupa României 2014–15 Cupa Ligii 2014–15 Liga I 2014–15 UEFA Europa League
Notes and references