Closed Steaua Bucharest v Chelsea

[Rmpr 8,977]

Some serious underestimating going on here. This is a sturdy team and mentality wise they can give us a few lessons.

If we go in without our heads on right, they will screw us over, no doubt.

I agree, but not a game worth having other mentality. We have to play the reserves either way, Bucharest being good or not...

[vendetta17 15]

The coach that joined Steaua last summer implemented 4-2-3-1 in a great way !

They play quick passing football and they are quite solid defensively.Their main problem its the striker .They dont have a true striker to score many goals.The most dangerous player from Steaua its Rusescu that scored 20 + goals so far in all competitions.And second half of the season just started.

If we talk about defenders , Vlad Chiriches is touted as one of the biggest prospect in Europe right now.He scored an awesome volley goal against Ajax as a center back.His center partner gonna be either Gardos either Szukala.First one its a young defender with great talent while Szukala its a beast in the aerial game.The 2 central midfielders will be Bourceanu and Pintilii , both players being starters in the national team of Romania aswell.

Regarding the winger there will be Tanase on the left and Chipciu on the right.They are both players of the national team of Romania.Chipciu its a winger with great speed and ball control while Tanase its a slower player but with a better shoot tehnique and defensive contribution.Latovlevici as a left back and Rapa on the right.Rusescu will be behind the striker Nikolici/Tatu.First one most probably.All the players are in a great shape and the morale its sky high after Ajax showing,

Keeper Tatarusanu its the kind of keeper that either saves everything in a game / either makes huge mistakes.He is quite unsafe on crossings .He is playing well lately.The atmosphere on the stadium will be electrifying with 55.000 supporters doing a great atmosphere.As a big minus of this team id say defending corners and set pieces.They conceeded some goals from corners lately.

[Stingray 9,441]

The coach that joined Steaua last summer implemented 4-2-3-1 in a great way !

They play quick passing football and they are quite solid defensively.Their main problem its the striker .They dont have a true striker to score many goals.,

They can loan Torres for this game then :-)

[Laylabelle 9,535]

Going to the Bridge for the home leg for the first time since Carlos last disaster game.Be nice to come away with this one with a good result so be more yay rather then ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Rafa Rafa Rafa Rafa etc

And we might be out the FA Cup by then so this be the only trophy left after being in so many.....

[reuban 1]

The coach that joined Steaua last summer implemented 4-2-3-1 in a great way !

They play quick passing football and they are quite solid defensively.Their main problem its the striker .They dont have a true striker to score many goals.The most dangerous player from Steaua its Rusescu that scored 20 + goals so far in all competitions.And second half of the season just started.

If we talk about defenders , Vlad Chiriches is touted as one of the biggest prospect in Europe right now.He scored an awesome volley goal against Ajax as a center back.His center partner gonna be either Gardos either Szukala.First one its a young defender with great talent while Szukala its a beast in the aerial game.The 2 central midfielders will be Bourceanu and Pintilii , both players being starters in the national team of Romania aswell.

Regarding the winger there will be Tanase on the left and Chipciu on the right.They are both players of the national team of Romania.Chipciu its a winger with great speed and ball control while Tanase its a slower player but with a better shoot tehnique and defensive contribution.Latovlevici as a left back and Rapa on the right.Rusescu will be behind the striker Nikolici/Tatu.First one most probably.All the players are in a great shape and the morale its sky high after Ajax showing,

Keeper Tatarusanu its the kind of keeper that either saves everything in a game / either makes huge mistakes.He is quite unsafe on crossings .He is playing well lately.The atmosphere on the stadium will be electrifying with 55.000 supporters doing a great atmosphere.As a big minus of this team id say defending corners and set pieces.They conceeded some goals from corners lately.

Yes, agree with that and this game is not easy for us. Steaua are a good side.

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

We had a lot of difficulties against Sparta and we progressed only thanks to individual brilliance of Oscar and Hazard respectively. This will be far from easy and I think there is a bigger chance we'll be leaving Bucharest without a win than with it.

[zenden 13]

Some of the atmosphere that will be in the stadium :

( from 0:58 you'll be able to hear "Bateti pe Chelsea Ale" - "Beat Chelsea Ale" hehe )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDQaiUFZa04

The goals that we scored in the first half of the Championship :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQt_GIWDNNs

Don't underestimate us, we have a thing for European competitions, and we are very powerfull on Home games because the support is incredible and very very hostile for the visitors. If you manage to get a draw here, you'll probably go further, but if we'll win in Bucharest, you're gonna have a hard time with us on Stamford Bridge.

Be aware at the cab drivers, they are usually gypsy scums that will try to rip you off. Besides that, what can I say : enjoy our cheap beer and admire our beautiful women.

Oh, and expect a total show from our fucked up owner. We really hate his guts !

[Cristian Gabriel 8]

From the little research I did, apparently their keeper is far from their best player. Could be vulnerable to long-range shots. They play 3-4-3 which is interesting.

Steaua`s keeper has great reflexes...but when it comes to corner kicks ...he is really really vulnerable...

[Jase 43,479]

Here's some stats about Steaua Bucharest:

1. Steaua Bucharest are sitting top of the Romanian league on 53pts after 21 games, 13 ahead of the 2nd place team right now(the 2nd place team yet to play this week's league match).

2. Steaua Bucharest have won 15 of their 16 home matches in all competitions this season. The only defeat came in the Europa League group stage where they were thrashed 5-1 by Stuttgart [in league: P11 W11; in domestic cup comp: P1 W1; in EL: P4 W3 L1 (excluding qualifying matches)]

3. Steaua Bucharest's overall record in Europa League this season(excluding qualifying matches) - P8 W4 D2 L2.

Steaua Bucharest's Top 5 goalscorers in all competitions this season:

1. Raul Rusescu - 22

2. Adi Rocha - 7(excluding 3 goals in EL qualifying matches)

3. Cristian Tanase - 6

4. Alexandru Chipciu - 6

5. Stefan Nikolic - 5

Steaua Bucharest's Goalscorers in Europa League this season(exc. qualifying matches):

1. Raul Rusescu - 3

2. Iamin Latovlevici - 2

3. Vlad Chiriches - 2

4. Alexandru Chipciu - 2

5. Mihai Costea - 1

They have scored 10 goals so far in 8 matches and probably worth noting that both Latovlevici and Chiriches are defenders. Chipciu is a midfielder while the other are strikers.

Edited March 4, 2013 by BluesMaster

[S3ra 15]

yep, that's all spot on. We will definitely not play 3-4-3, the coach experimented with that a couple of times during the first half of the season but it backfired miserably against Stuttgart when we lost 1-5 at home so he is now alternating between 4-2-3-1 and 4-1-4-1

the pitch may be a factor too, the stadium the game will be played in is new and looks the part but the pitch is poor after the winter break. however, it should affect both teams the same, our style of play is based on passing a lot and keeping possession and pressing high up the pitch when we lose it.

I do expect some more caution from our team, compared to the Ajax game, as that was the last chance to go through whereas here there's 2 legs still to play and both teams will be looking not to concede in the first leg.

[fcsb 13]

Sorry guys but you're gonna lose

1-0 and 1-1

Anyway FORZA STEAUA and I can't say good luck cuz you don't need in this game!

[Backstreet09 499]

Sorry guys but you're gonna lose

1-0 and 1-1

Anyway FORZA STEAUA and I can't say good luck cuz you don't need in this game!

I likes your optimism ^__^

[bushman 2,043]

How important is it for Chelsea to win in this game ?

I believe Rafa should rest key players here, play for a draw, if possible.

Come back to the Bridge & play the best against Manure. Don´t forget, Chelsea are playing on Thursday & Sunday.

Then on next week´s Thursday against Bucharest. If Chelsea can manage a draw or even a loss by one goal, then the team may knock them out.

Beaten Manure, Bucharest knocked out, happy days are here again...

[zolayes 14,489]

Sorry guys but you're gonna lose

1-0 and 1-1

Anyway FORZA STEAUA and I can't say good luck cuz you don't need in this game!

dont come here and boast ,,go to the bookies and stick some money on it ,,,double correct score should pay over 200 -1 I guess

good luck

[Santiago. 1,500]

Sorry guys but you're gonna lose

1-0 and 1-1

Anyway FORZA STEAUA and I can't say good luck cuz you don't need in this game!

We're fairly aware of that...

We are also fairly aware of the Napoli fans that came here last year and thought they would win, as well as the Benfica fans, and as well as the Bayern fans. Havne't seen them since.

[Laylabelle 9,535]

We had a anager with a clue back then and a team who knew how to play..different situation this time

[Rupert 130]

How important is it for Chelsea to win in this game ?

I believe Rafa should rest key players here, play for a draw, if possible.

Come back to the Bridge & play the best against Manure. Don´t forget, Chelsea are playing on Thursday & Sunday.

Then on next week´s Thursday against Bucharest. If Chelsea can manage a draw or even a loss by one goal, then the team may knock them out.

Beaten Manure, Bucharest knocked out, happy days are here again...

The last time Rafa managed a team against Man Utd was 2009 when his LFC defeated Utd at Old Trafford by 4-1. After the match Rafa said publicly other teams in the league should adopt his tactics against Utd. But they didn't. Other teams tend to be scared of Utd at OT. Rafa wasn't. He believed the best approach was fast-paced, high pressure straight at the heart of the Utd defence. I think he could do it with Chelsea.

[bushman 2,043]

The last time Rafa managed a team against Man Utd was 2009 when his LFC defeated Utd at Old Trafford by 4-1. After the match Rafa said publicly other teams in the league should adopt his tactics against Utd. But they didn't. Other teams tend to be scared of Utd at OT. Rafa wasn't. He believed the best approach was fast-paced, high pressure straight at the heart of the Utd defence. I think he could do it with Chelsea.

Well, thanks for your opinion.

However, if I were you, I would be more subtle about it.

Rafa is not well liked around these threads.

[spidahcult 11]

Coming from a Steaua fan (and also a Chelsea fan when I watch CL), I think Chelsea is favoured even in the first leg. If Chelsea display good form, I don`t think we can do much, although I think Steaua is in a great form too. Aspects that should worry Chelsea are the following:

1) Steaua is in a great form, has a play style focused on aggresion and keeping the ball, and they can score against strong teams (so if Chelsea won`t score, they could be in trouble).

2) Steaua plays very well against strong teams in European competitions, the players find great motivation in playing agains the odds.

3) The atmosphere at the stadium will be insane. The crowd will surely bring morale to the team, especially after eliminating Ajax

If Chelsea bring mediocre play to Bucharest, they can loose for sure, and then anything could happen on Stamford Bridge. Now regarding Steaua, I belive 3-4-3 is unlikely to be used, as it is not suited for the current team-up (we got demolished by Stuttgart because of this). I think 4-2-3-1 is a sure bet. Rusescu is a good striker, and both him, Tanase and Latovlevici are good at long shots. The fact that the pitch will be bad will not favour Steaua like in the years before (like when we eliminated Valencia, them being the curent Europa League title holders at that time). Steaua have a fast paced playstyle that revolves around possession, and a bad pitch could very well work against that and in favour of Chelsea.

If Chelsea play well, they can score straightforward, but if not, I think the greatest vulnerabilites for Steaua are free kicks and corner kicks. The players seem to be lacking in positioning, and the the goalkeeper Tatarusanu is vulnerable at crossings (not bad, but he has had his share of mistakes). Anyway, I hope the game will be exciting, with lots of goals on both sides Best of luck

[Blue Armour 4,439]

The last time Rafa managed a team against Man Utd was 2009 when his LFC defeated Utd at Old Trafford by 4-1. After the match Rafa said publicly other teams in the league should adopt his tactics against Utd. But they didn't. Other teams tend to be scared of Utd at OT. Rafa wasn't. He believed the best approach was fast-paced, high pressure straight at the heart of the Utd defence. I think he could do it with Chelsea.

Not exactly the last time...The last time he face Man Utd, he got beat 2-1 at OT. Back in 2009 he had his best ever season with Liverpool, and Torres on fire.