FC Bihor stood out at the Elite Neon Cup. “The results and performances in the matches show us that we have some children of the future

It was the first appearance of the juniors from Oradea at a prestigious tournament, after the reappearance of FC Bihor on the Romanian football map. The “Red-Blues” competed in the U14 category with the group coached by Sorin Pop, Stelian Farcău, the coordinator of the Children’s and Junior Center at FC Bihor, was also present in Athens.
48 teams from all over the world participated in the U14, and the boys from FC Bihor won Group H with 5 points after 0-0 with the Englishmen from Oxford United, 2-2 with the Greeks from Olympiacos Renti SC and 4-1 with the Greeks from Alexandros Kilkis FC in the decider. In the round of 16, Oradea defeated the German Athletic Academy team 1-0, the winner of Group A with straight wins, score 1-0. For a place in the semi-finals, FC Bihor faced off with the well-known club Panathinaikos Athens, the Greeks winning 2-1 in a balanced match with a late goal. In the 5th-8th place match, FCB lost 0-1 to Cypriot side AEL Limassol and eventually took 7th place.

Important clubs have access to the “ace box”: RB Bragantino – Panathinaikos FC 4-0 and Liverpool FC – Olympiacos Piraeus FC 4-2 (0-0). In the final, the Brazilians from Red Bull Bragantino defeated FC Liverpool 3-1, being the first goal conceded in this tournament, where they scored 48 goals.

“A really cool, world-class tournament with 48 teams from all over the world. Our boys did very well in all respects and deserve to be congratulated for their progress”, summed up coach Sorin Pop.

The FC Bihor squad for this tournament was made up of Ianis Maghiar, Octavian Popa – goalkeepers; Alex Rizoiu, Andrei Caba, Vlad Filip, Balazs Balint, David Mihuț, David Șitan, Raul Paul, Casian Lăzău, Cristian Heghedus, Denis Gal, Mohammed Rafik, David Pășcutț, Mihnea Pițș, Luca Costea, Marc Lovas, Ianis Săcăcean.

“The Elite Neon Cup is a very well-organized tournament that gave our kids the opportunity to test their potential at the international level. The results and performances in the matches show us that we have some children of the future. Our objective is for each category to have a dedicated international tournament to participate in every year, and for U16 we intend to organize a strong tournament in Oradea”, Stelian Farcău, the coordinator of the youth sector at FCB, told us.

Four other teams from Romania also participated in this age category: Progresul Oradea, CS Atletico Timișoara, Kinder Brașov, SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea. Progresul Oradea (coach Marius Suciu) ranked 3rd in Group B, after 0-3 with Anorthosis Famagusta, 0-1 with Aris and the 4-0 victory over Ifestos Pesisteriou.

Red Bull Bragantino winners PHOTO: ELITE NEON CUP