Toni Conceicao, reaction about the appointment to Rapid!

On Tuesday, April 30, 2024, the Romanian sports press circulated the possibility that the Portuguese Toni Conceicao will be appointed as coach at Rapid Bucharest, starting from the summer.

Aged 62, Conceicao knows Romanian football very well, as he has trained CFR Cluj, FC Brașov and Astra Giurgiu in the past. On the bank of the Transylvanians from CFR, Conceicao was active in three different mandates: April – May 2009, December 2015 – June 2016 and July 2018 – February 2019.

“Romania is always an open door.” Toni Conceicao reacted after it was written that he could be appointed to the technical bench at Rapid

Rapid Bucharest is going to change the technical staff in the summer of this year, after Cristiano Bergodi was removed from the team. Currently, Bogdan Lobonț and Adrian Iencsi provide the interim, but the first team will not remain in their hands in the 2024-2025 season either.

The most mentioned name for the position of head coach at Rapid in recent weeks was that of Marius Șumudica. The latter even confirmed that he is on Rapid’s list and admitted that he will start negotiations with Dan Șucu and Victor Angelescu.

But, less than 24 hours after the defeat of Rapid with the University of Craiova, score 1-2 in Giulesti, another surprise version appeared in the Romanian media. It was circulated that Toni Conceicao, the Portuguese who coached CFR Cluj for three termscould be contacted by Dan Șucu to make a proposal.

ProSport got in touch with the 62-year-old technician and thus found out that Toni Conceicao has not been offered until this moment. However, the coach was open to possible negotiations:

There have been people who have told me about this information, but I haven’t spoken to anyone from Rapid. For me, Romania is always an open door, but I am a professional and I have to evaluate the possibilities”, Conceicao said, for ProSport.

Football in Romania continues to attract him

In Romania, Toni Conceicao won three trophies, all with CFR Cluj. In 2009 and 2016, he emerged triumphant in the Romanian Cup, and in 2010 he won the Supercup.

I continue to follow Romanian football a lot, I am part of the phenomenon… I believe that Romanian football is in a moment of growth, new clubs with more balanced projects appear, which can increase the value of the championship from a competitive point of view”, he added said the Portuguese.

Toni Conceicao last collaborated with the Football Federation of Cameroon. He was the selector of the first Cameroonian national team from September 2019 until February 2022. Since then, the technician has not practiced in the “king sport”.

When asked about the difficult season that his former team, CFR Cluj, is still going through, Conceicao said:

It is difficult for me to talk about CFR Cluj… But this season, from a sporting point of view, is a very difficult one for the club”, said Toni Conceicao, for ProSport.

Braga B, Naval, Estrela, Setubal, Trofense, Belenenses, Moreirense, Olhanense, Al Faisaly, Nea Salamis and Penafiel are the clubs outside Romania that Conceicao has coached throughout his career.