On the last day of the EMF Champions League, MAV Sport Timisoara came out victorious from the clash of the Romanian minifootball teams.
Semi-finals
Romania had very high expectations from the very first second of the third edition of the EMF Champions League. They entered the competition with eight teams, and first time in EMF Champions League history they brought an all-Romanian final stage to Terme Čatež.
Juventus Sibiu – MAV Sport Timisoara 0:0 (3:2 p)
The two Romanian teams have undoubtedly an exciting history in the EMF Champions Leagues. In 2016 the teams met also in the semi-finals, at the end of which Juventus Sibiu proceeded to the final with a 2:1 win. In 2017 they met in the plate final. That year MAV Timisoara got their revenge and beat Juventus in a penalty shootout for the bronze medals.
This year both Romanian teams showed strong determination to make it to the final, as they met on the pitch once again. After a goalless first 20 minutes, the second half of the match got emotional with several yellow cards being shown to the teams. None of the teams managed to convert their rare opportunities into goals, the goalless match went into a penalty shootout, which was won 3:2 by MAV Timisoara.
Coriolan Bacau – Tanzmannscheft Bucuresti 3:3 (3:2 p)
By the semi-final, both teams had higher than 3 average goals per match, so the audience was in for an exciting and goal-packed match. And the two Romanian teams didn’t fail to deliver.
The two teams proved to be equally strong during the previous stages of the Champions League, still the odds seemed to be on Coriolan Bacau’s side; so Tanzmannschaft Bucuresti caused a surprise by scoring the first goal of the game in the 18th minute. However, Coriolan Bacau responded excellently to the pressure and quickly found an equalizer. They even managed to grab the lead in the 23rd minute of the match. The lead was barely a minute old when Tanzmannschaft’s Radu Razvan Dumitru found the back of the net, making it 2:2.
For a short moment Tanzmannschaft chances of progression appeared to be better as Burciu Radu-Marian netted a goal in the 31st minute, but Coriolan Bacau was very quick to reply, setting the final 3:3 score. The luck was on Coriolan Bacau’s side during the penalty shootout, they landed a place in the final.
Plate final
Tanzmannscaft Bucuresti – Juventus Sibiu 1:1 (2:3 p)
The afternoon’s third match finished in a penalty shootout as well, proving that in fact all four Romanian teams had the same potential becoming champions. Both teams had to quickly lick their wounds after their respective lost in the semi-finals. The teams started the match guardedly, with only a few real chances in front of the goal. Finally, Tanzmannschaft opened the scoring, but Juventus Sibiu managed to close the gap few minutes before the half-time whistle when Mitu Marius Dan put it in the back of the net.
None of the teams could convert their chances into goals in the second half. The score stayed 1:1, therefore the Romanian started the day’s third penalty shootout. This time Juventus Sibiu got lucky and, after last year’s defeat against MAV Timisoara, this year they can travel home with the bronze medals around their necks.
Final
Coriolan Bacau – MAV Sport Timisoara 0:0 (1:2 p)
After a goalless first half, both teams came out strong and determined to score in the second half. They teams stepped up the pace of the game. The players spent most of their time in front of the goals, only quickly passing the ball through the middle of the pitch.
The audience saw several amazing scoring opportunities on both side, but it is mainly Coriolan Bacau who has to thank their goalkeeper Ciobanu Ioan Bogdan for keeping the ball out of the net until the end of the match.
Similar to last year’s final, the match went into penalty shootout, only this time it has only taken the teams three goals to decide to fate of the trophy – MAV Sport Timisoara won the shootout 2:1 and were crown EMF Champions!
