There is nothing reckless about this one, and that is exactly why it matters. FCSB arrived at the final match of round 12 with 15 points from 11 games, sitting 10th and still chasing the sort of momentum that turns a decent run into a real push toward the play-off places. In other words, this was not the night for grandstanding. It was the night for control.
That is the real significance of Laurențiu Reghecampf’s call to use Radunovic in midfield against FC Voluntari. FCSB may have beaten Oțelul in Reghecampf’s first match back in charge, but one result does not fix a season. A team with ambitions cannot live on fresh-start energy alone. It has to find a shape that works, and this selection suggests Reghecampf is already thinking about structure before slogans.
The coach explained the logic plainly enough before kickoff. He wanted a balance between attack and defence. He wanted a player with a strong technical base, one who offers security and makes very few mistakes. He also said FCSB need experience in midfield, and that Radunovic fits that brief. That is not the language of a manager chasing headlines. It is the language of a manager trying to stop the team from becoming stretched and careless.
Why Radunovic, and why now?
There is also the practical side, and it should not be ignored. Reghecampf pointed out that FCSB must think about the U21 rule, and that Pădurariu has played well enough not to be disturbed. That matters because it tells you the decision was not made in isolation. It was part football logic, part squad management, part survival instinct. In a tight league race, those details become the difference between looking composed and looking confused.
The timing adds another layer. FCSB’s players arrived at the stadium at 19:20, Reghecampf and MM Stoica entered the dressing room at 20:00, and the match was set for 21:00. This was a proper, high-stakes evening, not a relaxed exercise in experimentation. FC Voluntari came in with three straight defeats and the pressure of weak form, but that should have made FCSB even more alert, not more casual. A wounded opponent can be dangerous precisely because it has nothing left to lose.
So the headline here is not just that Radunovic is starting in midfield. The bigger point is that Reghecampf seems determined to build something more stable than one-off momentum. If FCSB are serious about climbing back toward the play-off spots, they will need this kind of selection discipline: less noise, more balance, and far fewer cheap mistakes. It may not be the most glamorous route, but it is probably the most sensible one.
