This is exactly the kind of match that exposes whether belief is real or just convenient talk. Universitatea Craiova come into Sunday’s 17:30 meeting in etapa a 14-a as one of the most in-form teams in the Superliga, while FC Botoșani arrive carrying the weight of a difficult run and a squad that is missing far too many pieces. And yet Marius Croitoru is not hiding behind the absences. He is talking about three points.
That is the brave version. It is also the risky one. Because when you are going to Craiova without Diarra, Ilaş, Miron, Mailat and Ongenda, optimism needs more than a slogan. It needs an actual performance. Croitoru’s point is clear enough: Craiova are strong at home, but they are not invincible, and Botoșani have beaten them there before with him on the bench. The memory of those 3-2 and 2-1 wins from six years ago is doing a lot of work in this build-up.
Botoșani’s argument is emotion over reputation
Croitoru’s logic is not complicated. He knows Craiova have quality and depth, even suggesting they can field more than one strong team, but he also believes football is not always decided by budgets and reputations. In his view, emotional state can beat value and quality on the day, which is the sort of line that sounds bold when you are the underdog and naïve when you are not ready for the consequences.
There is at least some evidence for Botoșani to cling to. In their last cup match at Arad they earned a draw, and Enriko Papa is also talking with conviction, saying he likes these kinds of games, that the squad is a good group, and that going for victory is the only proper approach. Papa even went as far as to say it would not be a surprise if Botoșani won in Craiova. That is the sort of confidence a struggling team needs. It is also the sort of confidence that gets tested very quickly in Bănie.
The problem is the league form
Here is the blunt truth: FC Botoșani have not been convincing in the league. They lost at home to Petrolul, 3-1, and then lost away to Dinamo, 0-2. That is not the kind of sequence that makes any team look ready to march into one of the toughest away fixtures in the competition and leave with a result. It does, however, make this trip feel like a character test.
Croitoru has admitted that half the team is effectively missing. That is not a minor inconvenience. That is a structural problem. Diarra and Ilaş are suspended, Miron is out with an ankle issue after the cup match, Mailat has not recovered, and Ongenda still needs around a month before returning to training. In a normal week, that would be a headache. In this week, it is the whole story.
So yes, Botoșani can say they have history on their side. They can say Craiova are not untouchable. They can even say the emotional side of football can shift a match. But none of that changes the basic reality: this is a depleted side walking into a high-pressure away game against a team in form. If they get something out of it, it will be because they were disciplined, stubborn and brave enough to turn Croitoru’s belief into something concrete. If not, the absences will tell their own very obvious story.
Universitatea Craiova vs FC Botoșani is not just a league fixture. It is a test of whether confidence can survive contact with reality.
