For three days, from Friday to Sunday (3-5 September), Timisoara was a capital of Romanian youth football. 86 teams made up of kids born between 2007 and 2015 competed on eight different sports grounds in the city in the competition dedicated to them on the occasion of the Politehnica Centenary. It was a win-win for everyone involved!

The celebration started on Friday, especially as towards the evening, our guests reached the important goals of the Banat Capital by walking through the beautiful parade of the participating teams. It was also the perfect opportunity for the locals to get to know better who their guests are for the weekend. On Friday and Saturday there were beautiful battles for entry into the knockout stages and on Sunday the laurels were reaped.

The atmosphere was animated by parents and galleries, our kids also enjoyed the contribution of the supporters from the South Timisoara Peluza. Support that certainly helped the 2009-born white-violets, winners of their group after a 1-0 score battle with Atletico Arad. At the end the podium finishers received trophies and everyone earned a medal and diploma for the weekend’s achievement.

Winners we all were, but for compliance here are the “Final Four” rankings for each age group:

2007: 1. Atletico Arad, 2. CS Universitatea Craiova, 3. “U” Cluj, 4. FCSB

2008: 1. FCSB, 2. FC National Sofia, 3. “U” Cluj, 4. “Gică Popescu” Academy

2009: 1. Politehnica Timișoara, 2. Atletico Arad, 3. Viitorul Arad, 4. UTA

2010: 1. LPS Banatul, 2. Kids Tâmpa Brasov, 3. Atletico Timișoara, 4. CFR Cluj

2011: 1. Atletico Arad, 2. CSM Reșița, 3. Politehnica Timișoara, 4. CSM Lugoj

2012: 1. UTA, 2. Atletico Arad, 3. Optimum Alba Iulia, 4. CFR Timișoara

2013: 1. Pădureni I, 2. Ripensia, 3. Pădureni II, 4. Politehnica Timișoara

2014: 1. UTA, 2. Ripensia, 3. Politehnica Tim. (white), 4. Ghiroda

2015: 1. UTA, 2. CFR Timișoara, 3. Atletico Arad, 4. Ripensia II

Congratulations to all!

Our club, Politehnica Timisoara University, the Timisoara Supporters Association “Druckeria”, together with some of the parents and other volunteers, had a huge challenge in organizing the event and the efforts were appreciated by the guests. So we reproduce below some of the impressions left by “Politehnica Centenar” to the visitors during the last days, words that make us think seriously about organizing the tournament every year:

“All in all it was a good tournament for the kids because they met different opponents than the ones they meet in Bucharest. They had a diversity. Another positive aspect is that, at least my group, we only played on grass courts, even though we were not taught, but it’s a positive aspect from my point of view. I want to thank everyone in Timisoara who took care of the organisation, because from the moment we said we were coming to the tournament, we had all the information we needed and when we arrived in the city it wasn’t unknown, we knew the court, the meal times, everything. We hope to be invited again and we wish you a lot of success in future editions”, Marius Ștefan, FCSB coach (group 2008)

“I am delighted that we were able to participate with the 2008 group from Craiova in this tournament. Thank you for the invitation, I think it was a successful tournament and one that honoured this celebration in Timisoara – the Centenary of Politehnica. I wish you a lot of success in the future, both in the senior teams and in the children and juniors groups”, Ionuț Cimpoeru, coach of Gică Popescu Academy (2008 group).

“It was a very well organized tournament, with very good teams from the country and abroad. We met very good teams, everyone had something to gain, even if we lost or won, each team, each player, had something to learn from this tournament”, Cristian Dancia, president of Atletico Timisoara.

“I want to thank you for the action you had during these beautiful days in Timisoara. It was by far a successful tournament from all points of view. Both organisationally, I mean the conditions at the arena where the games were played, and the accommodation and meal conditions. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the invitation. Congratulations once again for everything you do in the service of youth football, good luck for the future and we hope to see you at other competitions”, Ciprian Selagea, president of Optimum Alba Iulia.

“Thank you for the invitation, it was a successful tournament, well organized from all points of view and we look forward to the next invitation”, Cătălin Rizea, coach of the Răzvan Raț Academy (group 2011)

“I can say that we participated in one of the most beautiful tournaments, a well-organized tournament, with very good playing conditions, many teams, valuable teams. Even if we won the group the most easy in terms of matches, but we showed our value in the final and I can say that it was a winning final, 2-1 against Atletico Arad, which we decided by the game in our favor much more clearly… I’m glad, I hope to have this tournament in the coming years and we will gladly come from Arad to our friends in Timisoara, to enjoy football for these wonderful children!”, Cristian Țigan, UTA coach (group 2012)

“On behalf of National Sofia I want to thank you for the invitation. Everything was very well organized and it was a new experience for them. They came to Timisoara for the first time and discovered a beautiful, civilized city with warm people. I hope that soon Politehnica will come to our city with one or more groups from the club. Once again THANK YOU FRUMOS for everything!”, Dragomir Pankov, administrative director FC National Sofia (Bulgaria)