The juniors coached by Paul Codrea have their first important exams on the green rectangle. After winning the county and regional stages, Politehnica Under 15 is hosting the quarter-final tournament (zone 3), being among the top 16 teams in the country at this level.

The U15 Polytechnic won Series 11 to reach this stage. The white-violet group also includes AFC UTA Arad (2008), CS Pandurii Lignitul Târgu Jiu and Universitatea Craiova. The four will play each other once. All six matches will be played in Timișoara, on the “synthetic” of the Politehnica’s Sports Base No. 2. However, if the weather improves, it is possible to move some games to the “Știința” arena. The top two finishers in the four quarter-final groups get tickets for the semi-final groups (6-10 May, eight teams).

“I honestly expect us to qualify, especially as we are playing at home. This is our chance. UTA 2008, I say, is an accessible opponent. I don’t know Târgu Jiu, but we will probably fight with them and Craiova is the clear favourite. They are also much better in terms of investment, they can afford to make selections all over the country… It’s a bit harder to fight them, we know them from the Politehnica Centenary tournament last year. They are a really good team, but we don’t give up before the match,” said Paul Codrea, head coach of Politehnica U15.

The former Romania international expects his pupils to treat the tournament with enthusiasm first and foremost. “For us and the fact that we won on Timisoara was already a step forward, the fact that we are playing the next round should be motivating. I hope they are excited, because I am! They can’t wait for the games either, the fact that we’re playing at home is a big advantage. Basically we play on the pitch we train on every day, there shouldn’t be any problems,” added Codrea.

Among the players “to watch” for Politehnica at this level are Eric Adam, selected for the U15 national team, Bogdan Șteta, team captain, central defender Luca Ardel, Alex Matei and Radu Angelo, both born in 2008, but not only them. Below you can see the whole Under 15 white-violet squad.

The first game of the U15s in this phase is tomorrow, 8 April, at 13:00, against UTA Arad (n. 2008). On Sunday 10 April, at the same time, the duel with Pandurii Tg. Jiu and on Tuesday 12 April at 11:00 the last game will be against Universitatea Craiova.

Batch Politehnica U15: Albert Păsule, Mihai Enășescu, Ștefan Botoca, Mario Matei (goalkeepers) – Eric Adam, Luca Ardel, Laurențiu Axinia, Titu Bojin, Bogdan Bratu, Alexandru Cercel, Luca Chiș, Răzvan Diaconu, Călin Fazekaș, Darius Fotoniu, Răzvan Goia, Rareș Laza, Alexandru Matei, Medard Kulcsar, David Nagy, Angelo Radu, Deian Ranisav, Fabian Roșu, Rareș Sîrbu, Bogdan Șteta, Andrei Mircea, Damian Bogdan (field players). Coach: Paul Codrea.