Romania braced for spring season

With some quality local talent moving abroad, the Romanian title rivals are hoping foreign stars will fill the gaps as the LIGA I season resumes.

Dinamo changes
Champions FC Dinamo 1948 Bucureşti set the tone, with promising young defender Ştefan Radu joining S.S. Lazio and top scorer Claudiu Niculescu joining fellow Romanians Iulian Filipescu and Mihai Tararache at Bundesliga side MSV Duisburg. In their place, the club's coaching duo of Cornel Dinu and Cornel Ţălnar brought in Macedonian defender Blagoje Todorovski from FK Sileks and Argentinian top scorer Osvaldo Miranda from local side Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy.

Rocky start
Serbian defender Nino Pekarić also joined the club from FK Vojvodina but he will be unavailable when Dinamo's season resumes on 22 February having been ruled out for a month through an injury sustained during a mid-season training camp. A blow, but given that Dinamo are 14 points off the pace in sixth place, not one that is likely to affect their chances of retaining the title.

Steaua adjustments
CFR 1907 Cluj top the table, having set the tone for the season with their sizeable 22-man foreign contingent. FC Steaua Bucureşti brought in five more foreigners during the winter but saw two local players head abroad, with Victoraş Iacob joining 1. FC Kaiserslautern and fellow forward Dorel Zaharia heading to Tianjin Teda FC in China. Third-placed AFC Unirea Voluntari Urziceni made young Lithuanians Giedrius Arlauskis and Davidas Arlauskis their only significant new signings.

Rapid spree
Second in the table, five points behind Cluj, FC Rapid Bucureşti have yet to complete their winter signing spree, with two more players expected to arrive before the league campaign resumes. They have been scouring the foreign markets for talent, bringing in Belgian Phillippe Léonard, Latvian Andrejs Rubins, Serbian Ranko Despotović, Australian Ryan Griffiths and luring Daniel Pancu back from Bursaspor.

Final additions
With the top two getting a crack at the UEFA Champions League in 2008/09, few clubs have flinched from investing in foreign talent. Dorinel Munteanu's SC Vaslui hope Argentinian Jesus Alberto Datolo and Senegal's Ousmane N'Doye can strengthen their midfield as they battle for a UEFA Cup berth. With similar ambitions, FC Politehnica 1921 Ştiinţa Timişoara's Czech coach Dušan Uhrin Jr has signed another four foreigners. The stakes are high, but given the riches and kudos that a successful European campaign can bring, it could all be money well spent.