During the winter break of the Super League, the FMF Executive Committee decided to increase the number of matches in the summer-autumn phase by a third. Each of the eight clubs will play 21 matches (three times with each other member of the championship), instead of 14, as it was in the previous two seasons after the division of the tournament into two phases. Because of this, the off-season period amounted to just over a month, the players had a very short vacation – in most clubs it did not exceed two weeks.
The previous Super League season ended on May 18. After that, Sheriff (Tiraspol) and Milsami (Orhei) played in the final of the Moldovan Cup on May 24. And at the beginning of June, the clubs started training. A number of players from Sheriff, Zimbru (Chisinau) and Petrocub (Hincesti) were called up to the Moldovan national team for matches against Poland and Italy, and this only increased the intensity of the preparation mode for the new season.
The passions around the tense end of the previous championship had no time to cool down, as two clubs – “Petrocub” and “Zimbru” – made reshuffles on the coaching bridges. Romanian specialist Andrei Prepelice left his position after four matches in charge of the club from Hincesti. He took over the team at the final stage of the championship, it won two victories with two defeats.
Prepelice was replaced by Shota Makharadze, who previously worked at the head of Sheriff’s reserve team and the Tiraspol club’s academy. Last season Petrocub failed to find an optimal coaching solution – five specialists headed the club in the 2024/25 season. Apart from Prepelice, the position was held by Andrei Martin, Giovanni Constantino, Eduard Blanutse and Slavce Vojneschi. The latter made a number of scandalous statements to the club president Mihail Usatii upon his departure.
There were also changes in the coaching staff of Zimbru, but without scandalous overtones. Turkish coach Hikmet Karaman, who took charge of the Chisinau club last October, and with 12 wins and five defeats, left the position with the entire staff. The Bisons management said that the termination of the contract was reached by mutual agreement.
Belarusian specialist Oleg Kubarev, who returned to Zimbru after 12 years, took over the leadership of the Superleague bronze medalists. He headed the coaching staff of the club in 2013-2014, won the Cup and the Super Cup of Moldova. Prior to his return, Kubarev was the assistant head coach of Arsenal from Dzerzhinsk (Belarus), having worked there for a year and a half. Part of the coaching staff was made up by compatriots of the new coach. Pavel Rybak was appointed Kubarev’s assistant, and Eduard Turchinsky, who previously worked at Zimbru and Dacia, was appointed goalkeepers coach.
Igor Pikuschak, who led “Milsami” to the first championship for 10 years, by his decision to stay at the head of the coaching staff of the club dispelled rumors about a move to “Sheriff”. Pikuschak is a young specialist by coaching standards (42 years old), but during a year of work in Orhei he managed to establish interaction between players on the field, improved the quality of the team’s game and instilled in his charges the championship spirit. “Milsami” finished the first phase of the Super League in fifth place, but quality selection work during the winter break and the former format, which provided for zero points before the spring phase, played into the hands of the staff headed by Picuszczak.
Speaking of format. In the new season, there will be no zeroing of points at the end of the first phase of the championship. As before, the clubs that took the first six places, qualify for the spring stage, having in reserve points earned in 21 rounds of the first phase. True, the number of points will be divided by two. This decision by the FMF will reduce the likelihood of a scenario in which clubs that did not top the standings in the summer and fall phases can claim victory at the end of the season. “Petrocub, who became champions in 2024, finished second in the first phase, six points behind Sheriff. A year later, Milsami was already 15 points behind the Tiraspol club. The reform of the format will reduce the spectacularity of the final part of the season, but will increase the importance of the first phase.
The clubs continue to strengthen their squads. The summer transfer window opened on June 11 and will last until September 1. The most active on the transfer market are the participants of European cups – “Milsami”, “Sheriff”, “Zimbru” and “Petrocub”. Other clubs are reinforced mainly by young players. It is quite difficult to judge the expenditures of Super League participants on players, as often financial information is not made public. Due to limited budgets, Moldovan clubs prefer to use the services of free agents – players who have terminated their contract with the previous club. Also, participants of the transfer campaign do not report the amounts spent on the rent of players. Of all the transfers that took place in the week since the start of the campaign, only one disclosed the amount (see table).
Two clubs were promoted – Dacia-Buiucani and Politehnica-UTM (Chisinau). “Dacia” were absent from the Super League for just over half a year and returned to the elite, thanks to winning a transitional tournament involving FC Florești and four Ligue 1 clubs.
The return of Politehnica-UTM came after a much longer break of 17 years. The club was assembled on the basis of Saksan (Ceadir-Lunga), and the squad included pupils of Radu Rebeg’s Football Academy. Ilija Pintjak, who led “Saksan”, became the head coach of “Politehnica-UTM”. Home matches are planned to be played at the Suruceni rural stadium (Ialoveni district) until the stadium of the Technical University is harmonized with the standards of the Super League.
The participation of Spartanii-Sportul, which finished sixth last season, remained in doubt. Experienced players left the club due to salary arrears, while one of the team’s managers and coach Viorel Cojocaru keeps silent. The situation has escalated following a recent statement by Guinea-Bissau legionnaire George Okante Vieira Toto Okante accusing the management of refusing to pay him his salary arrears following his refusal to renew his agreement. The club risks being banned from registering new players if the FMF starts formal proceedings in the case.
|
Transfers of Super League players* during the summer transfer window |
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|
Club from which transferred |
Club to which transferred | Market value** |
Transferamount |
|
| Ibrahima Souma (Guinea) |
“Zimbru” |
“Sheriff” | €200 th. |
€350 th. |
| Peter Ademo (Nigeria) |
“Rapid” (Romania) |
“Sheriff” | €600 th. |
end of lease |
| Mollo Bessala (Cameroon) |
LNZ (Ukraine) |
“Sheriff” | €500k. |
lease |
| Moussa Kouabou (Mali) |
“Sheriff” |
without club | €450 th. |
______ |
| Caio Ferreira Martins (Brazil) |
CF Bălți |
“Argeș” (Romania) | €400k. |
free agent |
| Armel Zourie (Cote d’Ivoire) |
“Sheriff” |
“Iberia 1999” (Georgia) | €325 th. |
free agent |
| Christopher Nwaeze (Nigeria) |
“Milsami” |
“Zorya” (Ukraine) | €300 th. |
rental completion |
| Marin Caruntu*** |
“Petrocub” |
“Dacia-Buiucani” | €275 th. |
free agent |
| Kirill Kirilenko (Belarus) |
“Arsenal” (Dzerzhinsk, Belarus) |
“Zimbru” | Zimbru” (Belarus) €250 th. |
free agent |
| Nikolay Rotaru |
“Spartanii-Sportul” |
“Petrocub” | €200k. |
not disclosed |
| Artyom Bykovsky (Russia) |
“Petrocub” |
“Spartak” (Russia) | €175k. |
end of lease |
| Gabriel Obekpa (Nigeria) |
“Zimbru” |
“Bodrum” (Turkey) | €150k. |
end of lease |
| Michael Gopi Steven (Nigeria) |
“Milsami” |
without a club | €150k. |
______ |
| Igor Lambarsky |
without a club |
“Dacia-Buiucani” | €100 th. |
free agent |
| Gideon Goodlab (Nigeria) |
“Sheriff” |
“Ikon Allah” (Nigeria) | €75k. |
not disclosed |
| Alexandru Gau |
“Minaur” (Romania) |
CF Bălți | €75 th. |
end of lease |
| Adam Mulele (Spain / DR Congo) |
“Zimbru” |
“Pendikspor (Turkey) | €50k. |
completion of the lease |
| * Transfers with known market value of players are indicated
** Market value according to “Transfermarkt” service *** Footballers without specifying the country are citizens of Moldova |
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