The Athlete of the week: Footballer Denis Alibec

For his exceptional exploits on the pitch, Radio Romania International designated Denis Alibec the athlete of the week

Florin Orban, 08.08.2017, 13:42

Five Romanian teams last week proved their mettle in the third preliminary round of European football competitions. FCSB and Viitorul Constanta competed for a place in the Champions League’s playoffs, while Dinamo Bucharest, CSU Craiova and Astra Giurgiu tried to gain access to Europa League’s playoffs. All three teams playing in Europa League were eliminated from the competition. Viitorul Constanta wasted their opportunity to get through to the Champions League’s playoffs, but they are entitled to a place in the Europa League’s playoffs.

FCSB, better known in Europa under its former name, Steaua Bucharest, succeeded to qualify for the Champions League’s playoffs, after their aggregate win in the tie against Czech contenders Viktoria Plzen. Steaua were held to a 2-all draw in Bucharest, two weeks ago while away from home, they trounced Viktoria Plzen, 4-1. What mattered most was the excellent run and the experience of the footballers who got transferred from Romania’s champion team in 2016, Astra Giurgiu, Denis Alibec, or Portuguese footballers Filipe Teixeira and Junior Morais, respectively.

On the pitch Denis Alibec literally made the difference, mainly due to the amount of pressure he constantly put on the Czech team’s defense lineup. Then Alibec superbly served Florin Tanase who scored FCSB’s third goal. It was also Alibec who turned a spot-kick into a goal, sealing the fate of the game. For his exceptional exploits on the pitch, Radio Romania International designated Denis Alibec the athlete of the week.

FCSB’s striker was born in Mangalia on January 1, 1991. In the early days of his career, he joined the junior team of his local club, Callatis. Alibec made his debut in League One with Farul Constanta, in 2008. From 2009 to 2014, Denis Alibec had been signed up by Internazionale from Milan, who in turn offered him on loan to the Belgian club Malines, to Viitorul Constanta and then to another Italian club, Bologna. From 2014 to 2017, Denis Alibec played for Astra Giurgiu, a team with which he won the 2016 edition of League One’s championship. Alibec boasts seven caps for the national squad.