The Cup final was more representative of the parity at the time than the standard ‘different logic’ of cup tournaments: the finalists were not among the championship leaders, but strong in their own way nevertheless. Universitatea (Craiova) was 6th this year, but they were formidable force in the 1970s, so no surprise they reached the final. The other finalist was further down the championship table – Olimpia (Satu Mare) were 13th. But they were tough opponent and once at the final, naturally wanted to win. Still, the classier team prevailed – Universitatea won 3-1.
Tired winners, not having strength left for smiles. But the Cup was theirs, in the hands of Sorin Cartu, not a star, but called ‘brilliant’ this day.
One may feel sorry for the losers – Olimpia (Satu Mare) are one of the oldest Romanian clubs, founded in 1921. But… they rarely played in First Division, especially after the Second World War. The reason was largely lack of money. They managed to get promotion in 1973-74 and more or less settled in the top division – in the lower part of it, but they stayed. 1977-78 was their finest season ever – for the first time in their history they had a chance to win a trophy. Unfortunately, they lost… and such a run was never repeated again. Thus, this counts as the best year of Olimpia and their playing at the Cup final – their biggest success.
The winners added one more trophy – their third in total. They also repeated their success of the previous year, winning the Cup for a second time, but in two consecutive years.
1970s were the best years of the club – they established themselves as steady favourites, won the championship a few years back, then the Cup in 1976-77 and now again. Along with Steaua, Dynamo, and Arges – one of the leaders of Romanian football and there were no signs of decline. Universitatea was staying strong, winning trophies, and most likely going to win more. Good for football too – this ‘students’ club established a permanent challenge to the ‘big’ clubs from Bucharest. The capital was no longer dominant, but had to share with the ‘provincials’.