Lăcătuş answers Steaua call again

Marius Lăcătuş will begin his third spell as FC Steaua Bucureşti coach on Monday after agreeing to take over following the departure of Ilie Dumitrescu last week.

The 46-year-old former Steaua and Romania ace will become the club's fourth coach since the start of the season following the short reigns of Victor Piţurcă and Dumitrescu, and Eduard Iordanescu's one-game spell as stand-in boss – a 1-0 defeat at Romanian First Division leaders FC Oţelul Galaţi on Sunday.

Lăcătuş left Romania two months ago to move to Spain with his family, but said: "When I receive an offer like this from Steaua, I cannot refuse. However, I don't want people to think that, since I am back, success is guaranteed. It will be decided at the end of the season whether I carry on or not, depending on where Steaua finish in the table."

The club's owner George Becali confirmed: "Lăcătuş will have to finish the season in one of the top two places." Lăcătuş led FC Vaslui to a third-place finish in 2009/10, having twice coached Steaua between 2007 and 2009. Before that, he was the most successful player in the club's history, collecting ten league titles, seven Romanian Cups, the European Champion Clubs' Cup and the UEFA Super Cup during two spells.

Having lost 4-1 at Liverpool FC on Matchday 1, Steaua play host to SSC Napoli in Europa League Group K on Thursday.