He came back strong during the following season, after he scored 16 goals in 26 games, also helping the club win the Cupa României, being used by coach Ioan Andone in all the minutes from the 1–0 victory in the final against Național București, the fans eventually accepting him as he became a top-scorer of the team, making a successful couple in the team's offence in the following years with Claudiu Niculescu, the Romanian press calling them the "N&D couple", a nickname inspired from the first letters of their family name and the Romanian pop band "N&D".
After scoring 16 goals in 26 games, he helped his team win the Cupa României. He was used by coach Ioan Andone for all the minutes in the final against Național București, which they won 1-0. The fans eventually accepted him as a top scorer and formed a successful partnership with Claudiu Niculescu, earning them the nickname "N&D couple" from the Romanian press, inspired by their family names and the pop band "N&D".