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Soccer Canada Magazine Preview
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Romania cruised through a relatively easy preliminary group to become the first European team to qualify for next year's World Cup soccer finals in France.
But a string of nine increasingly predictable victories -- blemished by only a single draw in their last match -- over largely unheralded opponents took the passion out of the run-up to the finals and clearly lost the interest of many Romanian fans.
Coach Anghel Iordanescu clearly feels he has something to prove after Romania made it to the quarter-finals in the 1994 World Cup in the United States but managed only a single goal in three dismal losses at last year's European Finals.
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World Cup Record: Six previous finals - 1930, 1934,1938, 1970, 1990, 1994. Best Performance: Quarter-Finalists 1994. Three stars to watch: Gheorghe Hagi, Viorel Moldovan, Adrian Ilie. To many one of the most impressive teams at USA 94 and still coached by the brilliant Anghel Iordanescu. They romped through the qualifiers unbeaten and with just one draw in ten games, winning their group by a massive ten points. A beautifully balanced team, they play the counter-attacking game to perfection. Tip: Will make the quarter-finals. Best international result: 9-0 v.s Finland (1973) Worst international result: 0-9 v.s Hungary (1948) Most capped player all-time: Ladislau Boloni, 108 caps Area: 237 500 Sq. Km Population: 23 207 000 hab. Capital: Bucarest Founded: 1909 Affiliation to Fifa: 1923 Number of clubs: 2812 Number of registered players: 95 124 Number of registered referees: 5 586 Major stadiums: National, Bucurest (70 00). Politenhnica, Timisoar (40 000) National colors: yellow, blue and red |
Coach Anghel Iordanescu clearly took no chances even against Liechtenstein, fielded 11 starters playing with teams abroad. The outcome, an 8-0 drubbing, was Romania's best win in 23 years.
The final draw against Ireland put an end to Iordanescu's dream of equalizing Germany's clean performance in qualifying for the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain.
Captain Gheorghe Hagi achieved a personal ambition and established a national record when he took his tally to 32 goals for his country in 107 appearances.
Despite the ease with which they qualified, the volatile Iordanescu's brand of iron discipline has generated a series of altercations within his own camp.
Florin Raducioiu, star of the 1994 tournament now with Stuttgart, demanded special status as the pillar of the team and was repeatedly left out of the squad.
Ionut Lupescu of Borussia Moenchengladbach stormed out and vowed never again to play for the national team after Iordanescu kept him on the bench for all but three minutes of the Lithuania away game.
Ovidiu Sabau of Brescia also walked out, complaining that his coach's demands of victory at any price were incompatible with his religious convictions. Iordanescu has instead given two youthful talented players, Catalin Munteanu, 18, and Alin Stoica, 17, a chance to stake their claim in the squad.
Romania were one of their undoubted successes of USA'94, reaching the last eight by playing some delightful, attacking football.
Four years on, and despite their impressive displays in the qualifiers, Romania will do well to reach the same stage in France.
NEXT ROUNDS: Round of 16 || Quarter-finals || Semi-finals
GROUP A: Brazil, Morocco, Norway, Scotland
GROUP B: Austria, Cameroon, Chile, Italy
GROUP C: Denmark, France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
GROUP D: Bulgaria, Nigeria, Paraguay, Spain
GROUP E: Belgium, Holland, Mexico, South Korea
GROUP F: Germany, Iran, United States, Yugoslavia
GROUP G: Colombia, England, Romania, Tunisia
GROUP H: Argentina, Croatia, Jamaica, Japan