Football Flash

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Florin Orban, 17.11.2016, 13:46

We begin with a piece of sad news. Former international footballer Daniel Prodan Wednesday night died of cardiac arrest. A member of the Golden Generation in the 1990s, Daniel Prodan was born on March 23rd 1972 in Satu Mare, northwestern Romania. He made his debut with the local team Olympia in 1991. In 1993 he got signed up by Steaua Bucharest, the team with which Prodan shot to fame. Between 1996 and 1998 he was signed up by Altetico Madrid, then he had a three-year stint with Glasgow Rangers, until 2001. Prodan ended his career with FC National. His record also includes 54 games for the national squad, including the 1994 edition of the World Championship and the European Championship in 1996.

We continue with the latest from domestic football. The aftermath of Romanian’s defeat this past Tuesday in the game against Russia, 0-1, means mounting pressure for the national team manager, German Christoph Daum, who came under fire for having made two bad moves on the pitch, towards the end of the friendly game in Grozny. Daum’s substitutions facilitated the goal scored by the Russians in added time. Criticism targeting Daum has not ceased since the national team’s defeat by Poland last week, 0-3. In a TV show, former international footballer Adrian Mutu, current manager of Dinamo Bucharest, accused Daum of lacking a basic idea for the game, the lack of a real team leader, and the absence of skilful footballers in the midfield.

The three-goal defeat in the game against Poland makes Romania’s prospects to go through to the World Championships more distant. The national squad can still compete for second place in the group, which entitles them to a position in the playoffs. However, in order to achieve that, the Romanians should have no problem winning their forthcoming fixtures, especially the games against Denmark and Montenegro.