Farewell match on the National Arena
The so-called Golden Generation of Romanian football played their last match.
Bogdan Matei, 27.05.2024, 13:50
On Saturday, a new attendance record was set at Romania’s largest stadium, the National Arena in Bucharest. 54,967 exuberant spectators attended the retirement match of the so-called Golden Generation of Romanian football, the author of the most spectacular results ever recorded by the national team. This generation made its debut in football during the communist dictatorship, when they learned tenacity and resistance to deprivation, and show their value after the Revolution of 1989, when, freed from the ban on transferring abroad, they could prove their talent at the big European clubs.
The 1990s of the most beloved National Team, were, however, preceded by the 1980s of the best Romanian club teams. In 1983, Universitatea Craiova (south) reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. A year later, Dinamo Bucharest was playing a semi-final of the Champions Cup, and, on May 7, 1986, Steaua Bucharest won the trophy, in Spain, Seville, after winning the final with the score 2-0, following the penalty shootout, against the famous FC Barcelona. In February 1987, in Monte Carlo, Steaua also won the European Super Cup, after a 1-0 win against the Soviets from Dinamo Kyiv, and in 1989 they played in the final of the Champions Cup. Made up exclusively of Romanian footballers, Steaua and Dinamo were to be the main reservoirs of the National Team, which went to three world finals (Italy 1990, United States 1994, France 1998) and two European finals (England 1996, Belgium and the Netherlands 2000). The greatest performance of that team, trained by Anghel Iordănescu, was the quarter-finals of the World Cup in the United States, when the Romanians lost, on the penalty shoutout, 4-5 to Sweden, after in the round of 16 they eliminated the world vice-champion of the time, Argentina, 3-2.
The worthy and authoritative leaders of that generation, both in the locker room and on the field, were the offensive midfielder Gheorghe Hagi and central defender Gheorghe Popescu. The first played for Real Madrid and Barcelona, the other became the captain of Barcelona. The right back Dan Petrescu was an emblematic player for Chelsea London. The striker Florin Răducioiu is the only Romanian footballer who played in all the major national championships of Europe (England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain).
Some with many extra kilos and with grey hair, others with flawless silhouettes, all the members of the Golden Generation were, on Saturday, on the field, for a predictable formal victory in front of some former world football stars, selected by the Portuguese Jose Mourinho. Romania won 3-2. The conclusions of the evening at the National Arena belonged to the guest coach, Mourinho: “Everything was for these boys who made history for their country. And 30 years later, the country did not forget them, the country thanked them.” (LS)
