Radio România Internațional

Tag: golden generation

  • Sport Club RRI – Monument to the Golden Generation of Romanian football

    Sport Club RRI – Monument to the Golden Generation of Romanian football

    The 1990s were the best in the history of the Romanian national football team. The Romanian footballers qualified to three World Cup final tournaments, namely in 1990, in Italy, in 1994, when the competition was held in the United States, and in 1998, when France was the host. The furthest Romania ever reached was the quarterfinals played against Sweden in 1994, an opportunity wasted at the penalty shootout. The players who represented Romania in these competitions are said to form the so-called Golden Generation of Romanian football. Athletes such as Gheorghe Hagi, Gheorghe Popescu, Ionuţ Lupescu, Ilie Dumitrescu or Dan Petrescu also found recognition in big European clubs, with which they won major trophies over the years.

     

    A few days ago, a monument devoted to the Golden Generation was inaugurated in Bucharest, located in the immediate vicinity of National Arena Stadium. The sculpture was unveiled by Gheorghe Hagi and Ilie Dumitrescu. Attending the event were Florin Răducioiu, Jean Vlădoiu, Emil Săndoi, Dorin Mateuţ or Bogdan Stelea. Gheorghe Popescu exclusively told our colleague Eugen Cojocariu what this moment meant for him:

     

    “It’s an event that honors us, I don’t know if the Golden Generation was the most valuable. We had before us the generation of Cornel Dinu, Mircea Lucescu, Florea Dumitrache, then the generation of Ilie Balaci, Costică Ştefănescu and all the others, Michael Klein, Ioan Andone… But we are the generation that proved it is possible, the generation that grabbed the most important performances with the national team, and we are glad that our results are thus recognized”.

     

    In turn, Ilie Dumitrescu told us the secret behind such a valuable generation:

     

    “There were competitions for children and juniors at the highest level. And I really believe that the competition was also very, very strong at senior level. That’s how many players developed. Later, the results came in European competitions, at club level, as well as at the national team”.

     

    The monument devoted to the Golden Generation reproduces an oversized football goal, 4 meters high and 10 meters wide, a size chosen in relation to the space in which it is placed, in a roundabout way. A team of 10 people worked on the construction of the monument for almost two months, while other teams helped complete the project. (VP)

     

  • The Week in Review 27-31.05.2024

    The Week in Review 27-31.05.2024

    Waiting for the first election in 2024

     

    This year, all four possible types of elections are held in Romania. And the first elections will be held on June 9, namely the combined local and European Parliament elections. 207,389 people aspire to the chance of occupying the seat of mayor, local or county councilor, County Council president or MEP. The youngest candidate is 23 years old, the oldest 100 years, Toni Greblă, the president of the Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania, announced in a press conference on Tuesday. Voters will receive five ballots each and will be able to cast their vote until 10:00 p.m. local time. Under special conditions, the vote can be extended even until midnight. There are 3,186 mayoral positions throughout the country. And for the European Parliament elections, there are 14 candidates per seat: Romania will have 33 MEPs, just like in the current mandate. All Romanians over the age of 18, or who turn 18 on the election day, have the right to vote. 18,025,324 people are registered in the electoral register, of which 942,730 are Romanians residing abroad. 18,968 polling stations will be opened in the country, and a record number of 915 abroad. Of the 915 sections, most will be in countries where there are more Romanian citizens. There will be 150 polling stations in Italy, 147 in Spain, 104 polling stations in Great Britain, 87 in Germany, 67 polling stations in France and the Principality of Monaco, 52 in the Republic of Moldova, and 45 polling stations in the USA. In the local elections, you can vote only in Romania and only in the locality where voters have their domicile or residence. On the other hand, for the European Parliament elections one can vote anywhere, in the country or abroad.

     

    Budget deficit

     

    Romania’s budget deficit rose to 3.24% of the Gross Domestic Product after the first four months of this year. According to the data published this week by the Finance Ministry, the State had revenues of almost 183 billion lei (almost 37 billion Euros), but the expenses were approximately 240 billion (about 48 billion Euros), by over 57 billion lei more. According to the Finance Ministry, the April deficit was also influenced by the advance payment of pensions before the May 1st and the Easter mini holidays. Expressed as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product, the expenses for this year registered a 2% increase compared to the same period of 2023, the ministry officials also stated. Romania’s budget this year is based on a deficit of 5% of the GDP, down from last year. On the other hand, in March, Romanians made 70% more new consumer loans compared to the same period of last year, and in the last 12 months lending to the population increased by more than 8%, according to the National Bank data. This trend of credit growth is normal as inflation and, implicitly, interest rates decrease.

     

    Day of Romanians Everywhere

    President Klaus Iohannis urged the preservation of Romanian identity, language and traditions, in a message on the occasion of Romanians Everywhere Day, celebrated since 2015, on the last Sunday of May. The head of state emphasized that it is necessary for the diaspora to remain a strong voice, heard both in Bucharest and in other capitals of the world. The government will continue to support Romanians abroad, declared Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who announced, among other things, that in July the agreement will be signed so that Romanians in Spain can have dual citizenship, and by the end of the year Romania will fully join the Schengen area. For their part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminiţa Odobescu, recalled that the well-being and security of Romanian citizens abroad, as well as the permanent dialogue with the diaspora, must be priorities of Romanian diplomacy. The Day of Romanians Everywhere was marked by events hosted by important cultural institutions in Bucharest, within the “Here-There” Festival, in which more than 500 Romanians from the diaspora and historical communities, as well as from the country, were expected to participate. The Day of Romanians Everywhere is a form of recognition of the importance that the Romanian state gives to Romanian communities living outside the country’s borders.

    The last game of the Golden Generation

    On May 25, Romania’s Golden Generation in football played “For the last time together”. It was against the World Legends team coached by the famous José Mourinho, which it beat 3-2 after being beaten 2-0. The national team that brought so much joy to Romanians at the 1994 World Cup filled up a stadium, the National Arena being stormed by the more than 50 thousand ticket payers who came to pay tribute to those who, 30 years ago, established the highest national team performance – 5th place at the World Cup in the United States. The anniversary game was led by Ion Crăciunescu, the most highly awarded Romanian referee in history. Famous former Romanian internationals such as Gheorghe Hagi, Gheorghe Popescu, Miodrag Belodedici, Dan Petrescu, Ilie Dumitrescu, Florin Răducioiu, or Marius Lăcătuș were not absent from the field. In the world team that came to Bucharest for the match, other exceptional names – the Brazilian Rivaldo, the French Karembeu, the Bulgarian Stoichkov, or the Portuguese Nuno Gomes! The older Romanians revived memories, and for the generations coming after them was a memorable experience – noted the publication Gazeta Sporturilor about the farewell match of the footballers who wrote history for Romania.

  • Farewell match on the National Arena

    Farewell match on the National Arena

    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)