Author: Eugen Nasta

  • Sports roundup

    Sports roundup

    Romania’s national rugby team has qualified to the 2027 edition of the World Cup, to be held in Australia. According to the rankings of Rugby Europe Championship 2025’s Group B, Romania has booked one of the first two positions having two wins on its record sheet. In an away match on Saturday, Romania defeated Belgium, 31 – 14.

    The Romanian National squad has previously trounced Germany in Bucharest, 48 to 10. This coming Saturday in Botosani, Romania takes on Portugal, in Group B’s last fixture.

    This past Sunday in Cluj-Napoca, the WTA 250 Transylvania Open women’s tennis tournament drew to a close. The event had 275,000 USD in prize money all told. The winner was Russia’s Anastasia Potapova, who defeated Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti in the final, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Best-placed Romania tennis player was Jaqueline Cristian. In the women’s doubles, pairing up with Angelica Moratelli, Cristian reached as far as the final, where they were defeated, 6-3, 6-1, by the Belgian-Czech pair made of Magali Kempen and Ana Siskova.

    In women’s handball, this past weekend saw matches being played, counting towards the European competitions. In the Champions League’s Group A, Gloria Bistriţa-Năsăud in Slovenia on Saturday lost to Krim Ljubljana, 25 to. 28. On Sunday, CSM Bucharest grabbed a 31-30 home win against Croatian side Podravka Koprivnica For CSM, Cristina Neagu scored 8 goals, thus having a record of 1,200 goals in the Champions League.

    CSM Bucharest are 3rd placed, while Gloria, 7th. In Group B, Romanian vice-champions Rapid Bucharest sustained a 24-30 away defeat in Germany’s Ludwigsburg and are 7th-placed according to the group ranking. The first two teams in each group advance to the quarterfinals. The 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th-placed teams engage in the playoffs to secure a place in the quarterfinals.

    In the EHF European League, Group A, Dunărea Brăila sustained a 28-38 away defeat by German team Thüringer. After four rounds, Dunarea Braila and Thuringer are at the top of the table in their group, with an equal number of points. In Group B, CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea grabbed a 38-34 away win against Sola of Norway. CSM Ramnicu Valcea are still at the top of the table, followed by Danish side Ikast.

    In news from football, Florinel Coman scored a goal in his Serie A debut match. On Sunday, Coman scored for Cagliari, in the game they won against Parma, 2-1. Florinel Coman scored only two minutes after he was sent to the pitch, halfway through the second half of the game. This week, midfielder Coman was given on loan to Cagliari from Al-Gharafa, until the end of Serie A’s ongoing season.

    In the Romanian Super League, FCSB are as of late at the top of the table. In the 26th round on Sunday, defending champions FCSB grabbed a 3-nil home win against Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe. FCSB have right now 46 points on their record sheet. We recall Universitatea Craiova, Universitatea Cluj and Dinamo Bucharest have 45. On Friday, FC Botoşani and Dinamo drew, 1-all, on the former team’s turf.

    . On Saturday, Universitatea Craiova grabbed a 1-nil win against Clinceni, in Slobozia. In Galati, the local side Oţelul and Rapid Bucharest drew, 1-all. On Sunday, in Sibiu, Hermanstadt FC and Petrolul Ploiesti drew, 1-all. On home turf, Universitatea Cluj’s home game against Poli Iasi ended in a 2-all draw.

  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    Football fans in Romania are in for an eventful week. On Thursday, the domestic championship’s 25th round drew to a close, while the 26th round is about to start on Friday. On Tuesday, FC Botoşani snatched a 2-nil away win against Gloria Buzau. Rapid Bucharest defeated Unirea Slobozia, 2-1, while Dinamo outclassed Oţelul Galaţi 1-0.

    On Wednesday, CFR Cluj grabbed a 1-nil home win against Hermannstadt, Sibiu. Also on home turf, Universitatea Craiova defeated Universitatea Cluj, also 1-nil. On Thursday, UTA Arad grabbed a 1-nil away win against Poli Iasi. In Sfantu Gheorghe, in the west, the local team Sepsi defeated Farul Constanta, 1-nil. In Ploiesti, the match pitting the local side Petrolul against FCSB ended in a blank draw.

    In the 26th round, on Friday, FC Botosani go against Dinamo Bucharest. Two fixtures are scheduled on Saturday. In Clinceni, Unirea Slobozia receive the visit of Universitatea Craiova, while in Galaţi, the local side Oţelul face Rapid Bucharest. On Sunday, in Sibiu, the local side Hermannstadt play Petrolul Ploiesti, Universitatea Cluj play a home game against Politehnica Iasi, while in Bucharest, FCSB are pitted against Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe.

    The 26th round’s last two games are scheduled on Monday, when Farul Constanţa play Gloria Buzău and UTA Arad take on CFR Cluj. Universitatea Cluj and Dinamo are at the top of the table, with 44 points each. CFR Cluj and FCSB follow suit, each with 43 points.

    In rugby, this coming Sunday the Romanian national team plays an away a game against Belgium, in Mons, in a confrontation which is crucial for the qualification to the World Cup, scheduled in Australia in 2027. In the inaugural game as part of the present edition of Rugby Europe Championship, Europe’s second-tier competition after the Six Nations’ Tournament, Romania defeated Germany, 48 to 10.

    Their next scheduled fixture is a match against Portugal on Saturday, February 17, in Botosani. The Romanian national team stands real chances to secure their straight qualification to the World Cup on condition they come in at the top of the table or as the runner-up team in their group.

    In news from women’s handball, the coming weekend will see matches being played, counting towards the European competitions. On Saturday, in the Champions League’s group A, Gloria Bistriţa-Năsăud plays an away match against Krim Ljubljana, while on Sunday, CSM Bucharest plays a home match against Podravka Koprivnica. According to Group A ranking, CSM are 3rd-placed, while, Gloria Bistrita, 7th.

    According to Group B ranking, Rapid Bucharest are 7th-placed. Their next scheduled fixture is this coming Sunday’s away game against German Ludwigsburg. In the EHF European League, on Saturday SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea play in Norway, against Sola, while Dunărea Brăila play Thüringer in Germany’s Bad Langensalza. SCM and Dunarea are at the top of the table in their groups.

  • Creating a new brand just by continuing your activity

    Creating a new brand just by continuing your activity

    Very few people know there are professional ski apparels created and manufactured in Romania. Furthermore, the origin of such a brand can be found in Toplita, Harghita County. It all started off from a small personal workshop.

    Dan Cotfas is the manager of the company that created the brand. He span the yearn of it all. Everything started from the workshop of his parents, former workers in the field of tailoring.

    “We started the activity in 1992, when my parents, who also worked in the field, retired, yet they felt they still needed to stay active and wanted to do something more. I am a mechanical engineer, a different field of work, and I thought I could offer them a chance to continue, finding them an activity so they could stay in shape, also enabling them to have the satisfaction of still being useful.

    So I opened a Limited Liability Company in 1992, me and my parents and my brother, in our grandparents’ countryside house that was available. My parents had two sewing machines because they worked in the field. My father had a “Craftsman’s Record Book “, he had a workshop during Ceausescu’s regime where he manufactured men’s clothing, a bespoke tailoring workshop. We also bought several outdated machines and we started our activity with production for the domestic market, men’s trousers and some women’s dresses. We were astonished to see those products sold very well, being extremely sought-after on the Romanian market at that time. “
    And, since at that time our guest today still worked in a different field and the products’ supply and dispatch were more and more difficult, an expansion of the activity was needed.

    “We hired four more people so we had, like, six or seven people all told, until 1995. In 1995 we had the opportunity to have a lohn production for a company in Italy. We searched for other premises, we developed the business and, in the beginning, we had our first 15-strong work team and we worked products for a well-known brand in Italy. Shortly afterwards we enhanced our production capacity and began manufacturing technical articles.

    So all along, it was a challenge for us to manufacture things we had not been used to manufacturing, also doing things we were not used to doing and things which for Romania, at that time, were unbeknownst. So we started manufacturing ski costumes with thermo-glued seams. We soon began to make mountain jackets, three-layer fabrics, also thermo-glued and we were among Romania’s first workshops to have manufactured goose-down jackets, completely manufactured in Romania. “

    There were a couple of years more for them to work according to the lohn system. Meanwhile they accumulated enough experience and their products were quite sought-after, so they opted for the enhancement of their production capacity, also personalizing it. Dan Cotfas once again.

    “We thought that, given they experience we’ve gathered, we should create our own brand as well. And we began with our own brand. We began with a shop of our own in Toplita, then we set up a shop in Targu Mures. We also developed the sector of selling of our own brand in Romania, there even was a time when we had 29, 30 partners we worked with and for whom we had our production, and our products sold in Romania, countrywide. “

    All things considered, eventually they were a small step away from getting international recognition.

    “In 2011-2012, we started our work for commissions we received from the ski monitors in Italy. After that, we were able to get commissions, to present collections in Austria as well as in Germany, in Finland, Great Britain, so much so that we also made ourselves visible on the ski slopes in Italy, Austria, Finland and Germany.

    The volume of our commissions started increasing by the year, given the products were very good, all accessories and fabrics were premium, so they were professional fabrics, fabrics manufactured in Japan, with technical characteristics of the highest level. As we speak, we have more than 90 clubs we work with. Annually, we work commissions we receive from these clubs: winter sports gear, outfit for mountain rescuers, apparel for mountain climbers and, latterly, we have also developed the fashion side sector, mainly the goose down outfit.”

    These are very useful pieces of info, for all of us, at wintertime, whether or not we are into practicing professional winter sports!

  • Athlete of the week

    Athlete of the week

    The European figure skating Championships have recently drawn to a close in Estonia’s Tallinn. Four skaters represented Romania. In the women’s singles event, taking the start were Julia Sauter and Ana Sofia Beşchea, while in the dance event, there were Emilia Ziobrowska and Shiloh Judd. Julia Sauter had the best performance coming in 7th. Julia’s performance was the best Romanian result of all time in a European figure skating championship.

    Reason enough for Radio Romania International to designate Julia Sauter the Athlete of the week.

    Julia Sauter was born in Weingarten, in Germany’s Baden–Württemberg Land, on June 18, 1997. She has been signed up by Corona Brasov in Brasov. As a junior, Julia competed for Germany. As part of her first participation in a seniors’ European competition, in Stockholm, in 2015, Julia Sauter came in 35th.

    In Bratislava, in 2016, Julia came in 27th, then in Ostrava, in 2017, Julia came in 25th. In 2019, in Minsk, a she went past the short-program phase, coming in 14th after the free program. Julia Sauter saw a steady competitional progress one year after the next, so much so that, at present, she is that close to the competitors claiming a position onto the European podium.

    In Tallinn, after the short program, she came in 8th. In the free program, Julia Sauter got the tenth best mark in the competition. Eventually, the total earned her the 7th position. We recall that in Lithuania, in 2024, Julia came in 9th.

    Julia Sauter’s immediate stated aim is a very good performance in the World Championships scheduled in Boston, the United States, in March 2025. Obtaining a position among the world’s best 24 skaters, after the short program, could secure Julia a place among the skaters vying for a medal, also enabling her to meet the technical criteria for the participation in the Olympic Games scheduled in Italy, in 2026.

    According to regulations, in order to compete for Romania, Julia will have to be granted Romanian citizenship. Julia Sauter has said that, for her, being granted the citizenship is still an ongoing process.

  • The first Cantacuzins in the heritage of Bucharest’s Municipality Museum.

    The first Cantacuzins in the heritage of Bucharest’s Municipality Museum.

    A new documentary exhibition has been made available to visitors on the premises at Bucharest’s Municipality Museum. Playing host to the new exhibition in the Museum’s main building, the Sutu Palace, located in Bucharest’s City Center.

    The theme is “The first Cantacuzins in the heritage of Bucharest’s Municipality Museum”. The curator of the exhibition, Mihaela Rafaila of the Museum’s Modern and Contemporary History Compartment has revealed, for us, the underlying intention in staging the exhibition.

    „Through the temporary exhibition themed ‘The first Cantacuzins in the heritage of Bucharest’s Municipality Museum’ I intended to introduce to the lay public some certificates written on paper or on parchment, in the Slavonic and Romanian languages, with Cyrillic letters, where the members of this important family of the 17th and 18th centuries are mentioned in their capacity as witnesses, through the dignities they held as part of the Princely Council, but also through the selling-purchase acts they signed at that time or issuing charters or decrees, such as the case of ruling princes Serban and Stefan Cantacuzino. “

    The first of the great dignitaries, men of culture and even vaivodes who were members of this boyar family in Wallachia was court marshal Constantin Cantacuzino, who was born in 1598 and assassinated in 1663. He was the central figure as part of the exhibition hosted by the Bucharest Municipality Museum.

    „As an outcome of his being married to vaivode Radu Serban’s youngest daughter, princess Elina or Ilinca, as she was called around the house, Constantin Cantacuzino began his ascension according to Wallachia’s high-office positions scheme. Apart from his personal fortune, inherited and amassed, the court marshal benefitted from his wife’s dowry, which enabled him to have his 11 children, six boys and five daughters, relate to the most distinguished Moldavian and Wallachian families of boyars.

    Benefitting from a special education, court marshal Constantin Cantacuzino was a great lover of books. Having INTINSE economic and diplomatic relationships and also enjoying the respect especially from the ottomans, court marshal Cantacuzino at that time was known as vaivode Matei Basarab’s secret councillor, being a towering figure of Romanian politics in the 17th century.”

    Here is curator Mihaela Rafaila, briefly introducing to us the great dignitary’s wife, Elina Cantacuzino (1611-1687):

    “In turn, Elina proved her special qualities: she was forgiving of her husband’s murderers, tenacious in her bid to rescue the house after the disappearance of the family’s STALP, cautious in distributing the fortune among her children, loving towards the boys, whom she gently advised to have a truly brotherly relationship, manly because of the journey she took to the Holy Places. “

    What are the documents the Bucharest Municipality Museum exhibition brings before visitors, which are highly relevant for the history of this distinguished Romanian family ?

    “As part of the exhibition, the name of the founder of the Cantacuzino family in Wallachia, Constantin Cantacuzino, is mentioned for the first time in the act of June 8, 1626, in his capacity of witness of the Princely Council, the dignity he held being that of great court marshal. ”

    The exhibition themed The First Cantacuzins brings three volumes before the public, important for the history of Romanian culture. The exhibition lays special emphasis on the Bible of Bucharest, also known as the Bible of Serban Cantacuzino, the first complete translation of the Bible into Romanian, published in 1688.

    Mihaela Rafailă:

    „On display as part of the exhibition we also have three books ‘The Holy and Divine Gospel, composed following the structure of the Greek Gospel’, printed at the behest and with the financial support of ruler Serban Cantacuzino, in the year 1682. Then there is The Bible, also known as ‘The Bible of Bucharest’, as well as ‘The Political and Geographical History of Wallachia’, whose author was identified by the great historian Nicolae Iorga as being province governor Mihai Cantacuzino.

    Then again, speaking about the Bible of Bucharest, it represents the first complete translation of the Divine Writ, made at the command of the Most Kind-Hearted Christian and this our enlightened ruler Ioan Șerban Cantacuzino Vaivode. It was printed on filigree paper.

    The covers are wooden panels bound in leather, whose decoration was made through hot pressing. The editing of the Bible represented an important stage in the process of imposing the national language as liturgical language, at once being a reference monument of the printing press art of Wallachia. That once and for all set the path the ecclesiastical written language would take.

    The Bible was widely spread in the Romanian principalities, Wallachia, Moldavia and in Transylvania and even reached Poland, when a copy was given to former metropolitan bishop Dosoftei, who was in exile. Another copy was in the possession of Pope Benedict the 14th, the copy, as we speak, is kept in the Library of Bologna University. The displayed copy circulated in Transylvania, the counties of Alba and Hunedoara. “

  • At Pop Lazar’s, a charity shop AND a hub of good deeds

    At Pop Lazar’s, a charity shop AND a hub of good deeds

    We’re still early into 2025 and we’re bound to discover initiatives carried for the good of the communities, so we sat down and had a talk about a project highlighting the fact that each donation, each act of charity has contributed to putting a smile back on the faces of the downtrodden and to turning this world into a warmer place, into a place which is full of hope to a greater extent. Such a place has a name: At Pop Lazar’s Charity Shop.

    Inspired by the very popular profile of Bucharest in the late 19th and the early 20th century, Pop Lazar, a Jew who was into flea stuff trading, also drawing inspiration from the British concept of Charity Shop, a concept providing elegance to those frequenting its premises, the president of the Medical Association for Public Health, Elena Raluca Smuc Tănase, has initiated this project.

    At Pop Lazar’s is a charity shop and a project of the Medical Association for Public Health. The president of the Medical Association for Public Health and co-founder of the shop, Elena Raluca Smuc Tănase, told us all what it was all about.

    “It’s about Charity Shop a concept people abroad are all too familiar with. For instance, in England, the Red Cross has such a shop which is more than 100 years old and there also are big charity organizations initiating such projects in a bid to supplement their funds. As you know, streams of funding are provided by donations, fundraisers, abroad, or via shops of this kind.

    We thought of setting up such a shop in 2017, when we realized we received donations, objects we could not use at that time but which were in a very good condition and which, for us, could turn into a form of aid. People could donate brand new products, for us, or things in good condition, for instance clothes, household objects, books, China, jewels.

    They need to be in mint condition since we have not just as yet implemented a recycling system, for example, a tailor’s shop where we should repair things or recondition certain clothes and give then a new life. That is why, as we speak, we can only receive things in very good condition, clean, of course and without stains. “

    Although people want the project to be expanded, perhaps in a bid to set up a partnership with a drycleaners or a tailor’s, our guest today confessed that for the time being they did not have the capacity to set up yet another shop of the same kind, for instance.

    “It is a project requiring the continuous presence of the one who thought it out or who dreamed of it. It is a shop yet it is also a community hub, so there is a whole story behind this shop: it helps us raise the funding by means of which we can exist and carry our projects but it is a meeting place as well, a place where people have the opportunity to be generous, where people can…I don’t know…have a little conversation, it is a true community. And then, in a bid to maintain the spirit, for the time being we haven’t thought of setting up yet another shop with such a theme. “

    During holidays, At Pop Lazar’s reaches communities countrywide with aid, via the Children, Boots and Socks project. The president of the Medical Association for Public Health, Elena Raluca Smuc Tănase, gave us details on that:

    “It is a project I love and which has become one of our brands. It is a project we implemented in 2019 after a visit we paid to a community and which is strictly carried with the help of the charity shop’s friends. Meaning that people turn up as early as October and express their wish to support us in this project and they simply donate a pair of boots, a couple of pairs of socks as well as other beautiful things they put in a box they wrap nicely. For instance, we have succeeded to have more than 800 children countrywide.

    They are children from various regions, they are children coming from families or they are children from care centers or from village schools, we do not have a certain category in mind. We reach there where we have collaborators of where they call for help or there where we think we can get involved. It is a project I hold most dear!

    There are those months, those days when we meet again with friends of the shop, when we have a chat. For instance, you receive a child you help and that gift box becomes the reason why you meet his family or do some shopping together with the family or create a little cell at your workplace where several colleagues make a box or 10 boxes or 20 boxes. It is an extraordinary moment of human generosity and solidarity, generating a lot of confidence in us, whereby all that we do, we do it nicely and properly. “

    Another project provides donations of coloring pencils and coloring books, to be given away in hospitals. At Pop Lazar’s has grown into a space where people can find inspiration yet they can also feel they are part of a greater cause, a cause where the good has its well-established place.

  • The Dornas Country, a fairy-tale destination

    The Dornas Country, a fairy-tale destination

    We’re exploring, today, an area where nature is one of its main assets. We’re heading towards a destination with a legendary name: the Dornas Country. It is an eco-tourism destination inviting those interested to experience a kind of responsible tourism, by means of which visitors experiment local nature and culture. As early as the 19th century, the area has compelled recognition thanks to its special scenery and unique atmosphere.

    Mihaela Cocîrță is a destination manager with the Dornas Country Destination Management Organization. She will now be telling us why the entire area has compelled recognition as a fairy-tale destination.

    “Nature harmoniously blends into everything related to traditions, to the locals’ hospitality, to customs and traditions, culture and way beyond that. All that offers visitors an experience to remember, irrespective of the season. For instance, as we speak, we’ re still in the winter season and, even though the time of the winter holidays customs and traditions has come to an end, the Dornas Country still waits for visitors on the ski slopes.

    Those who are into rather more relaxing activities, we suggest you take a ride with the chair lift, capable of offering a special bird-s eye view of the town of Vatra Dornei, but also of the Dornas Country. Furthermore, the Dornas Country also offers relaxation options for those who, after an eventful day in the mountains, want to relax in the SPA or Wellness centers.

    So we got the newest resort opened, Dorna Candrenilor, offering relaxation options, such as shallow, long-course swimming pools, easily accessible to all categories of visitors. “

    By all means, the activity on the ski slopes depends on the weather outside. As we speak, the destination manager with the Dornas Country Destination Management Organization. Mihaela Cocîrță, told us the Parc Slope was open. But what is the area’s complete offer?

    “ We have three categories of ski slopes and I will mention them to you. We have the Parc ski slope with a length of 900 meters and an angle of 28.5 degrees. It has a level difference of 150 meters, with a medium level of difficulty. Also, we have the Poienita slope, also known as Parc 2, with a length of 550 meters and a level difference of 50 meters. It is perfect for children and for beginners since it has a low level of difficulty.

    Then there is the Veverița (Squirrel) slope, with a length of 780 meters and a level difference of 200 meters, it also has a medium level of difficulty. Of course, all slopes are floodlit, they have snow cannons and a wide range of cable transportation facilities. There are centers where you can rent skis, snowboards, all sorts of equipment, clothing included, yet there are also monitors for those who have not used skis so far or for those who want to be reminded the correct ski posture.

    It is very important for the people who come to the slope to have the appropriate behaviour so as to avoid accidents. Apart from the slope activities proper, tourists can also go on a sleigh ride since there are dedicated areas for that, or they can skate in the skating rink lying two minutes away from the ski slope. “

    At the foot of the ski slopes there are restaurants and chalets offering tourists coming to the Dornas Country the opportunity to relax over cup of mulled wine or a cup of hot tea. They can also enjoy, of course, the local, natural products, famous for being so delicious. In the evening, they can have a good time in the Dorna Candrenilor resort, where they can enjoy sauna and moments of relaxation.

    Moreover, in the resort of Vatra Dornei, there are many restaurants, while quite a few of them, in the peak period, stage parties or relaxing evenings for tourists. As for the active tourism, it goes with cultural tourism quite all right. In Dornas Country we can embark upon a true tradition-discovering journey.

    “The Dornas Country is very rich in crafts, in traditions and customs. We still have people who have kept the legacy that was handed down to them by their ancestors. We can speak about spring a little bit, as Easter is drawing near. At that time of the year, there are quite a few ladies who still paint eggs. They paint them or they weave them. These ladies are also present at Vatra Dornei’s Ethnographic Museum in every Saturday, in a traditional evening. Then they sow the embroidered peasant blouses, yet at Easter time they paint eggs as well.

    Ciocănești has been declared an open-air commune museum for a couple of years now. There, the craftswomen have opted for preserving that custom of egg painting, there even is a Museum of the Painted Eggs we recommend every time to those who visit the Dornas Country, if they want to have a glimpse of the essence of the traditions we have in our own area. Some of these eggs are even a hundred years old. “

    Germany, England, Scotland, Australia or Mexico are just some of the places of origin of the foreign tourists who travel to Dornas Country. For Romanian tourists and for the foreign ones alike, the Dornas Country Destination Management Organization has also been working on several projects of setting up leisure areas, soon to be materialized.

    Every season has its own charm here, and that’s for sure. Adding to the charm are the seasonal dishes. A destination manager with the Dornas Country Destination Management Organization, Mihaela Cocîrță, recommends that we also pick our stay in Dornas Country in the summer of autumn.
    “With us, there is a very beautiful and very eventful period, rich in sports events, but not only that. We say that in the food of Dornas Country visitors will find a great deal of passion, mastery and authentic taste. If, for instance, a tourist turns up in autumn, he is sure to find everything related to vegetables hotchpotch and preserves prepared by housewives. Also, again during autumn, they can have a taste of such dishes as the apple pie.

    They can pick the apples and, if they find accommodation in an agri-tourism guesthouse, they can join their hosts in the preparation of those dishes and can also take the recipes back home with them. At this time of the year, in winter, we have special food, mainly meat or fish-based, of course, we have the all too familiar minced meat cabbage rolls, meat jellies or aspic.

    The food is absolutely yummy and locally produced. I was lucky enough to meet foreign tourists constantly, also because Via Transilvanica crosses Vatra Dornei. There is a route attracting a great many foreign tourists who keep saying the same thing: ’ You don’t know what richness you have here, in your region.’ They appreciate the natural scenery, a lot, but also the architecture.

    The Dornas Country used to be under Austrian-Hungarian administration, while quite a few of the region’s iconic buildings, which shaped our region, were built in the Austro-Hungarian time. Therefore, the unspoiled nature, tying in with the architecture, the traditions and the customs make it a special place, held in high esteem by tourists. “

    Germany, England, Scotland, Australia or Mexico are just some of the places of origin of the foreign tourists who travel to Dornas Country. For Romanian tourists and for the foreign ones alike, the Dornas Country Destination Management Organization has also been working on several projects of setting up leisure areas, soon to be materialized.

  • Romania. The Eastern Flank

    Romania. The Eastern Flank

    Beginning January 2025, Romania has expanded its presence, in terms of number of military and capabilities, to two more NATO battle groups that have been operational in the allied countries as part of NATO’s eastern flank. The Romanian army has sent an anti-tank detachment in Slovakia and a reconnaissance unit in Bulgaria. Concurrently, Romania has continued its participation to the battle group in Poland, with an anti-aircraft detachment.

    As part of NATO’s Summit held in Madrid in 2022, the decision was taken, of establishing multinational battle groups in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary, as part of the strengthening of the joint defense measures along the North-Atlantic Alliance’s Eastern Flank. Those battle groups have been founded after the pattern of those in the Baltic States and Poland which were established after the allied Summit held in Warsaw in 2016.

    The battle group in Slovakia is coordinated by Spain and includes military of the Czech Republic, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia. In Bulgaria, the battle group is coordinated by Italy, with contributions from Albania, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Turkey and the USA.

    The expansion of Romania’s contribution to the implementation of the allied measures of deterrence and defense has completed the presence of Romanian military to the battle group in Poland, where the Romanian Army has been participating since 2017. Romania’s presence to the North-Atlantic Alliance’s Battle Groups stands proof of Romania’s unwavering commitment for the strengthening of the collective defense along the Eastern Flank.

    NATO Battle Group in Romania has France as its framework-nation. The contributor states are Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain. Romania’s battle group, alongside the battle group in Bulgaria are under the coordination of the Commander of the Headquarters of the Multinational Division South-East in Bucharest.
    The 360-degree approach in the field of defense and deterrence, implemented by NATO, has as its eventual aim the provision of collective security, It defines the Alliance’s three main tasks: deterrence and defense, the prevention and the management of crises and security through cooperation.
    At present, Romania contributes to maintaining the regional and global security with more than 1,000 military.

    Romania also takes part in some of the European Union’s missions and operations. To that effect, Romania holds the command of the Training mission of the Armed Forces of the Central African Republic. Also, these days Romania will take over the command of the EUFOR ALTHEA mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Romania is the major contributor.

    Accordingly, of the nine military operations and missions carried under the aegis of the European Union’s Common Security and Defense Policy, to which it contributes military forces and capabilities, Romanian will simultaneously have the command of two of those operations.

    Security in the Black Sea region, the strengthening of the defense dimension as part of the strategic partnership between Romania and Great Britain, as well as the enhancement of cooperation within the allied structures: those were the topics on the agenda of the talks the Romanian Defense Minister, Angel Tâlvăr, had with the British Ambassador to Romania, His Excellency Giles Matthew Portman.

    High on the talks’ agenda was the strengthening of the defense stance and deterrence along NATO’s eastern flank, with special emphasis laid on the Black Sea region, given the ongoing security challenges.

    The Romanian Defense Minister emphasized Romania’s intention to continue the development of its strategic partnership with the United Kingdom through its active involvement in joint security and defense initiatives. To that effect, Angel Talvar also mentioned the support of Ukraine against Russia’s aggression and the consolidation of the support offered to republic of Moldova, with a view to strengthening stability and security in the region.

  • Sports flash

    Sports flash

    Romanian men’s basketball team U-BT Cluj-Napoca this past Wednesday in a EuroCup Group B fixture grabbed a 88-77 away win against Italian opponents Umana Reyer Venezia. U-BT Cluj Napoca’s US player Zavier Simpson was the team’s most efficient player, with 25 points, 6 recoveries and 7 assists. Holders U-BT Cluj-Napoca are 5th-placed according to Group B rankings. This coming Tuesday they will take on Turk Telekom, at home.

    Also on Wednesday, in a FIBA Europe Cup match, Group M, CSM CSU Oradea sustained a heart-throbbing 86-87 away defeat by French team Dijon, after extra time. CSM CSU’s Romanian international player Kris Richard was the most efficient scorer, with 27 points, 6 recoveries and 4 assists. Romanian vice-champions have sustained the third defeat in a row and now will have to win all the pending matches if they want to maintain their chances to gain a place in the quarterfinals. On January 29th, CSM play a home game against PAOK Thessalonica.

    In men’s volleyball, CSM Corona Brasov sustained a 1-3 defeat by Italian opponents Trentino Itas. The fixture was held this past Wednesday and counted towards the first leg as part of CEV Cup’s playoffs. European champions Trentino Itas secured their win after one hour and 42 minutes of play. The second leg is scheduled on January 30 in Trento.

    In news from tennis, as part of the year’s first Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open, Victor Cornea and Mariano Navone have advanced to the second round of the men’s doubles event. In the inaugural round this past Thursday, the Romanian-Argentinean pair defeated the pair made of Christian Harrison of the USA and David Pel of the Low Countries, 6-4, 7-6.

    Cornea and Navone have thus secured a cheque worth 58, 000 AUD and were granted ATP 90 points according to the doubles’ rankings. In the second round, Cornea and Navone are in for a daunting task in the match against the all-German pair made of Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz, fourth-seeded at the Australian Open.

  • Radio Romania International sports club

    Radio Romania International sports club

    The Romanian football Super League competition season is to be resumed at the weekend. From Friday and all through to Monday fixtures are scheduled, counting towards the regular season’s 22nd round, which is also the seventh round of the domestic championship’s away series.

    All told, the first part of the Super League’s championship is made of 30 rounds. All 16 competing teams play according to a round-robin system, at home and away. The regular season draws to a close on March 8. Then the teams advance to the championship’s Group 1 / Group 2 phase, where each team’s record sheet includes only half of the points they’ve got until then.

    The first six teams in descending order play in Group 1. There they compete for the title and for two of Romania’s places in the preliminaries of Europe’s third-tier football competition, Europa Conference League.

    In Group 1, fixtures are played in 10 rounds, according to a double-legged tie system. The teams placed 7th to 16th compete in Group 2. In 9 rounds, Group 2 teams play according to a round-robin system, in a single-legged tie. Group 2’s 9th and 10th-placed teams according to the final ranking are relegated.

    7th and 8th-placed teams engage in a play-off confrontation with second league’s 3rd and 4th-placed teams. Group 2’s best-placed teams are entitled to receiving a bonus. As soon as the championship season draws to a close, they will engage in a play-off match. The winner then takes on the 3rd-placed team in Group 1. At stake is a position in the Conference League preliminaries.

    According to the as-it-stands table, Universitatea Cluj and FCSB are 1st and 2nd placed, respectively. Both teams have 37 points. Dinamo Bucharest follows, with 36. Following in descending order are Universitatea Craiova and CFR Cluj, with 35 points each. With 31 points, the bottom-of the table team according to Group 1 ranking is Petrolul Ploieşti. The first teams below the line are Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe and Rapid Bucharest, with 30 and 29 points, respectively.

    FCSB is the only Romanian team still playing in European competitions. On Thursday, January 23rd, holders FCSB play an away game against Azeri team Qarabag, .FCSB’s match against Qarabag is their last nut one fixture in Europa league’s main group phase. FCSB have already secured their ticket for the European spring. FCSB will engage in the playoffs for a position in the competition’s round of 16, yet

    FCSB still stand a real chance to gain a place among the Europa League’s first eight teams according to the final ranking. Such a position will book the Romanian team their undisputed presence in the League’s round of 16. To that effect, a win in Azerbaijan will be most useful. In late January, FCSB play their final group game on home turf, against Manchester United.

  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    The international women’s handball inter-club competition season will be resumed at the weekend. Three Romanian teams compete in the Champions League. In Group B, Rapid Bucharest on Sunday play French opponents Brest Bretagne, away. Rapid are not the favorites for the group-winner position, given that Brest Bretagne stand real chances to be at the top of the table or second-placed in Group B, thus booking their ticket for a straight participation to the quarterfinals.

    Brest Bretagne are now 4th-placed in the Group, with 10 points in five wins. With three points, Rapid are 7th-placed, the last-but-one position in Group B. Rapid’s record is made of one win, one draw and six defeats, according to the fixtures they’ve played so far. We recall in October in Bucharest Brest Bretagne won, 34 to 31.

    In Group A, the first team to resume participation in the League is Gloria Bistriţa-Năsăud. Head-coached by Florentin Pera, who is also the head-coach of the national team, Gloria take on Norway’s Storhamar on home turf, this coming Saturday. Gloria and Storhamar are placed in Group A’s lower echelon. With a mere four points in eight games, Gloria are 7th-placed, the last-but-one position in the group. Storhamar are 6th-placed, having one point more than Gloria.

    The direct match pitting Gloria against Storhamar in Norway, in October, 2024, made the difference since Storhamar won, 25-23. We recall that in May 2024 Gloria Bistrita and Storhamar played the EHF European League final. Back then Storhamar won, 29 to 27.
    CSM Bucharest is the other Romanian team playing in the Champions League’s Group A. This coming Sunday, CSM play an away game against top-of-the-table team Metz Handball of France. In Bucharest, Metz won by the narrowest of margins, 31 to 30. Metz are the only team with a win-all record in the League’s ongoing season. CSM had a rather bumpy run this past fall.

    With four wins and four defeats and 8 points, CSM are 4th-placed, on a par with 3rd-placed team, Krim Ljubljana. We recall that after 14 rounds of the group phase, the first two teams in each group advance to the quarterfinals. 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th-placed teams will engage in playoff matches in a bid to secure a place in the quarterfinals, while 7th and 8th-placed teams will be eliminated.

    The EHF European League group fixtures are also scheduled at the weekend. On Saturday, in Group A, Dunărea Brăila play a home game against Spanish opponents Elche. The other Group A teams are Germany’s Thüringer and Norwegian squad Larvik. The other Romanian team, SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea, on Sunday play an away Group B game against Germany’s Borussia Dortmund. Also part of the League’s Group B are Ikast of Denmark and Sola of Norway.

  • Sports flash

    Sports flash

    Monica Niculescu and Fanny Stollar on Thursday advanced to the women’s doubles finals as part of the WTA 250 tennis tournament in Tasmania’s Hobart, an event with 275,000 USD in prize money all told. On Thursday, the Romanian-Hungarian pair in the quarterfinals defeated the second-seeded Norwegian Japanese pair made of Ulrikke Eikeri and Makoto Ninomiya, 6-1, 7-6. Monica and Fanny play straight in the finals as their scheduled semi-finals opponents, pulled out of competition. They were third-seeded US player Sofia Kenin and Magda Linette of Poland.

    Romanian motorcyclist Emanuel Gyenes on Wednesday succeeded the best result so far at the ongoing edition of the Dakar Rally. In the fourth leg of the moto class, Gyenes came in 22nd, arriving 25 minutes and 21 seconds later than the winner, Australia’s Daniel Sanders. Also, Gyenes is 12th-placed according to Rally 2 ranking. Emanuel Gyenes is also the leader according to the ranking of pilots competing with no technical assistance.

    Romania’s national water polo team sustained yet another defeat in the second game as part of the World Cup in Otopeni, nearby Bucharest. In Division One’s Group C, on Wednesday Romania sustained a 12-16 defeat by Japan, being placed at the bottom of the table according to the final ranking. In Group A, Hungary are at the top of the table. Greece won Group B, while the United States, Group C. In Group D, Croatia emerged at the top of the table.

    Group winners have advanced straight to the quarterfinals alongside Japan, the best second-placed team. On Thursday, three other games are scheduled for the other places in the quarterfinals, as Spain takes on Serbia, France play Montenegro, while Romania goes against Georgia.

    In news from basketball, U-BT Cluj-Napoca on Wednesday sustained at 79-91 home defeat by Israeli opponents Hapoel Jerusalem, in a Group B confrontation as part of EuroCup men’s competition. Haopel thus took their revenge as in October 2024 in Bulgaria’s Samokov, U-BT Cluj Napoca grabbed a 81 – 73 win. According to Group B tables, Spain’s Valencia are at the top, with 12 wins and two defeats. Holders U-BT Cluj-Napoca are 5th-placed with seven wins and seven defeats. U-BT’s next scheduled fixture is this next week’s away game against Italian opponents of Umana Reyer of Venice.

  • Sports roundup

    Sports roundup

    The year 2025 in sports has begun in Otopeni, nearby Bucharest, with a top-flight water polo competition, actually the World Cup fixtures. On Tuesday, in Division One’s Group C, Romania sustained a 7-10 defeat by the United States. In the first part of the game, Romania succeeded to put on a balanced game against the bronze medalists at the Paris Olympics, yet the US team had the upper hand in the final part of the match. On Wednesday, Romania take on Japan.

    Division One’s first six teams in descending order advance to the Super Final. Joining them are Division Two’s two best teams. Taking part in the competition are the world’s strongest teams. Serbia, in Group B, is the defending Olympic champion. Also part of Group B is Croatia, the Olympic vice-champions. In Group A, Spain is the European champion and the current World Cup holders.

    After three legs in the Dakkar Rally, the Romanian motorcyclist Emanuel Gyenes is 3rd-placed. In the third leg, Gyenes was 30th-placed, finishing 24 minutes and 20 seconds later than the winner. In the auto class, one of the Romanian carmaker Dacia’s cars is piloted by the French Sebastien Loeb, a nine-time rallies world champion. Also driving a Dacia Sandriders is Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah, who is second-placed according to the general rankings, arriving 7 minutes and 17 seconds later than the leader, the South-African Henk Lategan, driving a Toyota Gazoo Racing.

    In news from tennis, on Wednesday Monica Niculescu and Fanny Stollar have advanced to the women’s doubles finals as part of the WTA 250 tournament in Tasmania’s Hobart, an event with 275, 094 USD in prize money. The Romanian-Hungarian in the round of 16 defeated the all-American pair made of Sabrina Santamaria and Sloane Stephens, 5-7, 6-3, 10-4. In Melbourne where the Australian Open is well under way, Anca Todoni and Gabriela Ruse have reached the last round of the qualifiers. On Wednesday, Todoni grabbed a 6-3, 6-2 win against Spanish challenger Leyre Romero Gormaz. Ruse defeated Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

    A training stage is ongoing in Turkey’s Antalya for several Romanian football teams. In the recently-played friendlies, on Tuesday, FC Botosani and Bulgarian champion team Ludogoreţ Razgrad, drew, 1-all. Gloria Buzău grabbed a 2-1 win against third-tier Turkish team Kastamonuspor. FC Hermannstadt Sibiu grabbed a 3-nil win against third-tier German team Alemania Aachen. Alo on Tuesday, Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe sustained a 1-4 defeat by Swiss champions Young Boys Berne. We recall on Monday Sepsi sustained a 1-3 defeat by second-league Belgian team Molenbeek.

  • Christmas in Romania

    Christmas in Romania

    The celebration of Christmas is one of the year’s most popular and most eagerly-awaited celebrations. It is a time of traditions and customs, handed down from one generation to the next. The carol, the adorned fir tree, the episodes with religious motifs and the lavish meals are something usual all-around Romania, far and wide, mainly in the rural regions, there where customs and traditions are best preserved.

    Located in northern Romania, Maramures is one of the most sought-after regions for people to spend the winter holidays. Our stopover today is an area made of twelve authentic villages, lying along the valleys of rivers Mara and Cosau; they are somehow embraced by the Gutai Mountains. The twelve villages make the Eco Maramures Destination. Welcoming us is manager Edi Pop.

    “These authentic villages entice visitors to spend their winter holidays there. What does that mean? It just means visitors are enticed to be part of the village life. Tourists are expected, for Christmas and the winter holidays, to find out more about the local traditions and customs. There are a great many traditions that have still been preserved. There are those dishes typical for the winter holidays which the hosts prepare them with utmost care.

    Since we are in a ecotourism destination and activities in nature are those we mainly offer for tourists, we invite them, the very moment they come to spend their winter holidays in the villages of Maramures, to take a walk along the streets of the village.

    We invite them to discover the uniqueness of the place, to discover the wood civilization, the local architecture inside the villages and discover the hay culture in the villages’ surrounding areas. We shall find those hayfields, with hundreds of haystacks scattered there, which, at wintertime, create a fairy-tale scenery. “

    At Christmas time, the old wooden churches become the main attraction of the Maramures village. Locals and tourists alike head towards the beautiful religious edifices with tall steeples.

    “It is practically the main activity or attraction for tourists. They are invited to take part, alongside locals, in everything related to observing customs and traditions during the winter holidays. And they, if they turn up a little bit earlier as part of their Christmas package, can take part in pig slaughter on December 20 on Saint Ignatius feast.

    The most interesting are Christmas and Christmas Eve since on the Eve of Christmas all houses are floodlit, all gates are open, children and youngsters go a- caroling from one house to the next, announcing Nativity. It is only after that when the Christmas celebration begins. They are rewarded, by the hosts, with Hogmanays, nuts and apples because until the Morning Star rises in the sky, the Maramures villages still observe Advent.

    Everybody in the village dresses in traditional apparel. The tourists who are in their holiday destination are being dressed by the locals in traditional clothes and are asked to join them for the Nativity mass. There are loads of activities tourists can do at the end of the year. If we’re lucky enough to have snow, the horse-drawn sleighs are quite trendy. If we do not have snow, sleighs are being replaced by the wagons taking tourist to fairy-tale places, Maramures is beautiful with snow, yet it is also beautiful without snow. “

    And, in all that dream scenery, standing out are the finely-carved gates, the fences of the house, all made of wood. With details on that, here is Eco Maramures destination manager, Edit Pop.

    “The wood civilization or the story of wood, just as we’re wrapped it as part of a tourist offer, is somehow the cultural spine of the destination. Wood has been the raw matter at hand, of course, in the villages of yore. Of wood were made both the houses and the outhouses, of wood were made the carved gates. Of wood was made the braided fence and also of wood were made the churches, which make the cultural attraction of the villages in the destination.

    Every village has a wooden church or there also are a couple of villages that have even two churches. We have very many tourists from the Nordic countries, from the United States, Australia, Israel. I don’t know how that happens, but there are quite a few of them, who come to get acquainted with Europe, and Maramures is never left out. They are fascinated with village life, there isn’t a single thing about which you can say they do not like. It is that spirit foo the place. It is a way of life, the way of life of the Maramures village that has still preserved its uniqueness.”

    About the warm atmosphere of the winter holidays in Maramures, we also found out more from Father Valeriu Mircea Vana.

    “There are also specific events. The Customs and Traditions Festival in Sighetu Marmației has reached its 55th edition. It is held in the this day of Christmas. Also, each guesthouse, but also the public authority, because they collaborate, try to offer joy since it is a celebration of family and of joy, a cozy atmosphere where people also take part in traditions, and everybody enjoys the culinary delicatessen.

    Apart from that, there also is a part saved for the soul, the authentic part, the clean part. And that comes as an extra, apart from the visiting of the assets, as there are also cultural objectives, museums, wooden churches, the eight churches included in the UNESCO heritage list, the monasteries, and Maramures puts on its feast clothing. By all means, those who come will not regret it, but for that, they need to get in touch with people who are in the know, with specialists, if they want their experience to be unique, in a positive way. “

    We also found out, from Father Valeriu Mircea Vana, about how important craftsmen are, at a time of celebration.

    “Craftsmen are present as part of the holiday tourist packages. Not only is it important for us to participate in the show, but also we need to experiment, to carve a saucer ourselves. Here we have the art of weaving, the art of carving, the art of glass painting, the Dacian ceramic. You can take part on various workshops, for instance, in pottery-making workshops, not at professional level, though, but we can experiment. What we do, everyone of us, looks interesting, beautiful and we take this gift with us, back home.

    After we pay a visit to a monastery of the UNESCO world heritage list, we move on to the interactive side, irrespective of the age. Children and adults alike, but also the elderly, can participate in a glass painting workshop. After that, we can get to know the cuisine, as well as the traditional outfit, as man’s relationship with the divine has always been eternal. We can thus find the motifs, the colours with their own symbolism. “

    In Maramures you can also opt for accommodation in traditional houses, preserved just as they were over a hundred years ago. The interiors are specific while the windows are small, with the window frames made of wood. They are decorated with interior objects manufactured by the local craftsmen. They can be visited but they can also accommodate tourists, being examples of local initiative.

  • The year 2024 in sports(I)

    The year 2024 in sports(I)

    2024 was an auspicious year for Romanian sports. Romanian athletes’ performance at the Paris Olympics maintained Romania among the world’s elite nations, especially in rowing, a sports discipline where Romanian athletes put on a stellar performance.

    The year’s first notable event was the Australian Open, held in Melbourne in January. No Romanian competitor represented Romania in the men’s singles, while in the women’s version of the tournament, no Romanian tennis player could go past the first round.

    In the men’s doubles, Victor Cornea, jointly with India’s Nsriram Balaji, reached as far as the second round. In the women’s doubles and pairing up with Slovak-born Spanish tennis player Rebeka Masarova, Ana Bogdan stopped also in the second round. Also in January, in high diving, the Romanian Constantin Popovici became the new Red Bull Cliff Diving champion.

    In February, 2024, Romanian wrestlers and weightlifters walked away with medals at the European wrestling championships in Bucharest and the weightlifting championships in Sofia. In wrestling, gold went to Andreea Ana in the 55-kilogram category. Silver went to Kateryna Zelenykh in the 65-kilogram category and to Alexandra Anghel in the 73-kilogram category. Bronze went to Denis Florin Mihai, in the 55-kilogram category and to Răzvan Arnăut in the 60-kilogram category, both in the Greek-Roman style. In weightlifting, Mihaela Cambei in the 49-kilogram category won gold in the snatch, clean-and-jerk styles and combined.

    In the 71-kilogram category, Loredana Toma won gold in the snatch event and combined. In the clean-and-jerk event Valentin Ionadi Iancu won silver in the 61-kilogram category. Also in the clean-and-jerk event Ioana Mădălina Miron and Andreea Cotruţa won bronze, in the 45-and 59-kilogram category, respectively.

    In March, the Kenyan-born Romanian athlete Joan Chelimo Melly won the half-marathon race in Paris. Joan set a new national record. Romanian athletes also compelled recognition in the European throws Cup, held in Portugal’s Leiria. Alin Firfirica won gold in discus throw, then Bianca Ghelber, in the hammer throw event and Alexandru Novac in the javelin throw event won silver. Also in the javelin throw event, this time as part of the U-23 contest, Vlad Alexandru Turcu walked away with bronze. In rugby, the Romania national team came in 4th as part of the 2024 edition of Rugby Europe championship, the second-tier competition after the Six Nations Tournament.

    In April, Corona Braşov won the Erste Liga ice hockey regional competition. In the final, Corona defeated Hungarian opponents Ferencváros in four consecutive matches, two in Brasov and two in Budapest. Then in Bucharest, Hungarian tennis player Márton Fucsovics was the men’s single event as part of the ATP 250 Ţiriac Open, an event with 579 thousand euro in prize money all told. In the final, Fucsovics defeated Argentinean challenger Mariano Navone, cu 6-4, 7-5.

    The European Rowing Championships in Szeged followed, with the Romanian delegation winning no less than eight medals, four gold, two silver and two bronze. Stepping onto the highest step of the podium were women’s lightweight coxed eight and the women’s pair crews as well as men’s double sculls crew. At the European Boxing Championships in Belgrade, Lăcrămioara Perijoc won silver in the 54-kilogram category, while Claudia Nechita wo bronze in the 57-kilogram category.

    At the European women’s gymnastics championship held in Italy’s Rimini in May, the Romanian delegation won two medals. Both silver medals were won by Sabrina Maneca Voinea in the beam and floor finals. In the nations; competition, Romania came in 4th. In women’s handball, CSM Bucharest wasted the opportunity to qualify for the Champions league’s final tournament. In the quarterfinals, holders CSM was defeated in both legs of the tie against French challengers Metz Handball, at home, 24-27, and away, 23-29.

    The summer’s first major event was the European football championship in Germany. The national squad met the set target, that of reaching the knockout phase and even won Group E, which included Belgium, Slovakia and Ukraine. The Romanians managed to put on a good performance in all their fixtures and they kind of struck it lucky in the match against Ukraine, which they won, 2-nil. They then they lost to Belgium, a far better team, nil-2 and drew level, 1-all, in the game against Slovakia, one of the tournament’s pleasant surprises,

    For Romania, the team spirit prevailed in each of the fixtures they played at EURO 2024. They fought all throughout the tournament, they put in a lot of effort and determination they could not make up for the difference in status which separates the Romanians from Europe’s great teams. They were unable to go past the round of 16, having lost, in Munich, the game against the Low Countries team, nil-3. However, the Romanians benefitted from the tremendous boost offered by the fans, who were in the stands all the time and frantically supported the team.