Romania
Friday, 06 Jun 2008 00:00
Will Romanian fans have much cause to bang their drums this summer?
Eight years after they dumped Kevin Keegan's England out of Euro 2000, Romania return to the international stage - only to find themselves as the outsiders in the group of death.
Group C fixtures
France v
Romania
Berne, June 9th 17:00 BST
Live on BBC1
Romania v Italy
Zurich, June 13th 17:00 BST
Live on ITV1
The Netherlands v
Romania
Zurich, June 17th 19:45 BST
Live on BBC3
European Championship history
Romania have only qualified for the European Championships on three occasions, prior to their appearance in Austria and Switzerland. Their best performance came in 2000, where they reached the quarter-finals having memorably seen off England in the opening stages after Phil Neville's incompetence in the penalty area earned a draw in the final game of the group.
The man in charge
Victor Piturca, a prolific goalscorer in his time as a player, has been given the task of making sure the tournament is not a disappointing one for his country.
His team won their qualifying group impressively, outstripping the Netherlands by three points and beating them in Bucharest. Piturca's side lost only one match, away to Bulgaria, on their way to winning the group.
Team forte
Piturca believes his team has a strong sense of unity, both on and off the field. Organisation is the byword for Romania and they are very difficult to beat, as the Dutch found out during qualification.
Achilles heel
The manager has voiced his concerns about the quality of his defence. Indeed, his squad mainly consists of defensive options, so it is clear where he will make changes if necessary.
Also, key defender and free-kick specialist Christian Chivu recently suffered a shoulder injury, so a recurrence of that would severely undermine any Romanian challenge.
Player to watch
Premier League fans will instantly recognise Adrian Mutu, the former Chelsea player, currently plying his trade with Fiorentina. The striker has managed to put his drug problems behind him, rebuilding his career in Florence.
Elsewhere, keep an eye out for CSKA Sofia's Florentin Petre (a speedy right-winger), Steaua Bucharest's Nicolae Dica (who scored two goals in a recent friendly victory over Montenegro) and Shakhtar Donetsk's Razvan Rat (first-choice left back who has not missed a game through injury in his entire career).
Chances of victory
Nobody will be betting on Romania to get through the group of death, placed as they are with Italy, France and the Netherlands. However, they are extremely well organised and have the ability to pull off a few shock results.
On paper they have no chance, but having beaten the Netherlands into second place during qualification, and given a first-game victory over France, the eyes of Europe may well turn slowly towards the eastern European nation.
Mutu believes their strengths lie going forward, despite the emphasis on defensive organisation.
Should they upset the odds and beat a France team who failed to defeat Paraguay in a recent friendly and they could surprise a few people by putting themselves in pole position to progress, given that they already know how to beat an inconsistent Netherlands.
Squad
Goalkeepers
1 Lobont
12 Marius Popa
23 Eduard Stancioiu
Defenders
2 Cosmin Contra
3 Razvan Rat
4 Gabriel Tamas
5 Christian Chivu
6 Mirel Radoi
13 Cristian Sapunaru
14 Sorin Ghionea
17 Cosmin Moti
22 Stefan Radu
Midfielders
7 Florentin Petre
8 Paul Codrea
11 Razvan Cocis
16 Banel Nicolita
19 Adrian Cristea
20 Nicolae Dica
Forwards
9 Ciprian Marica
10 Adrian Mutu
18 Marius Niculae
21 Daniel Niculae