WORLD CUP USA ’94 / ROUND OF 16 : Romania Revels in Momentous Achievement : Soccer: Coach Iordanescu calls victory over Argentina “maybe greatest event celebrated by our people” since 1989 revolution.
The religious cross that Romanian Coach Anghel Iordanescu clutches tightly in his hand during soccer matches is as much an inspiration as it is for luck. He had never revealed the giver of the gift or the habit to the outside world, only to his wife and children.
Sunday, Iordanescu wanted the whole world to know shortly after his Romanian soccer team announced its arrival among the world’s elite, advancing to the World Cup quarterfinals with a 3-2 victory over Argentina.
A FIFA press officer asked Iordanescu what he holds in his hand during a game. For a moment, it seemed as though the proud coach wasn’t going to answer.
“It is something of intimacy,” he said.
Everyone at the news conference watched and waited.
“It is a cross passed on to me. This cross was given to me as a gift from Father Argath, a saint from Romania. He is 87 years old. My family and I are believers. This is a thing I always have with me at every game, at every moment of every game.”
And so the ever-changing swirl of emotions continued at the World Cup, and Sunday, the Romanians took hold of all the pride and happiness and refused to let go. Iordanescu said in no uncertain terms that it was Romania’s finest moment since the 1989 revolution that changed his and the players’ world forever.
“From all the statistics I have seen, surely this is the greatest moment in Romanian soccer,” he said. “This moment created a great happiness with our people at home. “Maybe this is the greatest event celebrated by our people since the revolution. I would like to congratulate my players for something so magnificent.”
Understand that the previous biggest moment for the soccer team was last week’s victory over the United States. Thousands of Romanians got out of bed in the middle of the night and poured into the streets of Bucharest, celebrating the victory at 1 a.m. More than 10,000 fans packed the main streets of the country’s capital.
Said Midfielder Ilie Dumitrescu, who scored twice and added an assist: “Romania today had its greatest performance in history. We eliminated one of the best teams in the world. We did it for the Romanian people. I am very happy for Romania today because it is a unique moment.”
There is a difference because Romania’s other sporting triumphs have been by individuals. Pre-revolution there were gymnast Nadia Comaneci and tennis players Ilie Nastase and Ion Tiriac.
Romania had always had a proud soccer history--dating to a 1930 World Cup debut--but this is the first time it has advanced past the second round. In 1990 in Italy, Romania lost to Ireland in the second round on penalty kicks. Romania will play Sweden in the quarterfinals at Stanford Stadium on Sunday.
Obviously, almost no one could have guessed Romania’s presence in the final eight. As for Iordanescu, he wasn’t even the team’s coach a little more than a year ago.
He was the only coach to take over a European team in the middle of World Cup qualifying and lead it into the tournament. Iordanescu replaced Cornel Dinu on June 24, 1993, after Romania had suffered an embarrassing 5-2 loss to Czechoslovakia earlier in the month.
Iordanescu, a former Romanian national team star, had scored 26 goals and made 64 international appearances. One of his biggest problems was trying to get his players back from European leagues. The Romanians have been able to play abroad since the revolution and the assassination of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.
After all the problems in Romania, a little adversity has not bothered the team. On Sunday, it was without a top player, striker Florin Raducioiu, who drew two yellow cards in the first round.
“We went from agony to ecstasy. It was a very exciting game,” Iordanescu said.
He could have said the same thing about his country.
