Romania will kick-start their Euro 2024 campaign on the 17th of June when they take on Ukraine in Munich. This marks their first appearance in a major tournament since 2016, when they exited the Group Stage of the European Championship in France.
It seems crazy that a country that has produced players such as Gheorghe Hagi, Dan Petrescu, Adrian Mutu and Gheorghe Popescu has only won one European Championship game in their entire history.
They came close to adding to their win tally in 2008, but Mutu saw an 81st minute penalty saved by Gianluigi Buffon in a 1-1 draw with Italy. This was a campaign where they were seen as the outsiders in a 'Group of Death, also facing the Netherlands and France.
Failing to make it out of the Groups Stages at this tournament, they will be hoping for a repeat of their Euro 2000 campaign in order to go further this time.
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The Group
It could not have been a harder prospect for Romania, as they were placed with England, Germany and Portugal.
England had a very strong team, featuring the likes of David Beckham, Alan Shearer, Tony Adams, Michael Owen, Paul Scholes and Steve McManaman, who played for Real Madrid and had just scored a brilliant volley as they won the Champions League, beating Valencia 3-0 in the final.
Portugal’s team featured players such as Rui Costa, Luís Figo, and Nuno Gomes, whilst Germany were going through a transitional period but still possessed a good level of quality in their squad, as seen by their World Cup final appearance just two years later.
Whilst they had an ageing Lothar Matthäus, who retired that summer, they still had Oliver Kahn, who was widely seen as one of the best goalkeepers in the world at the time. Markus Babbel, Christian Ziege and Oliver Bierhoff were also in the squad, as well as the likes of Michael Ballack and Dietmar Hamann.
Romania were seen as a good team back then, but it appeared to be an almost impossible group to advance from.
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The Manager: Emerich Jenei
Widely seen as one of the country’s best ever managers, Emerich Jenei had a coaching career spanning almost thirty years.
He spent most of this time managing in Romania, including CSA Steaua București, for whom he had six separate spells in charge of, starting off as the assistant coach.
During his third spell, he went on to win the European Cup with the club, as they beat Barcelona in the 1986 final. He then left to manage the national team for four years before returning to Steaua after the conclusion of the 1990 World Cup. He did venture out to Greece and Hungary, managing the national team of the latter.
Euro 2000 would turn out to be his last act as a football manager, retiring after the tournament. He was brought in to replace Victor Pițurcă, who had led them throughout qualification, as he was sacked after an argument with Petrescu, Popescu and Hagi,
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How did they do?
Their first game took place in Liege on June 12th against Germany. They could not have gotten off to a better start, as forward Viorel Moldovan gave them the lead in the fifth minute. However, the lead would not last as the Germans levelled matters after midfielder Mehmet Scholl’s 28th minute equaliser. It would end up being a 1-1 draw as the spoils were shared.
Their next game came against Portugal, who had beaten England 3-2, despite going 2-0 down early on. Romania seemed all set for a hard-fought goalless draw in what was a special occasion for Popescu, who received an award after making his 100th appearance for his country.
However, in the final minute of added time, Luis Figo had a free kick and his cross found the head of Costinha, who slotted it past Bogdan Stelea to book their place in the knockout stage. They would then have to face England in the final game, who had beaten Germany 1-0 in their second match of the tournament thanks to a goal from Shearer.
This meant that going into the final game of the group stage, Portugal were already through with six points, England had three points, with Germany and Romania both on one point. Germany had the hardest task facing the group leaders, but there was always a chance that this Portuguese side could have rested some of their starters ahead of the next round.
As is the case with all European Championships and World Cups, the final Group Stage games are played at the same time, with Portugal winning dominantly whilst the other game was still going on. A win or a draw for England would have seen them progress as runners up, but victory for Romania would have allowed them progress.
The game would remain level until drama unfolded late on. With the board for added time looming, Romania were awarded a penalty after a foul from Phil Neville. It was converted by substituted Ionel Ganea, which would end up being the game winner as they advanced at the expense of the English side who had a shock early flight home. This was a moment of history for Romania in what remains their only ever win in the European Championships.
They would bow out in the quarter finals, losing 2-0 to Italy, but this was a tournament to remember for the nation.
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The Star Player: Dan Petrescu
Hagi is Romania’s best ever product, but he was far from the player he once was in Euro 2000, being sent off against Italy in the quarter-final, his last game for his country.
Petrescu, a star at Chelsea, was someone who played both as a full back and winger in his football career and was an integral part of a back four protected by the sweeper Popescu.
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How did their 2024 qualifying go?
Just as they did prior to Euro 2000, Romania have advanced to this year’s tournament as winners of their qualifying group, which should be an encouraging omen for their players.
In a group featuring Switzerland, a nation that are always threats and causes upsets in major tournaments, they qualified convincingly, winning by five points and only conceding five goals in the process. The fact they also did this unbeaten, should give them belief that they can add to their single victory in European Championships history this summer.
