Sivamani (film) and Romania national football team: Difference between pages

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Difference between pages)
Content deleted Content added
 
No edit summary
 
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Infobox National football team |
{{Infobox_Film |
name = Shivamani 9848022338 |
Name = Romania |
image =|
Badge = Romania FA.jpg|200px|
imdb_id = 0386029 |
Nickname = Tricolorii (The Tricolours) |
writer = [[Puri Jagannadh]] (story & screenplay)<br>[[Kona Venkat]] (dialogue) |
Association = [[Romanian Football Federation]] |
Confederation = [[UEFA]] ([[Europe]]) |
starring = [[Akkineni Nagarjuna]],<br>[[Asin Thottumkal]],<br>[[Rakshitha]],<br>[[Prakash Raj]] |
director = [[Puri Jagannadh]] |
Coach = {{Flagicon|Romania}} [[Victor Piţurcă]] |
producer = [[Puri Jagannadh]] |
Captain = [[Cristian Chivu]] |
distributor = [[Vaishno Academy]] |
Vice Captain = [[Adrian Mutu]] |
country = [[India]] |
Most caps = [[Dorinel Munteanu]] (134) |
released = [[October 23]], [[2003]] |
Top scorer = [[Gheorghe Hagi]] (35) |
runtime = |
Home Stadium = [[Stadionul Farul|Farul]] |
FIFA Trigramme = ROU |
cinematography = [[Shyam K. Naidu]] |
language = [[Telugu language|Telugu]] |
FIFA Rank = 18 |
FIFA max = 3 |
music = [[Chakri (music director)|Chakri]] |
FIFA max date = September 1997 |
awards = |
FIFA min = 35 |
budget = |
FIFA min date = August 2004 |

Elo Rank = 17 |
Elo max = 5|
Elo max date = June 1990|
Elo min = 42|
Elo min date = 1949, 1960|
shirtsupplier = [[Adidas]] |
pattern_la1=_rom07|pattern_b1=_shoulder stripes blue stripes|pattern_ra1=_rom07|pattern_sh1=_blue stripes|pattern_so1=_3 stripes blue|
leftarm1=FBB917|body1=FBB917|rightarm1=FBB917|shorts1=FBB917|socks1=FBB917|
pattern_la2=_rom07|pattern_b2=_shoulder stripes blue stripes|pattern_ra2=_rom07|pattern_sh2=_blue stripes|pattern_so2=_3 stripes blue|
leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=FFFFFF|socks2=FFFFFF|

First game = {{fb|Yugoslavia|kingdom}} 1 - 2 Romania {{Flagicon|Romania}}<br/>([[Belgrade]], [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]; [[8 June]], [[1922]]) |
Largest win = {{Flagicon|Romania|1965}} Romania 9 - 0 {{fb-rt|Finland}}<br/>([[Bucharest]], [[Romania]]; [[14 October]], [[1973]]) |
Largest loss = {{fb|Hungary|1946}} 9 - 0 Romania {{Flagicon|Romania|1948}}<br/>([[Budapest]], [[Hungary]]; [[6 June]], [[1948]]) |
World cup apps = 7 |
World cup first = 1930 |
World cup best = Quarterfinals, [[Football World Cup 1994|1994]] |
Regional name = [[European Football Championship|European Championship]] |
Regional cup apps = 4 |
Regional cup first = [[1984 European Football Championship|1984]] |
Regional cup best = Quarterfinals, [[2000 European Football Championship|2000]]
}}
}}
The '''Romania national football team''' is the national [[football (soccer)|football]] team of [[Romania]] and is controlled by the [[Romanian Football Federation]].
'''''Shivamani 9848022338''''' is a [[2003]] [[Telugu language|Telugu]] film written and directed by [[Puri Jagannadh]]. This is his first time with [[Akkineni Nagarjuna]] . [[Asin Thottumkal]] and [[Rakshitha]] play the female leads while [[Prakash Raj]] plays villain.

Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]], [[France national football team|France]], and [[Belgium national football team|Belgium]], that took part in the first three [[FIFA World Cup|World Cups]].

However, after that performance, they only qualified for [[Football World Cup 1970|1970]], [[Football World Cup 1990|1990]], [[Football World Cup 1994|1994]] and [[Football World Cup 1998|1998]] editions. Their finest hour came at the [[Football World Cup 1994|1994 World Cup]] where Romania, led by [[Gheorghe Hagi]], reached the quarterfinals, defeating [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]] in their way before losing to [[Sweden national football team|Sweden]] on penalty shootouts.

At the [[UEFA European Football Championship|Euros]], Romania's best performance was in [[UEFA Euro 2000|2000]] when they advanced to quarterfinals from a group with [[Germany national football team|Germany]], [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]] and [[England national football team|England]] before falling to eventual runners-up [[Italy national football team|Italy]].

Romania also played at [[UEFA Euro 1984|Euro 1984]], [[UEFA Euro 1996|Euro 1996]], [[UEFA Euro 2000|Euro 2000]] and [[UEFA Euro 2008|Euro 2008]].

==History==
{{main|History of the Romania national football team}}
===Beginnings===
[[Romania national football team|Romania]] played their first international match on [[8 June]] [[1922]], a 2-1 win over [[Yugoslavia national football team|Yugoslavia]] in [[Belgrade]], coached by [[Teofil Moraru]].

Several temporary coaches were employed, before Moraru resumed control in August 1924, managing the side for nearly four years. Romania enjoyed some success during the 1930s; manager [[Costel Rădulescu]] took them to the first three [[FIFA World Cup]] tournaments, a feat matched only by [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]] and [[Belgium national football team|Belgium]] and [[France national football team|France]].

====World Cups in the 1930s====
At the [[1930 FIFA World Cup|1930 World Cup]], Romania won their first match against [[Peru national football team|Peru]], 3-1, with goals from [[Adalbert Desu]], [[Constantin Stanciu]] and [[Nicolae Kovács]], before being thrashed 4-0 by hosts and eventual winners [[Uruguay national football team|Uruguay]].

Romania qualified for the [[1934 FIFA World Cup|next World Cup in 1934]] after beating [[Yugoslavia national football team|Yugoslavia]] 2-1 in a repeat of their first international. At the finals, Romania played only one game in a new knock-out format, losing 2-1 to [[Czechoslovakia national football team|Czechoslovakia]] in [[Trieste]], [[Italy]], with [[Ştefan Dobay]] scoring their only goal of the tournament.

Romania qualified by default for the [[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938 World Cup]] after their qualifying playoff opponents [[Egypt national football team|Egypt]] withdrew. They suffered a shock defeat in the finals in [[France]], losing to minnows [[Cuba national football team|Cuba]], who, like Romania, had only qualified due to the withdrawal of their qualifying opponents, [[Mexico national football team|Mexico]]. The first match at the [[Stadium Municipal|Stade Chapou]] in [[Toulouse]] ended 3-3 after extra time, but Cuba won the replay four days later 2-1.

====Years in the international wilderness====
Between 1938 and 1970 Romania failed to qualify for any major international tournaments.

===Increasing improvement===
====1970 World Cup====
Participation in the World Cup was finally achieved once again in [[1970 FIFA World Cup|1970]] in [[Mexico]], although qualification came on the back of a 3-0 thrashing by [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]] in [[Lisbon]] and two unconvincing draws against unfancied [[Greece national football team|Greece]]. [[Angelo Niculescu]]'s promising were given the toughest of draws, in Group 3 with holders [[England national football team|England]], giants [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]] and [[Czechoslovakia national football team|Czechoslovakia]].

A [[Geoff Hurst]] goal gave England a narrow victory in Romania's first match at the [[Estadio Jalisco]] in [[Guadalajara, Jalisco|Guadalajara]]. Chances were improved with a 2-1 win over the Czechs. Despite going behind early to a [[Ladislav Petráš]] goal, Romania turned it around after half-time with [[Alexandru Neagu]] and [[Florea Dumitrache]] scoring to give them two vital points. Even then, only a win over the excellent Brazilians would take them into the Quarter Finals.

There were rumours before the match that Brazil might prefer Romania to progress than World Champions England; Despite beating them 1-0 in their previous match in Guadalajara, the South American giants still viewed England as one of their biggest obstacles to tournament victory. But Brazil played some of the best football of the competition, with [[Pelé]] scoring twice and a [[Jairzinho]] goal in between. Romania battled bravely; [[Florea Dumitrache|Dumitrache]] pulled the score back to 2-1 before the break and a late [[Emerich Dembrowski]] goal made it 3-2, but they were out.

====1970s====
On [[26 September]] [[1973]], under new coach [[Valentin Stanescu]], [[Romania national football team|Romania]] suffered a significant defeat to [[East Germany national football team|East Germany]] in [[Leipzig]]. The East Germans won 2-0 to effectively seal their first ever qualification for the World Cup, which [[1974 FIFA World Cup|would be held over the border]] in [[West Germany]]. With East Germany scoring a predictable 4-1 win in [[Albania national football team|Albania]], Romania were out, despite a huge 9-0 win over [[Finland national football team|Finland]] in [[Bucharest]].

Romania continued to suffer poor form in the [[UEFA European Championship]]. In their qualifying group for the [[1976 European Football Championship]], they were out-qualified by [[Spain national football team|Spain]], despite an impressive 1-1 draw in the away match. Romania failed to win matches, drawing twice with [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]] and [[Spain national football team|Spain]] and dropping points in [[Denmark national football team|Denmark]] with a dismal goalless draw.

[[Romania national football team|Romania]] were again beat by [[Spain national football team|Spain]] for a place in the [[1978 FIFA World Cup|1978 World Cup]] in [[Argentina]]. Despite a 1-0 win in [[Bucharest]], Romania lost a bizarre match at home to [[Yugoslavia national football team|Yugoslavia]] 6-4 having led 3-2 at half time. [[Spain national football team|Spain]] won 1-0 in [[Belgrade]] to seal passage to South America.

====1980s====
Romania's sole successful qualifying campaign was for the European Championships in [[1984 European Football Championship|1984]] in [[France]]. At the finals, Romania were drawn with regular rivals [[Spain national football team|Spain]], holders [[West Germany national football team|West Germany]] and dark horses [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]]. Under head coach [[Mircea Lucescu]], an encouraging opening game in [[Saint-Étienne]] saw them draw with the Spanish. [[Francisco José Carrasco]] opened the scoring from the penalty spot but Romania equalized before half time with a goal from [[Laszlo Bölöni]].

Against [[West Germany national football team|the Germans]] in [[Lens, Pas-de-Calais|Lens]], [[Marcel Coras]] scored an equalizer in the first minute of the second half in response to [[Rudi Völler]]'s opener, but Völler would score a winning goal. Their last match in [[Nantes]] was a must-win match, but [[Tamagnini Nené|Nené]]'s late winner meant [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]] progressed with [[Spain national football team|Spain]], who netted a dramatic late winner against [[West Germany national football team|West Germany]] at the [[Parc des Princes]] in [[Paris]].

Romania stuttered throughout the rest of the decade, but a stronger squad at the end of the decade saw them qualify for their fifth World Cup at [[Italia 90]]. A win over [[Denmark national football team|Denmark]] in their last match took [[Emerich Jenei]]'s side to the finals for the first time in twenty years.
===Gheorghe Hagi's era: the Golden Generation===
====Italia 90====
Romania's squad was entirely domestic based, despite an increasing trend for the major sides in Italy and Spain buying up the best foreign talent. Midfielder [[Ilie Dumitrescu]], striker [[Florin Răducioiu]] and genius playmaker [[Gheorghe Hagi]], then of [[Steaua Bucharest]], were in the squad, but it was forward [[Gavril Balint]] who would prove the hero in the first round.

With World Champions [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]] stunned by [[Cameroon national football team|Cameroon]] in the tournament's opening match, [[Romania national football team|Romania]] did their chances no harm with a convincing win over the [[Soviet Union national football team|USSR]] at the [[San Nicola]] in [[Bari]], with [[Marius Lăcătuş]] scoring in either half. The result was all the more impressive given the absence of Hagi. There was controversy, however, as Lăcătus's second was a penalty given for a handball by [[Vagiz Khidiatulin]] that television replays clearly showed to be some way outside the penalty area.

Romania were the next victims of [[Cameroon national football team|Cameroon]] in Bari. Cult hero [[Roger Milla]], 38 years of age, came on as a substitute for [[Emmanuel Maboang Kessack]] and scored twice, before [[Gavril Balint|Balint]] pulled one back. Romania needed a point in their last match against improving [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]] at the [[San Paolo]] in [[Naples]]. [[Pedro Monzón]] gave Argentina the lead after an hour, but Balint quickly equalized and Romania held on to reach Round 2.

Against [[Jack Charlton]]'s [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Ireland]] side in [[Genoa]], Romania didn't have the quality to break down a defensive opposition. [[Daniel Timofte]] was the only player to miss in the [[penalty shoot-out]] - his kick saved by [[Packie Bonner]] - and Romania were out. In the process, Ireland became the smallest country ever to progress that far in a [[FIFA World Cup]].

====Euro 92 and USA 94====
Romania missed out on [[1992 European Football Championship|Euro 92]]. [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]] qualified after Romania drew a must-win last match in [[Sofia]] against [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]], with [[Nasko Sirakov]]'s equalizer sealing their fate.

They were successful, though, in [[1994 FIFA World Cup|reaching another World Cup]] in the [[United States]] in 1994. Despite losing in [[Belgium national football team|Belgium]] and suffering a heavy 5-2 defeat in [[Czechoslovakia national football team|Czechoslovakia]], Romania went into their last match at [[Cardiff Arms Park]] with [[Wales national football team|Wales]] needing a win to pip them to a place in the finals. Goals from [[Gheorghe Hagi]] and [[Dean Saunders]] meant the game was finely balanced, before Wales were awarded a penalty. [[Paul Bodin]] of [[Swindon Town]] stepped up but hit the woodwork and Romania went on to win 2-1, [[Florin Răducioiu|Răducioiu]]'s late goal proving unnecessary as [[Czechoslovakia national football team|Czechoslovakia]] dropped a point in [[Belgium national football team|Belgium]] and were knocked out.

At the finals, Romania were one of the most entertaining teams in the early stages with [[Gheorghe Hagi|Hagi]], [[Florin Răducioiu|Răducioiu]] and [[Ilie Dumitrescu|Dumitrescu]] on form. Romania beat [[Colombia national football team|Colombia]] - dark horses and [[Pelé]]'s tip for the tournament - at the [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena]] [[Rose Bowl (stadium)|Rose Bowl]] in [[Los Angeles]] 3-1. Răducioiu opened the scoring before Hagi scored a spectacular second from wide on the left touchline. [[Adolfo Valencia]] shredded their nerves with a headed goal just before half-time, but Romania held on and Răducioiu sealed the win with a late third.

In [[Detroit]]'s [[Pontiac Silverdome]], the temperature soared due to the greenhouse effect in the indoor arena. [[Switzerland national football team|Switzerland]], acclimatized after having already played the hosts there, outran Romania in the second half and turned a 1-1 half time score into a surprising 4-1 win. Romania responded by beating the hosts 1-0 in [[Pasadena]] with an early [[Dan Petrescu]] goal.

In Round 2 they faced [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]], who were shorn of [[Diego Maradona]] who was thrown out of the tournament for taking drugs. Răducioiu, suspended, was hardly missed, as coach [[Anghel Iordănescu]] pushed Dumitrescu forward to play as a striker and the player responded by scoring twice in the first twenty minutes, one a superbly subtle left foot flick from a right-wing Hagi cross slotted between the Argentine defenders. In between, [[Gabriel Batistuta]] scored a penalty, but after half-time Romania netted a superb third on the counter attack, with Hagi beating goalkeeper [[Luis Islas]]. [[Abel Balbo]] pulled one back, but Romania held on for a shock win.

Romania would suffer penalty heartbreak again, in the Quarter Final against [[Sweden national football team|Sweden]]. With just thirteen minutes to go, a tight match opened up as Sweden's [[Thomas Brolin]] scored from a clever free-kick move, the ball passed outside the Romanian wall by [[Håkan Mild]] for Brolin to smash in. Iordănescu threw caution to the wind and the returning Răducioiu found a late equalizer, again from a free-kick move but this time down to a deflection and a failure of the Swedes to clear. In extra time Răducioiu scored again after a mistake by [[Patrik Andersson]], but Sweden then scored their own late equalizer as giant striker [[Kennet Andersson]] climbed above goalkeeper [[Florin Prunea]] to head home a long ball. Prunea had come in after two matches to replace [[Bogdan Stelea]], whose confidence was shattered by the 4-1 loss to the Swiss. In the shoot-out, [[Dan Petrescu]] and [[Miodrag Belodedici]] had their kicks saved by [[Thomas Ravelli]] and Sweden went through.

====Euro 96====
In [[England]], Romania arrived as a highly thought-of and popular team but had a nightmare. Iordănescu's side were based in the north east, with their first two games at [[St James' Park]] in [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]]. Against [[France national football team|France]], they lost to a [[Christophe Dugarry]] header reminiscent of [[Kennet Andersson]]'s two years earlier, beating the goalkeeper to a lofted through ball. A brilliant early solo goal by [[Hristo Stoichkov]] saw [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]] knock out their neighbours, although Romania claimed they should have had a goal awarded when the ball struck the bar and bounced behind the goal-line. They finally scored in their last game, [[Florin Răducioiu]] equalizing an early goal by [[Spain national football team|Spain]]'s [[Javier Manjarín]]. [[Spain national football team|Spain]] had to win to qualify with [[France national football team|France]] at the expence of [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]] and did so when [[Guillermo Amor]] stooped to head a late winner. Romania exited with no points and little to cheer.

====France 98====
Despite a dreadful [[Euro 96]], Romania impressed in [[1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)#Group 8|qualifying]], finishing ten points clear of [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Ireland]] and were [[1998 FIFA World Cup seeding|seeded]] for the final tournament of the [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998 World Cup]] thanks to their strong [[1994 FIFA World Cup|USA 94]] showing. Despite being drawn in a group with [[England national football team|England]], getting through it was perceived to be easy work with a waning [[Colombia national football team|Colombia]] and minnows [[Tunisia national football team|Tunisia]].

[[Adrian Ilie]] scored the only goal with a fine chip in their first match against [[Colombia national football team|Colombia]] at [[Lyon]]'s [[Stade Gerland]].
In [[Toulouse]], they met an [[England national football team|England]] side starting with prodigal striker [[Michael Owen]] on the bench, with [[Teddy Sheringham]] preferred alongside [[Alan Shearer]]. A mistake by [[Tony Adams (footballer)|Tony Adams]] was punished by [[Viorel Moldovan]], who played for [[Coventry City]], before Owen came on to claim an equalizer. But Romania won with a wonderful late goal from [[Dan Petrescu]], also playing in England with [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]], fighting off his club mate [[Graeme le Saux]] and [[Nutmeg (football)|nutmegging]] goalkeeper [[David Seaman]].

The next match was against [[Tunisia national football team|Tunisia]]. [[Romania national football team|Romania]] decided to bleach their hair before the match. Despite [[England national football team|England]] v [[Colombia national football team|Colombia]] being the more decisive game, the [[Stade de France]] in [[Paris]] was an 80,000 sell out and the crowd were nearly rewarded with a shock as [[Skander Souayah]] scored an early penalty to give the north Africans the lead.
[[Romania national football team|Romania]] needed a point to win the group and, crucially, avoid [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]] in Round 2, and got it when Moldovan volleyed a late equalizer. It did them little good, however, as in the Round of 16 match at [[Bordeaux]] against the [[Croatian national football team|Croatian team]], [[Davor Šuker]] scored a twice-taken penalty in a poor match and Romania were out.

====Euro 2000====
Romania were not expected to progress through a group containing [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]], [[England national football team|England]] and [[Germany national football team|Germany]]. Hagi's powers were waning, Dumitrescu and Rǎducioiu were no longer on the scene and hopes were pinned on young [[Internazionale]] forward [[Adrian Mutu]]. Romania started brightly against the [[Germany national football team|Germans]] in [[Liège]], with [[Viorel Moldovan|Moldovan]] scoring from close range. A long-range [[Mehmet Scholl]] equalizer meant they had to be content with a point and their position looked shaky after [[Costinha]] headed a last minute winner for [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]] in their second match.

[[Emerich Jenei]], back as coach, threw caution to the wind in the last match in [[Charleroi]] against [[England national football team|England]], a match which [[Romania national football team|Romania]] had to win. Defender [[Cristian Chivu]]'s cross went in off the post in the 22nd minute but, despite Romania dominating, England led at half-time through an [[Alan Shearer]] penalty and a late [[Michael Owen]] goal after he rounded [[Bogdan Stelea]] to score a tap-in, both in the last five minutes of the half. Romania attacked after the break and were quickly rewarded; [[Dorinel Munteanu]] punishing a poor punch from [[Nigel Martyn]], a late replacement for the injured [[David Seaman|Seaman]] to equalize three minutes after the re-start. [[England national football team|England]] cracked under the pressure. Unable to retain possession or pose an attacking threat, they fell deep and late on [[Phil Neville]], playing out of position at left-back, conceded a penalty scored by [[Ioan Ganea]] in the 89th minute.

Romania's relief was tempered by tough opposition in the last eight, and [[Italy national football team|Italy]], who would end up seconds from being crowned European champions in an agonizing final, comfortably saw them off 2-0 in [[Brussels]]. [[Francesco Totti]] and [[Filippo Inzaghi]] scoring towards the end of the first half. In the 35th minute Hagi, in his final international tournament, hit the woodwork with goalkeeper [[Francesco Toldo]] stranded off his line and, after the break, was magnanimously sent off for diving. Romania's tournament was over and [[Emerich Jenei|Jenei]] left his job as coach again.

===Recent years===
====2000s - Near Misses====
Romania failed to qualify for the next three major tournaments. They drew [[Slovenia national football team|Slovenia]], who had been surprise qualifiers for [[Euro 2000]] in a playoff for a place in the [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002 World Cup]] in [[South Korea]] and [[Japan]]. A narrow 2-1 deficit - having led through a [[Marius Niculae]] goal - after the first leg in [[Ljubljana]] was not irretrievable. With fans' hero [[Gheorghe Hagi]] now coaching the side they were confident of getting the win they needed in [[Bucharest]] against the [[Balkan]] upstarts, but [[Slovenia national football team|Slovenia]] took the lead before the hour through [[Mladen Rudonja]]. Right wing-back [[Cosmin Contra]] quickly equalized but Romania could not find the goal they needed to force extra time and [[Slovenia national football team|Slovenia]], with maverick manager [[Srečko Katanec]], were in a major tournament again.

Romania were confident of qualifying for [[Euro 2004]] in [[Portugal]], drawn in Group 2 with seeds [[Denmark national football team|Denmark]], [[Norway national football team|Norway]], [[Bosnia-Herzegovina national football team|Bosnia-Herzegovina]] and minnows [[Luxembourg national football team|Luxembourg]],with Anghel Iordanescu back as their coach. Despite a good start - a 3-0 win away to [[Bosnia-Herzegovina national football team|Bosnia]] in [[Sarajevo]], Romania stuttered. [[Steffen Iversen]]'s late goal gave [[Norway national football team|Norway]] a surprise win in [[Bucharest]] and they were stunned at home by the Danes, 5-2, with [[Thomas Gravesen]] scoring a spectacular goal from around fifty yards out, despite leading twice. They recovered slightly, completing a double over the Bosnians and getting a point in [[Oslo]], but conceded a cutting injury time equalizer in [[Denmark]] to draw 2-2. It was decisive, as they now required Norway to fail to win at home to [[Luxembourg]] to stand any realistic chance of qualifying. Eventually, the Danes got a point in Bosnia to scrape through a tight group, with Norway going to a play-off with [[Spain national football team|Spain]].

Romania were put in a massive group for the qualifying tournament for the [[2006 FIFA World Cup]] in [[Germany]]. [[Netherlands national football team|Holland]] and [[Czech Republic national football team|Czech Republic]] were favourite to qualify, then ranked first and second in Europe. Early wins over [[Finland national football team|Finland]] and [[Republic of Macedonia national football team|Macedonia]] were unconvincing, and they were some way behind the two leaders by the time they earned a good 2-0 home win over the Czechs. They finished third behind the Dutch and the Czechs and missed out on another major tournament.

Romania were drawn in a group with group favourites [[Netherlands national football team|Holland]] and tough opponents [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]] for the [[Euro 2008]] Qualifying. However on [[17 October]] [[2007]], Romania became the fourth team to qualify for [[Euro 2008]]. This the team's first big championships since [[Euro 2000]], 8 years before. [[Victor Piturca]] also qualified Romania for EURO 2000, only to sit back and let Emerich Jenei coach the team in the final tournament. This time,however,he stayed. It was the first time he coached a national team in the final stages of a tournament.

They were drawn in the so-called "Group of Death", with their old "friends" [[Netherlands national football team|Holland]] (they played each other both in the EURO 2008 qualifying group and in the 2006 World Cup qualifying group), [[Italy national football team|Italy]], the current world champions and [[France national football team|France]], runners-up in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. They started with a sluggish 0-0 draw against France, favorite Italy was soundlly beaten by Holland,3-0. In their next game against Italy, [[Adrian Mutu]], playing for an Italian team, Fiorentina, opened the scoring early in the second half. Their lead was a very short one, as [[Christian Panucci]] scored a minute later, with the aid of a corner kick. Nearing the end of the match, [[Daniel Niculae]] obtained a penalty for his team, Buffon saved the shot from Mutu, leaving Romania with two points and needing a win against towering Holland, who eradicated France 4-1 on the same evening. Holland beat Romania 2-0 in the final game of the group, which meant that Italy joined Holland in the quarter finals and Romania finished 3rd, ahead of France.

==World Cup record==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!Year
!Round
!Position
!GP
!W
!D*
!L
!GS
!GA
|-
|{{flagicon|Uruguay}} [[1930 FIFA World Cup|1930]]||Round 1||8||2||1||0||1||3||5
|-
|{{flagicon|Italy|old}} [[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]]||Round 1||12||1||0||0||1||1||2
|-
|{{flagicon|France}} [[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938]]||Round 1||9||2||0||1||1||4||5
|-
|{{flagicon|Brazil}} [[1950 FIFA World Cup|1950]]||''Did Not Enter''||-||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|{{flagicon|Switzerland}} [[1954 FIFA World Cup|1954]]||''Did Not Qualify''||-||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|{{flagicon|Sweden}} [[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958]]||''Did Not Qualify''||-||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|{{flagicon|Chile}} [[1962 FIFA World Cup|1962]]||''Withdrew''||-||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|{{flagicon|England}} [[1966 FIFA World Cup|1966]]||''Did Not Qualify''||-||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|{{flagicon|Mexico}} [[1970 FIFA World Cup|1970]]||Round 1||11||3||1||0||2||4||5
|-
|{{flagicon|West Germany}} [[1974 FIFA World Cup|1974]]||''Did Not Qualify''||-||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|{{flagicon|Argentina|alt}} [[1978 FIFA World Cup|1978]]||''Did Not Qualify''||-||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|{{flagicon|Spain}} [[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982]]||''Did Not Qualify''||-||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|{{flagicon|Mexico}} [[1986 FIFA World Cup|1986]]||''Did Not Qualify''||-||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|{{flagicon|Italy}} [[1990 FIFA World Cup|1990]]||Round 2||12||4||1||2||1||4||3
|-
|{{flagicon|United States}} [[1994 FIFA World Cup|1994]]||Quarterfinals||6||5||3||1||1||10||9
|-
|{{flagicon|France}} [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998]]||Round 2||11||4||2||1||1||4||3
|-
|{{flagicon|South Korea}}{{flagicon|Japan}} [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002]]||''Did Not Qualify''||-||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|{{flagicon|Germany}} [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006]]||''Did Not Qualify''||-||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|'''Total'''||7/18|| ||21||8||5||8||30||32
|}

==European Championship==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!Year
!Round
!GP
!W
!D*
!L
!GS
!GA
|-
|{{flagicon|France}} [[1960 UEFA European Football Championship|1960]]||''Did not Qualify''||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|{{flagicon|Spain}} [[1964 UEFA European Football Championship|1964]]||''Did not Qualify''||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|{{flagicon|Italy}} [[1968 UEFA European Football Championship|1968]]||''Did not Qualify''||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|{{flagicon|Belgium}} [[1972 UEFA European Football Championship|1972]]||''Did not Qualify''||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|{{flagicon|Yugoslavia}} [[1976 UEFA European Football Championship|1976]]||''Did not Qualify''||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|{{flagicon|Italy}} [[1980 UEFA European Football Championship|1980]]||''Did not Qualify''||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|{{flagicon|France}} [[1984 UEFA European Football Championship|1984]]||Round 1||3||0||1||2||2||4
|-
|{{flagicon|West Germany}} [[1988 UEFA European Football Championship|1988]]||''Did not Qualify''||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|{{flagicon|Sweden}} [[1992 UEFA European Football Championship|1992]]||''Did not Qualify''||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|{{flagicon|England}} [[1996 UEFA European Football Championship|1996]]||Round 1||3||0||0||3||1||4
|-
|{{flagicon|Belgium}}{{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[2000 UEFA European Football Championship|2000]]||Quarterfinals||4||1||1||2||4||6
|-
|{{flagicon|Portugal}} [[2004 UEFA European Football Championship|2004]]||''Did not Qualify''||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|{{flagicon|Austria}}{{flagicon|Switzerland}} [[2008 UEFA European Football Championship|2008]]||Round 1||3||0||2||1||1||3
|-
|{{flagicon|Poland}}{{flagicon|Ukraine}} [[2012 UEFA European Football Championship|2012]]||''Not Yet Qualified''||-||-||-||-
|-
||'''Total'''||4/13||13||1||4||8||8||17
|}
:''*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on [[penalty shootout (football)|penalty kicks]].''
:''**Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.''

==Stadium==
{{main|Lia Manoliu Stadium}}
[[Image:National Stadium, Bucharest.JPG|thumb|right|Lia Manoliu, Romania's national football stadium|235px]]
The '''Lia Manoliu Stadium''' (''Stadionul Lia Manoliu'' in [[Romanian language|Romanian]]) was a multi-use [[stadium]] in [[Bucharest]], [[Romania]]. It was used mostly by the [[Romania national football team]].

The stadium held 60,120. It was built in 1953, for the [[4th World Festival of Youth and Students]]. It was first known as '''Stadionul 23 August''', and later on as '''Stadionul Naţional''' ([[National stadium]]). It is now named after [[Lia Manoliu]], a [[discus throw]]er who competed at a record six [[Summer Olympics]], winning three medals.

In October 2005, it was decided to rebuild the stadium completely; however, initially no funding was found, so some repairs proceeded in lieu of rebuilding. Later, funds became available and the rebuilding is expected to begin in November 2007. The plan calls for completion of a new five-star arena by April 2010, with further plans to host the 2011 [[UEFA Cup]] final. The last football match played was a 6-1 win against [[Albania national football team|Albania]] on [[November 21]], [[2007]]. After the match, a few seats were removed from the stadium, as a symbolic start of the rebuilding operations. The old stadium will be demolished to make room for a new one.

==[[2010 FIFA World Cup qualification]]==
{{2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 7
| expanded = yes
| fixtures = yes
| tiebreakers = <!-- "yes", to display the tiebreaking notes -->
}}

==Current squad==

The following players were named for the match against [[France national football team|France]] ([[October 11]] [[2008]]).

''Caps and goals correct as of [[11 October]][[2008]].''

{{nat fs g start}}
{{nat fs g player|no=1|pos=GK|name=[[Bogdan Lobonţ]]|age={{birth date and age|1978|1|18}}|caps=70|goals=0|club=[[F.C. Dinamo Bucureşti]]|clubnat=ROU}}
{{nat fs g player|no=2|pos=DF|name=[[George Ogăraru]]|age={{birth date and age|1980|2|3}}|caps=9|goals=0|club=[[FC Steaua Bucureşti]]|clubnat=ROU}}
{{nat fs g player|no=3|pos=DF|name=[[Răzvan Raţ]]|age={{birth date and age|1981|5|26}}|caps=52|goals=1|club=[[FC Shakhtar Donetsk]]|clubnat=UKR}}
{{nat fs g player|no=4|pos=DF|name=[[Gabriel Tamaş]]|age={{birth date and age|1983|11|9}}|caps=37|goals=2|club=[[F.C. Dinamo Bucureşti]]|clubnat=ROU}}
{{nat fs g player|no=5|pos=DF|name=[[Cristian Chivu]] ([[captain (football)|''captain'']])|age={{birth date and age|1980|10|26}}|caps=63|goals=3|club=[[F.C. Internazionale Milano]]|clubnat=ITA}}
{{nat fs g player|no=6|pos=MF|name=[[Gabriel Mureşan]]|age={{birth date and age|1982|2|13}}|caps=2|goals=0|club=[[CFR Cluj]]|clubnat=ROU}}
{{nat fs g player|no=7|pos=MF|name=[[Florentin Petre]]|age={{birth date and age|1976|1|15}}|caps=52|goals=6|club=[[FC Terek Grozny]]|clubnat=RUS}}
{{nat fs g player|no=8|pos=MF|name=[[Marian Aliuţă]]|age={{birth date and age|1978|2|3}}|caps=5|goals=0|club=[[FC Vaslui]]|clubnat=ROU}}
{{nat fs g player|no=9|pos=FW|name=[[Ciprian Marica]]|age={{birth date and age|1985|10|2}}|caps=27|goals=8|club=[[VfB Stuttgart]]|clubnat=GER}}
{{nat fs g player|no=10|pos=FW|name=[[Adrian Mutu]]|age={{birth date and age|1979|1|8}}|caps=65|goals=29|club=[[ACF Fiorentina]]|clubnat=ITA}}
{{nat fs g player|no=11|pos=MF|name=[[Răzvan Cociş]]|age={{birth date and age|1983|2|19}}|caps=28|goals=2|club=[[FC Lokomotiv Moscow]]|clubnat=RUS}}
{{nat fs g player|no=12|pos=GK|name=[[Costel Pantilimon]]|age={{birth date and age|1987|2|1}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[FC Timişoara]]|clubnat=ROU}}
{{nat fs g player|no=13|pos=DF|name=[[Cristian Săpunaru]]|age={{birth date and age|1984|4|5}}|caps=3|goals=0|club=[[FC Porto]]|clubnat=POR}}
{{nat fs g player|no=14|pos=MF|name=[[Dorel Stoica]]|age={{birth date and age|1978|4|5}}|caps=2|goals=0|club=[[FC Universitatea Craiova]]|clubnat=ROU}}
{{nat fs g player|no=15|pos=DF|name=[[Dorin Goian]]|age={{birth date and age|1980|12|12}}|caps=24|goals=4|club=[[FC Steaua Bucureşti]]|clubnat=ROU}}
{{nat fs g player|no=16|pos=FW|name=[[Florin Costea]]|age={{birth date and age|1985|5|16}}|caps=3|goals=0|club=[[FC Universitatea Craiova]]|clubnat=ROU}}
{{nat fs g player|no=17|pos=FW|name=[[Gheorghe Bucur]]|age={{birth date and age|1980|4|8}}|caps=9|goals=2|club=[[FC Timişoara]]|clubnat=ROU}}
{{nat fs g player|no=18|pos=DF|name=[[Valerică Găman]]|age={{birth date and age|1989|2|25}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[FC Universitatea Craiova]]|clubnat=ROU}}
{{nat fs g player|no=-|pos=DF|name=[[George Galamaz]]|age={{birth date and age|1981|4|5}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[FC Unirea Voluntari Urziceni|Unirea Urziceni]]|clubnat=ROU}}
{{nat fs g player|no=-|pos=DF|name=[[Mihai Neşu]]|age={{birth date and age|1983|2|19}}|caps=5|goals=0|club=[[FC Utrecht]]|clubnat=NED}}
{{nat fs g player|no=-|pos=MF|name=[[Iulian Tameş]]|age={{birth date and age|1978|12|6}}|caps=3|goals=0|club=[[FC Argeş Piteşti]]|clubnat=ROU}}
{{nat fs g player|no=-|pos=FW|name=[[Bogdan Stancu]]|age={{birth date and age|1987|6|28}}|caps=0|goals=0|club=[[FC Steaua Bucureşti]]|clubnat=ROU}}
{{nat fs end}}

===Coaching staff===
{|
|-
|'''Head Coach'''|| {{flagicon|Romania}} [[Victor Piţurcă]]
|- valign=top
|rowspan=3|'''Assistant Coaches'''|| {{flagicon|Romania}} [[Ştefan Iovan]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Romania}} [[Gabriel Boldici]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Romania}} [[Dan Apolzan]]
|-
|'''Fitness Coach'''|| {{flagicon|Romania}} [[Marian Lupu]]
|-
|'''Team Doctor'''|| {{flagicon|Romania}} [[Pompiliu Popescu]]
|- valign=top
|rowspan=3|'''Masseurs'''|| {{flagicon|Romania}} [[Roger Popovici]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Romania}} [[Victor Hexan]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Romania}} [[Ionel Buduga]]
|}

==Famous players==

{{Famous players}}
{{col-begin-small}}
{{col-4}}
*[[Ioan Andone]]
*[[Alexandru Apolzan]]
*[[Iuliu Baratky]]
*[[Silviu Bindea]]
*[[Iuliu Bodola]]
*[[Ilie Balaci]]
*[[Miodrag Belodedici]]
*[[László Bölöni]]
*[[Rodion Cămătaru]]
*[[Cristian Chivu]] (*)
*[[Liviu Ciobotariu]]
*[[Cosmin Contra]] (*)
*[[Ştefan Dobay]]
*[[Nicolae Dobrin]]
*[[Cornel Dinu]]
{{col-4}}
*[[Florea Dumitrache]]
*[[Ion Dumitru]]
*[[Ilie Dumitrescu]]
*[[Emerich Dembrovschi]]
*[[Ionel Ganea]]
*[[Gheorghe Hagi]]
*[[Adrian Ilie]]
*[[Sabin Ilie]]
*[[Anghel Iordănescu]]
*[[Michael Klein (Romanian footballer)|Michael Klein]]
*[[Viorel Moldovan]]
*[[Marius Lăcătuş]]
*[[Bogdan Lobonţ]] (*)
*[[Mirel Radoi]] (*)
*[[Mircea Lucescu]]
{{col-4}}
*[[Ioan Lupescu]]
*[[Silviu Lung]]
*[[Răzvan Raţ]] (*)
*[[Dorin Mateuţ]]
*[[Dorinel Munteanu]]
*[[Adrian Mutu]] (*)
*[[Marius Niculae]] (*)
*[[Titus Ozon]]
*[[Nicolae Dica]] (*)
*[[Dan Petrescu]]
*[[Gabriel Popescu]]
*[[Gheorghe Popescu]]
*[[Gabriel Tamaş]] (*)
*[[Iosif Petschovsky]]
*[[Daniel Prodan]]
{{col-4}}
*[[Florin Prunea]]
*[[Marcel Răducanu]]
*[[Necula Răducanu]]
*[[Florin Răducioiu]]
*[[Mircea Rednic]]
*[[Ioan Ovidiu Sabău]]
*[[Tibor Selymes]]
*[[Nicolae Simatoc]]
*[[Bogdan Stelea]]
*[[Costică Ştefănescu]]
*[[Ovidiu Stinga]]
*[[Tudorel Stoica]]
*[[Nicolae Ungureanu]]
*[[Ion Vladoiu]]
*[[Ovidiu Petre]](*)
{{col-end}}

* (*) - still active

===Most capped players===
As of [[February 12]], [[2007]], the ten players with the most caps for Romania are:

{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="3" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!#
!Name
!Career
!Caps
!Goals
|-
|1.
|align="left"|[[Dorinel Munteanu]]
|1991 - 2007
|134
|16
|-
|2.
|align="left"|[[Gheorghe Hagi]]
|1983 - 2000
|125
|35
|-
|3.
|align="left"|[[Gheorghe Popescu]]
|1988 - 2003
|115
|16
|-
|4.
|align="left"|[[Ladislau Bölöni]]
|1975 - 1988
|108
|23
|-
|5.
|align="left"|[[Dan Petrescu]]
|1989 - 2000
|95
|12
|-
|6.
|align="left"|[[Bogdan Stelea]] (*)
|1988 - 2005
|91
|0
|-
|7.
|align="left"|[[Michael Klein (Romanian footballer)|Michael Klein]]
|1981 - 1991
|90
|5
|-
|8.
|align="left"|[[Marius Lăcătuş]]
|1984 - 1998
|84
|13
|-
|9.
|align="left"|[[Mircea Rednic]]
|1981 - 1991
|83
|2
|-
|10.
|align="left"|[[Silviu Lung]]
|1979 - 1993
|77
|0
|}
* (*) - Active, but only for club.

===Top goalscorers===
As of [[June 17]], [[2008]], the ten players with the most goals for Romania are:

{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="3" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!#
!Player
!Career
!Goals (Caps)
|-
|1.
|style="text-align:left;"| [[Gheorghe Hagi]]
|1983 - 2000
|35 (125)
|-
|2.
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Iuliu Bodola]]
|1931 - 1939
|31 (48)
|-
|3.
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Adrian Mutu]] (*)
|2000 - present
|29 (64)
|-
|4.
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Anghel Iordănescu]]
|1971 - 1981
|26 (64)
|-
|5.
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Viorel Moldovan]]
|1993 - 2005
|25 (70)
|-
|6.
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Ladislau Bölöni]]
|1975 - 1988
|23 (108)
|-
|7.
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Rodion Cămătaru]]
|1978 - 1990
|22 (75)
|-
|8.
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Dudu Georgescu]]
|1973 - 1984
|21 (44)
|-
|9.
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Florin Răducioiu]]
|1990 - 2000
|21 (40)
|-
|10.
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Ştefan Dobay]]
|1930 - 1939
|20 (41)
|}

* (*) - still active

==Past managers==
{{col-begin-small}}
{{col-4}}
*[[Teofil Moraru]] 1922 - 1923
*[[Costel Rădulescu]] 1923
*[[Adrian Suciu]] 1923 - 1924
*[[Teofil Moraru]] 1924 - 1928
*[[Costel Rădulescu]] 1923 - 1934
*[[Josef Uridil]] 1934
*[[Alexandru Săvulescu]] 1934 - 1935
*[[Costel Rădulescu]] 1935 - 1938
*[[Alexandru Săvulescu]] 1938
*[[Liviu Iuga]] 1938 - 1939
*[[Virgil Economu]] 1939 - 1940
*[[Liviu Iuga]] 1940
*[[Virgil Economu]] 1941 - 1942
*[[Jean Lăpuşneanu]] 1942 - 1943
*[[Emerich Vogl]] 1942 - 1943
*[[Coloman Braun-Bogdan]] 1945
*[[Virgil Economu]] 1946
*[[Colea Vâlcov]] 1947
*[[Emerich Vogl]] 1947
*[[Francisc Ronnay]] 1947
{{col-4}}
*[[Emerich Vogl]] 1947
*[[Colea Vâlcov]] 1948
*[[Petre Steinbach]] 1948
*[[Iuliu Baratky]] 1948
*[[Emerich Vogl]] 1948
*[[Colea Vâlcov]] 1949
*[[Emerich Vogl]] 1949
*[[Ion Mihăilescu]] 1949
*[[Gheorghe Albu]] 1950
*[[Volodea Vâlcov]] 1950
*[[Emerich Vogl]] 1950 - 1951
*[[Gheorghe Popescu I]] 1951 - 1957
*[[Augustin Botescu]] 1958 - 1960
*[[Gheorghe Popescu I]] 1961
*[[Constantin Teaşcă]] 1962
*[[Gheorghe Popescu I]] 1962
*[[Silviu Ploeşteanu]] 1962 - 1964
*[[Valentin Stănescu]] 1964
*[[Silviu Ploeşteanu]] 1964
*[[Ilie Oană]] 1965 - 1966
{{col-4}}
*[[Valentin Stănescu]] 1967
*[[Ilie Oană]] 1967
*[[Angelo Niculescu]] 1967
*[[Constantin Teaşcă]] 1967
*[[Angelo Niculescu]] 1967 - 1970
*[[Valentin Stănescu]] 1971
*[[Angelo Niculescu]] 1971
*[[Valentin Stănescu]] 1971
*[[Angelo Niculescu]] 1971
*[[Valentin Stănescu]] 1971
*[[Angelo Niculescu]] 1971
*[[Gheorghe Ola]] 1972
*[[Angelo Niculescu]] 1972
*[[Gheorghe Ola]] 1972
*[[Angelo Niculescu]] 1972
*[[Gheorghe Ola]] 1972
*[[Valentin Stănescu]] 1973 - 1975
*[[Cornel Drăguşin]] 1975
*[[Stefan Kovacs]] 1976 - 1979
*[[Florin Halagian]] 1979
{{col-4}}
*[[Constantin Cernăianu]] 1979
*[[Stefan Kovacs]] 1980
*[[Valentin Stănescu]] 1980 - 1981
*[[Mircea Lucescu]] 1981 - 1986
*[[Emerich Jenei]] 1986 - 1990
*[[Gheorghe Constantin]] 1990
*[[Mircea Rădulescu]] 1990 - 1992
*[[Cornel Dinu]] 1992 - 1993
*[[Anghel Iordănescu]] 1993 - 1998
*[[Victor Piţurcă]] 1998 - 1999
*[[Emerich Jenei]] 2000
*[[Ladislau Bölöni]] 2000 - 2001
*[[Gheorghe Hagi]] 2001 - 2002
*[[Anghel Iordănescu]] 2002 - 2004
*[[Victor Piţurcă]] 2005 -
{{col-end}}
* The [[Austria]]n Josef Uridil is the only foreign manager who coached Romania


==Romania all time record against all nations, updated [[2008-08-21]]==
== Plot ==
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
! Against
! Played
! Won
! Drawn
! Lost
! % Won
|- bgcolor="#d0ffd0" align="center"
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|ALB}} || 15|| 12|| 1 || 2 || 80%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|ALG}} || 4 || 1 || 2 || 1 || 25%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|AND}} || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 100%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|ARG}} || 5 || 1 || 1 || 3 || 20%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|ARM}} || 3 || 2 || 1 || 0 || 67%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|AUT}} || 7 || 3 || 3 || 1 || 43%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|AZE}} || 4 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 100%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|BLR}} || 3 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 100%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|BEL}} || 10|| 4 || 2 || 4 || 40%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|BOL}} || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 100%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|BIH}} || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 100%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|BRA}} || 2 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|BUL}} || 37|| 21|| 6 || 10|| 57%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|CMR}} || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|CHI}} || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|CHN}} || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 100%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|COL}} || 3 || 2 || 1 || 0 || 66%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|CIV}} || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|CRO}} || 3 || 0 || 1 || 2 || 0%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|CUB}} || 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|CYP}} || 12|| 9 || 2 || 1 || 75%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|TCH}} || 33|| 8 || 9 || 16|| 24%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|CZE}} || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 50%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|DEN}} || 15|| 7 || 2 || 6 || 47%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|ECU}} || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 50%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|EGY}} || 6 || 3 || 2 || 1 || 50%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|ENG}} || 11|| 3 || 6 || 2 || 27%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|EST}} || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 50%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|FRO}} || 3 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 100% (Last match)
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|FIN}} || 8 || 6 || 2 || 0 || 75%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|FRA}} || 13|| 4 || 2 || 7 || 31%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|GEO}} || 5 || 3 || 2 || 0 || 60%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|GER}} || 9 || 1 || 2 || 6 || 11%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|GDR}} || 19|| 5 || 4 || 10|| 26%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|FRG}} || 4 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 25%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|GHA}} || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 100%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|GRE}} || 28|| 16|| 7 || 5 || 57%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|HUN}} || 25|| 5 || 7 || 13|| 20%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|LAT}} || 5 || 4 || 1 || 0 || 75%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|LIE}} || 4 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 100%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|LTU}} || 9 || 8 || 0 || 1 || 82%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|LUX}} || 4 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 100%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|ISL}} || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 100%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|IRN}} || 4 || 1 || 3 || 0 || 25%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|IRQ}} || 2 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 0%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|IRL}} || 4 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 25%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|ISR}} || 19|| 10|| 5 || 4 || 53%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|ITA}} || 15|| 2 || 3 || 10|| 13%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|JPN}} || 4 || 3 || 1 || 0 || 75%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|MKD}} || 4 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 100%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|MEX}} || 3 || 2 || 0 || 1 || 66%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|MDA}} || 4 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 100%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|MNE}} || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 100%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|MAR}} || 3 || 2 || 0 || 1 || 66%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|NGR}} || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 100%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|NED}} || 13|| 3 || 3 || 7 || 0%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|NIR}} || 4 || 1 || 0 || 3 || 25%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|NOR}} || 11|| 4 || 5 || 2 || 36%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|PAR}} || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 100%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|PER}} || 5 || 2 || 2 || 1 || 20%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|POL}} || 32|| 13|| 15|| 4 || 0%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|POR}} || 11|| 4 || 2 || 5 || 0%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|RUS}} || 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 50%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|SMR}} || 2 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 100%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|SCO}} || 6 || 2 || 2 || 2 || 33%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|SVK}} || 10|| 5 || 4 || 1 || 50%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|SLO}} || 7 || 3 || 3 || 1 || 43%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|KOR}} || 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 100%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|URS}} || 11|| 3 || 3 || 5 || 27%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|ESP}} || 15|| 5 || 5 || 5 || 33%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|SWE}} || 8 || 2 || 3 || 3 || 25%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|SUI}} || 11|| 4 || 3 || 4 || 36%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|TUN}} || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|TUR}} || 22|| 12|| 7 || 3 || 55%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|UKR}} || 3 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 100%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|UAE}} || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|USA}} || 4 || 2 || 1 || 1 || 50%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|URU}} || 4 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 25%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|WAL}} || 5 || 3 || 1 || 1 || 60%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|YUG}} || 42|| 19|| 5 || 18|| 45%
|-
| align="left" | {{fb|ZAI}} - {{fb|COD}} || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 100%
|-class="sortbottom"
! Total || 624 || 286 || 150 || 188 || 46%
|}


== See also ==
Shivamani ([[Akkineni Nagarjuna]]) is a honest cop in Vizag. He falls in love with Vasantha ([[Asin Thottumkal]]), a beautiful lady who aspires to become a singer. There is a mafia guy called Duttu ([[Prakash Raj]]), whom Shivamani troubles a lot. Incidentally Vasantha is distantly related to Dutt and both of them belong to [[Kerala]]. In the meantime, Shivamani's mother (Sangeeta) gets paralyzed. Shivamani and Vasantha take her to Kerala to get the treatment of Kerala's Ayurveda specialists. In the process, Dutt gets back to Kerala and he is on the mission to weaken Shivamani by getting Vasantha away from him. The rest of the story is all about how he gets back Vasantha with the help of a newspaper's editor Pallavi ([[Rakshitha]]).
* [[Sport in Romania]]


== Cast ==
== External links ==
{{commonscat|Romania national football team}}
* [[Akkineni Nagarjuna]] as ... Shivamani
*[http://www.romaniansoccer.ro/national_team/national_team.shtml RomanianSoccer.ro - Romanian National Team Archive]
* [[Asin Thottumkal]] as ... Vasantha
*[http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~nfm24/football/rom.html Romania national team /details 1922-/]
* [[Rakshitha]] as ... Pallavi
*[http://www.rsssf.com/tablesr/roem-intres.html RSSSF archive of results 1922-2006]
* [[Prakash Raj]] as ... Dattu
*[http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/roem-recintlp.html RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers]
*[http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/roem-coach-triv.html RSSSF archive of coaches 1922-1999]


{{fb start}}
== Crew ==
{{Football in Romania}}
* '''Director''': [[Puri Jagannadh]]
{{International Football}}
* '''Screenplay''': [[Puri Jagannadh]]
{{UEFA teams}}
* '''Story''': [[Puri Jagannadh]]
{{1998 FIFA World Cup Finalists}}
* '''Dialogue''': [[Kona Venkat]]
{{UEFA Euro 2008 finalists}}
* '''Producers''': [[Puri Jagannadh]]
{{fb end}}
* '''Music''': [[Chakri (music director)|Chakri]]
* '''Cinematography''': [[Shyam K. Naidu]]
* '''Art Director''': Chinna
* '''Stunts''': Vijay
==Box-office performance==
*The film had a 100-day run.[http://www.nonstopcinema.com/nsc/boxoffice/display.php?id=160]


[[Category:European national football teams]]
==External links==
[[Category:Football in Romania]]
*{{imdb title|id=0386029|title=Shivamani 9848022338}}
[[Category:National sports teams of Romania]]


[[ar:منتخب رومانيا لكرة القدم]]
[[Category:2003 films]]
[[be-x-old:Зборная Румыніі па футболе]]
[[Category:Telugu-language films]]
[[ca:Selecció de futbol de Romania]]
[[Category:Indian films]]
[[da:Rumæniens fodboldlandshold]]
[[de:Rumänische Fußballnationalmannschaft]]
[[et:Rumeenia jalgpallikoondis]]
[[es:Selección de fútbol de Rumania]]
[[eo:Rumana nacia teamo de futbalo]]
[[fr:Équipe de Roumanie de football]]
[[ko:루마니아 축구 국가대표팀]]
[[hr:Rumunjska nogometna reprezentacija]]
[[id:Tim nasional sepak bola Rumania]]
[[it:Nazionale di calcio della Romania]]
[[he:נבחרת רומניה בכדורגל]]
[[jv:Tim nasional sépak bola Rumania]]
[[ka:რუმინეთის ეროვნული საფეხბურთო ნაკრები]]
[[lv:Rumānijas futbola izlase]]
[[lt:Rumunijos vyrų futbolo rinktinė]]
[[hu:Román labdarúgó-válogatott]]
[[mt:Tim Nazzjonali tal-Futbol tar-Rumanija]]
[[mr:रोमेनिया फुटबॉल संघ]]
[[nl:Roemeens voetbalelftal]]
[[ja:サッカールーマニア代表]]
[[no:Romanias herrelandslag i fotball]]
[[pl:Reprezentacja Rumunii w piłce nożnej]]
[[pt:Seleção Romena de Futebol]]
[[ro:Echipa naţională de fotbal a României]]
[[ru:Сборная Румынии по футболу]]
[[sl:Romunska nogometna reprezentanca]]
[[sr:Фудбалска репрезентација Румуније]]
[[fi:Romanian jalkapallomaajoukkue]]
[[sv:Rumäniens herrlandslag i fotboll]]
[[vi:Đội tuyển bóng đá quốc gia Romania]]
[[tr:Romanya Millî Futbol Takımı]]
[[uk:Збірна Румунії з футболу]]
[[wuu:罗马尼亚国家足球队]]
[[zh:羅馬尼亞國家足球隊]]

Revision as of 17:22, 12 October 2008

Romania
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Tricolorii (The Tricolours)
AssociationRomanian Football Federation
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachRomania Victor Piţurcă
CaptainCristian Chivu
Most capsDorinel Munteanu (134)
Top scorerGheorghe Hagi (35)
Home stadiumFarul
FIFA codeROU
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current18
Highest3 (September 1997)
Lowest35 (August 2004)
First international
 Yugoslavia 1 - 2 Romania Romania
(Belgrade, Yugoslavia; 8 June, 1922)
Biggest win
Romania Romania 9 - 0 Finland 
(Bucharest, Romania; 14 October, 1973)
Biggest defeat
 Hungary 9 - 0 Romania Romania
(Budapest, Hungary; 6 June, 1948)
World Cup
Appearances7 (first in 1930)
Best resultQuarterfinals, 1994
European Championship
Appearances4 (first in 1984)
Best resultQuarterfinals, 2000

The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.

Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.

However, after that performance, they only qualified for 1970, 1990, 1994 and 1998 editions. Their finest hour came at the 1994 World Cup where Romania, led by Gheorghe Hagi, reached the quarterfinals, defeating Argentina in their way before losing to Sweden on penalty shootouts.

At the Euros, Romania's best performance was in 2000 when they advanced to quarterfinals from a group with Germany, Portugal and England before falling to eventual runners-up Italy.

Romania also played at Euro 1984, Euro 1996, Euro 2000 and Euro 2008.

History

Beginnings

Romania played their first international match on 8 June 1922, a 2-1 win over Yugoslavia in Belgrade, coached by Teofil Moraru.

Several temporary coaches were employed, before Moraru resumed control in August 1924, managing the side for nearly four years. Romania enjoyed some success during the 1930s; manager Costel Rădulescu took them to the first three FIFA World Cup tournaments, a feat matched only by Brazil and Belgium and France.

World Cups in the 1930s

At the 1930 World Cup, Romania won their first match against Peru, 3-1, with goals from Adalbert Desu, Constantin Stanciu and Nicolae Kovács, before being thrashed 4-0 by hosts and eventual winners Uruguay.

Romania qualified for the next World Cup in 1934 after beating Yugoslavia 2-1 in a repeat of their first international. At the finals, Romania played only one game in a new knock-out format, losing 2-1 to Czechoslovakia in Trieste, Italy, with Ştefan Dobay scoring their only goal of the tournament.

Romania qualified by default for the 1938 World Cup after their qualifying playoff opponents Egypt withdrew. They suffered a shock defeat in the finals in France, losing to minnows Cuba, who, like Romania, had only qualified due to the withdrawal of their qualifying opponents, Mexico. The first match at the Stade Chapou in Toulouse ended 3-3 after extra time, but Cuba won the replay four days later 2-1.

Years in the international wilderness

Between 1938 and 1970 Romania failed to qualify for any major international tournaments.

Increasing improvement

1970 World Cup

Participation in the World Cup was finally achieved once again in 1970 in Mexico, although qualification came on the back of a 3-0 thrashing by Portugal in Lisbon and two unconvincing draws against unfancied Greece. Angelo Niculescu's promising were given the toughest of draws, in Group 3 with holders England, giants Brazil and Czechoslovakia.

A Geoff Hurst goal gave England a narrow victory in Romania's first match at the Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara. Chances were improved with a 2-1 win over the Czechs. Despite going behind early to a Ladislav Petráš goal, Romania turned it around after half-time with Alexandru Neagu and Florea Dumitrache scoring to give them two vital points. Even then, only a win over the excellent Brazilians would take them into the Quarter Finals.

There were rumours before the match that Brazil might prefer Romania to progress than World Champions England; Despite beating them 1-0 in their previous match in Guadalajara, the South American giants still viewed England as one of their biggest obstacles to tournament victory. But Brazil played some of the best football of the competition, with Pelé scoring twice and a Jairzinho goal in between. Romania battled bravely; Dumitrache pulled the score back to 2-1 before the break and a late Emerich Dembrowski goal made it 3-2, but they were out.

1970s

On 26 September 1973, under new coach Valentin Stanescu, Romania suffered a significant defeat to East Germany in Leipzig. The East Germans won 2-0 to effectively seal their first ever qualification for the World Cup, which would be held over the border in West Germany. With East Germany scoring a predictable 4-1 win in Albania, Romania were out, despite a huge 9-0 win over Finland in Bucharest.

Romania continued to suffer poor form in the UEFA European Championship. In their qualifying group for the 1976 European Football Championship, they were out-qualified by Spain, despite an impressive 1-1 draw in the away match. Romania failed to win matches, drawing twice with Scotland and Spain and dropping points in Denmark with a dismal goalless draw.

Romania were again beat by Spain for a place in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. Despite a 1-0 win in Bucharest, Romania lost a bizarre match at home to Yugoslavia 6-4 having led 3-2 at half time. Spain won 1-0 in Belgrade to seal passage to South America.

1980s

Romania's sole successful qualifying campaign was for the European Championships in 1984 in France. At the finals, Romania were drawn with regular rivals Spain, holders West Germany and dark horses Portugal. Under head coach Mircea Lucescu, an encouraging opening game in Saint-Étienne saw them draw with the Spanish. Francisco José Carrasco opened the scoring from the penalty spot but Romania equalized before half time with a goal from Laszlo Bölöni.

Against the Germans in Lens, Marcel Coras scored an equalizer in the first minute of the second half in response to Rudi Völler's opener, but Völler would score a winning goal. Their last match in Nantes was a must-win match, but Nené's late winner meant Portugal progressed with Spain, who netted a dramatic late winner against West Germany at the Parc des Princes in Paris.

Romania stuttered throughout the rest of the decade, but a stronger squad at the end of the decade saw them qualify for their fifth World Cup at Italia 90. A win over Denmark in their last match took Emerich Jenei's side to the finals for the first time in twenty years.

Gheorghe Hagi's era: the Golden Generation

Italia 90

Romania's squad was entirely domestic based, despite an increasing trend for the major sides in Italy and Spain buying up the best foreign talent. Midfielder Ilie Dumitrescu, striker Florin Răducioiu and genius playmaker Gheorghe Hagi, then of Steaua Bucharest, were in the squad, but it was forward Gavril Balint who would prove the hero in the first round.

With World Champions Argentina stunned by Cameroon in the tournament's opening match, Romania did their chances no harm with a convincing win over the USSR at the San Nicola in Bari, with Marius Lăcătuş scoring in either half. The result was all the more impressive given the absence of Hagi. There was controversy, however, as Lăcătus's second was a penalty given for a handball by Vagiz Khidiatulin that television replays clearly showed to be some way outside the penalty area.

Romania were the next victims of Cameroon in Bari. Cult hero Roger Milla, 38 years of age, came on as a substitute for Emmanuel Maboang Kessack and scored twice, before Balint pulled one back. Romania needed a point in their last match against improving Argentina at the San Paolo in Naples. Pedro Monzón gave Argentina the lead after an hour, but Balint quickly equalized and Romania held on to reach Round 2.

Against Jack Charlton's Ireland side in Genoa, Romania didn't have the quality to break down a defensive opposition. Daniel Timofte was the only player to miss in the penalty shoot-out - his kick saved by Packie Bonner - and Romania were out. In the process, Ireland became the smallest country ever to progress that far in a FIFA World Cup.

Euro 92 and USA 94

Romania missed out on Euro 92. Scotland qualified after Romania drew a must-win last match in Sofia against Bulgaria, with Nasko Sirakov's equalizer sealing their fate.

They were successful, though, in reaching another World Cup in the United States in 1994. Despite losing in Belgium and suffering a heavy 5-2 defeat in Czechoslovakia, Romania went into their last match at Cardiff Arms Park with Wales needing a win to pip them to a place in the finals. Goals from Gheorghe Hagi and Dean Saunders meant the game was finely balanced, before Wales were awarded a penalty. Paul Bodin of Swindon Town stepped up but hit the woodwork and Romania went on to win 2-1, Răducioiu's late goal proving unnecessary as Czechoslovakia dropped a point in Belgium and were knocked out.

At the finals, Romania were one of the most entertaining teams in the early stages with Hagi, Răducioiu and Dumitrescu on form. Romania beat Colombia - dark horses and Pelé's tip for the tournament - at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in Los Angeles 3-1. Răducioiu opened the scoring before Hagi scored a spectacular second from wide on the left touchline. Adolfo Valencia shredded their nerves with a headed goal just before half-time, but Romania held on and Răducioiu sealed the win with a late third.

In Detroit's Pontiac Silverdome, the temperature soared due to the greenhouse effect in the indoor arena. Switzerland, acclimatized after having already played the hosts there, outran Romania in the second half and turned a 1-1 half time score into a surprising 4-1 win. Romania responded by beating the hosts 1-0 in Pasadena with an early Dan Petrescu goal.

In Round 2 they faced Argentina, who were shorn of Diego Maradona who was thrown out of the tournament for taking drugs. Răducioiu, suspended, was hardly missed, as coach Anghel Iordănescu pushed Dumitrescu forward to play as a striker and the player responded by scoring twice in the first twenty minutes, one a superbly subtle left foot flick from a right-wing Hagi cross slotted between the Argentine defenders. In between, Gabriel Batistuta scored a penalty, but after half-time Romania netted a superb third on the counter attack, with Hagi beating goalkeeper Luis Islas. Abel Balbo pulled one back, but Romania held on for a shock win.

Romania would suffer penalty heartbreak again, in the Quarter Final against Sweden. With just thirteen minutes to go, a tight match opened up as Sweden's Thomas Brolin scored from a clever free-kick move, the ball passed outside the Romanian wall by Håkan Mild for Brolin to smash in. Iordănescu threw caution to the wind and the returning Răducioiu found a late equalizer, again from a free-kick move but this time down to a deflection and a failure of the Swedes to clear. In extra time Răducioiu scored again after a mistake by Patrik Andersson, but Sweden then scored their own late equalizer as giant striker Kennet Andersson climbed above goalkeeper Florin Prunea to head home a long ball. Prunea had come in after two matches to replace Bogdan Stelea, whose confidence was shattered by the 4-1 loss to the Swiss. In the shoot-out, Dan Petrescu and Miodrag Belodedici had their kicks saved by Thomas Ravelli and Sweden went through.

Euro 96

In England, Romania arrived as a highly thought-of and popular team but had a nightmare. Iordănescu's side were based in the north east, with their first two games at St James' Park in Newcastle. Against France, they lost to a Christophe Dugarry header reminiscent of Kennet Andersson's two years earlier, beating the goalkeeper to a lofted through ball. A brilliant early solo goal by Hristo Stoichkov saw Bulgaria knock out their neighbours, although Romania claimed they should have had a goal awarded when the ball struck the bar and bounced behind the goal-line. They finally scored in their last game, Florin Răducioiu equalizing an early goal by Spain's Javier Manjarín. Spain had to win to qualify with France at the expence of Bulgaria and did so when Guillermo Amor stooped to head a late winner. Romania exited with no points and little to cheer.

France 98

Despite a dreadful Euro 96, Romania impressed in qualifying, finishing ten points clear of Ireland and were seeded for the final tournament of the 1998 World Cup thanks to their strong USA 94 showing. Despite being drawn in a group with England, getting through it was perceived to be easy work with a waning Colombia and minnows Tunisia.

Adrian Ilie scored the only goal with a fine chip in their first match against Colombia at Lyon's Stade Gerland. In Toulouse, they met an England side starting with prodigal striker Michael Owen on the bench, with Teddy Sheringham preferred alongside Alan Shearer. A mistake by Tony Adams was punished by Viorel Moldovan, who played for Coventry City, before Owen came on to claim an equalizer. But Romania won with a wonderful late goal from Dan Petrescu, also playing in England with Chelsea, fighting off his club mate Graeme le Saux and nutmegging goalkeeper David Seaman.

The next match was against Tunisia. Romania decided to bleach their hair before the match. Despite England v Colombia being the more decisive game, the Stade de France in Paris was an 80,000 sell out and the crowd were nearly rewarded with a shock as Skander Souayah scored an early penalty to give the north Africans the lead. Romania needed a point to win the group and, crucially, avoid Argentina in Round 2, and got it when Moldovan volleyed a late equalizer. It did them little good, however, as in the Round of 16 match at Bordeaux against the Croatian team, Davor Šuker scored a twice-taken penalty in a poor match and Romania were out.

Euro 2000

Romania were not expected to progress through a group containing Portugal, England and Germany. Hagi's powers were waning, Dumitrescu and Rǎducioiu were no longer on the scene and hopes were pinned on young Internazionale forward Adrian Mutu. Romania started brightly against the Germans in Liège, with Moldovan scoring from close range. A long-range Mehmet Scholl equalizer meant they had to be content with a point and their position looked shaky after Costinha headed a last minute winner for Portugal in their second match.

Emerich Jenei, back as coach, threw caution to the wind in the last match in Charleroi against England, a match which Romania had to win. Defender Cristian Chivu's cross went in off the post in the 22nd minute but, despite Romania dominating, England led at half-time through an Alan Shearer penalty and a late Michael Owen goal after he rounded Bogdan Stelea to score a tap-in, both in the last five minutes of the half. Romania attacked after the break and were quickly rewarded; Dorinel Munteanu punishing a poor punch from Nigel Martyn, a late replacement for the injured Seaman to equalize three minutes after the re-start. England cracked under the pressure. Unable to retain possession or pose an attacking threat, they fell deep and late on Phil Neville, playing out of position at left-back, conceded a penalty scored by Ioan Ganea in the 89th minute.

Romania's relief was tempered by tough opposition in the last eight, and Italy, who would end up seconds from being crowned European champions in an agonizing final, comfortably saw them off 2-0 in Brussels. Francesco Totti and Filippo Inzaghi scoring towards the end of the first half. In the 35th minute Hagi, in his final international tournament, hit the woodwork with goalkeeper Francesco Toldo stranded off his line and, after the break, was magnanimously sent off for diving. Romania's tournament was over and Jenei left his job as coach again.

Recent years

2000s - Near Misses

Romania failed to qualify for the next three major tournaments. They drew Slovenia, who had been surprise qualifiers for Euro 2000 in a playoff for a place in the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. A narrow 2-1 deficit - having led through a Marius Niculae goal - after the first leg in Ljubljana was not irretrievable. With fans' hero Gheorghe Hagi now coaching the side they were confident of getting the win they needed in Bucharest against the Balkan upstarts, but Slovenia took the lead before the hour through Mladen Rudonja. Right wing-back Cosmin Contra quickly equalized but Romania could not find the goal they needed to force extra time and Slovenia, with maverick manager Srečko Katanec, were in a major tournament again.

Romania were confident of qualifying for Euro 2004 in Portugal, drawn in Group 2 with seeds Denmark, Norway, Bosnia-Herzegovina and minnows Luxembourg,with Anghel Iordanescu back as their coach. Despite a good start - a 3-0 win away to Bosnia in Sarajevo, Romania stuttered. Steffen Iversen's late goal gave Norway a surprise win in Bucharest and they were stunned at home by the Danes, 5-2, with Thomas Gravesen scoring a spectacular goal from around fifty yards out, despite leading twice. They recovered slightly, completing a double over the Bosnians and getting a point in Oslo, but conceded a cutting injury time equalizer in Denmark to draw 2-2. It was decisive, as they now required Norway to fail to win at home to Luxembourg to stand any realistic chance of qualifying. Eventually, the Danes got a point in Bosnia to scrape through a tight group, with Norway going to a play-off with Spain.

Romania were put in a massive group for the qualifying tournament for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Holland and Czech Republic were favourite to qualify, then ranked first and second in Europe. Early wins over Finland and Macedonia were unconvincing, and they were some way behind the two leaders by the time they earned a good 2-0 home win over the Czechs. They finished third behind the Dutch and the Czechs and missed out on another major tournament.

Romania were drawn in a group with group favourites Holland and tough opponents Bulgaria for the Euro 2008 Qualifying. However on 17 October 2007, Romania became the fourth team to qualify for Euro 2008. This the team's first big championships since Euro 2000, 8 years before. Victor Piturca also qualified Romania for EURO 2000, only to sit back and let Emerich Jenei coach the team in the final tournament. This time,however,he stayed. It was the first time he coached a national team in the final stages of a tournament.

They were drawn in the so-called "Group of Death", with their old "friends" Holland (they played each other both in the EURO 2008 qualifying group and in the 2006 World Cup qualifying group), Italy, the current world champions and France, runners-up in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. They started with a sluggish 0-0 draw against France, favorite Italy was soundlly beaten by Holland,3-0. In their next game against Italy, Adrian Mutu, playing for an Italian team, Fiorentina, opened the scoring early in the second half. Their lead was a very short one, as Christian Panucci scored a minute later, with the aid of a corner kick. Nearing the end of the match, Daniel Niculae obtained a penalty for his team, Buffon saved the shot from Mutu, leaving Romania with two points and needing a win against towering Holland, who eradicated France 4-1 on the same evening. Holland beat Romania 2-0 in the final game of the group, which meant that Italy joined Holland in the quarter finals and Romania finished 3rd, ahead of France.

World Cup record

Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
Uruguay 1930 Round 1 8 2 1 0 1 3 5
Italy 1934 Round 1 12 1 0 0 1 1 2
France 1938 Round 1 9 2 0 1 1 4 5
Brazil 1950 Did Not Enter - - - - - - -
Switzerland 1954 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - -
Sweden 1958 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - -
Chile 1962 Withdrew - - - - - - -
England 1966 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - -
Mexico 1970 Round 1 11 3 1 0 2 4 5
West Germany 1974 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - -
Argentina 1978 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - -
Spain 1982 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - -
Mexico 1986 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - -
Italy 1990 Round 2 12 4 1 2 1 4 3
United States 1994 Quarterfinals 6 5 3 1 1 10 9
France 1998 Round 2 11 4 2 1 1 4 3
South KoreaJapan 2002 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - -
Germany 2006 Did Not Qualify - - - - - - -
Total 7/18 21 8 5 8 30 32

European Championship

Year Round GP W D* L GS GA
France 1960 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
Spain 1964 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
Italy 1968 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
Belgium 1972 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1976 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
Italy 1980 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
France 1984 Round 1 3 0 1 2 2 4
West Germany 1988 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
Sweden 1992 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
England 1996 Round 1 3 0 0 3 1 4
BelgiumNetherlands 2000 Quarterfinals 4 1 1 2 4 6
Portugal 2004 Did not Qualify - - - - - -
AustriaSwitzerland 2008 Round 1 3 0 2 1 1 3
PolandUkraine 2012 Not Yet Qualified - - - -
Total 4/13 13 1 4 8 8 17
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
**Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Stadium

Lia Manoliu, Romania's national football stadium

The Lia Manoliu Stadium (Stadionul Lia Manoliu in Romanian) was a multi-use stadium in Bucharest, Romania. It was used mostly by the Romania national football team.

The stadium held 60,120. It was built in 1953, for the 4th World Festival of Youth and Students. It was first known as Stadionul 23 August, and later on as Stadionul Naţional (National stadium). It is now named after Lia Manoliu, a discus thrower who competed at a record six Summer Olympics, winning three medals.

In October 2005, it was decided to rebuild the stadium completely; however, initially no funding was found, so some repairs proceeded in lieu of rebuilding. Later, funds became available and the rebuilding is expected to begin in November 2007. The plan calls for completion of a new five-star arena by April 2010, with further plans to host the 2011 UEFA Cup final. The last football match played was a 6-1 win against Albania on November 21, 2007. After the match, a few seats were removed from the stadium, as a symbolic start of the rebuilding operations. The old stadium will be demolished to make room for a new one.

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 7

Current squad

The following players were named for the match against France (October 11 2008).

Caps and goals correct as of 11 October2008.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Bogdan Lobonţ (1978-01-18) January 18, 1978 (age 46) 70 0 Romania F.C. Dinamo Bucureşti
2 2DF George Ogăraru (1980-02-03) February 3, 1980 (age 44) 9 0 Romania FC Steaua Bucureşti
3 2DF Răzvan Raţ (1981-05-26) May 26, 1981 (age 43) 52 1 Ukraine FC Shakhtar Donetsk
4 2DF Gabriel Tamaş (1983-11-09) November 9, 1983 (age 40) 37 2 Romania F.C. Dinamo Bucureşti
5 2DF Cristian Chivu (captain) (1980-10-26) October 26, 1980 (age 43) 63 3 Italy F.C. Internazionale Milano
6 3MF Gabriel Mureşan (1982-02-13) February 13, 1982 (age 42) 2 0 Romania CFR Cluj
7 3MF Florentin Petre (1976-01-15) January 15, 1976 (age 48) 52 6 Russia FC Terek Grozny
8 3MF Marian Aliuţă (1978-02-03) February 3, 1978 (age 46) 5 0 Romania FC Vaslui
9 4FW Ciprian Marica (1985-10-02) October 2, 1985 (age 38) 27 8 Germany VfB Stuttgart
10 4FW Adrian Mutu (1979-01-08) January 8, 1979 (age 45) 65 29 Italy ACF Fiorentina
11 3MF Răzvan Cociş (1983-02-19) February 19, 1983 (age 41) 28 2 Russia FC Lokomotiv Moscow
12 1GK Costel Pantilimon (1987-02-01) February 1, 1987 (age 37) 0 0 Romania FC Timişoara
13 2DF Cristian Săpunaru (1984-04-05) April 5, 1984 (age 40) 3 0 Portugal FC Porto
14 3MF Dorel Stoica (1978-04-05) April 5, 1978 (age 46) 2 0 Romania FC Universitatea Craiova
15 2DF Dorin Goian (1980-12-12) December 12, 1980 (age 43) 24 4 Romania FC Steaua Bucureşti
16 4FW Florin Costea (1985-05-16) May 16, 1985 (age 39) 3 0 Romania FC Universitatea Craiova
17 4FW Gheorghe Bucur (1980-04-08) April 8, 1980 (age 44) 9 2 Romania FC Timişoara
18 2DF Valerică Găman (1989-02-25) February 25, 1989 (age 35) 0 0 Romania FC Universitatea Craiova
- 2DF George Galamaz (1981-04-05) April 5, 1981 (age 43) 0 0 Romania Unirea Urziceni
- 2DF Mihai Neşu (1983-02-19) February 19, 1983 (age 41) 5 0 Netherlands FC Utrecht
- 3MF Iulian Tameş (1978-12-06) December 6, 1978 (age 45) 3 0 Romania FC Argeş Piteşti
- 4FW Bogdan Stancu (1987-06-28) June 28, 1987 (age 36) 0 0 Romania FC Steaua Bucureşti

Coaching staff

Head Coach Romania Victor Piţurcă
Assistant Coaches Romania Ştefan Iovan
Romania Gabriel Boldici
Romania Dan Apolzan
Fitness Coach Romania Marian Lupu
Team Doctor Romania Pompiliu Popescu
Masseurs Romania Roger Popovici
Romania Victor Hexan
Romania Ionel Buduga

Famous players

Template:Famous players

  • (*) - still active

Most capped players

As of February 12, 2007, the ten players with the most caps for Romania are:

# Name Career Caps Goals
1. Dorinel Munteanu 1991 - 2007 134 16
2. Gheorghe Hagi 1983 - 2000 125 35
3. Gheorghe Popescu 1988 - 2003 115 16
4. Ladislau Bölöni 1975 - 1988 108 23
5. Dan Petrescu 1989 - 2000 95 12
6. Bogdan Stelea (*) 1988 - 2005 91 0
7. Michael Klein 1981 - 1991 90 5
8. Marius Lăcătuş 1984 - 1998 84 13
9. Mircea Rednic 1981 - 1991 83 2
10. Silviu Lung 1979 - 1993 77 0
  • (*) - Active, but only for club.

Top goalscorers

As of June 17, 2008, the ten players with the most goals for Romania are:

# Player Career Goals (Caps)
1. Gheorghe Hagi 1983 - 2000 35 (125)
2. Iuliu Bodola 1931 - 1939 31 (48)
3. Adrian Mutu (*) 2000 - present 29 (64)
4. Anghel Iordănescu 1971 - 1981 26 (64)
5. Viorel Moldovan 1993 - 2005 25 (70)
6. Ladislau Bölöni 1975 - 1988 23 (108)
7. Rodion Cămătaru 1978 - 1990 22 (75)
8. Dudu Georgescu 1973 - 1984 21 (44)
9. Florin Răducioiu 1990 - 2000 21 (40)
10. Ştefan Dobay 1930 - 1939 20 (41)
  • (*) - still active

Past managers

  • The Austrian Josef Uridil is the only foreign manager who coached Romania

Romania all time record against all nations, updated 2008-08-21

Against Played Won Drawn Lost % Won
 Albania 15 12 1 2 80%
 Algeria 4 1 2 1 25%
 Andorra 2 2 0 0 100%
 Argentina 5 1 1 3 20%
 Armenia 3 2 1 0 67%
 Austria 7 3 3 1 43%
 Azerbaijan 4 4 0 0 100%
 Belarus 3 3 0 0 100%
 Belgium 10 4 2 4 40%
 Bolivia 1 1 0 0 100%
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 2 0 0 100%
 Brazil 2 0 0 2 0%
 Bulgaria 37 21 6 10 57%
 Cameroon 1 0 0 1 0%
 Chile 1 0 0 1 0%
 China 2 2 0 0 100%
 Colombia 3 2 1 0 66%
 Ivory Coast 1 0 0 1 0%
 Croatia 3 0 1 2 0%
 Cuba 2 0 1 1 0%
 Cyprus 12 9 2 1 75%
 Czechoslovakia 33 8 9 16 24%
 Czech Republic 2 1 0 1 50%
 Denmark 15 7 2 6 47%
 Ecuador 2 1 0 1 50%
 Egypt 6 3 2 1 50%
 England 11 3 6 2 27%
 Estonia 2 1 0 1 50%
 Faroe Islands 3 3 0 0 100% (Last match)
 Finland 8 6 2 0 75%
 France 13 4 2 7 31%
 Georgia 5 3 2 0 60%
 Germany 9 1 2 6 11%
 East Germany 19 5 4 10 26%
 West Germany 4 1 1 2 25%
 Ghana 1 1 0 0 100%
 Greece 28 16 7 5 57%
 Hungary 25 5 7 13 20%
 Latvia 5 4 1 0 75%
 Liechtenstein 4 4 0 0 100%
 Lithuania 9 8 0 1 82%
 Luxembourg 4 4 0 0 100%
 Iceland 2 2 0 0 100%
 Iran 4 1 3 0 25%
 Iraq 2 0 2 0 0%
 Republic of Ireland 4 1 1 2 25%
 Israel 19 10 5 4 53%
 Italy 15 2 3 10 13%
 Japan 4 3 1 0 75%
 North Macedonia 4 4 0 0 100%
 Mexico 3 2 0 1 66%
 Moldova 4 4 0 0 100%
 Montenegro 1 1 0 0 100%
 Morocco 3 2 0 1 66%
 Nigeria 2 2 0 0 100%
 Netherlands 13 3 3 7 0%
 Northern Ireland 4 1 0 3 25%
 Norway 11 4 5 2 36%
 Paraguay 1 1 0 0 100%
 Peru 5 2 2 1 20%
 Poland 32 13 15 4 0%
 Portugal 11 4 2 5 0%
 Russia 2 1 0 1 50%
 San Marino 2 2 0 0 100%
 Scotland 6 2 2 2 33%
 Slovakia 10 5 4 1 50%
 Slovenia 7 3 3 1 43%
 South Korea 1 1 0 0 100%
 Soviet Union 11 3 3 5 27%
 Spain 15 5 5 5 33%
 Sweden 8 2 3 3 25%
  Switzerland 11 4 3 4 36%
 Tunisia 1 0 1 0 0%
 Turkey 22 12 7 3 55%
 Ukraine 3 3 0 0 100%
 United Arab Emirates 1 0 0 1 0%
 United States 4 2 1 1 50%
 Uruguay 4 1 1 2 25%
 Wales 5 3 1 1 60%
 Yugoslavia 42 19 5 18 45%
 Zaire -  DR Congo 1 0 1 0 100%
Total 624 286 150 188 46%

See also

External links

Template:Fb start

Template:Fb end