Raducanu’s Restriction

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Thirty years ago, Romania international midfielder MARCEL RADUCANU, who had been chosen the domestic Footballer of the Year in 1980, was forced as a result of existing policy to sit out the entire 1981/82 football campaign by F.I.F.A., the Swiss-based ruling body of the sport in the world, after fleeing from the notorious Nicolae Ceausescu’s workers paradise while out of the country on a pre-season tour of West Germany with army club Steaua Bucharest in the summer of 1981.
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The whole story of the attacking midfielder’s defection, as well as the video highlight of his memorable goal for Romania against England in the World Cup qualifier at the Stadionul National in Bucharest, is documented in more detail at this blog with the prveious article :

“RADUCANU’s ROMANIAN REVOLUTION”

Ironically enough, Romania international midfielder MARCEL RADUCANU finished his playing career in 1990 with Swiss first division side FC Zurich in the very same city that has long served as the headquarters for FIFA.

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Talented midfielder MARCEL RADUCANU, who earned 21 caps and scored three goals for the national team of Romania in his career, spent nine years with Steaua Bucharest (above) after making his first division debut at the age of 18 during the 1972/73 season and scored a career-high 23 goals in 33 league contests for the army club over the course of the 1979/80 campaign.
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Raducanu’s Bundesliga Record
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82/83 — 26 ga 9 go — Borussia Dortmund
83/84 — 26 ga 8 go — Borussia Dortmund
84/85 — 25 ga 7 go — Borussia Dortmund
85/86 — 29 ga 4 go — Borussia Dortmund
86/87 — 32 ga 3 go — Borussia Dortmund
87/88 — 25 ga 0 go — Borussia Dortmund

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The traditional team photograph for Bundesliga club BORUSSIA DORTMUND taken just just prior to the start of the 1982/83 football season features Schwarzgelben first choice EIKE IMMEL (front row, third from left), the third string goalkeeper on the West Germany squad which reached the Final at the 1982 FIFA World Cup tournament in Spain before falling to Italy, in addition to a pair of noteworthy political refugees who had managed to escape from behind the Iron Curtain.

Midfielder MIROSLAV “Mirko” VOTAVA (back row, far left) had been born in the capital of Czechoslovakia and began his career in the youth team of the contemporary domestic powerhouse, army club VTJ Dukla Prague, before defecting with his parents at the age of 12 during the turbulent period known as the Prague Spring in 1968; shortly after the above team photo was shot, Votava, who earned five caps for West Germany in his career, was sold by Borussia Dortmund to Spanish La Liga side Atletico Madrid for what was then a club record 1.3 million of Deutsche Mark.

Still a few months shy of his 28th birthday, midfielder MARCEL RADUCANU (middle row, fourth from left) is now finally free to play football again after serving a one-year suspension from FIFA although, in the end, Borussia Dortmund did have to pay 2.Bundesliga side Hannover 96 half a million Deutsche Mark after the eager Romania international originally signed two contracts to play professionally in the West.

Romanian Wave After 1990 World Cup

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Romania international winger MARIUS LACATUS of army club Steaua Bucharest, who ultimately shot the winning penalty in the shootout after extra time, leaps over FC Barcelona’s sliding Spain World Cup reserve goalkeeper URRUTI (1) during the goalless 1986 European Cup Final at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in Seville, Spain. (www.steauafc.com)
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Unlike counterparts in some other Warsaw Pact nations, such as Poland, the authorities in Romania had always followed a very conservative policy with regards to releasing footballers to play professionally in Western Europe. Few were ever allowed to go abroad and those were had to wait until very late in their careers. For example, 1986 European Cup champion midfielder LASZLO BOLONI of Steaua Bucharest, who earned 108 caps and scored 25 goals for Romania, was already 34 when finally permitted to join Racing Jet Wavre of Belgium in the summer of 1987.

Of the 22 players on manager EMERICH JENEI’s squad at Italia ’90, only veteran 32-year-old striker RODION CAMATARU of Beligian outfit RSC Charleroi was playing his club football outside of Romania.

The overthrow of the Ceausescu regime changed everything — the floodgates opened at the conclusion of the 1990 FIFA World Cup staged in Italy, particular in light of Romania’s impressive performance throughout the tournament.

In the summer of 1990, no fewer than 14 of Romania’s World Cup team transferred to professional organizations in “Western” Europe with another pair following the next year.

1990-91
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gk – Silvio LUNG —— Steau Bucharest — CD Logrones (Spain)
df – Mircea REDNIC — Dinamo Bucharest — KD Bursaspor (Turkey)
df – Michael KLEIN — Dinamo Bucharest — Bayer 05 Uerdingen (Germany)
df – Ioan ANDONE — Dinamo Bucharest — CF Elche (Spain.2)
df – Gheorghe POPESCU — Universitatae Craiova — PSV Eindhoven (Holland)
mf – Iosif ROTARIU — Steaua Bucharest — SK Galatasaray Istanbul (Turkey)
mf – Ioan SABAU — Dinamo Bucharest — Feyenoord Rotterdam (Holland)
mf – Gheorghe HAGI — Steaua Bucharest — Real Madrid (Spain)
mf – Danut LUPU — Dinamo Bucharest — FC Panathinaikos Athens (Greece)
mf – Dorin MATEUT — Dinamo Bucharest — Real Zaragoza (Spain)
mf – Ioan LUPESCU — Dinamo Bucharest — Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
st – Marius LACATUS — Steaua Bucharest — AS Fiorentina (Italy)
st – Florin RADUCIOIU — Dinamo Bucharest — AS Bari (Italy)
st – Gavril BALINT — Steaua Bucharest — Real Burgos (Spain)

1991-92
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gk – Bogdan STELEA — Dinamo Bucharest — Real Mallorca (Spain)
mf – Daniel TIMOFTE — Dinamo Bucharest — Bayer 05 Uerdingen (Germany.2)

1986 European Cup Final : FC Barcelona v Steaua Bucharest – Complete Game Film

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Romania international striker GAVRIL BALINT, who was transferred to CF Real Burgos in Espana for a fee of $ 1,000,000 dollars after scoring against Argentina and Cameroon at the 1990 FIFA World Cup final tournament in Italy, is on the ball for army club Steaua Bucharest against FC Barcelona in the 1986 European Cup Final at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in Seville, Spain. (Bob Thomas/Getty Images)
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Continuing with the celebration of the Fall of the Berlin Wall and a resulting quick review of the Romanian Revolution, the blog presents a Christmas present for all — the complete game file of the 1986 European Cup Final matching Romanian army club STEAUA BUCHAREST and Spanish La Liga side FC BARCELONA.

Among the stars on display are influential all-arounder BERND SCHUSTER, the European champion in 1980 with West Germany equally adept at winning the ball with a tackle in defense as prompting the attack with a surgical ball or threatening run; FC Barcelona’s line-up also includes the fancy dribbling skills of Spain international winger FRANCISCO CARRASCO as well as the uncompromising, physical play of defensive midfielder VICTOR MUNOZ, who started all five of quarterfinalist Spain’s matches at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.

Speedy international winger MARIUS LACATUS, the eventual match-winner of the 1986 European Cup Final and a future World Cup hero for Romania, headlines the Startelf of Steau Bucharest. Also on hand for the army club in Seville are experienced and classy veteran midfielder LASZLO BOLONI, who collected an impressive 108 caps and 25 goals for the national team of Romania in his career, in addition to skillful Romania international sweeper MIODRAG BELODEDICI. An ethnic Serb, Belodedici, later defected to Yugoslavia and became the first player to win the European Cup with two different clubs after success with Red Star Belgrade in 1991.

Do YOU have the requisite courage to last not just for the scoreless 120 minutes, but the intestinal fortitude to survive a tense penalty kick shootout where the goals do not come cheap?

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1986 EUROPEAN CUP FINAL
FC Barcelona (Spain) v Steaua Bucharest (Romania)
Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan – Seville, Spain

Duckadam Saved Steaua’s Day

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Steaua Bucharest goalkeeper HELMUTH DUCKADAM delights after stopping a fourth consecutive spot kick of FC Barcelona to clinch the 1986 European Cup Final on penalties after extra time at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in Seville, Spain. (Bob Thomas/Getty Images)
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Although HELMUTH DUCKADAM did earn two caps for Romania early in his career, the 27-year-old goalkeeper was either an experienced nor highly-acclaimed international; still, on the grand and prestigous stage of the 1986 European Cup Final, it was the Steaua Bucharest backstop who outperformed potential headliners such as West Germany international midfielder BERND SCHUSTER, Scotland international striker STEVE ARCHIBALD or any of the cadre of Spain national team players on FC Barcelona.

Even on his own side, the Steaua Bucharest goalkeeper had to cede top billing to others.

Duckadam was called on to make just two saves, the same number as his counterpart for FC Barcelona, the 1986 Spain World Cup deputy URRUTI. However, the Romanian was, by far, the busier of the two goalkeepers in the 1986 European Cup Final at Seville. Duckadam came off his line to catch a few high balls and punched quite a few others to safety, as well.

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(Bob Thomas/Getty Images)
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The army goalkeeper was also alert to come out and take the ball at the feet of FC Barcelona’s FRANCISCO CARRASCO after the tricky Spain international winger dribbled through the Steaua Bucharest defense along the goal line late in the game.

As for the penalty kick shootout at the end of the 120-minute scoreless draw between Steaua Bucharest and FC Barcelona, the unsung goalkeeper was absolutely sensational.

Both the West German Schuster, who scored 10 goals in 22 La Liga games during the 1985-86 season, and the Scot Archibald, who had finished third in La Liga with 15 goals during Barcelona’s champioinship season the year before, had been brought off by FC Barcelona’s English manager TERRY VENABLES.

Nevertheless, Duckadam was needed as, one by one, the FC Barcelona kick-takers hit the target; four saves in all, then, a remarkable showing under such pressure-packed circumstances.

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(Bob Thomas/Getty Images)

’86 Euro Cup Final : Steaua Bucharest

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The Startelf of Romanian army club STEAUA BUCHAREST line-up for the team photo just prior to the kick-off of the European Cup Final against Spanish side FC Barcelona at the “neutral site” of the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in Seville, Spain. (Bob Thomas/Getty Images)
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STEAUA BUCHAREST
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GK —- 1 — Helmuth DUCKADAM ——— (Romania 82 : 2 caps)
DF —- 2 — Stefan IOVAN ——————— (Romania 83-90 : 35 caps, 3 goals)
DF —- 3 — Ilie BARBULESCU ————– (Romania 79-87 : 5 caps, 0 goals)
DF —- 4 — Adrian BUMBESCU ———— (Romania 84-90 : 15 caps, 1 goal)
MF —- 5 — Lucian BALAN ——————– (Romania 87 : 1 cap, 0 goals)
DF —- 6 — Miodrag BELODEDICI ——– (Romania 84-00 : 53 caps, 5 goals)
MF —- 7 — Marius LACATUS ————– (Romania 84-98 : 84 caps, 13 goals)
MF —- 8 — Mihali MEJEARU ————– (Romania 87 : 1 cap, 0 goals)
ST —- 9 — Victor PITURCA —————- (Romania 85-87 : 13 caps, 6 goals)
ST – 10 — Gavril BALINT —————— (Romania 82-92 : 34 caps, 14 goals)
MF – 11 — Laszlo BOLONI —————— (Romania 75-88 : 108 caps, 25 goals)

substitutes
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MF – 13 — Anghel IORDANESCU —— (Romania 71-81 : 64 caps, 26 goals)
for Balan (75th min)
ST – 16 — Marin RADU ——————— (Romania 76-82 : 7 caps, 0 goals)
for Piturca (107th min)

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Readers with a sharp eye for the details of football history know that it was international striker ANGHEL IORDANESCU who tallied the winning goal in Romania’s 2-1 victory over England in the 1980 World Cup qualification match at the Stadionul National in Budapest featured here at this blog with the article, “RADUCANU’s ROMANIAN REVOLUTION”.

Upon leading the Romanian First Division in goal-scoring with Steaua Bucharest for the 1981-82 season, at the age of 32, the international striker was allowed by government authorities to play outside the country. After two seasons in Greece with OFI Crete, Iordanescu returned to Romania in 1984 and rejoined Steaua Bucharest as an assistant coach to manager EMERICH JENEI. Because of Iordanescu’s high technical skill level as well as extensive international experience, it was decided that the assistant coach could be an asset to Steaua Bucharest on the field against FC Barcelona in the 1986 European Cup Final.

Today, Iordanescu is a Major General in the Romanian Army and also a member of the Romanian Senate representing the Social Democratic Party.

Army Football’s Finest Hour

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Steaua Bucharest manager EMERIC JENEI and veteran Romania international striker ANGHEL IORDANESCU hold the coveted UEFA European Cup of Champions aloft following the Romanian army club’s conquest of Spanish La Liga side FC Barcelona in the Final staged at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in the Andalusia region of southern Spain on May 7, 1986. (Bob Thomas/Getty Images)
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Vorwaerts Frankfurt am Oder in East Germany, Legia Warsaw in Poland and Dukla Jihlava in Czechoslovakia. Or Honved Budapest in Hungary, Partizan Belgrade (originally) in Yugoslavia as well as CSKA Moscow in the Soviet Union. And, of course, there was Steaua Bucharest in Romania.

The army clubs — a particular feature of Cold War era football in Eastern Europe.

Stockpiling many of the country’s best footballing weapons in the army or, perhaps, the police certainly came in handy when the hour arrived to compete in the Summer Olympic Games; as a matter of strict policy, “professional” players were most unwelcome by the International Olympic Committee to enter in its world renowned amateur sports event.

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The starting XI of Romanian army club STEAUA BUCHAREST line-up for the team photo just prior to the opening kick of the 1986 UEFA European Cup Final with Spanish side FC Barcelona at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. (www.steauafc.com photo)

Timosoara Triggered Beginning Of End

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As the facility is in the midst of being overrun by “counter-revolutionaries”, a helicopter carrying the soon-to-be executed dictator of Romania NICOLAE CEAUSESCU and his wife, ELENA, takes off from the roof of the Central Committee Building in the government district of Budapest on December 22, 1989. (Denoel Paris photo)
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Italy international striker Marco Balotelli opened his account for English Premier League club Manchester City opposite CS FC TIMOSOARA in his very first game for his new club back in August of this year….

Discontent and unrest had done nothing but grow all throughout the Eastern Bloc during the 1980s. After the Fall of the Berlin Wall, one by one, the satellite communist governments of the Warsaw Pact nations peacefully relinquished their hold on power. With one noteworthy exception — Romania.

On December 17, 1989, a day after protests had broken out after the Romania Communist Party’s attempt to evict local dissident pastor LASZLO TOKES, even more violent demonstrations occured. The local government District Building was invaded and taken over. Soon, the dreaded Securitate, the ruthless Romanian secret police, as well as the national army predictably showed up.

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Flanked by East Germany communist leader ERICH HOENECKER on his left, Romania dictator NICOLAE CEAUSESCU (polka-dotted tie) and, to his left, East Germany leader ERICH HOENECKER visit a color picture tube plant connected with the manufacture of televisions in East Berlin on May 30, 1985. (ADN-ZB-Mittlestadt)
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The forces of the regime failed to restore order but did resort to violence and it is thought roughly one hundred citizens lost their life in Timosoara that day.

The news of the riots in Timosoara, although an attempt was made by Ceausescu and other government officials to blame the violence on “foreign influences” and “external aggression”, quickly spread all over Romania.

Within days, further rioting errupted in other cities such as Sibiu and even the capital, itself. Romania Communist Party leader NICOLAE CEAUSESCU, who had, by now, lost support of the national army, attempted to calm the situation with a public speech in Revolution Square on December 21 but was famously booed and jeered. The next day, the dictator and his detested wife were forced to flee the Central Committee Building in Budapest by helicopter.

For Ceausescu, the end came with the arrival of Christmas.

Raducanu’s Romanian Revolution

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Highly-skilled midfielder MARCEL RADUCANU of Borussia Dortmund, who fled his native communist Romania and notorious dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1981, takes a break at the near post during a West German Bundesliga match at the Westfalenstadion in North Rhine-Westphalia.
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The thunderous roar of the crowd following a goal for the national team against famous England, World Cup winners in 1966. The terrifying fear inflicted by a telephone call from the Securitate, the secret police of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. It was the footballing talents of Romania international midfielder MARCEL RADUCANU which were responsible for both.

The finest hour of Raducanu’s all too short senior international career arrived with the World Cup qualification game from UEFA Group IV contested at the Stadionul National in Bucharest on October 15, 1980.

After completely deceiving the England defender with a fake left-footed shot, Raducanu deftly cut the ball back and rifled a low drive past the diving FC Liverpool goalkeeper RAY CLEMENCE for the game’s first goal in the 35th minute as Romania went on to claim a memorable 2-1 win.

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Raducanu, who had been named his country’s Footballer of the Year in 1980, soon became disillusioned after not getting on the field for the return game with England at Wembley, a goalless draw, in April of 1981. Apparently, the Steaua Bucharest midfielder, who earned 21 caps and scored three goals in all for Romania, had the opportunity to defect in May following the World Cup Group IV 1-0 loss to Hungary in Budapest but did not take advantage of the situation. Raducanu later admitted to regretting that decision; the playmaker would not let the next lucky break pass him by.

In the summer of 1981, Steaua Bucharest went on tour in West Germany to prepare for the upcoming season. An old friend of Raducanu, a Romanian expatriate living in Hannover, contacted the footballer where the army club were staying near Kassel. After learning of the player’s desire to defect, the old friend immediately offered to help and a plan was hatched.

For Steaua Bucharest’s next Testspiel versus Borussia Dortmund, Raducanu would play his best to impress potential Bundesliga employers, then inform the coach at halftime of an imaginary injury. The scheme worked to perfection, and the midfielder was left all alone with a heavily-bandaged knee after the break in the visitors’ locker room. Raducanu then packed a quick bag and simply strolled out to the stadium parking lot, where his old friend was waiting with a car to whisk away to Hannover.

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Midfielder MARCEL RADUCANU of Steaua Bucharest (above) played 229 elite league games and scored 94 goals for the Romanian army club before defecting in the summer of 1981 with his 27th birthday approaching that fall. Because Raducanu held the rank of captain in the country’s armed forces, the midfielder was formally charged with desertion by a military court and tried in absentia. Convicted, the Romania national team player was sentenced to six years in prison.
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As was order of the day with all Eastern Bloc defectors, the Romania international midfielder was suspended from all football competition for one year by Union of European Football Associations and, so, Raducanu was forced to sit out the 1981-82 season. There were no shortage of Bundesliga suitors, though, and a dispute errupted between Borussia Dortmund and Hannover 96 over the player’s contract status. The problem was solved when Borussia Dortmund paid Hannover 96 half a million marks, a considerable sum at the time.

Raducanu made his Bundesliga debut in late August of 1982 in a 1-1 draw with Vfb Stuttgart; operating in the role of an attacking midfielder, the Romanian recorded nine goals in 26 Bundesliga games and added another pair in five DFB Pokal matches for Borussia Dortmund his first campaign in West Germany.

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In all, MARCEL RADUCANU spent six seasons with Borussia Dortmund (above) and contested 163 career Bundesliga games scoring 31 goals. Including DFB Pokal and UEFA Cup matches, the Romania international midfielder appeared 178 times and totaled 34 goals for die Schwarzgelben. At the age of 33, Raducanu transferred to FC Zurich in Switzerland to start the 1988-89 campaign.
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Years later, Raducanu confessed in an interview that, after his defection, the Romanian government confiscated all his earthly possessions, such as his house and car. He tried to maintain contact with his family via the telephone, even though he knew the line was tapped by the dictator Ceausescu’s Securitate. Initially, the player stated he had felt safe in West Germany until the phone rang one day.

It was the Securitate calling long distance.

“Wir kriegen dich, Verbrecher!” — We catch you, criminal.

It is interesting to note that when Borussia Dortmund were drawn to play FK Velez Mostar in the 1987-88 UEFA Cup, Raducanu — after having started the first leg for Borussia Dortmund in West Germany — did not make the trip to Yugoslavia for the return match of the second round tie.