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.

Italia ’90 : Lacatus Shoots Down Soviets

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Romania winger and Man of the Match MARIUS LACATUS (7), a European Cup champion with Steaua Bucharest at Seville in 1986, races downfield pursued by USSR defender VASILY RATS (6), who began the 1989-90 season with RCD Espanyol Barcelona in Spain but returned to Dynamo Kiev that winter, during the 1990 FIFA World Cup Group B match at the Stadio San Nicola in Bari, Italy. (Bob Thomas/Getty Images)
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A World Cup final tournament always enjoyst the atmosphere and spirit of a grand, holiday-like celebration.

Buf, for the suppoters of the Romania national football team in the stands at the Stadio San Nicola in Bari, the experience at Italia ’90 was something rather more. For starters, the World Cup in Italy marked the first time that most of the Romanian fans had ever been able to visit Western Europe. Not even six full months had passed since the Romanian Revolution and the overthrow of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, who was shot by a firing squad on Christmas Day in 1989.

Romania, of course, had been under the yoke of oppressive Socialist/Marxist tyranny since the end of the Second World War, when Red Army tanks swept across Eastern Europe.

On the international football front, the Romanians had much to be excited about, as well. After four consecutive failures to qualify, Romania reached the FIFA World Cup final tournament for the first time in twenty years and only the second time since the end of World War II. For a first group stage match in Bari, as if preordained by history, the Romanians were scheduled to play none other than the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

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The Soviet Union had finished second at the 1988 European Championships to the Netherlands and still fielded a formidable side at Italia ’90 to be certain. In conjunction with the Glasnot policies of Mikhail Gorbachev, several USSR internationals were now playing professional football in Western Europe. Midfielders ALEXANDER ZAVAROV, who had been the first Soviet player ever sold abroad for the considerable sum of $ 5.0 million dollars, and SERGEI ALEINIKOV had spent the whole season in Italy prior to the 1990 World Cup, now the property of famous Serie A side FC Juventus of Turin.

Romania were required to take on the USSR without star playmaker GHEORGHE HAGI of army club Steaua Bucharest. The 25-year-old midfielder, already known as “The Maradona of the Carpathians” and on his way to 125 caps and a record 35 goals for the national team for his career, was a noted expert at free kicks. After the World Cup, Hagi would be snapped up by Spanish La Liga giant Real Madrid for the princely sum of $ 4.3 million dollars.

Despite the absence of its difference-maker, Romania took the lead with the halftime whistle approaching.

Midfielder IOAN SABAU of Dinamo Bucharest released speedy winger MARIUS LACATUS, a European Cup champion for Steaua Bucharest at Seville in 1986, who galloped into the area on the right. Experienced USSR goalkeeper RINAT DASAYEV, who had transferred to FC Sevilla in Spain from Spartak Moscow for a fee in excess of two million dollars after the 1988 European Championships, clearly expected Lacatus to go far post with his shot. Dasayev was already leaning the wrong way and handcuffed when the 26-year-old winger blasted the ball into the net short side in the 41st minute.

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Romania winger MARIUS LACATUS, who netted what proved to be the 1986 European Cup winner as army club Steaua Bucharest defeated FC Barcelona 2-0 on penalties in Seville, strikes the ball from the spot against Soviet Union goalkeeper RINAT DASAYEV of Spanish La Liga side FC Sevilla during the 1990 FIFA World Cup Group B match at the Stadio San Nicola in Bari, Italy. (Bob Thomas/Getty Images)
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Romania doubled the lead before the hour mark, but not without the benefit of a little luck.

Lacatus chased down a long ball on his customary right wing and was left with only Soviet defender VAGIZ KHIDIYATULLIN of French Ligue 1 side FC Toulouse to beat. The Romanian attempted to cut the ball back to the center, but was halted by the hand of the Soviet legionnaire. Referee JUAN DANIEL CARELLINO of Uruguay, incorrectly, pointed to the penalty spot.

Although Khidiyatullin had clearly committed a hand-ball offense, it was also plainly evident that the transgression had occurred outside the penalty box.

Lacatus subsequently scored his second goal of the game and, soon, the Romanian fans had a great victory to celebrate.

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)