The months leading up to a major tournament are among the most nerve-racking for a national team coach. The hard work in qualifying is complete and the waiting game begins, with fingers crossed in the hope that none of your key players pick up an injury before kick off. Romania coach Victor Piţurcă has been keeping a watchful eye on the progress of ACF Fiorentina striker Adrian Mutu in particular. Having got his prized possession to UEFA EURO 2008™ in one piece, he will now be hoping the 28-year-old can continue his rich vein of form in the yellow jersey of Romania.
'Best in the world'
Piţurcă must have thought the gods were against him when his side were drawn alongside France, Italy and the Netherlands in Group C, but as his rivals look to Thierry Henry, Luca Toni and Ruud van Nistelrooy for the flash of inspiration that could make the difference in the tightest of groups, Piţurcă knows he too has an ace capable of turning a game. "Mutu is very important," Piţurcă told uefa.com. "The years have passed over him. He has become really mature and is very experienced. It is also very important that he has got married and has the stability of a family. All those things have allowed him to reach such a high level and to become, in my opinion, one of the best players in the world."
'Wasted years'
High praise, but Piţurcă is always quick to add that his side does not depend on any one individual. If Romania are to succeed, it will be as a team. Mutu, who scored six times in nine qualifiers, centre-back Cristian Chivu and veteran goalkeeper Bogdan Lobonţ provide the backbone of a side Piţurcă praises for its unity and common purpose. Life with the national team has not always been easy as Piţurcă knows from first-hand experience, having been hounded out by in-fighting after leading Romania to UEFA EURO 2000™. That was the last time Romania reached a major finals and Piţurcă is eager to make up for lost time.
Strict rules
"So many years have been wasted, especially because we have had some very good and skilful players. It has been a fantastic common goal to qualify. The boys have been highly motivated and concentrated in each match. Today's team is very good, but most important of all they form a very united group. When I returned as coach [in November 2004], myself and the players were well aware that group unity did not exist. That's why, during all my discussions with the players, I stressed we needed such strength. It took time for me to convince them all to think in the same way, but they are all intelligent and understood they have to adapt to the rules, which are strict within our national team."
Netherland defeated
The discipline has paid off. Romania were defeated just once in qualifying, by Bulgaria after they had already secured their place with two games to spare. Romania may be happy to play the underdog card in Group C, but they will not be short of confidence, especially after taking four points off the Netherlands in qualifying without conceding a goal. "Those results allowed us to reach a higher level," Piţurcă said. "It was a real psychological boost." The 52-year-old knows plenty about winning. A prolific striker, Piţurcă scored five goals in nine games to help FC Steaua Bucureşti clinch the European Champion Clubs' Cup in 1985/86 and the UEFA Super Cup the following year.
Big dreams
As a coach he has won the Romanian title with Steaua, while with the national set-up he enjoyed success with the Under-21s before stepping up to the top job in 1998. Piţurcă led Romania to UEFA EURO 2000™ with a youthful Mutu, Chivu and Lobont in his ranks and they would, following his departure, go on to reach the quarter-finals. Piţurcă, though, feels they can better that achievement this time round. "Yes, we can. If the players are healthy and at a high physical and psychological level, they can achieve a lot. We can reach the final, even win it, but we could also lose all our matches. At this level, everything can happen. Of course, we remember what Greece did four years ago. They weren't given much chance in Portugal, but still won the tournament. Like every coach, I dream of going as far as possible."
High standards
Studious and publicity-shy, Piţurcă will not mind that the media's focus in Group C will be more on his adversaries Raymond Domenech, Roberto Donadoni and Marco van Basten than himself. That does not mean expectations in his homeland are not sky high. Comparisons are being drawn with the powerful Gheorghe Hagi-inspired side's of the 1990s. Piţurcă, though, holds no truck of talk of a golden generation. "From my point of view, a golden generation has to win at least one trophy," he said. "Only by doing that will they be able to say they are better than any generation before them in Romanian football. I hope they will do it."
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