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| The Romanian National Football Team Loses Captain Cristian Chivu 23/05/2011 |
| (2011-05-23) |
| Last updated: 2011-05-24 14:37 EET |
Years after having been downgraded to the class of second-rate teams, the Romanian national team has also lost its captain, Cristian Chivu, at present playing as fullback at Inter Milan.
A European and World Cup regular back in the ‘90s, the Romanian national football team has sunk in obscurity in the last years. Unfortunately, the subsequent teams failed to rise to the glory of their predecessors, the so-called “golden generation”, thus leaving football fans nostalgic of the old days, when securing qualification in inter-nation competitions was not a problem.
Throughout the decades, the Romanian sports press attributed these failures to the lack of youth training facilities, the numerous flaws in infrastructure as well as the lack of a clear vision on behalf of the Romanian Football Federation. Adding to all these was an ever-growing flow of foreign players in the Romanian First League, that has thus registered a severe drop in value.
It may seem of little surprise, therefore, that the Romanian football team pulled off only one qualification in the past 10 years, in the 2008 European Championships. What has, however, taking everyone aback of late, was team captain Cristian Chivu’s decision to step down from the national team, opting instead for a full-time club career at Inter Milan.
His decision, made public in a letter addressed to the Romanian Football Federation, has sparked contrasting reactions from Romanian football officials. Many voices have criticized Chivu for deliberately neglecting his national team in recent years, choosing instead to redirect his full attention to his club team.
Some have argued Chivu’s withdrawal is too early a call, given that fullbacks such as Chivu are in their prime at the age of 30, according to football experts. Others, among whom some of Chivu’s co-national teammates, did not conceal their shock at their captain’s decision to withdraw only two weeks away from Romania’s home match against Bosnia-Herzegovina, considered by many to be decisive for the EURO 2010 qualifying campaign.
In contrast, many were quick to defend Chivu, reinforcing his arguments laid down in his letter to the Romanian Football Federation, from which we quote: ”my age, as well as the frequent injuries and surgical operations that I have undergone prevent me from fighting on several fronts” unquote.
It is equally noteworthy to say that Chivu’s decision followed against the backdrop of mounting criticism targeting his sloppy performance at his club team, Internazionale Milano, with which Chivu scooped the Champions League title last year. Overall, Chivu has earned 75 caps in Romania’s national team, where he made his debut in 1999.
Beyond all doubt, criticism, praise or figures, all that remains is Chivu’s own comment about his withdrawal: “This is a difficult time in my career, one that I have always thought of with fear, but that I cannot postpone”.
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