Romanian football has specialized in providing dramatic stories, with promising players who end up becoming wasted talents.
The Romanian child who takes up sports often grows up without receiving the correct guidance.
If we made a list of such footballers, the 1st place would be occupied by Nicolae Mitea. Once a star at the great Ajax, teammate with the legendary Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede played football at the highest level until he was 41 years old. Instead, our Mitea officially retired in 2014, at 28 years old. With the specification that, in reality, it had been “retired“much earlier, from around 2008, after he left Ajax.
Unfortunately, “the Bribe lesson“, extremely painful, did not stop the recurrence of such sports dramas for other Romanian footballers. And, even now, we are witnessing shocking situations, with the decay of some players due to wrong choices.
The cases we will present below are so disturbing that even the impresario of these players, Ioan Becali, spoke openly about the mistakes made by these boys whose careers have already gone downhill.
Alexi Pitu. PHOTO: The Truth Archive
Olimpija Ljubljana, too small for Pitu
Sold by Farul Constanța, in Bordeaux, for 2 million euros, Alexi Pitu (22 years old) seemed to be on the right track in January 2023, when he reached the second French league. Especially since Bordeaux was aiming for promotion to Ligue 1. One year and eight months after that, Bordeaux disappeared due to bankruptcy. And Pitu is, unfortunately, living his football bankruptcy. Because he is without a team and, even if he didn’t break the bargain in Bordeaux, he has claims to be a great player. About which Ioan Becali spoke, at Digi Sport.
“Olimpija Ljubljana, the biggest team in Slovenia, qualified in the Conference League, needed Pitu. Their Spanish coach and sporting director choked me up. But Pitu had claims to the West. As if he had scored about 40 goals and had I don’t know how many matches, as a starter, in France… The Slovenians told me that they offer Pitu the salary he had in France as well (no – 25,000 euros per month). Do you know what Pitu told me? >. And Sivasspor from Turkey was interested in Pitu. Honestly, normally, for such a free, 22-year-old footballer, I should have received 2000 calls. How many did I get? One, two… And about three teams, all from Eastern Europe, called our company“, said Giovanni.
Alexandru Cicâldau. PHOTO: The Truth Archive
Closed door for Romanians in Galata
Once upon a time, the Romanians made waves at Galatasaray Istanbul. It is enough to mention some names that evolved over the years for this formation: Hagi, Popescu, Adi Ilie, Tamaș or Florin Bratu.
On account of this football past, in 2021, the Turkish bosses paid 6.5 million euros for Alexandru Cicâldău and 4.1 million euros for Olimpiu Moruțan. The first was brought from Craiova University, and the other from FCSB. At that moment, Ioan Becali, the one who brokered the two moves, made a vehement statement: “These guys will have to fly! The president told me that, if these two (no – Cicâldău and Moruțan) don’t confirm, no Romanian will set foot here again!“.
What came out? Moruțan and Cicâldău severely disappointed in the only season, 2021-2022, spent in Galata. After which their tape loans started. Moruțan played, alternately, in Pisa (Italy) and Ankaragücü (Turkey), now returning to Pisa, in Serie B, after recovering from a serious injury.
Cicâldău was “walk” at Ittihad Kalba (Emirates) and Konyaspor (Turkey), and now it is contested by FCSB and Craiova University. His situation disappointed Ioan Becali. “I don’t know what Cicâldău will do, but he will have to lose part of his high salary in order to play. It’s important to play. If he wants to take his big salary, he stays in Galata and trains until winter. A player is fine with the game. Not even in the Arab area, nor in Turkey. He has the opportunity to relaunch, he is 27 years old and by playing he can stay with the national team and return to Galata, because he has one year left on his contract. Everything depends on him. That’s his job and he has to play. He can still take the money after 27 years by the way he plays, where he goes“, said the manager for “Fanatik”.
Ionut Radu. PHOTO: The Truth Archive
Ionuț Radu, “filler” at Inter
In 2019, Ionuț Radu was the goalkeeper of Romania U21 at that memorable European in which the little tricolors reached the semifinals, under the command of Mirel Rădoi. Legitimated since then at Inter Milan, Radu seemed to have a wide open path to elite football.
Now, five years later, Ionuț Radu has become a goalkeeper “fillingat Inter Milan. By the time he reaches this point, he has “buried” this team, in the fight for the title at the end of the 2021-2022 season. The Romanian’s blunder in the match Bologna – Inter (2-1) sent the title to AC Milan’s showcase. Then, in the 2022-2023 season, the one in which he was loaned to Auxerre (France), Radu committed it again. His blunders in the game Auxerre – Lens (1-3) in the last stage sent the French team to the second division. In the 2023-2024 season, Ionuț Radu made a total of five appearances at Bournemouth (England), where he was loaned by Inter.
Now back in Italy, the Romanian goalkeeper wasted several transfer chances, to Sassuolo and Sampdoria, both in Serie B in Italy. As a result, at the moment, she is the fourth option for the goalkeeper position at Inter. In other words, he will not play, if he does not find a team, for the last hundred meters.
Adrian Rus, desperate for money
Another Romanian footballer, with an uncertain situation at the moment, is the stopper Adrian Rus (28 years old). He was in Romania’s Euro 2024 team and scored 15 minutes in the match against Ukraine (3-0) and 4 minutes in the draw with Slovakia (1-1).
Rus has now returned to Pisa, the club that had loaned him to Pafos (Cyprus). In dialogue with “Fanatik”, Ioan Becali explained that the Cypriots are interested in the definitive transfer of the Romanian defender. Except that he is desperate for money, much to the impresario’s disappointment.
“Adrian Rus only thinks about money. He’d better think about doing his best to play well, because then the money will come. For example, Pafos now wants to transfer him. Pisa want €500,000 for him, but the Cypriots are only willing to give €350,000 – €400,000. I told Rus that he will have the same contract as in Pisa. He asked me afterwards if in the first year he would earn that much, then in the second year that much and so on. Let him play well and prove it and the money will comeGiovanni said.
