The reckless gesture committed by Daniel Pancu (47 years old), to enter the field and jump on the neck of the referee of the match Romania U21 – Switzerland U21, score 3-1, passed into the background the qualification obtained by the small tricolors.
Daniel Pancu, Romania U21 coach. PHOTO: The Truth Archive
This is only the short-term effect of a mistake for which there is no justification. This although, in the last hours, those close to the U21 selector kept trying to “AWAY” on Pancu, with all kinds of bizarre statements. When we put aside this Romanian approach, of trying to normalize some anomalies, we convince ourselves that Pancu committed it. And the price will be paid by him, but also by the Under 21 representative.
As far as Pancu is concerned, some dark scenarios are circulating, with suspensions of 3 matches, 16 matches or even a year! And, considering that the national team has no way to escape UEFA’s punishment, Romania U21 will have to go to the final tournament at Euro 2025 with a “main“in a state of suspension, without the right to lead the team from the bench. In the happiest case, Pancu, with a suspension of three matches, would miss “only“group phase. Which is far too little consolation, considering that, in the last two editions of the European U21, Romania left the competition after the three confrontations in the groups.
But all is not lost for Pancu and Romania U21. And the existing precedent with another Romanian coach, Cosmin Olăroiu (55 years old), proves to us that even a suspended technician can lead his team to great results.
Cosmin Olăroiu. PHOTO: The Truth Archive
Oli stayed in the stands for 12 matches!
At the start of the 2013–14 season, Oli left Al-Ain in the Emirates to sign with Dubai’s arch-rivals Al-Ahli (the team had since changed its name to Shabab Al-Ahli). At the time, a great scandal arose over this “transfer“, and Al-Ain, an extremely influential group in the Emirates, got the Romanian technician suspended for 6 months! This decision was later overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne. However, until the verdict arrived from Switzerland, Olăroiu spent half of that season, leading his new team from the stands.
Specifically, in 12 of the 26 championship stages, Oli was among the spectators, transmitting his tactical orders to the players through his seconds at the time, Cătălin Necula and Fabio Cannavaro. And, despite this handicap, the Romanian managed to solve the fight for the title with four rounds before the end of the championship!
The fact that Olăroiu won the championship with Al-Ahli, in a season in which he spent a long time in the stands, impressed the journalists from the Emirates. The publication “360 sports“, which appears in English, dedicated an editorial to the Romanian.
“Even the best coach in the world could not successfully guide a team from the sidelines during the game if that team was not well trained in the week leading up to the game. And, from this point of view, Cosmin Olăroiu fully justifies his colossal salary. The rivals jumped for joy when Olăroiu was suspended. Unfortunately for them, the Romanian does his best work on the training ground, not sitting on the bench“, noted journalist Kenny Laurie.
In that 2013-2014 Emirates season, Olăroiu won the title with a 16-point lead over 2nd place, losing only two matches out of 26! Attention: one of the defeats came at the green table, due to the use of a suspended player. That game had been won by Al-Ahli on the field.
He managed the same thing with Steaua
Until his performance in the Emirates, to win a title leading the team from the stands, Oli had achieved the same in Romania. In the 2010-2011 season, he returned to Steaua (now FCSB) for two months. During this period, Olăroiu led the daily training sessions, but during the matches he sat in the stands, leaving the team in the hands of his seconds. The result? Steaua won the Romanian Cup, defeating Dinamo in the final.
Mutu, variant-bomb: Costin Curelea, U21 selector
At the moment, there are all kinds of speculations about what will happen to Daniel Pancu, after we learn the suspension dictated by UEFA. Present at the show he makes with Horia Ivanovici, at Fanatik, “Don Mutu”, the former U21 national team selector presented a bomb variant. “I heard a scenario, Costin Curelea, from U20, promoted and Pancu in the stands, preparing the matches from the back. I am not interested in returning to U21. I was at U21, I was at the 2021 European Championship. I wouldn’t do that to Pancu. It would be unfair if he was kicked out. Not having him on the bench is a handicap, but not a very big oneMutu said.
