The majority shareholder of Rapid, Dan Şucu, declared, on Wednesday, in a press conference, that the new president Viorel Moldovan is a fighting man, competent and honest, he will coordinate everything in the club, the only exception being the representation in the relationship with the League Professional football player.
Dan Sucu. PHOTO: The Truth Archive
“Viorel Moldovan embodies exactly what I appreciate most in life… he is a competent, fighting, ambitious, determined, passionate man, but at the same time also morally integrity. He is a serious man who commands respect. So he is more than welcome as the president of Rapid. The new president will be based on Daniel Sandu (no – sports director) and Vasile Maftei on the juvenile side. In addition, Moldovan will coordinate everything that means the communication part of the club, but also the connection with our fans and with the Romanian Football Federation. From the representation side, I will only have the relationship with the Professional Football League, because the LPF is actually the patronage of the clubs in the first league. The budget for acquisitions and sales of players is separate and is fully administered by the president and the sports director. Of course, when important sums are discussed, the shareholders also expect to be consulted“, said Şucu at the official presentation of the new president.
“From our point of view, as shareholders, the post of president is a very important one. As is well known, we do not have many connoisseurs of technical and sporting issues. We don't have a locker room experience and so on. That is why, as shareholders, we rely on competent, dedicated and integrity people. So we searched, we had a number of people that we had in mind, and it took a while to decide. But from the moment we decided, we entered into negotiations with Viorel Moldovan, although I can't even call them negotiations, because he accepted from the first. Undoubtedly, Moldovan's rapidist history was a criterion in the choice, the fact that he had and wants to have as many connections with the club as possible is very important for us“, he added.
Gate for the return of Daniel Niculae
Regarding the former president Daniel Niculae, the shareholder stated that “good boys” are not always good leaders, but he emphasized that in the future a new collaboration is possible.
“Daniel Niculae is an exceptional boy, he has done a lot of good things here and I am convinced that he will work with us and do good things in the future. It is not our custom to do our laundry in public. For a leader, for someone who leads, the only thing I didn't consider appropriate is the difference between a good boy and a fair boy. A leader cannot be a good boy, he must be determined, decisive, severe and judge with the same measure no matter who is in front of him. No friends, no enemies, simply balanced. Good guys are not always good leaders“, said the FC Rapid official.
“The legal and problematic situation that Daniel Niculae is going through in the relationship with the state authorities is not something that anyone wants to experience. We continue to support him as much as we can, because Daniel is one of us. On the other hand, the results we had in the last 10 stages and the fact that we failed to achieve the objective are unacceptable things. As in any large society, the objectives are objective and must be achieved. I never want to see in front of me, whoever he is, someone who, instead of coming up with solutions to solve the problem, comes up with reasons why it cannot be solved. And this is valid in any department in which I invest. At the end of the automatic season we tried to see who did things less well at the club. It couldn't be just a coaching problem, that's why all those who were involved on the sports and technical side gave way to a new team. Bogdan Lobont is the only one left, he is the link between what has happened so far and what will happen from now on“, Dan Şucu also said.
Asked if he will have the patience to invest 9 years to win a title, as was the case with Gigi Becali at FCSB, Şucu answered: “Nine years? I don't know what to say… I'm also a fisherman, even if I haven't been able to go fishing lately. But I remember that I stayed 9 days without catching a fish. Maybe it's a coincidence with these 9 years that you ask about. But maybe you don't need 9 years. But we will definitely win the championship and we will win it soon. Whenever we start a championship, we want to win. Our objective in the new season is practically the same… we lost a year and we resume last year's objective, that is, participation in the European cups“.
Former international Viorel Moldovan took over, on Monday, the position of president of the Rapid Bucharest club, left vacant by Daniel Niculae, after his contract expired in the summer of this year.
As a player, Viorel Moldovan performed in Giulesti between 2006 and 2007, scoring 21 goals, of which 15 in the championship, two in the Romanian Cup and four in the European cups, one of them even in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup.
The former striker of the Romanian national team also achieved an important performance as a coach of Rapid, promoting from the II League in 2014, during a difficult period for the club.
Also, Viorel Moldovan held for a short period the position of sports director of the club, in 2007.
