Romania ready to meet expectation

Romania is a relatively new name on the international futsal scene, but the hard work since their debut in 2003 is paying off as they prepare for the 2007 UEFA European Futsal Championship preliminary round.

Swift rise
They had only played 13 matches when their competitive debut came in November 2003, losing to the Czech Republic and Israel in FIFA Futsal World Cup qualifying. But two months later they entered the European competition for the first time, and followed up a 12-0 win against Bulgaria - who they had defeated three times in four attempts in their first-ever friendlies - with a draw against Armenia and 5-1 victory versus Kazakhstan to earn a place in the main qualifiers. Belarus, Ukraine and Slovakia proved too strong, but a hectic programme of fixtures since have raised Romania's standing in world futsal, and although they must begin the continental competition in the preliminary round again, England, Latvia and old rivals Bulgaria have good reason for trepidation when the Group B mini-tournament begins in Deva on Thursday.

Spain praise
Indeed, since two 7-1 defeats by world and European champions Spain in September, Romania have twice held the Czech Republic, won one and lost one in Slovakia and comfortably seen off Turkey in two games. Coach Zoltan Jakab said: "In three years we have played around 60 friendly matches, with a good record, beating teams such as the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. Eight players have played in around 50 of these matches, so although we have only three years' experience, we have enough to challenge for qualification. Some of those friendly matches were played against big powers, such as Spain and Portugal, and [Spain coach Javier] Lozano, whom I consider the top futsal coach, said that three or four of our players are very competitive at international level."

Pressure
However, those results and the super display of champion club CIP Deva in the UEFA Futsal Cup, have put the team under pressure, and Jakab said that unlike the previous edition, "we are obliged to win our preliminary group". He emphasised: "It is a must, for three reasons. Firstly, there is our international experience, even it was gained in friendlies. Secondly, we are the hosts. And last but not least, if we win our group we will play in the most winnable group of the qualifying round in Slovenia, while if we finish second, we could play in a group against Spain. Under those circumstances, our chances [of getting the one place on offer in the finals in Porto] would be almost non-existent."

Deva success
The venue for the matches is appropriate, as Deva supply half of the 16-man squad and last month the club from the city 370km from Bucharest finished second in the toughest UEFA Futsal Cup Elite round group, pipped by MFK Dinamo Moskva but ahead of FC Shakhtar Donetsk and Sporting Clube de Portugal. They have won all their league matches this season and supply key squad members like Florin Matei, Robert Lupu, Gabriel Molomfalean and Ion Al-Ioani, who all have the understanding that comes from playing together every week.