Eastern feast for Romanians

By Paul-Daniel Zaharia

While centuries of history link Romania to Russia and Ukraine, in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of communism, the best Romanian players had no interest in heading east. Russia and Ukraine were economically deprived and their clubs could not compete with the best in the west.

Changing attitudes
Fast forward to recent seasons, and it is clear that attitudes have changed. Florin Cernat and Tiberiu Ghioane are settled at FC Dynamo Kyiv, Zeno Bundea and Nicolae Stanciu had spells at FC Zenit St. Peterburg, while Gabriel Tamas, Adrian Iencsi and Florin Soava have all joined FC Spartak Moskva.

Eastern approaches
Heading to Russia or Ukraine is becoming the preferred option for the best Romanian players, with the likes of Chelsea FC striker Adrian Mutu and Cristian Chivu at AS Roma looking increasingly isolated in seeking fame and fortune in the west.

New climate
Since the fall of communism and the corresponding drop in investment in sport, Romanian clubs have rarely thrived in Europe and for ambitious players, the best avenue is to move abroad. Restrictions on non-European Union players have long been a barrier to Romanian footballers going west, and with the sudden surge in billionaire ownership of Russian clubs in the mid-1990s, Romanian eyes begin to turn to the east.

Financial motives
Initially, players' motives were primarily financial, as older professionals left the Romanian league to seek a last big pay-day in Russia, but when the promising midfield player Cernat left FC Dinamo Bucuresti for Dynamo in 2000, it was clear that something more than a quick buck was motivating players.

Cernat moves
Cernat was joined at Dynamo the following year by another future Romanian international, Tiberiu Ghioane from AFC Rapid Bucuresti. Both players had been highly rated in Romania, but without any offers from the west, were happy to take the opportunity to play at the highest European levels with Dynamo.

Happy situation
Ghioane is now 22, Cernat 24, but neither is seeking a transfer to western Europe. After all, at Dynamo, they are all but guaranteed UEFA Champions League football each year and can earn easily as much as they would by drifting westwards.

Wealthy clubs
The financial imperative continues to work its spell. Zenit defender Chirita has been stunned by the riches on offer in Russia since going east in 2002. "In two years I have earned as much as I did in an entire career in Romania," he said.

Shakhtar spree
Russian and Ukrainian clubs, meanwhile, continue to see Romanian players as a bargain. In 2003, FC Shakhtar Donetsk went on a spending spree, signing 22-year-old defender Razvan Rat from Rapid, 27-year-old Dinamo captain Flavius Stoican and Dinamo teenager Ciprian Marica.

'Good deal'
The 18-year-old had been watched by Italy's FC Internazionale, but in the absence of any concrete offers, joined Shakhtar. "We made a very good deal, very profitable both for us and for the player," said Dinamo executive director Cristian Borcea.

Prone to collapse
Deals to take Romanian players west have proved remarkably prone to collapse in recent seasons. Iencsi in particular claimed to have been involved in five failed transfers before he eventually switched to Spartak. Moves to Russia are rarely so complicated.

Best bargains
The glamour clubs may still be in the west, but with few prepared to risk their money on Romanian-based players, Russian and Ukrainian teams are continuing to hunt for bargains in Bucharest.