Big fish head for small pond

By Paul-Daniel Zaharia

With the Romanian season deep into its winter break, the biggest events of recent weeks have not been Divizia A transfers but two coaching changes in the second division, as two of the biggest names in Romanian football have decided to try their luck with smaller teams.

Struggling team
The new coach of struggling FC Inter Gaz Bucuresti is 41-year-old Marius Lacatus. With ten Romanian titles, seven Romanian Cups, a European Champion Clubs' Cup and a UEFA Super Cup to his name, he is the most decorated player in Romanian history, and subsequently became a respected coach.

Illustrious career
Having led FC National Bucuresti, FC Brasov and CF Otelul Galati before a less successful spell with FC Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt which ended with their relegation from the top division in 2003/04, Lacatus had spent the last six months as assistant coach of the Romanian national team.

Major surprise
Hence it was a major shock when he decided to sign for Inter Gaz, who are owned by a major gas supplier, and are based in a small village called Popesti-Leordeni, a short distance from Bucharest and just a kilometre away from the village of Glina, which is the site of the Romanian capital's main rubbish dump.

Money talks
However, with a guaranteed wage of €19,500 for the six-month contract and some healthy match bonuses on offer, it seems that Lacatus is not heading for Popesti-Leordeni for a breath of country air. Moreover, for the coach, Inter Gaz's guarantee of wages and stability is more than many Divizia A clubs are able to offer.

'No shame'
"Why should I be ashamed of working here?" he said. "There is no shame in working. I got offers from several first division teams, but I am sick of going to clubs with financial or organizational problems. Here at Inter Gaz, the conditions are fine and I have a job to do. That's all that matters."

Coming home
He may not be working with the biggest stars in Romania - Inter Gaz players are more likely to travel to training by bus than in big foreign cars - but Lacatus seems happy with his new role. "An important factor is that I will also be be together with my family, in Bucharest," he added.

Rednic role
Another big name who will now be aiming to prove his worth in one of Romania's three parallel second divisions is former international Mircea Rednic who, at 43, has already won the league title, the Romanian Cup and two Romanian Super Cups as coach of AFC Rapid Bucuresti.

Poor country
Rednic started the season as coach of FC Universitatea Craiova, but resigned before accepting the opportunity to coach FC Vaslui, the team that represents Romania's poorest county, who are in line for their first promotion to the top flight as they lead the way in their division.

Ideal candidate
The club is financed by the biggest businessman in Vaslui county, Adrian Porumboiu, a former FIFA referee who is also a referee's observer for UEFA and Divizia A. Having given Rednic a wage of €10000 a month - second only to that of FC Dinamo Bucuresti coach Ioan Andone - Porumboiu has proved he wants promotion.

'Not afraid'
Rednic is bullish about his reasons for taking over at Vaslui. "I accepted [Porumboiu's] offer in just five minutes," said Rednic. "It's not a step backwards for me. They play football in Vaslui, too. This city has passionate fans and I am not afraid of anyone. I want to win promotion."