Mutu receives Romanian reward
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Article summary
Juventus striker Adrian Mutu has been named Romania's player of the year, while Oleg Protasov beat two Lucescus to the coaching award.
Article body
Juventus striker Adrian Mutu has been named Romania's player of the year for the second time.
Mutu pips Radoi
The 26-year-old won the traditional survey of first division club presidents, coaches and captains by sports daily Gazeta Sporturilor. Mutu, who scored all the goals in Romania's FIFA World Cup wins against Andorra, the Czech Republic and Finland this autumn and has won a regular place in the Juve side since the end of his drug ban, gained 23.5 points, two ahead of FC Steaua Bucuresti captain Mirel Radoi. Veteran Dorinel Munteanu, capped a record 128 times by Romania and who as player-coach led CFR Ecomax Cluj to the UEFA Intertoto Cup final, was third.
Protasov heads Lucescus
Coach of the year is Ukrainian Oleg Protasov, who in his six months in charge of Steaua before leaving recently for FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk led the team to the UEFA Cup Round of 32. Second was a Ukrainian-based Romanian, Mircea Lucescu of FC Shakhtar Donetsk, while his son, AFC Rapid Bucuresti's Razvan Lucescu, gained third place.
