Radiant Romania leave Russia dazzled
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Article summary
Romania sent a message to those who rank them outsiders at UEFA EURO 2008™ with a 3-0 defeat of Russia, leaving Guus Hiddink to bemoan his side's "naïvety".
Article top media content
Article body
Boost
They key moment came at the end of an even first half when Ciprian Marica broke the deadlock for Romania, and in the second period namesakes Daniel and Marius Niculae added to the lead, the latter making his comeback after two years out of the side, having last scored an international goal in September 2004. It was a boost for Romania, who were beaten 1-0 in Israel last month and must face France, Italy and the Netherlands in UEFA EURO 2008™ Group C.
'True ability'
Marica said: "We were on the attack all the time and deserved the victory. I am happy with my performance and very glad for my friend Marius Niculae, who scored on his return to the national team." The returning Niculae added: "Of course I am dreaming of playing at the EURO but only [coach Victor] Piţurcă can judge if the goal I scored is enough."
Confidence
Regular Romania goalkeeper Bogdan Lobonţ missed the game through illness, but captain Cristian Chivu said: "Marius Popa has proved that he can cover." Piţurcă concluded: "I think it looks good and I hope we will be well-prepared for the final tournament. But let's not get overexcited after this victory, just as we had no reason to turn the 1-0 defeat in Israel into a tragedy. All we have to do is keep working." Their next friendly is against Montenegro on 31 May.
Turning point
There were naturally more concerns for Russia, whose domestic season is only two games old. Goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev, who made his first international appearance for 12 months, said: "Everything was OK during the first half, but that goal on 45 minutes broke us. We have to improve overall and in defence in particular. And everybody has to start by taking a look at themselves."
Fitness concern
Russia coach Guus Hiddink, preparing for Group D meetings with Spain, holders Greece and Sweden having this week extended his contract to 2010, added: "We had to get to the break at 0-0. It did not happen and that had serious consequences after half-time. However, I am glad that we played this match. Thanks to this friendly we can see the difference between the Romanian players who play in the top European leagues and ours, who play in Russia. Our players were punished for their naïvety and poor fitness. We will try to fix that before the EURO."
