'Smoke came out of my body'

Friday's match between Italy and Romania marked a significant landmark for Florentin Petre who fulfilled a cherished ambition to play again in a major finals after recovering from serious illness and a brush with death.

'Difficult period'
The 32-year-old PFC CSKA Sofia forward was part of the Romania squad that reached the quarter-finals of UEFA EURO 2000™ but shortly after returning home to Bucharest, he was struck down by the hepatitis C virus. The illness floored him for two years and then, just as he was on the point of recovery, the diminutive winger was badly injured after being electrocuted in a fishing incident. "It was a difficult period for me because only I can tell you how much I missed football," Petre told euro2008.com. "For me, football is like drinking water every day.

Coma
"However, I was lucky because I had people who helped me – my wife and son Patric as well as the doctors whose treatment made it possible for me to come back and play professional football again. During my recovery from hepatitis I went fishing with friends but as I was casting my line I hit an electricity conductor above my head. From that moment on I don't remember a thing. Everything around me caught fire. Smoke came out of my body and I was in a coma for four or five hours. After that the recovery was pretty difficult. I had two operations on my leg and one on my hand, but in the end I managed to get over my problems and look – I am here now and I am happy."

Remarkable comeback
The former FC Dinamo 1948 Bucureşti stalwart has managed to rebuild his career, latterly with Bulgarian champions CSKA Sofia where his eleven goals helped them to the title this season. However, it has always been his ambition to represent his country at the highest level again and having missed out in the Group C opener against France, Petre was thrilled to cap his remarkable comeback by starting the 1-1 draw against world champions Italy.

Biggest achievement
"I was delighted because this has been my biggest wish since my illness and problems – to play for my country again in the finals of a [UEFA] European Championship or [FIFA] World Cup," said Petre. "After what I have been through, this is the highlight of all the successes I have had in my career. Now we have a real chance of getting into the last eight and matching the achievements of 2000, and who knows, we might even go a step further this time."