Steaua mania seizes Romania

By Paul-Daniel Zaharia

As FC Steaua Bucuresti overcame a two-goal first-leg deficit to knock holders Valencia CF out of the UEFA Cup on penalties last week, it was the cue for a major national celebration in Romania.

Mass celebrations
Thousands gathered in Bucharest's central Piata Universitatii to celebrate and Romanian president Traian Basescu was delighted. On the day after their victory, Basescu invited the Steaua squad to come and meet him, greeting them with the words: "How do you do, you heroes?"

Becali role
Steaua owner Gigi Becali was clearly grateful to his team - his players all received a €20,000 bonus for their efforts - but he can feel proud of his decision to pressure coach Walter Zenga into fielding Andrei Cristea, a €900,000 summer signing from FCM Bacau, in his starting lineup against Valencia.

Cristea appearance
After Cristea scored the only goal in a 1-0 win at local rivals FC Dinamo Bucuresti, Becali said: "Now Cristea is worth US$20m (€15m)." And when Cristea's appearance as a substitute in the 2-0 defeat at the Mestalla seemed to enliven Steaua, Becali demanded his inclusion in the first XI for the second leg.

Veiled threat
"In the second leg, Cristea must play from the beginning," he said. "If not, we will have a new coach. But there will not be any need for a change, because he will play from the beginning. And I feel that Cristea will score three goals and we will qualify."

Appreciating asset
Becali's instincts were almost correct. The 20-year-old scored in the 51st and 70th minutes before being substituted early in the first period of extra time. "I don't know if Adrian Mutu was as good as Cristea when he was 20," said Becali. "Now Cristea is worth US$75m (€57m)!"

Unforgettable night
"My god, I wanted to score so badly," said Cristea, who had not previously scored in European competition. "Now, everything hurts: muscles, bones, everything. I could not sleep, but when I look back at what I did, I forget it all."

Tempestuous week
The victory against Valencia came 18 years to the day after Steaua won the 1987 UEFA Super Cup when Gheorghe Hagi's goal handed them a 1-0 win against FC Dynamo Kyiv. It also put a positive complexion on what had been one of the more tempestuous weeks in the club's history.

Neaga scandal
A few hours before the first leg in Valencia, Zenga had announced that he would not be fielding top scorer Adrian Neaga, as he was due to leave the club for a €750,000 fee which Becali had negotiated with Korean side Chunnam Dragons - somewhat against the player's will.

'The maestro'
The Romanian media were furious, accusing the Italian coach of being a puppet for Becali and Zenga briefly threatened to resign. However, after the victory in Bucharest, everything changed. One newspaper headline read: "Zenga, the maestro."

Possible winners
Steaua remain the only Romanian club to have won any major European silverware, having prefaced their Super Cup win by taking the 1985/86 European Champion Clubs' Cup, but in the likes of Cristea, defender and team captain Mirel Radoi and forward Daniel Oporita, they may yet have the makings of UEFA Cup winners.

Improbable valuation
Last year's semi-finalists, Villarreal CF, will be their opponents in the last 16, but Cristea was not too concerned. "We have proved that we can do well against Spanish teams," he said. Two more goals in that tie and who knows how much Becali will value him at next?