From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Romania
Nickname(s)	Tricolorii (The Tricolours)
Association	Romanian Football Federation
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Victor Piţurcă
Captain	Cristian Chivu
Most caps	Dorinel Munteanu (134)
Top scorer	Gheorghe Hagi (35)
Home stadium	Lia Manoliu Stadium
FIFA code	ROU
FIFA ranking	13
Highest FIFA ranking	3 (September 1997)
Lowest FIFA ranking	35 (August 2004)
Elo ranking	10
Highest Elo ranking	5 (June 1990)
Lowest Elo ranking	42 (1949, 1960)
Home colours 　 Away colours
First international
Yugoslavia 1 - 2 Romania (Belgrade, Yugoslavia; 8 June 1922)
Biggest win
Romania 9 - 0 Finland (Bucharest, Romania; 14 October 1973)
Biggest defeat
Hungary 9 - 0 Romania (Budapest, Hungary; 6 June 1948)
World Cup
Appearances	7 (First in 1930)
Best result	Quarterfinals, 1994
European Championship
Appearances	3 (First in 1984)
Best result	Quarterfinals, 2000

The Romanian national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.

Romania is one of only four national teams (the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium) to participate in the first three World Cups. However, they then qualified only once between the 1950 and 1986 editions. Romania then had a solid run through the 1990s, advancing to the second round or better in three consecutive World Cups. The period was highlighted by the 1994 World Cup where Romania, led by Gheorghe Hagi, reached the quarterfinals and defeated Argentina 3-2 before losing to Sweden on penalty kicks. In Euro 2000 they drew 1-1 with Germany and defeated England 3-2 to advance to the quarterfinals before falling to eventual runners-up Italy.

The team has had less success since 2001, narrowly missing qualification for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and also missing out on Euro 2004. Romania is currently ranked 13th in the world. Romania were the fourth team to qualify for the Euro 2008. They were unlucky enough on the December 2nd 2007, to be drawn in Group C of the tournament, nicknamed the 'Group of Death', due to France, Italy and the Netherlands, being drawn in the same group.

Contents 1 World Cup record 2 European Championship record 3 History 3.1 Beginnings 3.1.1 World Cups in the 1930s 3.1.2 International Wilderness 3.2 Increasing popularity 3.2.1 1970 World Cup 3.2.2 1970s 3.2.3 1980s 3.3 Gheorghe Hagi's era: the Golden Generation 3.3.1 Italia 90 3.3.2 Euro 92 and USA 94 3.3.3 Euro 96 3.3.4 France 98 3.3.5 Euro 2000 3.4 Recent years 3.4.1 2000s - Near Misses 4 Current squad 4.1 Coaching staff 4.2 Important players of the squad 4.2.1 Other players 5 Famous players 5.1 Most capped players 5.2 Top goalscorers 6 Past managers 7 Trivia 8 External links 9 See also

• 1930 to 1938 - Round 1
• 1950 - Did not enter
• 1954 to 1958 - Did not qualify
• 1962 - Withdrew
• 1966 - Did not qualify
• 1970 - Round 1
• 1974 to 1986 - Did not qualify
• 1990 - Round 2
• 1994 - Quarterfinals
• 1998 - Round 2
• 2002 to 2006- Did not qualify

• 1960 to 1980 - Did not qualify
• 1984 - Round 1
• 1988 to 1992 - Did not qualify
• 1996 - Round 1
• 2000 - Quarterfinals
• 2004 - Did not qualify
• 2008 - Qualified

Main article: History of the Romania national football team

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can (July 2007).

Romania played their first international match on 8 June 1922, a 2-1 win over Yugoslavia in Belgrade, coached by Teofil Moraru.

Several temporary coaches were employed, before Moraru resumed control in August 1924, managing the side for nearly four years. Romania enjoyed some success during the 1930s; manager Costel Rădulescu took them to the first three FIFA World Cup tournaments, a feat matched only by Brazil and Belgium.

At the 1930 World Cup, Romania won their first match against Peru, 3-1, with goals from Adalbert Desu, Constantin Stanciu and Nicolae Kovács, before being thrashed 4-0 by hosts and eventual winners Uruguay.

Romania qualified for the next World Cup in 1934 after beating Yugoslavia 2-1 in a repeat of their first international. At the finals, Romania played only one game in a new knock-out format, losing 2-1 to Czechoslovakia in Trieste, Italy, with Ştefan Dobay scoring their only goal of the tournament.

Romania qualified by default for the 1938 World Cup after their qualifying playoff opponents Egypt withdrew. They suffered a shock defeat in the finals in France, losing to minnows Cuba, who, like Romania, had only qualified due to the withdrawal of their qualifying opponents, Mexico. The first match at the Stade Chapou in Toulouse ended 3-3 after extra time, but Cuba won the replay four days later 2-1.

Between 1938 and 1970 Romania failed to qualify for any major international tournaments.

Participation in the World Cup was finally achieved once again in 1970 in Mexico, although qualification came on the back of a 3-0 thrashing by Portugal in Lisbon and two unconvincing draws against unfancied Greece. Angelo Niculescu's promising were given the toughest of draws, in Group 3 with holders England, giants Brazil and Czechoslovakia.

A Geoff Hurst goal gave England a narrow victory in Romania's first match at the Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara. Chances were improved with a 2-1 win over the Czechs. Despite going behind early to a Ladislav Petráš goal, Romania turned it around after half-time with Alexandru Neagu and Florea Dumitrache scoring to give them two vital points. Even then, only a win over the excellent Brazilians would take them into the Quarter Finals.

There were rumours before the match that Brazil might prefer Romania to progress than World Champions England; Despite beating them 1-0 in their previous match in Guadalajara, the South American giants still viewed England as one of their biggest obstacles to tournament victory. But Brazil played some of the best football of the competition, with Pelé scoring twice and a Jairzinho goal in between. Romania battled bravely; Dumitrache pulled the score back to 2-1 before the break and a late Emerich Dembrowski goal made it 3-2, but they were out.

On 26 September 1973, under new coach Valentin Stanculescu, Romania suffered a significant defeat to East Germany in Leipzig. The East Germans won 2-0 to effectively seal their first ever qualification for the World Cup, which would be held over the border in West Germany. With East Germany scoring a predictable 4-1 win in Albania, Romania were out, despite a huge 9-0 win over Finland in Bucharest.

Romania continued to suffer poor form in the UEFA European Championship. In their qualifying group for the 1976 European Football Championship, they were out-qualified by Spain, despite an impressive 1-1 draw in the away match. Romania failed to win matches, drawing twice with Scotland and Spain and dropping points in Denmark with a dismal goalless draw.

Romania were again beat by Spain for a place in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. Despite a 1-0 win in Bucharest, Romania lost a bizarre match at home to Yugoslavia 6-4 having led 3-2 at half time. Spain won 1-0 in Belgrade to seal passage to South America.

Romania's sole successful qualifying campaign was for the European Championships in 1984 in France. At the finals, Romania were drawn with regular rivals Spain, holders West Germany and dark horses Portugal. Under head coach Mircea Lucescu, an encouraging opening game in Saint-Étienne saw them draw with the Spanish. Francisco José Carrasco opened the scoring from the penalty spot but Romania equalized before half time with a goal from Laszlo Bölöni.

Against the Germans in Lens, Marcel Coras scored an equalizer in the first minute of the second half in response to Rudi Völler's opener, but Völler would score a winning goal. Their last match in Nantes was a must-win match, but Nené's late winner meant Portugal progressed with Spain, who netted a dramatic late winner against West Germany at the Parc des Princes in Paris.

Romania stuttered throughout the rest of the decade, but a stronger squad at the end of the decade saw them qualify for their fifth World Cup at Italia 90. A win over Denmark in their last match took Emerich Jenei's side to the finals for the first time in twenty years.

Romania's squad was entirely domestic based, despite an increasing trend for the major sides in Italy and Spain buying up the best foreign talent. Midfielder Ilie Dumitrescu, striker Florin Răducioiu and genius playmaker Gheorghe Hagi, then of Steaua Bucharest, were in the squad, but it was forward Gavril Balint who would prove the hero in the first round.

With World Champions Argentina stunned by Cameroon in the tournament's opening match, Romania did their chances no harm with a convincing win over the USSR at the San Nicola in Bari, with Marius Lăcătuş scoring in either half. The result was all the more impressive given the absence of Hagi. There was controversy, however, as Lăcătus's second was a penalty given for a handball by Vagiz Khidiatulin that television replays clearly showed to be some way outside the penalty area.

Romania were the next victims of Cameroon in Bari. Cult hero Roger Milla, 38 years of age, came on as a substitute for Emmanuel Maboang Kessack and scored twice, before Balint pulled one back. Romania needed a point in their last match against improving Argentina at the San Paolo in Naples. Pedro Monzón gave Argentina the lead after an hour, but Balint quickly equalized and Romania held on to reach Round 2.

Against Jack Charlton's Ireland side in Genoa, Romania didn't have the quality to break down a defensive opposition. Daniel Timofte was the only player to miss in the penalty shoot-out - his kick saved by Packie Bonner - and Romania were out. In the process, Ireland became the smallest country ever to progress that far in a FIFA World Cup.

Romania missed out on Euro 92. Scotland qualified after Romania drew a must-win last match in Sofia against Bulgaria, with Nasko Sirakov's equalizer sealing their fate.

They were successful, though, in reaching another World Cup in the United States in 1994. Despite losing in Belgium and suffering a heavy 5-2 defeat in Czechoslovakia, Romania went into their last match at Cardiff Arms Park with Wales needing a win to pip them to a place in the finals. Goals from Gheorghe Hagi and Dean Saunders meant the game was finely balanced, before Wales were awarded a penalty. Paul Bodin of Swindon Town stepped up but hit the woodwork and Romania went on to win 2-1, Răducioiu's late goal proving unnecessary as Czechoslovakia dropped a point in Belgium and were knocked out.

At the finals, Romania were one of the most entertaining teams in the early stages with Hagi, Răducioiu and Dumitrescu on form. Romania beat Colombia - dark horses and Pelé's tip for the tournament - at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in Los Angeles 3-1. Răducioiu opened the scoring before Hagi scored a spectacular second from wide on the left touchline. Adolfo Valencia shredded their nerves with a headed goal just before half-time, but Romania held on and Răducioiu sealed the win with a late third.

In Detroit's Pontiac Silverdome, the temperature soared due to the greenhouse effect in the indoor arena. Switzerland, acclimatized after having already played the hosts there, outran Romania in the second half and turned a 1-1 half time score into a surprising 4-1 win. Romania responded by beating the hosts 1-0 in Pasadena with an early Dan Petrescu goal.

In Round 2 they faced Argentina, who were shorn of Diego Maradona who was thrown out of the tournament for taking drugs. Răducioiu, suspended, was hardly missed, as coach Anghel Iordănescu pushed Dumitrescu forward to play as a striker and the player responded by scoring twice in the first twenty minutes, one a superbly subtle left foot flick from a right-wing Hagi cross slotted between the Argentine defenders. In between, Gabriel Batistuta scored a penalty, but after half-time Romania netted a superb third on the counter attack, with Hagi beating goalkeeper Luis Islas. Abel Balbo pulled one back, but Romania held on for a shock win.

Romania would suffer penalty heartbreak again, in the Quarter Final against Sweden. With just thirteen minutes to go, a tight match opened up as Sweden's Thomas Brolin scored from a clever free-kick move, the ball passed outside the Romanian wall by Håkan Mild for Brolin to smash in. Iordănescu threw caution to the wind and the returning Răducioiu found a late equalizer, again from a free-kick move but this time down to a deflection and a failure of the Swedes to clear. In extra time Răducioiu scored again after a mistake by Patrik Andersson, but Sweden then scored their own late equalizer as giant striker Kennet Andersson climbed above goalkeeper Florin Prunea to head home a long ball. Prunea had come in after two matches to replace Bogdan Stelea, whose confidence was shattered by the 4-1 loss to the Swiss. In the shoot-out, Dan Petrescu and Miodrag Belodedici had their kicks saved by Thomas Ravelli and Sweden went through.

In England, Romania arrived as a highly tought-of and popular team but had a nightmare. Iordănescu's side were based in the north east, with their first two games at St James' Park in Newcastle. Against France, they lost to a Christophe Dugarry header reminiscent of Kennet Andersson's two years earlier, beating the goalkeeper to a lofted through ball. A brilliant early solo goal by Hristo Stoichkov saw Bulgaria knock out their neighbours, although Romania claimed they should have had a goal awarded when the ball struck the bar and bounced behind the goal-line. They finally scored in their last game, Florin Răducioiu equalizing an early goal by Spain's Javier Manjarín. Spain had to win to qualify with France at the expence of Bulgaria and did so when Guillermo Amor stooped to head a late winner. Romania exited with no points and little to cheer.

Despite a dreadful Euro 96, Romania were seeded when they qualified for the 1998 World Cup with an impressive record in qualifying, finishing ten points clear of Ireland. Despite being drawn in a group with England, getting through it was perceived to be easy work with a waning Colombia and minnows Tunisia.

Adrian Ilie scored the only goal with a fine chip in their first match against Colombia at Lyon's Stade Gerland. In Toulouse, they met an England side starting with prodigal striker Michael Owen on the bench, with Teddy Sheringham preferred alongside Alan Shearer. A mistake by Tony Adams was punished by Viorel Moldovan, who played for Coventry City, before Owen came on to claim an equalizer. But Romania won with a wonderful late goal from Dan Petrescu, also playing in England with Chelsea, fighting off his club mate Graeme le Saux and nutmegging goalkeeper David Seaman.

Having already qualified, Romania bizarrely decided to bleach their hair before their last match against Tunisia. Despite England v Colombia being the more decisive game, the Stade de France in Paris was an 80,000 sell out and the crowd were nearly rewarded with a shock as Skander Souayeh scored an early penalty to give the north Africans the lead. Romania needed a point to win the group and, crucially, avoid Argentina in Round 2, and got it when Moldovan volleyed a late equalizer. It did them little good, however, as in the Round of 16 match at Bordeaux, Davor Šuker scored a twice-taken penalty in a poor match and Romania were out.

Romania were not expected to progress through a group containing Portugal, England and Germany. Hagi's powers were waning, Dumitrescu and Rǎducioiu were no longer on the scene and hopes were pinned on young Internazionale forward Adrian Mutu. Romania started brightly against the Germans in Liège, with Moldovan scoring from close range. A long-range Mehmet Scholl equalizer meant they had to be content with a point and their position looked shaky after Costinha headed a last minute winner for Portugal in their second match.

Emerich Jenei, back as coach, threw caution to the wind in the last match in Charleroi against England, a match which Romania had to win. Defender Cristian Chivu's cross went in off the post in the 22nd minute but, despite Romania dominating, England led at half-time through an Alan Shearer penalty and a late Michael Owen goal after he rounded Bogdan Stelea to score a tap-in, both in the last five minutes of the half. Romania attacked after the break and were quickly rewarded; Dorinel Munteanu punishing a poor punch from Nigel Martyn, a late replacement for the injured Seaman to equalize three minutes after the re-start. England cracked under the pressure. Unable to retain possession or pose an attacking threat, they fell deep and late on Phil Neville, playing out of position at left-back, conceded a penalty scored by Ioan Ganea in the 89th minute.

Romania's relief was tempered by tough opposition in the last eight, and Italy, who would end up seconds from being crowned European champions in an agonizing final, comfortably saw them off 2-0 in Brussels. Francesco Totti and Filippo Inzaghi scoring towards the end of the first half. After the break Hagi, in his final international tournament, hit the woodwork with goalkeeper Francesco Toldo stranded off his line and was magnanimously sent off for diving. Romania's tournament was over and Jenei left his job as coach again.

Romania failed to qualify for the next three major tournaments. They drew Slovenia, who had been surprise qualifiers for Euro 2000 in a playoff for a place in the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. A narrow 2-1 deficit - having led through a Marius Niculae goal - after the first leg in Ljubljana was not irretrievable. With fans' hero Gheorghe Hagi now coaching the side they were confident of getting the win they needed in Bucharest against the Balkan upstarts, but Slovenia took the lead before the hour through Mladen Rudonja. Right wing-back Cosmin Contra quickly equalized but Romania could not find the goal they needed to force extra time and Slovenia, with maverick manager Srečko Katanec, were in a major tournament again.

Romania were confident of qualifying for Euro 2004 in Portugal, drawn in Group 2 with seeds Denmark, Norway, Bosnia-Herzegovina and minnows Luxembourg. Despite a good start - a 3-0 win away to Bosnia in Sarajevo, Romania stuttered. Steffen Iversen's late goal gave Norway a surprise win in Bucharest and they were stunned at home by the Danes, 5-2, with Thomas Gravesen scoring a spectacular goal from around fifty yards out, despite leading twice. They recovered slightly, completing a double over the Bosnians and getting a point in Oslo, but conceded a cutting injury time equalizer in Denmark to draw 2-2. It was decisive, as they now required Norway to fail to win at home to Luxembourg to stand any realistic chance of qualifying. Eventually, the Danes got a point in Bosnia to scrape through a tight group, with Norway going to a play-off with Spain.

Romania were put in a massive group for the qualifying tournament for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Holland and Czech Republic were favourite to qualify, then ranked first and second in Europe. Early wins over Finland and Macedonia were unconvincing, and they were some way behind the two leaders by the time they earned a good 2-0 home win over the Czechs. They finished third behind the Dutch and the Czechs and missed out on another major tournament.

Romania were drawn in a group with group favourites Holland and tough opponents Bulgaria for the Euro 2008 Championships Qualifying.

However on the 17 October 2007, Romania became the fourth team to qualify for the Euro 2008. This the team's first big championships since Euro 2000, 8 years before.

Main article: Romania national football team players

The following players were named for the Euro 2008 qualifier against Albania on 17 November 2007.

Caps and goals correct as of 21 November 2007, up to and including the match against Albania.

No. Pos. Player DoB/Age Caps Goals Club 1 GK Bogdan Lobonţ 18 January 1978 61 0 Dinamo Bucureşti 2 DF George Ogăraru 3 February 1980 5 0 Ajax Amsterdam 3 DF Răzvan Raţ 26 May 1981 46 1 Shakhtar Donetsk 4 DF Gabriel Tamaş 9 November 1983 29 2 AJ Auxerre 5 DF Cristian Chivu 26 October 1980 56 3 Internazionale Milano 6 MF Paul Codrea 4 April 1981 32 1 AC Siena 7 FW Ionuţ Mazilu 9 February 1982 10 2 FC Rapid Bucureşti 8 MF Ovidiu Petre 22 March 1982 20 1 Steaua Bucureşti 9 FW Ciprian Marica 2 October 1985 21 7 VfB Stuttgart 10 MF Florentin Petre 15 January 1976 47 5 CSKA Sofia 11 MF Răzvan Cociş 19 February 1983 18 1 Lokomotiv Moscow 12 GK Dănuţ Coman 28 March 1979 9 0 FC Rapid Bucureşti 13 MF Andrei Mărgăritescu 1 January 1980 3 0 Dinamo Bucureşti 14 DF Marius Constantin 25 October 1984 3 0 Rapid Bucureşti 15 DF Dorin Goian 12 December 1981 17 3 Steaua Bucureşti 16 MF Bănel Nicoliţă 7 January 1985 17 1 Steaua Bucureşti 17 FW Gheorghe Bucur 8 April 1980 7 2 Politehnica Timişoara 18 DF Petre Marin 8 September 1973 9 0 Steaua Bucureşti 19 MF Eugen Trică 5 August 1976 4 0 CFR Cluj 20 MF Nicolae Dică 9 May 1980 22 6 Steaua Bucureşti 21 FW Daniel Niculae 6 October 1982 20 4 AJ Auxerre 22 DF Mihai Neşu 19 February 1983 3 0 Steaua Bucureşti -- FW Adrian Mutu 8 January 1979 58 27 Fiorentina

Head Coach	Victor Piţurcă
Assistant Coaches	Ştefan Iovan
	Gabriel Boldici
	Dan Apolzan
Fitness Coach	Marian Lupu
Team Doctor	Pompiliu Popescu
Masseurs	Roger Popovici
	Victor Hexan
	Ionel Buduga

The following players have been at least substitutes for one UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying match. The minutes, matches and goals refer to the Euro 2008 qualifiers.

Goalkeepers

Number(s)	Name	DOB	Club	Caps (goals)	Minutes played (matches)	Goals conceded
1	Bogdan Lobonţ	January 18, 1978	Dinamo Bucureşti	61 (0)	990 (11)	6
12, 1	Dănuţ Coman	March 28, 1979	FC Rapid Bucureşti	9 (0)	90 (1)	1
12	Mircea Bornescu	May 3, 1980	Universitatea Craiova	0 (0)	0(0)	0
12	Marius Popa	April 12, 1976	Poli Timişoara	0 (0)	0 (0)	0

Defenders

Number(s)	Name	DOB	Club	Caps (goals)	Minutes played (matches)	Goals
3	Răzvan Raţ	May 26, 1981	Shakhtar Donetsk	46 (1)	978 (11)	0
4	Gabriel Tamaş	November 9, 1983	AJ Auxerre	29 (2)	851 (10)	2
17, 19, 15	Dorin Goian	December 12, 1980	Steaua Bucureşti	17 (3)	810 (9)	2
5	Cristian Chivu	October 26, 1980	Internazionale Milano	56 (3)	806 (9)	0
2	Cosmin Contra	December 15, 1975	Getafe CF	60 (7)	540 (6)	2
2	George Ogăraru	February 3, 1980	Ajax Amsterdam	5 (0)	360 (4)	0
15, 18	Petre Marin	September 8, 1973	Steaua Bucureşti	9 (0)	180 (2)	0
6	Mirel Rădoi	March 22, 1981	Steaua Bucureşti	41 (1)	180 (2)	0
22	Ştefan Radu	October 22, 1986	Dinamo Bucureşti	6 (0)	102 (2)	0
18, 4	Sorin Ghionea	May 11, 1979	Steaua Bucureşti	9 (0)	90 (1)	0
13	Dorel Stoica	April 5, 1978	Universitatea Craiova	2 (0)	82 (2)	0
14	Marius Constantin	25 October 1984	Rapid Bucureşti	3 (0)	12 (1)	0
18	Gabriel Mureşan	February 13, 1982	CFR Cluj	1 (0)	11(1)	0
16	Vasile Maftei	January 1, 1981	Rapid Bucureşti	4 (1)	9 (1)	0

Midfielders

Number(s)	Name	DOB	Club	Caps (goals)	Minutes played (matches)	Goals
6, 5	Paul Codrea	April 4, 1981	AC Siena	32 (1)	698 (8)	0
7, 10	Florentin Petre	January 15, 1976	PFC CSKA Sofia	47 (5)	516 (7)	1
14, 8, 16	Bănel Nicoliţă	January 7, 1985	Steaua Bucureşti	17 (1)	487 (8)	1
8, 20	Nicolae Dică	May 9, 1980	Steaua Bucureşti	22 (6)	459 (6)	4
11	Laurenţiu Roşu	October 26, 1975	Recreativo de Huelva	38 (5)	409 (7)	1
17, 13, 19, 11	Răzvan Cociş	February 19, 1983	Lokomotiv Moscow	18 (1)	336 (6)	0
8, 11	Ovidiu Petre	March 22, 1982	Steaua Bucureşti	20 (1)	270 (3)	0
17, 13	Andrei Mărgăritescu	January 1, 1980	Dinamo Bucureşti	3 (0)	181 (3)	0
7, 8	Ianis Zicu	October 23, 1983	Dinamo Bucureşti	5 (0)	177 (3)	0
20, 11	Adrian Cristea	November 30, 1983	Dinamo Bucureşti	5 (0)	64 (2)	0
8	Dorinel Munteanu	June 25, 1968	FC Vaslui	134 (16)	23 (1)	0
17	Mihăiţă Pleşan	February 19, 1982	Steaua Bucureşti	7 (1)	11 (1)	0
13, 19	Eugen Trică	August 5, 1976	CFR Cluj	4 (0)	9 (2)	0
2, 14	Valentin Bădoi	December 16, 1975	Steaua Bucureşti	10 (0)	0 (0)	0
16, 17	Sorin Paraschiv	June 17, 1981	Rimini Calcio	4 (0)	0 (0)	0

Strikers

Number(s)	Name	DOB	Club	Caps (goals)	Minutes played (matches)	Goals
10	Adrian Mutu	January 8, 1979	AC Fiorentina	58 (27)	787 (9)	6
9	Ciprian Marica	October 2, 1985	VfB Stuttgart	21 (7)	771 (11)	5
13, 21	Daniel Niculae	October 6, 1982	AJ Auxerre	20 (6)	370 (7)	2
7	Ionuţ Mazilu	February 9, 1982	Rapid Bucureşti	10 (2)	81 (2)	0
17	Sergiu Radu	August 10, 1977	VfL Wolfsburg	1 (0)	57 (1)	0
19, 17	Gheorghe Bucur	April 8, 1980	FCU Politehnica Timişoara	7 (2)	25 (1)	0
21	Mugurel Buga	December 16, 1977	Rapid Bucureşti	6 (1)	18 (1)	0
7	Florin Bratu	January 2, 1980	Dinamo Bucureşti	10 (2)	15 (1)	0
18	Ioan Ganea	August 10, 1973	Politehnica Timişoara	45 (19)	12 (1)	0
19, 15	Claudiu Niculescu	June 23, 1976	Dinamo Bucureşti	8 (0)	1 (1)	0

The following players were named for at least one UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying match, but were not even substitutes in the qualifiers.

Name	DOB	Club	Position	Caps (goals)	Debut
Cristian Pulhac	August 17, 1984	Dinamo Bucureşti	Defender	2 (0)	v Northern Ireland, 2 December 2004
Dan Matei	June 25, 1981	Gloria Bistriţa	Defender	0 (0)
Marius Măldărăşanu	April 19, 1975	Rapid Bucureşti	Midfielder	8 (0)	v Latvia, 2 February 2000
Stefan Grigorie	January 31, 1982	Rapid Bucureşti	Midfielder	2 (0)	v Slovakia, 12 February 2003
Costin Lazăr	April 24, 1981	Rapid Bucureşti	Midfielder	3 (0)	v Ivory Coast, 12 November 2005

Ioan Andone Alexandru Apolzan Iuliu Baratky Silviu Bindea Iuliu Bodola Ilie Balaci Miodrag Belodedici László Bölöni Rodion Cămătaru Cristian Chivu (*) Cosmin Contra (*) Ştefan Dobay

Nicolae Dobrin Cornel Dinu Florea Dumitrache Ion Dumitru Ilie Dumitrescu Emerich Dembrovschi Ionel Ganea Gheorghe Hagi Adrian Ilie Anghel Iordănescu Michael Klein Viorel Moldovan

Marius Lăcătuş Bogdan Lobonţ (*) Mircea Lucescu Ioan Lupescu Silviu Lung Bazil Marian Dorin Mateuţ Dorinel Munteanu (*) Adrian Mutu (*) Titus Ozon Dan Petrescu Mirel Rădoi (*)

Gheorghe Popescu Iosif Petschovsky Daniel Prodan Marcel Răducanu Necula Răducanu Florin Răducioiu Mircea Rednic Ioan Ovidiu Sabău Bogdan Stelea (*) Costică Ştefănescu Nicolae Ungureanu Ion Vladoiu

• (*) - still active

As of February 12, 2007, the ten players with the most caps for Romania are:

#	Name	Career	Caps	Goals
1.	Dorinel Munteanu (*)	1991 - 2007	134	16
2.	Gheorghe Hagi	1983 - 2000	125	35
3.	Gheorghe Popescu	1988 - 2003	115	16
4.	Ladislau Bölöni	1975 - 1988	108	23
5.	Dan Petrescu	1989 - 2000	95	12
6.	Bogdan Stelea (*)	1988 - 2005	91	0
7.	Michael Klein	1981 - 1991	90	5
8.	Marius Lăcătuş	1984 - 1998	84	13
9.	Mircea Rednic	1981 - 1991	83	2
10.	Silviu Lung	1979 - 1993	77	0

• (*) - still active

As of June 2, 2007, the ten players with the most goals for Romania are:

#	Player	Career	Goals (Caps)
1.	Gheorghe Hagi	1983 - 2000	35 (125)
2.	Iuliu Bodola	1931 - 1939	30 (48)
3.	Adrian Mutu (*)	2000 - present	27 (57)
4.	Anghel Iordănescu	1971 - 1981	26 (64)
5.	Viorel Moldovan	1993 - 2005	25 (70)
6.	Ladislau Bölöni	1975 - 1988	23 (108)
7.	Rodion Cămătaru	1978 - 1990	22 (75)
8.	Dudu Georgescu	1973 - 1984	21 (40)
9.	Florin Răducioiu	1990 - 2000	21 (40)
10.	Ştefan Dobay	1930 - 1939	20 (41)

• (*) - still active

Teofil Moraru 1922 - 1923 Costel Rădulescu 1923 Adrian Suciu 1923 - 1924 Teofil Moraru 1924 - 1928 Costel Rădulescu 1923 - 1934 Josef Uridil 1934 Alexandru Săvulescu 1934 - 1935 Costel Rădulescu 1935 - 1938 Alexandru Săvulescu 1938 Liviu Iuga 1938 - 1939 Virgil Economu 1939 - 1940 Liviu Iuga 1940 Virgil Economu 1941 - 1942 Jean Lăpuşneanu 1942 - 1943 Emerich Vogl 1942 - 1943 Coloman Braun-Bogdan 1945 Virgil Economu 1946 Colea Vâlcov 1947 Emerich Vogl 1947 Francisc Ronnay 1947

Emerich Vogl 1947 Colea Vâlcov 1948 Petre Steinbach 1948 Iuliu Baratky 1948 Emerich Vogl 1948 Colea Vâlcov 1949 Emerich Vogl 1949 Ion Mihăilescu 1949 Gheorghe Albu 1950 Volodea Vâlcov 1950 Emerich Vogl 1950 - 1951 Gheorghe Popescu I 1951 - 1957 Augustin Botescu 1958 - 1960 Gheorghe Popescu I 1961 Constantin Teaşcă 1962 Gheorghe Popescu I 1962 Silviu Ploeşteanu 1962 - 1964 Valentin Stănescu 1964 Silviu Ploeşteanu 1964 Ilie Oană 1965 - 1966

Valentin Stănescu 1967 Ilie Oană 1967 Angelo Niculescu 1967 Constantin Teaşcă 1967 Angelo Niculescu 1967 - 1970 Valentin Stănescu 1971 Angelo Niculescu 1971 Valentin Stănescu 1971 Angelo Niculescu 1971 Valentin Stănescu 1971 Angelo Niculescu 1971 Gheorghe Ola 1972 Angelo Niculescu 1972 Gheorghe Ola 1972 Angelo Niculescu 1972 Gheorghe Ola 1972 Valentin Stănescu 1973 - 1975 Cornel Drăguşin 1975 Stefan Kovacs 1976 - 1979 Florin Halagian 1979

Constantin Cernăianu 1979 Stefan Kovacs 1980 Valentin Stănescu 1980 - 1981 Mircea Lucescu 1981 - 1986 Emerich Jenei 1986 - 1990 Gheorghe Constantin 1990 Mircea Rădulescu 1990 - 1992 Cornel Dinu 1992 - 1993 Anghel Iordănescu 1993 - 1998 Victor Piţurcă 1998 - 1999 Emerich Jenei 2000 Ladislau Bölöni 2000 - 2001 Gheorghe Hagi 2001 - 2002 Anghel Iordănescu 2002 - 2004 Victor Piţurcă 2005 -

• The Austrian Josef Uridil is the only foreign manager who coached Romania

• RomanianSoccer.ro - Romanian National Team Archive
• Romania national team /details 1922-/
• RSSSF archive of results 1922-2006
• RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
• RSSSF archive of coaches 1922-1999

• Sport in Romania

Football in Romania v • d • e
Click     next to the name of the competition for information on current season of that event. League competitions FRF Cup competitions Liga I    Romania (F) (U-21) Cupa României Liga II    LPF Supercupa României Liga III List of clubs Foreign players
International football v • d • e
FIFA | World Cup | Confederations Cup | U-20 World Cup | U-17 World Cup | Olympics | Asian Games | All-Africa Games | Pan American Games | Island Games | World Rankings | Player of the Year | Teams | Codes
Asia: AFC – Asian Cup      Africa: CAF – African Cup of Nations      North America: CONCACAF – Gold Cup      South America: CONMEBOL – Copa América      Oceania: OFC – Nations Cup      Europe: UEFA – European Championship      Non-FIFA: NF-Board – VIVA World Cup
National football teams of Europe (UEFA) v • d • e
Albania | Andorra | Armenia | Austria | Azerbaijan | Belarus | Belgium | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bulgaria | Croatia | Cyprus | Czech Republic | Denmark | England | Estonia | Faroe Islands | Finland | France | Georgia | Germany | Greece | Hungary | Iceland | Republic of Ireland | Israel | Italy | Kazakhstan | Latvia | Liechtenstein | Lithuania | Luxembourg | FYR Macedonia | Malta | Moldova | Montenegro | Netherlands | Northern Ireland | Norway | Poland | Portugal | Romania | Russia | San Marino | Scotland | Serbia | Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain | Sweden | Switzerland | Turkey | Ukraine | Wales
UEFA Euro 2008 finalists v • d • e
Group A: Czech Republic • Portugal • Switzerland • Turkey Group B: Austria • Croatia • Germany • Poland Group C: France • Italy • Netherlands • Romania Group D: Greece • Russia • Spain • Sweden