Xtratime Community banner

The Olympic Team: Divided we fall

8K views 357 replies 9 participants last post by  forestasuceava 
#1 ·


Let's talk here about the news and possibilities of our Olympic team.

Remember: Teams participating in the competition are restricted to U23 players (born on or after 1 January 1997) with a maximum of three overage players allowed.
The squads are made of only 18 players (esentially 2 keepers and 16 field players).


Previous participations of Romania in Olympic Games:

Paris 1924:
Netherlands 6 - Romania 0 (Second round)

Romania started in the second round, don't know why. But the exit was fast.


Helsinki 1952:
Hungary 2 - Romania 1 (Preliminar round)

Absolute bad luck here. Romania played in the preliminar round against the best Hungary of all times (and best team in the world), with Puskas and co. Romania did decent against them, losing only by 2-1. Of course the Hungarians won the gold.


Tokyo 1964:
Mexico 1 - Romania 3 (Groups stage)
Germany 1 - Romania 1 (Groups stage)
Iran 0 - Romania 1 (Groups stage)
Hungary 2 - Romania 0 (Quarters)
Ghana 2 - Romania 4 (1st Consolation Round)
Yugoslavia 0 - Romania 3 (5th place game)

The best Romanian participation came in 1964, exactly in Tokyo and in the last presence. Again the Hungarians were the unavoidable obstacle, and again they got the gold. 5th place for Romania out of 14 teams.


Goalscorers in Olympic Games:

Cornel Pavlovici - 6 goals (1964)
Ion Parcalab - 2 (1964)
Carol Creiniceanu - 2 (1964)
Ion Suru - 1 (1952)
Gheorghe Constantin - 1 (1964)
Ion Ionescu - 1 (1964)




Let's try to be big in Japan again

 
See less See more
1 1
#2 ·
Maybe it's surprising for some but I see big chances for Ricardo Grigore to make the final list. He can play in 3 different positions and he's left footed. These things count a lot to make such a short list. Versatile players have a big advantage.
 
#3 ·
My first concern is that clubs are not forced to let their players participate. So, we don't know how many players could miss it. Romanian teams will be having european games at that time. So, the first fight is to get our best players. AFAIK Ianis put in his contract that he has to be allowed to play the Olimpics. I remember some others did too, but IDK which ones
 
#5 ·
#11 ·
The last EC we qualified for I just felt like "okay" because I knew that there's a very high chance that we'll show 3 pathetic games with no will to win (also because you face no new teams, WC is just 10x more special to me)...which to no surprise was the case. 2008 was already quite sobering after that last game against the Netherlands (and the France game has to be one of the most boring games ever).
 
#13 · (Edited)
Radoi will have to take some hard decisions. First of all, who will be the third overage player (assuming Puscas and Nedelcearu will be the other two). Marin, Rus and Stefan are the main contenders. This decision will affect the composition of the squad.


For example:



With Marin:

Radu
Vlad

Manea
Pascanu
Nedelcearu
R.Grigore/Ghita
Boboc

T.Baluta
Nedelcu
Cicaldau
Ciobanu
Marin
Ianis
Man
Coman

Ivan
Puscas
Petre/Dragus



With Rus:

Radu
Vlad

Manea
Pascanu
Nedelcearu
Rus
Boboc

T.Baluta
Nedelcu
Cicaldau
Ciobanu
Dragomir/Olaru
Ianis
Man
Coman

Ivan
Puscas
Petre/Dragus




With Stefan:

Radu
Vlad

Manea
Pascanu
Nedelcearu
Ghita
Boboc
Stefan

T.Baluta
Nedelcu
Cicaldau
Ciobanu
Ianis
Man
Coman

Ivan
Puscas
Petre/Dragus


The thing is...if we somehow qualify for the Euro's, many of these players will be in the final tournament. It would be weird to see a group of players playing the EURO's and the Olympic games in the same summer. It's certainly unusual. So maybe some players of the current U21 team have more chances than we think.
 
#15 ·
I don't think the 3rd overage player will be Stefan. But Puscas and Nede should be there. Marin, unlikely for Ajax to let him go, I'd guess. U21 Euro is a more prestigious tourney and they still didn't let him go. It could be Rus.

I think the main problem won't be the Euro (if we make it), but the players' clubs.

Squad:

1. Radu
2. Boboc
3. Ghita
4. Pascanu
5. Nedelcearu*
6. Manea
7. Coman
8. Man
9. Puscas*
10. Hagi
11. Petre
12. Aioani or Vlad
13. Grigore or (Morutan or Olaru or Ciobanu)
14. Ivan or Dragus
15. Baluta
16. Nedelcu
17. Cicaldau
18. Marin or (Rus)*

Radu,

Manea, Boboc, Pascanu, Nedelcearu*, Ghita

Baluta, Cicaldau, Nedelcu, Hagi, Man, Coman, Ivan

Puscas*, Petre

Would be the main players that I'd almost certainly call if available.

Then another defender, Rus* or R. Grigore. If Marin is available, then definitely him. If not, probably one of Morutan and Olaru, and Rus.

Not a big fan of Dragus, but he could be considered instead of Ivan. Not instead of Petre.

Something like that. Ciobanu is a possibility too, due to his polyvalence, GICA has a point.

Given Radoi's preferences, I'd guess:

GK: Radu, Vlad
DF: Nedelcearu*, Manea, Boboc, Pascanu, Ghita, Grigore/Rus*/Stefan*
MF: Hagi, Man, Coman, Baluta, Nedelcu, Cicaldau, Marin*/Ciobanu/Morutan/Olaru
FW: Puscas*, Petre, Ivan

Or he could call someone like Budescu*...

4-2-3-1 almost surely with Ianis there. I think Coman would start over Ivan if the Olympics were now.
 
#20 ·
All the more reason to hope he sells Man and Coman this summer (before mid July anyway)
 
#24 ·
Brazil did it. They beat comfortably Argentina and joined them for the Olympics.

Participants: Japan, Spain, Germany, Romania, France, N. Zealand, Egypt, Ivory Coast, South Africa, S.Korea, Arabia, Australia, Argentina and Brazil.


The last qualifying tournament is CONCACAF and will be played in late March.

2 spots for Mexico, USA, Canada and maybe Costa Rica.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top