| Historical note:
There was a time when Timisoara was one of the great cities of
Romanian football. Ten times before the second world war, the league title
headed west, first to FC Chinezul Timisoara, and then to FC Ripensia Timisoara.
Even as recently as 1980, FC Politehnica Timisoara, one of the grandees
of the Romanian game, won the Cup. Times have been hard of late though,
with the regular conflicts between Politehnica owner Claudio Zambon and
his players leaving the club languishing in division three. Some hope
was raised in the city last season, after the promotion of UM Timisoara,
but they lasted only a season before being relegated, and gloom seemed
poised to descend once again. But then, from a most unexpected source,
came renewed hope. Three seasons ago, former Romania star Anton Dobos
bought FC Rocar Fulgerul Bragadiru, a second division side from just outside
Bucharest owned by the Fulgerul brewery, and renamed it FC AEK Bucharest,
because of his love for the Greek club where he spent the two most enjoyable
seasons of his career, AEK Athens FC. Last season, AEK earned promotion,
and Dobos, rather than add a sixth Bucharest club to the top flight, decided
to move in search of sponsorship. Where better to go than Timisoara, a
city crying out for a team to carry on the legacy of the ailing Politehnica?
And so FC Politehnica AEK Timisoara were born, taking on not merely the
name of Zambon's team, but also their purple and white colours and their
home, the Dan Paltinisan stadium. "I hoped the fans would support
us, and come to watch our league games," Dobos said. They certainly
did that, with over 20,000 turning out for Saturday's season-opener against
FCM Bacau, revelling in the chance to wear their purple with pride once
again. Dobos admitted before the campaign began that his prime target
this season was survival, but Politehnica, inspired by their fans, showed
form far above that in winning 2-0. "I have never played before in
such an atmosphere." said Dan Balauru, who scored the opening goal
from the edge of the box. "We are used to having 20 or 30 fans watch
our games. In Timisoara it was incredible, and it was impossible not to
play with all of your heart." What made their performance all the
more remarkable was the complete absence of big-name players. Only three
players - the former Rocar and CF Sportul Studentesc defender Calin Zanc,
his team-mate at Rocar, Mihai Nicolae, and the one-time CF Gloria Bistrita
1922 and FC Dinamo Bucuresti veteran Romulus Buia - have previous top-flight
experience, and the show on Saturday was stolen by Balauru and Ciprian
Prodan, the brother of the former Rangers FC central defender Daniel Prodan.
Politehnica are coached by the 32-year-old formed FC Steaua Bucuresti,
SL Benfica and FC Porto player Basarab Panduru, who was approached by
Bacau coach Dumitru Dumitriu in the summer with a view to ending his career
at Bacau. "I am happy for him but sad for me," said Dumitru
after the game. "He has made a very promising start to his coaching
career, and I wish him the best of luck. Today he made some very clever
changes on the pitch which ruined my tactical thinking." Panduru,
meanwhile, is concerned merely that his side should keep their feet on
the ground. "It is wonderful to start with a victory, but our target
of staying in this division still lies a long way off," he said.
"I want to win matches, but I know that it will be hard. I hope that
I can create a few surprises with my team of youngsters and unknowns.
Dobos, not surprisingly, was delighted, not only with his side's start,
but also with the way fans in Timisoara had greeted the new side. "I
love this team," he said. "It is like a child to me, so this
summer I was desperate to find a town that needed and would support a
first division team. I am glad that Timisoara received us with open arms,
and I hope that the team will be loved and sustained for a long time into
the future." |
