Romanian football star agonises over loss

27/06/2008

A botched penalty kick by Romanian football star Adrian Mutu in his team's match against Italy damaged its chances of advancing beyond Group C at Euro 2008. Writing on his own blog, Mutu wishes he could turn back time.

By Paul Ciocoiu for Southeast European Times in Bucharest -- 27/06/08

Romanian forward Adrian Mutu reacts to his team's defeat on June 17th by the Netherlands in Euro 2008. Romania lost 2-0 and was eliminated from the competition. [Getty Images]

In the Euro 2008 tournament, Romania played defensively, but retained a one-point lead over France and Italy as it entered its match against the Netherlands. The team needed a clear victory to move to the quarterfinals. It lost, allowing the Italian team to advance.

Critics savaged Coach Victor Piturca and team star Adrian Mutu, who botched a penalty kick in an earlier match against Italy. A successful kick would have allowed Romania to advance in the contest, regardless of the other results in Group C.

"It's been a few days since I returned, and I still have that feeling of wanting to turn back time," writes Adrian Mutu in his blog. "Football is really beautiful but also painful," he adds, admitting that he hasn't yet "digested" his failed kick.

"Another thing I don't understand is why Romanians have this crazy urge to find a scapegoat," he says. "Most of the times they forget that football is a team sport for better or for worse," he adds, in a slap at "talented journalists who only watched football but never played it".

Miguel joins the discussion. "It's not you who is responsible for Romania's failure but the whole team [and its] defeatist mentality. It's not that botched penalty that took Romania out of the game but the bankrupt notion of the game," he argues.

Florinbudescu writes "I don't feel the urge to find a scapegoat. I'm interested only in watching Romanian football where it belongs, and the current situation upsets me deeply, because I think Romania's value is higher than the current official classification."

AlexandruC tries to comfort Mutu. "The team played well together. You had that flash of genius for which you are famous when you scored against Italy. The penalty [kick] was defended, not missed; it was defended by the best goalkeeper in the world," he points out.

"Don't worry, Mutu! You are right; we're all disappointed. We are, and so are you, but we all learn from mistakes," Replica adds.