Radio Romania International Sports Club – Handball
Forty years have passed since the Romanian mens national handball team won the world title.
România Internațional, 16.04.2014, 11:59
Forty years have passed since the Romanian men’s national handball team won the world title. We proudly recall that on March 10, 1974 in Berlin, Romania succeeded a most precious 14-12 win against the then German Democratic Republic, in the World Championship finals. It was the fourth time when Romania’s national handball team proved they were the best in the world.
A first time for such a feat had occurred in 1961 in West Germany, then the Romanians proved their mettle for a second time around in Czechoslovakia, in 1964. A landmark in Romanians’ blazing trail was the world title they won in France, in 1970. So the Romanians’ fourth title in Berlin was the closing episode for a golden age in Romanian handball. Those times have hitherto been unparalleled.
The veterans of Romanian handball’s golden generation these days once again got together in Bucharest. Their purpose was to celebrate their past victories. Also, the handball veterans met to commemorate those who passed away. Former manager Nicolae Nedef couldn’t possibly miss the event, since he was the one who lead the national team all the way up to winning the world title no less than four times.
Also attending the event was General Cornel Otelea, a three-times world champion, in 1961, 1964 and 1970. Four of the former handball players were world champions in 1961 and 1964. They were Petre Ivănescu, Ioan Moser, Olimpiu Nodea and Mircea Costache II. Then there were Gheorghe Gruia, Cezar Nica and Ion Popescu, all four world champions in 1964 and 1970. Also, part of the team that walked away with the world title in 1970 were Gheorghe Goran, Valentin Samungi, Mihail Marinescu and Titus Moldovan.
We simply cannot leave out Cristian Gatu, Cornel Penu, Roland Gunesch, Stefan Birtalan, Gabriel Kicsid and Stefan Orban. All of them were world champions in 1970 and 1974. Joining them were Werner Stockl, Radu Voina, Constantin Tudosie, Dan Marin, Mircea Grabovschi, Liviu Bota and Mircea Stef. They were part of the line-up that won the world title in 1974.
On Tuesday, the aforementioned handball players took part in a press conference in Bucharest. They could not avoid the sensitive issue of Romanian handball’s ongoing crisis. Poor determination and lack of patriotism were, according to Petre Ivanescu, the main problems Romanian handball is facing at the moment. Nicolae Nedef, on the other hand, raised the issue of the low status sports is granted in Romania’s secondary education curricula.
