Romania at the Olympic Games – Football

Romania will be represented in the men's Under-21 competition at the Olympic Games

Florin Orban, 22.06.2021, 13:45

After a break of
nearly 60 years, Romanian football will return to the Olympic Games. Romania’s under-21
team qualified to the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2019, when it also
secured qualification to the semi-finals of the Under-21 European Championship
hosted by Italy and San Marino. Romania’s last participation in the Olympics
dates back to 1964, an edition hosted by Japan, when Romania reached the
quarterfinals. This will be Romania’s fourth participation in the Olympic
football event after the editions of 1924, 1952 and 1964.

Qualifying to the
Olympics is the result of years of preparation, which started with the Football
Academy founded by Gheorghe Hagi, where 10 players performing for Romania’s
Under-21 team spent their junior years. The list includes Ianis Hagi, the son
of the great Romanian footballer. Apart from hard training, another
contributing factor was the decision to promote young players at the level of
First League teams in the Romanian domestic championship. A rule was introduced
in the First League providing that each team should field an under-21 player in
every game, a decision which generated a lot of disgruntlement, but which
apparently has yielded results. We shouldn’t forget the role of head coach Mirel
Rădoi, who managed to build a solid, consistent and offensive playstyle, one
matching the talent of his players. Mirel Rădoi was subsequently promoted to
Romania’s senior team.

The postponement of
the Tokyo Olympics for 2021 called into question the eligibility of some of the
players the contributed to the qualification. The International Football
Federation ruled, however, that even though they exceed 23 years of age,
players will still be able to play for their national teams. (VP)