Messi may spend Easter in Romania

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, the world's greatest footballer, may spend the Easter holidays in Romania, it was revealed today (Weds).

The information was made public by the president of the local council in Suceava in northern Romania, Gheorghe Flutur, who said that Messi was going to visit the Bukovina region.

Flutur added that Messi was coming at the invitation of former Romanian international Gica Popescu, who played for Barcelona in 1995-1997.

No further details were provided about Messi's schedule.

Bukovina is a region in northern Romania famous for its colourful 14th-century monasteries.

On UNESCO's list of world heritage monuments, they are unique in the world for their architecture and the paintings on their facades.

Romanian international praised by the German press

Romanian international Ciprian Marica was praised today (Tues) by the German press for having scored five goals this year in the Bundesliga for his team Vfb Stuttgart.

Marica scored two goals at the end of last week in a match with Hanovra.

The German newspaper Bild wrote about the "miraculous" Marica: "It looks like Marica, it talks like Marica, has always been said. But now, there is a new Ciprian Marica, the one we've been seeing in the last three months."

Under new coach Christian Gross, Marica is playing well. Before this season, he had scored only five goals in 56 matches in the Bundesliga.

Marica transferred to VfB Stuttgart in 2007 for 8.3 million Euro from Shakhtar Donetsk and was often criticised by the German press, which considered the transfer a bad one. Until now.

CFR Cluj still the leader in Romanian football

Unirea Urziceni defeated Unirea Alba Iulia in an away football game today (Mon) by a score of 2-1.

Bucurica scored for the host team in the 39th minute, but Unirea’s Brandon managed to score the equaliser in the 48th minute, and Onofras made it 2-1 in the 53rd minute.

Romanian League I leader is CFR Cluj, with 43 points, after its 1-0 defeat of Pandurii Targu Jiu over the weekend.

FC Timisoara is second, with 42 points, and Steaua Bucharest is third, also with 42 points but with fewer goals scored.

Romania to have three friendly football matches

 

Romania will have three friendly football matches starting in May, the Romanian Football Federation has announced today (Fri).

Romania's national football team will meet Ukraine on 29 May in an away game. Romania will then begin training in Austria and have two friendly matches with Macedonia on 2 June and with Honduras on 5 June. Romania missed qualifying for the South Africa World Cup competition and is presently fighting to qualify for Euro 2012.

Dinamo defeats eternal rival Steaua

Dinamo Bucharest won the match with its eternal rival Steaua Bucharest at Stefan cel Mare stadium in Bucharest last night (Weds) by a score of 2-0 (1-0).


Marius Alexe scored in the 40th minute and Adrian Cristea in the 81st minute.

The match was full of yellow and red cards as the tension was at maximum level. Dinamo players got five yellow cards, while Steaua players received three yellow cards and one red card, for Golanski in the 66th minute. Steaua had to play with only 10 men thereafter.

Over 15,000 spectators attended the match.

Dinamo is fourth in the top league, with 38 points, the same as Rapid but with more goals scored. The leader is still CFR Cluj, with 40 points, followed by Steaua, with 39 points.

Match Highlights:

Only three stadiums suitable for Euro 2012 preliminary matches

Only three stadiums in Romania can host preliminary matches for the Euro 2012 competition, the Romanian Football Federation  (FRF) said today (Weds).

FRF said that UEFA standards had been raised and only the following three stadiums would be allowed to host such matches: Steaua in Bucharest, Dr. Constantin Radulescu in Cluj and Dan Paltinisanu in Timisoara.

The FRF will ask UEFA to inspect other two stadiums, Ceahlaul in Piatra Neamt and Ion Oblemenco in Craiova.

Dinamo claims Steaua fans want to set fire to the stadium

Dinamo Bucharest football club Executive President Cristian Borcea said today (Tues) that Steaua supporters intended to set fire to the Dinamo stadium during the match scheduled for tomorrow (Weds).

The two rivals - Steaua and Dinamo - are meeting in a match tomorrow at Dinamo stadium Stefan cel Mare in Bucharest.

Borcea said Steaua supporters wanted to take revenge on Steaua owner tycoon Gigi Becali and set fire to the part of the stadium reserved for visiting team fans. Borcea added that all measures had been taken to prevent such a thing from happening.

Borcea said only 676 tickets have been sold to Steaua supporters, based on a protocol between the two teams.
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What a stupid thing to assume, but I guess you can never be too careful in football. I want to see a Steaua win here!