Steaua plan to build all-Romanian team
Reuters - Sunday 11 March 2012, 13:20
Steaua Bucharest plan
to offload every foreign player on the Romanian club's books
after the end of the season and build a squad made up entirely
of locals.
"I want to see a team built entirely of Romanians; that's my
intention," flamboyant Steaua owner Gigi Becali told local media
on Sunday.
"[Argentinean] Pablo Brandan has already left to join a
Chinese club, the contracts of [Portuguese] Geraldo Alves and [Bulgarian] Valentin Iliev will not be extended after the end of
the season and [Montenegrin] Stefan Nikolic will also leave."
Steaua famously won the European Cup in 1986, beating
Barcelona in the final in Seville, with coach Emerich Jenei not
using a single foreigner in the tournament.
"There were only Romanians in the team in 1986 and they won
the European Cup, so why we should pay high salaries to foreign
players and not win anything?" said European Parliament member
Becali.
"You'll never see us being like CFR Cluj," Becali added.
Portuguese Jorge Costa, coach of second-placed CFR Cluj, can
rely on 18 foreign players this season.
Becali, 53, a former shepherd known for his charity actions
on behalf of the poor and local Orthodox churches, faces six
years in jail for trying to bribe players and officials from
another team on two occasions in 2006 and 2008.
Steaua, who have a game in hand, are fifth in the Romanian
league standings with 35 points, nine points behind leaders and
city rivals Dinamo Bucharest.
Last month, Dutch side Twente Enschede ended Steaua's dream
of playing in a European final at home after a 2-0 aggregate win
in a Europa League last-32 tie. The competition's final is being
played in Bucharest on May 9.