‘Radical change’: resurgent Romania seek to forge new

Following in his father’s footsteps, Edward Iordanescu has helped the team emerge from a dark period with fresh hope

A smile spreads across Anghel Iordanescu’s face as he considers his incorrigible bequest to Romanian football. “I go to Edi’s house for a glass of wine,” he says. “But he just wants to show me some analysis he has done. I tell him: ‘Be careful, you’ll get stuck in front of that computer!’”

The 74-year-old is talking about Edward, his son, who has dragged the national team out of the mire and into Euro 2024. Thirty years ago Anghel took them to the World Cup quarter-finals with an intoxicating attacking style that has remained an impossible benchmark ever since. Hagi, Dumitrescu, Raducioiu, Petrescu, Popescu: the memories are magical and perhaps, at last, a country whose football scene had descended into corruption and hopelessness is ready to forge some more.