Football is just a game. It’s not war. Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers watched the match from the front line, in shelters, where they turned on the televisions, but Romania won decisively, 3-0, even though they were the team that started with the second chance.
I am no longer a specialist, just a football enthusiast, and I have not witnessed a victory of the national team at a European Championship for 24 years, when Romania defeated England (3-2) at the final tournament held in Belgium and the Netherlands.
VIDEO. The goal scored by Cristi Chivu in the match against England in 2000 - Source: X/ Twitter
The signs of a possible important match were there, but we were afraid to see them, to take them seriously. Romania qualified for the Euros from the first place, without any defeats, ahead of Switzerland, with other tough teams in the group, such as Israel or Belarus.
I refrained from thinking too much about the two preparation matches, with Bulgaria and Liechtenstein, both ending in a draw, 0-0.
The training matches before a final tournament are a testing ground for the coach, whose first concern is not to injure the players, and the second is to test the defense.
I don't know how Edi Iordănescu's team will evolve further. Traditionally, if they start the tournament with a victory, the second match ruins it. It has happened before.
Regarding this generation, I ask you something: I see that it is starting to be named in a certain way. And I wouldn't want that. I am their coach and I ask you, with all my might: do not name them in any way
Edi Iordănescu, national football team coach
But it is important to underline that the national team has the possibility to advance further only with this victory, provided they finish in third place, and two other teams from the six groups, ranked in the same position, have weaker points or goal difference than Romania.
A goal born from the frustration of millions of people
After almost a quarter of a century of drought in terms of performances at final tournaments and rare qualifications, everyone looked with disbelief at Romania's participation in the European tournament.
Throughout Monday, until the start of the match, social media posts circulated with messages mocking the players and betting that the team would quickly return from Germany.
But this is the beauty of football. When no one expects it, a shot born from the anger and years of frustration of Nicolae Stanciu, 31 years old, captain of the national team, a player from the relatively unknown team Damac in Saudi Arabia, changes the destiny of a nation.
I think there is no more beautiful day for a football player. You have to believe in us. We hope we have given Romanians what they expected, what they deserved. It's incredible
Denis Drăguș, national team player
In fact, that shot from outside the box looks as if it fed on the sorrow of millions of Romanians, on their apathy, accustomed to the mediocrity of the national team and a corrupt, weak domestic competition with no results in European cups.
The yellow wall and the European Union
When on June 20, 2000, Ionel Ganea scored the winning goal against England, our country was seven years away from joining the EU.
For a Romanian supporter to attend a final tournament at that time, they needed to sign up for a trip organized by a travel company approved by the Romanian Football Federation, spend hours in front of embassies to obtain a travel visa, and pay a huge amount for match tickets compared to the average incomes of that period.
On Monday, June 17, we witnessed another first. For the first time at a final tournament, Romanian spectators filled a stadium in a foreign country, creating an atmosphere that was hard to bear for the Ukrainian players.
If the expression "the crowd was the 12th player" ever needed practical confirmation, it got plenty of it at the Romania - Ukraine match.
Victory is important if it leads to another victory. The players have shown that they can win against any other team. We won in the stands too. They sang the anthem sensationally, applauded, and constantly encouraged the team. Ours were more motivated than the Ukrainians. We were superior to them in every way. Each match has a different story.
Mircea Lucescu, former national team coach
For those who say that the European Union has not fundamentally transformed our country, they should look at the stands of the Munich stadium, that yellow wall that carried Romania to victory.
The beauty and cruelty of football
For the first time since I started watching football, I had the feeling that the match was not taking place at a final tournament in a foreign country, but somewhere in Romania, at Ghencea or National stadium.
I don't know how the team coached by Edi Iordănescu will play further, but the performance in the match against Ukraine once again made the local audience dream, hope, and feel that they have returned to the world.
I feel sorry for the Ukrainians. Football had remained one of the few ways to escape from a gray universe, where one dies easily, and the future is as fragile as a champagne glass.