“I was shocked by what I heard on that TV show”

In one of his rare appearances in the sports media, Cătălin Crișan, 57 years old, recalled the beginnings of his friendship with the journalist Ovidiu Ioanițoaia, the unique offer he received from him, revealing some representative episodes for the two, including the moment when the sports journalist called Crisan, during a TV show, “the best friend” he has.

“I was shocked that, at one point, he said on TV that his only friend is Cătălin Crișan”

“There is a lot to tell about my friend Ovidiu Ioanițoaia… Our friendship started in '92 or '93… I was a reporter at the National Television and I was sent to interview him. I was told: “You see he is a bad, caustic man and no one has the courage to ask him for an interview. You go”. And I went to do it, he was the director.

He was warm, kind, I didn't sleep for two days before… I didn't ask him about football, but I asked him how he is, what he likes, what he doesn't like. He answered me nicely, he was very calm.

At one point, I asked him a question (…), then he said to me: «How much do they give you at TVR? I give you triple! I need someone like you, I'll train you and make you a journalist!” I had a show that I was presenting on TV… He said to me: “Okay, okay, Leave me your phone!” He called me after about a week, he was with Mr. Mircea Lucescu and told me that he liked me and that we should meet for a meal.

(…) Everything was subliminal, everything was a beautiful and natural irony, and we became very good friends. What shocked me the most about him is that, at one point, on a TV show, he said that his only friend is Cătălin Crișan, I didn't expect something like that, I don't know how many of his friends got angry at that moment”.

“I consult with him before I write a text”

Cătălin Crișan tells how: “we always talk when we have something to say, we have a lot of secrets, in quotes, we consult each other… For me, it is an honor that such a man consults with me.

At first glance, Ovidiu Ioanițoaia is an ermetic, caustic type, a man who very, very rarely or never puts his soul on the table or in the palm of a friend. We both do this.

Catalin Crisan

Any new song, any text I want to write, I consult with him. I know he wants my best. He is a man with a big soul, educated, cultured, smart and intelligent. He is a miracle of a man, a wealth of a man if he lets you know him. He wanted to be the first in everything he did, he had and has a backbone. He learned to read people.

(…) He is a man of extraordinary sensitivity. If we had more Ioanițoaia in this Romania, we would do it much better, in many areas. He is a diplomat, he is a professional, he knows what he has to do”, pointed out Cătălin Crișan.

See here DOMNUL OVIDIU – a documentary-reverence for one of the greatest Romanian sports journalists of all time

Cătălin Crișan, a life dedicated to music

Composer, lyricist and performer of light music, Cătălin Crişan was born on February 6, 1968, in Bucharest.

He comes from a family of economists and was the only child of his parents. He studied classical piano, giving concerts since the first years of school. The singer of light music confessed that he was in love with Chopin. He learned the secrets of the piano at the Music School in Bucharest and attended the courses of the Popular Art School in Bucharest, Mihaela Runceanu's class. He also attended the Theater Faculty of the “Titu Maiorescu” University.

Crișan presented numerous shows on radio and television and was director of the Department of Culture and Entertainment and producer-presenter of the show “Ruleta visului” on Television Romania of Tomorrow (TVRM). Between 2004-2008 he was a local councilor of the city hall of sector 4, Culture department.