In the summer of 2016, FCSB transferred Daniel Popescu from Poli Timișoara. He caught only three matches in one season, then he was made “package” and left for Chiajna. After almost ten years, the former defender explains to GSP.RO the reasons why he was left on the reserve bench.
Do you still know Dan Popescu (37 years old), former player at Dunărea Galați, Oțelul, Poli Timişoara and FCSB? The native of Tulcea settled at home, in his hometown, where he did not give up his great love: football.
Dan Popescu: “I train juniors in Tulcea. They are on the phones…”
“I'm in Tulcea, where I coach two groups of children and juniors. One Under 17 and one Under 19; we play in the national championship. We're trying to do something there, because, diunfortunately, we don't have football anymore, not even at the county level! We try through sponsorships and parents. It's very, very hard“, says Popescu, who continues to tell about his involvement in youth football.
“It's very difficult. I took over the group on the fly. They used to do two or three training sessions a week… But, for two years since I arrived, training is from Monday to Friday, and on Saturday or Sunday we have the game. But it's very difficult to attract them to sports. They have other attractions”, he explains.
“They don't want to anymore! I look at them and I even pray for them and beg them: “Guys, come to training, do sports!” They have everything they need, especially they stay on the phones… Everyone should have the latest clothes, the latest cars, if possible, because, unfortunately, there are also some parents who give them everything they need. How can they come to me to run them, when they have all the comforts at home?“, explained the former footballer from the Super League.
“There were other interests at FCSB! MM Stoica called me”
After a season with 37 matches at Poli Timișoara, Dan Popescu arrived at FCSB. There is much speculation surrounding the move. A confusion, a mistake on the part of FCSB, he was transferred to the team.
The former defender explains how the move happened: “The championship is over. In the last stage I scored a goal from over 30 meters. After that, MM Stoica called me. Ovidiu Popescu came to Steaua before me, I think about a month, two months before me. Even Ovidiu called me and said: “Guys, see that MM is going to call you. Answer him, if you don't know the number, he wants to talk to you»“, says Dan Popescu now.
He says that “there were other circumstances for which I did not play”. “It didn't depend only on me, I minded my own business, I worked, but there were other interests,” he continues.
Dan Popescu, in one of his appearances at FCSB / Photo source: Gazeta Sporturilor Archive
“We were under pressure to sign with Ana”
But what were the interests behind Popescu's problems? The former defender half-heartedly reveals them:
“There were other problems… Do you know the case of Toșca? When I came to Steaua during that time, I brought seven, eight, nine players. Among them Boldrin, De Amorim, Golubovici, Tănase, Man… We were under pressure to sign with Ana (no. Anamaria Prodan, then wife of the team coach, Laurentiu Reghecampf). That was the way things were then”, explains Popescu, exclusively for GSP.RO.
5 appearancesDan Popescu scored in all competitions at FCSB
You can see that I regret the transfer to FCSB, but on the one hand I feel good that I got there, that I put FCSB on my CV. I entered the last minutes with Sparta Prague, I was in the group with those from Manchester City, and in Bucharest and away to Manchester
– Dan Popescu, former defender
Serious injuries stopped his career
The years have passed, and now Dan Popescu has come to Brașov, to the “Tournament of the Stars”. “I was honored by the invitation. It's my first year playing, even if I've been there in previous years, but I didn't play. It's very different from the football field,” says Popescu.
He, in recent years, has been seriously tormented by injuries: “Including the rupture of Agile's tendon. I'm still not fully recovered and I've played less. I have to get used to the surface, which is quite demanding.”
And, as Romanian football is on vacation, Dan Popescu has faith in FCSB: “Nobody was giving them a chance to qualify for the play-offs. Unfortunately, CFR will not do that again… But Steaua, after what they have shown in the last matches, including in Europe, have every chance to qualify“, he concluded the discussion with GSP reporters.
