Loti Bölöni knocks down two statues of Romanian football: Dobrin and Balaci, some non-serious ones. “With Gicu you couldn't go to battle”
Laszlo Bölöni is the man who always calls things as they are, without detours. In an interview given to I AM SPORT Magazine, the former great player tore down two statues of Romanian football. This in the conditions where the late Nicolae Dobrin and Ilie Balaci, along with Gică Hagi, are considered the greatest Romanian footballers of all time.
Loti Boloni, an exemplary character for football. Sportpictures photo
One of the best tricolor midfielders, fifth in the national team's all-time ranking, Loti Bölöni played against the three players mentioned above. About Balaci and Dobrin, the current coach says that they could do much more, but that they were not serious: “These guys played a bit of high level football, two or three years and disappeared. One for the accident… but also in this matter with Ilie's injury… Ilie Balaci, God forgive me, was not a serious boy.
Ilie Balaci collected 69 matches and 8 goals for Romania, and Gicu Dobrin wore the national shirt 46 times, also scoring 8 times. Bölöni has 102 caps and 23 goals under the tricolor.
Gicu Dobrin was not a serious player, you couldn't count on him. Oh, that he knew how to take the ball, carry it, do it, that he won the championship, goal against Dinamo. Ok, but he played football for three years! High-level football”, Loti Bölöni said to the cited source.
Gicu Dobrin, rummy for money at two in the morning
However, the 72-year-old coach found an excuse for Gicu: marginalization from the national team. “It is true, Lucescu and Dinu dominated Dinamo and dominated the national team of Angelo (nr. Niculescu) and Valentin Stănescu. Well, Valentin Stănescu was the poor guy, these were the coaches. And I think they didn't like Dobrin's success, they were envious of his success.
But Dobrin, a good Dobrin, had to find solutions. I stayed with Dobrin in the same room, when before an important match, at 02.00, he was still playing rummy for money with Dudu Georgescu. You can't! I don't talk about it, because I don't want to destroy statues myself. But with Gicu Dobrin you couldn't go to battle, you couldn't!” was sharp Laszlo Bölöni, a monument of seriousness on and off the field.
Part of the legendary Stela team, but also a player at ASA Tg Mureș for 14 years, Loti played against the big names of Romanian football: “I always had to mark Iordănescu, Dobrin, Ilie Balaci or Gică Hagi. No problem to mark Iordănescu and Dobrin, it was a little more difficult with Balaci, it was very difficult against Gică Hagi”.
