“You mean a football player who annoys the hell out of me?”

Before going on stage and under the lights of the film sets, it was the Veselia stadium, with the “madman” running on the track shouting “Watch out! Watch out!”. He describes himself as a right back who was trying to stand out. He played in Stella's groups, lived the fever of the championships between the streets for pure joy, not for money or image.

Today, the actor speaks with the same passion about FCSB, about what Gigi Becali meant for the club's destiny, about disappointments, pride and players who stop growing once they arrive in Bucharest.

Between the memories with Vasile Zavoda, the unconditional admiration for Nicolae Dobrin and the respect for Gheorghe Hagi, Cotimanis makes a sharp x-ray of Romanian football today.

“I like Romanian football, even as bad as it often is. I watch it in the hope that it will improve with a pass, with something”says the actor.

VIDEO. Constantin “Bebe” Cotimanis: “They gave us football boots. We loved them!”

– Mr. Cotimanis, you grew up on Strada Veseliei, right?
– I grew up on the border of Ferentari and my childhood games took place at the Veseleia stadium. And I have a picture from the Veseleia stadium. He was a character, a madman, a mute, but he wasn't mute, he made some sounds. He would put the handkerchief in his mouth and the referees would let him, I don't know what, because he was quite disciplined, he would run on the athletics track. And he said, depending on the phase: “Care! Care! Care!”. And I remember that the national youth team played a friendly match with I don't know who and we had a very good winger. When the madman took it, this man who was of a cheerfulness befitting the name of the stadium, was beating the extremes from the national team in speed! He was thin and running.

– Didn't football attract you, like all children?
– Woe to me! Well, I was also at Steaua 23 August. I had Drăgan as a coach, who was a center at Steaua. And, at one point, Mr. Fabian, who was in 1954… He took me and I played alongside Aelena. That weak and extremely strong one. I played right back.

– The easiest post.
– According to the talent, that I was not a special talent. Let me tell you a phase! We were training on court 5 of the “23 August” complex. The slag field, that was our field. Court 4 was more luxurious, where they repeated from a year older than us. And they gave us football boots. I loved them!

“We lived for football, we didn't have any other game, we didn't have that phone call…”

– So…
– With that smell, with everything, with those crampons that were made of slices of leather and hammered with nails. I could feel them in my soles, but it didn't matter! We were so excited to put on some football boots, some leggings, some stuff like that. And it was rainy weather, it rained in hostility. The clay ground was muddy. And a football player appeared on our team and hit that wet ball.

– Who was it?
– That ball with a lace and slightly wobbly, in which we could hardly hit and we didn't dare to head the crosses, because that was it. Zavoda II has appeared! And I also saw what a football player looks like, Vasile Zavoda. And when he kicked that ball, we were watching like these sci-fi movies. I say: “How can this man give?”. And Zavoda had some legs… An extraordinary leg! “Look, me, we won't give in our lives!”. I caught very nice times.

Vasile Zavoda

– The first team you played with, thanks to your father, was Progresul.
– And my love extended, because in Dr. Staicovici, football championships were organized between the streets, once a year. What exactly was that? Daciada had not appeared. Talented children were selected there. And I was playing… I was staying on Equinox Street. We lived for football, we didn't have any other game, we didn't have that hot phone… Three football teams on three streets. And we signed up there with lotteries and played. We were running as hard as we could.

– Did you continue your championship even after you moved?
– I gave up football when I moved from Ferentari to Dudesti. The mother said: “Let's still give the child an education!” and we moved into the first blocks of Balta Albă, in H26. There were several blocks made, but dad worked as an electrician on one of them and got… And I played football at High School 39.

God has nothing to do with football. Or he has to do, but less than Becali imagines. I believe that Steaua is now playing the worst football in the division, in the national league. The dumbest and most disorganized! I saw organization even at Metaloglobus!! They don't have players of that value to do… I'm sorry, they are value players and everyone who got to FCSB went down. One did not jump higher. Bîrligea, I look at what he meant for Cluj and here what he means for FCSB

Constantin “Bebe” Cotimanis, actor

“I hate Vinicius! Olaru annoys me to the core”

– Who was the first footballer you admired?
– Mateianu. Then, Aurica Beldeanu. He was bigger than us. During this match between the streets, Aurică Beldeanu came in and scored for our street, for Echinocț, from 30 meters. He took the shot and went out quickly… I don't think that now in the whole country you gather children to play football in a pre-selection like this in our neighborhoods as they used to gather there.

– What about the Romanian footballer you loved the most?
– Dobrin, Dobrin, Dobrin. I love Hagi too, but we talk about football now and then. In a football at speed and that slightly static, more static.

– Yes.
– You mean a football player who annoys the hell out of me? Potter! Stay in 10 when you least expect it. That you are at the mercy of his nerves… He's not the most nervous, but you have to have the courage to play Vinicius, who I also hate. When I see what he's doing there… Why do you run, when you score, in front of the other gallery and flag them down? I would leave him behind bars longer for these gestures. You don't do that!

Darius Olaru // PHOTO: Sport Pictures

– Now which team are you with?
– I am a Steaua fan. I consider this to be Becali's Star. That if I didn't take Becali, I wouldn't have any performance. Until the next one, I look at that Star that remained, poor thing (no. from League 2). That's something… I think if the law changes, an even worse one appears.

I played with Kira Hagi in the movie «Between chin and amen». Very talented, she went to acting school in America. Of course, he also had someone to inherit. It looks like she will inherit the Lighthouse. It's a matter of sources, I won't tell you… But this is the desire of Gică Hagi, Kira to lead, to manage the Lighthouse, and he has this gift. I asked her: «And you accept this thing?». “I'm still thinking, but I really want to.” She loves sports, football, she grew up there and she has an exceptional upbringing

Constantin “Bebe” Cotimanis, actor

He went to Mount Athos twice

Cotimanis revealed in the show that he went to the Holy Mountain twice and had special emotions and experiences. “That's exactly why I'm going! I have never prayed for myself, for my health. I prayed that the world would give me strength to be able to help them, not to upset other people. Which I can't do at all. I rarely go to work,” says the actor.

“I have a wall of ten icons made by my friend Cristian Dragomirescu, considered the greatest portrait painter alive since he was a student. Now he is a priest in Ștefăneşti. He gave me ten icons one by one, like this, over time.

And I consider him the best icon we have now. And I have the wall and I say like this: Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, the Nativity of the Lord, Saint Juliana, the great evangelist Luke, Saint Mina, whom I pray for my children, for Adela, Matei and Stefan… I have my own ritual, I light the candle and I pray to all this”, Cotimanis added.