Rodion Cămătaru, tip for Daniel Bîrligea before the match with Turkey: “That's how I used to do it”
Article by Robert Vîrdol – Published on Tuesday, 24 March 2026, 13:22 / Updated on Tuesday, 24 March 2026 13:22
Rodion Cămătaru, 67 years old, analyzed Romania's chances in the match with Turkey from the qualifying round for the World Cup. The former great striker is convinced that the national team will overcome the “janissaries” and relies on the inspiration and experience of Mircea Lucescu (80 years old).
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Turkey – Romania will be played on March 26, from 19:00, match broadcast by Prima TV. If we win, we play the World Cup qualification final against Slovakia/Kosovo on March 31, 2026.
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Gazeta Sporturilor has 6 experienced reporters in Istanbul, who deliver the most important information, reports and a series of multimedia correspondence.
The Romanian national team is playing its last chance for the World Cup, and Rodion Cămătaru explained to Gazeta Sporturilor what the top team that “IL Luce” will hold in Turkey should do. The former Romanian international is convinced that the selector will bet on Daniel Bîrligea in the duel in Istanbul and said that he must be so focused that he cannot sleep.
Rodion Cămătaru: “I am optimistic and something tells me that we will pass Turkey”
Rodion Cămătaru was one of the voices intercepted by the Securitate in the early 80s Photo: GSP archive
“Let's hope that Mircea Lucescu will be inspired in terms of forwards. I think he will play with Bîrligea, others don't. Bîrligea still has experience, he has scored goals. The absence of Drăguș is a big trouble, but let's hope that the rest will also do something. We have to go like war.
I bet on the fact that we are not favorites. Teams without a chance play differently and can capitalize on their opportunities. I also bet on the fact that nea Mircea has inspiration. He also made surprises in difficult matches and we got good results.
“Bîrligea should be focused on the match from now on, not just then!”
I think Bîrligea is set up, he shouldn't even sleep at night. In decisive matches, I didn't sleep, I was only thinking about what would happen on the field. From now until the game he needs to be focused, not just then. Many results went against the grain of the game.
I'm betting on us, we beat the Turks before. Maybe in wars we didn't beat them, but in football we beat them. I scored with them and they were… now they have invested in football. I am optimistic and something tells me that we will pass Turkey”, said Rodion Cămătaru for Gazeta Sporturilor.
Rodion Cămătaru scored two goals with Turkey
Rodion Cămătaru
In 1985, in the qualifiers for the 1986 World Cup, the Romanian national team met Turkey, and in the round match the “tricolors” prevailed with a score of 3-0.
The scorers of those goals were Gică Hagi, who opened the scoring, and Rodion Cămătaru, who scored a double. In return, Romania prevailed with a score of 3-1.
