Article by Romeo Ene – Published on Tuesday, 31 March 2026 23:10 / Updated on Tuesday, 31 March 2026 23:36
Slovakia – Romania. Debut to forget Marian Aioani (26 years old). The goalkeeper of Rapid was introduced by the selector Mircea Lucescu (80 years old) in the second half of the friendly match in Bratislava.
He replaced Ionuț Radu (28 years old), and after only 13 seconds he committed an error that led to the 2-0 success of David Strelec (24 years old).
PHOTO. Marian Aioani, debut with a blunder in Slovakia – Romania
At the first touch of the ball, Aioani passed to Virgil Ghiță. Hannover's stopper sent the ball back into the box.
The Giulești goalkeeper took over and tried to pass to Vlad Dragomir, who was in the center of the box.
But the ball reached Lobotka, who found Strelec. The Slovakia striker elegantly dribbled past Dragomir, Aioani made a late save and Middlesbrough's top scorer scored with an empty net.
It was Marian Aioani's first match in the national team shirt. The goalkeeper of Rapid would have been in Istanbul on Thursday, in the tie with Turkey, in case Ionuț Radu, the right holder, could not play due to medical problems.
Aioani played 26 matches this season for Rapid, during which he scored 27 goals. He kept a clean sheet in 8 games.
Ionuț Radu, Laurențiu Popescu and Cătălin Căbuz are the other goalkeepers in the national team. The goalkeeper of FC Argeș was not part of the squad for the match against Slovakia.
Aioani has a very good footwork, maybe the best in Ligue 1. I think that was also learned at Farul and we rely a lot on his footwork. He has very good reflexes.
And the mental part is an asset. Instead, at least in the last few games, he has had problems in clearing crosses.
– Victor Angelescuthe president of Rapid, on March 23
