“The difference between being appreciated and being something is very thin!”

He told GSP about the friendship he has with his colleague, Raul Fotonea, but also about their plans at CSM Slatina, as well as when they will be able to train the Romanian national team.

Andrei Popescu: “A lot of work, consistency and unity!”

– Congratulations on the season with CSM Slatina. How can you explain the achievements of the team? 6th place in the championship, a huge surprise with a team that was relegated last season.
– Thanks for the appreciation. From the outside, the 6th place was indeed a surprise, especially compared to the previous season, when the team fought to avoid relegation. But for us, after the summer training and the friendly matches, it wasn't really a surprise anymore. I felt from the inside that the girls are responding to our demands, that the level is increasing week by week and that we can make a serious step up from last year. I think the others also started to take us more seriously after those friendly matches. The rest came from hard work, consistency and sticking together through the tough times.

– Does the Popescu-Fotonea coaching couple have any secrets, because you also had very good results at Minaur?
– I don't think there is a secret, neither in performance sports in general, nor in handball in particular. Things are quite simple: work, discipline, perseverance. . Between 8-10 hours of handball a day, sometimes a few sleepless nights, because not everything is always rosy, there are moments of tension, different opinions. Also, the passion for handball and the respect for this work that we do, matter a lot.

“I was lucky as a player with character”

– What did you set out to do when you came to Slatina? What did you find and when did you realize you could achieve so much more?
– We set out to make a team as quickly as possible. It's not easy when quite a few new girls come. We were lucky to have girls of character and it turned out to be easier than we expected. We found some dedicated people in the club and in addition to the team, they made us feel at home, since the first days. It mattered a lot. We knew from the first 2 weeks that we had a chance, to be able to fight with the strong teams

– How difficult is it for you to train a team without stars, but to get results above the level of the formation?
– There are difficult moments for any team, regardless of budget or name. I don't know what you mean by “star”. If you want to tell me about “name players”, let's not forget that we also have some girls, whose CV you will see that they represent something in handball. The important thing is that they understood that the main “star” is the team and that is to be appreciated. Regardless of the team, very important is the game model, on it you fall or rise. At Slatina we had a group that embraced this model, worked for it and had patience with it. That's where the consistency came from and that's where the results came from.

Andrei Popescu: “Every coach dreams of winning trophies!”

– It is said about a coach that he is good if he gets the most out of his players. The results obtained by you place you in this category. What do you want as a coach? Where do you dream?
– In the near future, all our attention and concentration is here, at CSM Slatina. I don't think we got the most out of the players or the team. We have to have a little more patience. We are still not among the good ones, let's say we are among the perspective ones. We are evolving into a strong championship, we have started a serious project and I want us to continue, develop our game and progress year by year. In the longer term, it is normal that any coach dreams of a challenge with a team fighting for trophies. It's part of the job to have that ambition. But things come in their time, if you do your job well where you are.

– You and Raul Fotonea were game coordinators. Do you think this is an advantage for you as coaches? Understand the game faster, better? Do you read your opponent faster?
– The fact that we both played handball helps us, but not as much as it seems from the outside. Today's modern handball is nothing like what we used to do and play. If you don't update yourself, you don't stand a chance. The good ones “eat you”. But yes, let's say we're doing well. When it comes to adapting to what we read, it doesn't always work out for us, because we're not playing against the wall. There are very good coaches and teams in Romania, it wouldn't be normal for you to succeed every time, because we play in one of the strongest championships in the world.

“At Slatina we were supported by everyone 100%!”

– Did you have Slatina's free hand? Have you been supported unconditionally?
– Here it's simple, 100% yes. At Slatina, I felt real support from the first day, both from the management, the local factors, as well as from the fans and the gallery. And what's more important, I also felt it during the difficult moments of the season, not only after the victories.

– I know that many players leave you. What will Slatina look like next season?
– Indeed, some players will leave this summer, it is natural after a good season that there is interest in them. We tried to maintain the core core of the team and build around it. We hope it will look better than this year, but that is not a guarantee that the results will be better, and that is because many of our opponents will be stronger.

– Due to the 6th place in this championship, were you able to bring better players for the next season? Can CSM Slatina become a balanced team and of interest for more valuable players? Do you dream of playing in the European Cups?
– Not necessarily because of the 6th place. We did our homework ahead of time, held the discussions and closed the transfers well in advance, exactly according to the plan and project thought for the next season. We take players that we think fit our game model (well, sometimes we can make small adjustments to the model depending on the profile of the players, but we don't radically change the model).

So, maybe for us, some players are good, but for the model of other teams, they don't lend themselves. Of course, sometimes you make a transfer mistake, for various reasons, but who does only good things? I think that if we keep the line, Slatina could become an interesting team, for everyone, but who can promise that from year to year we will be better? There are too many variables that can change the long-term evolution of a team

Andrei Popescu: “I will always work together with Raul Fotonea!”

– How can you explain your handball chemistry with Raul Fotonea? You are the only successful couple in Romanian handball who confirmed to the teams where he was employed. Is this how you're going to go next, to the “package”?
– This is how we agreed, let's work like this from now on. We hope nothing extraordinary happens to disrupt this. We know each other very well, we played together, we trained together, and off the field we are friends. The truth is that we think handball pretty much the same way and that helps a lot. And there's another big advantage, being two, you can't “sleep”, that is, we don't allow each other moments of relaxation.
There were times when we came straight from away at night and stayed in the office to rewatch the game to see where we could do more, not the girls. And this has not happened a few times. In our daily work we are equally involved in the training process and the preparation of each match, we have equal responsibilities, we contradict each other when necessary, we reach a common decision and carry it forward together in front of the team.

Andrei Popescu: “It would be wise to judge a team by the game played, not just by the result!”

– I know you still have a contract with CSM Slatina until 2028. What do you want for the next championship?
– We are realistic, we know that next season it will be much harder to finish in 6th place. We definitely want to increase the speed of the game. As results, let's be calm, then we'll see. Whoever judges a team only by results, I don't think is doing well, although most do that. You can play really well and lose, for “n” reasons. It would be wiser to judge a team by its performance. Especially those who are good at handball should do this. If you have 3-4 matches won by 1 goal or two difference, does it mean that you were better in those matches? No, not necessarily. Maybe a goalkeeping save, maybe a technical error, maybe the crowd, all of these can make the difference between victory and defeat. More important than the place itself is to confirm that what happened this season was no accident.

– Does Slatina have the conditions to play in European cups? Will you be asking for a wild card this year?
– I know what you mean, it's about the gym. Slatina is not the only team from Romania that should play in another town or in another hall in case of participation in European cups. Even in Europe there are similar situations, Thuringer, for example, plays the championship matches in one locality and the European Cup matches about 60 km away. Things are starting to “move” here as well, I know that the works on the multipurpose hall, started 16 years ago, have been resumed. If there is a real chance of participating in the European Cups, no matter how small, we will not say no. Those from the club management, the team manager together with the club director sent a letter of intent in this regard.

Andrei Popescu: “Only competent people can propose us to the national team!”

– How do you characterize Romanian handball? Do you think that Romania has players with whom it can rank in the top 8 at EURO 2026? But to qualify for the 2028 Olympics?
– I think that Romanian handball has valuable players at the level of the senior national team. We can certainly be among the top 8 at Euro. The fact that we are playing at home also matters. As for the OJ, it's more complicated there, we also have to have a bit of luck. But first, everyone involved in these campaigns must believe that this is possible. The mental part is very important. To have the conviction that you are among the good ones, that you can fight with anyone. When you leave the field, don't regret that you didn't do your best.

– After the departure of Florentin Pera from the position of selector, you were together with Raul Fotonea on the short list of the former president of FRH. When do you think you will be ready to become the Romanian coach?
– I think we make a mistake when we say we are 100% ready. First of all, we must constantly think about how we must evolve both professionally and personally. Then, secondly, it can happen that you think you're ready, you're in your comfort zone, and then a situation comes up that shows you that you're actually not completely ready. But when it comes to the national team, I think there are competent people who must evaluate us and figure out whether or not we are ready for it and if or when the time is right to entrust us with this responsibility.

“The line between appreciation and anonymity is very thin!”

– If you want to say something else and I didn't ask you…
– Yes, we thank all those who ensured our peace and those who supported us throughout this year. We don't want to name names so we don't forget anyone because that wouldn't be fair. Each at some point, contributed in some way. Let's not forget the girls, to whom we thank. What are we without female players? And I think the reverse is also true. We thank our special supporters and we can promise them that next year they will see some great matches.
And let's not forget, that the line between being appreciated and being something is very thin, because the world quickly forgets the good things. We hope to keep the level high for as long as possible and make the people of Slati proud of our team.