Article by Adrian Jitea – Published Tuesday, 09 June 2026 22:33 / Updated Tuesday, 09 June 2026 22:33
CSM Bucharest returned with two medals from Budapest. The juniors came with the silver, the students of Bojana Popovic took the bronze.
On the way home, I took dozens of videos from the MVM Dome. An 18-second snippet looped until the battery died.
A little background for those who haven't seen the match in question. They didn't even have anywhere. It didn't catch the grid in Romania. The Hungarians broadcast the semifinals and finals of the juniors on Sport1. They had a special studio for analysis, statistics, reactions from the hall. They kind of went big.
We return to the match. Debrecen led CSM Bucharest by 6 goals in the EHF Youth Club Trophy finalless than 8 minutes left. Normally, he would have thrown in the towel. But on Sunday everyone believed. Five, four, three, two goals down and 40 seconds left. One and only time for a flash action. Now we come to the clip from the beginning of the story.
Over 2000 Romanians standing. A moment when no one breathed. The ball at Maria Antonescu, BOOM! All arms in the air at the same time. The gesture of sincere joy. I zoomed in on each man. I haven't discovered one that doesn't hop uncontrollably.
In front of them, coach Alex Moise was running in all directions. Zoom in on his gestures, some of which agitated the gallery even more. The loud “Romania, Romania!” followed. which I heard.
I said I can't shoot hard at that moment. I had to do what I know best. I have more confidence in myself when I vault, with impact. When I saw the ball in the goal I just said: “My God, my God…”
– Maria Antonescu, the author of the goal, for Handbal Mania
The result doesn't matter. At 16 it's important to learn, not to win. And know that if you do things right, 2000 beautiful crazy people will call your name in Budapest.
What I liked most about the Final Four
MVM Dome at sunset
MVM Dome
Evelina Eriksson, the cool aunt
Harmony among fans
Fans of all Final Four teams chanted together on Friday
Alexia Chiru's speech
CSM Bucharest was defeated by Debrecen, score 39-41, after extra time, in the EHF Youth Club Trophy final. Goalkeeper Alexia Chiru (16 years old) had a mature speech.
The connection between Bojana and Valeriia
Synchronization between Bojana and Valeriia. While Maslova was praising her in the discussion with journalists, Popovic passed by and “paled” her hat. Obviously, in jest.
Valeriia Maslova, after CSM Bucharest – Brest
CSM Bucharest now has a good book in hand, Bojana Popovic. I was just praising it… This good book just hit me. She will continue to build the team's game. He hasn't changed much, but he understands the players, how to approach each of us individually. It's a good thing and I think from now on CSM will continue to grow and grow
– Valeriia Maslova
High school girls who only get beat up when the bell rings. They ticked off comebacks from -8 with Gyor and from -6 with Debrecen in two days.
