“I cried for two days, I was wide”

“I forgave Pițurcă, but I didn't forget”says Bratu, after more than 17 years. And he laughs bitterly: “I'm dating nea Piti now, I like him, he's a cool guy, sit for coffee with him, talk. But I have a needle deep in my soul…”.

Because, Florin claims, “I deserved to go to Euro 2008!”. Although he acknowledges the “formidable competition”.

VIDEO | Florin Bratu's career regret: “I didn't think I wouldn't be called up for Euro 2008!”

In the 2007-2008 season, all competitions, Bratu scored 15 times in 33 appearances.

“I refer to the sports form. Mutu was number 1, clearly, but I was the fittest striker in Romania, many goals, very good season.

In the squad were Marica – not playing in Stuttgart, Daniel Niculae – playing and not playing in France, and Marius Niculae – was in Inverness, not in fantastic form. They were all very good, but I'm talking about the moment. I, after Mutu, was then the fittest. However, I was left at home”, Bratu declares.

He recalls all the details of the day he learned that he would not play in the final tournament: “It was a Wednesday, when the selector had to announce the last player leaving Mogoșoaia. Deac and Ovidiu Petre had left, injured. And they had to give up one more. Nobody was thinking about me.

I was thinking – I tell you honestly – about Ghionea, Adrian Cristea, Radu Ștefan… I didn't expect it to be me. Out of 5 strikers, maybe one stays at home, I used to say, but not me, I was also doing calculations (no – laughs)“.

Florin Bratu, on the GSP podcast “2 to 1”

“I cried for two days, I was wide”

In the end, Pițurcă “sacrificed” the striker who was playing at Dinamo at the time: “We were going down the stairs to Mogoșoaia, we were having dinner, drinking coffee, we were getting ready to go out for training.

I was with my boots in my hand and he called me: “Brother, come for a while”. The sky fell on me! “Done, I put it on, I'm staying now!”. I talked to him, he says: “Brother, I had to choose between you and Marica. You are fitter now, but this one played more in the preliminaries». I got stuck. What can I say to him? “Okay, nea Piți, if you have made this decision…”.

It was accepted, even if it hurts. Now, as a coach, I would do the same. You are put there to make decisions. I went, changed, got my clothes and left. Outside, an army of journalists. I cried for two days, I was wide!

– Florin Bratu, on the GSP podcast “2 to 1”

Romania's Euro 2008 squad:

• Goalkeepers: Bogdan Lobonț (Dinamo), Marius Popa (Poli Timisoara), Eduard Stancioiu (CFR Cluj);
• defense: Cosmin Contra (Getafe), Gabriel Tamaș (AJ Auxerre), Ștefan Radu (Lazio Roma), Răzvan Raț (Şahtior), Cristian Săpunaru (Rapid), Dorin Goian (Steaua), Sorin Ghionea (Steaua), Cosmin Moți (Dinamo);
• midfielders: Florentin Petre (ȚSKA Sofia), Paul Codrea (AC Siena), Răzvan Cociș (Lokomotiv Moscow), Cristian Chivu (Inter), Mirel Rădoi (Steaua), Nicolae Dică (Steaua), Bănel Nicoliță (Steaua), Adrian Cristea (Dinamo);
• Strikers: Adrian Mutu (Forentina), Ciprian Marica (VfB Stuttgart), Daniel Niculae (AJ Auxerre), Marius Niculae (Inverness).

▶️ We finished in 3rd place in group C, after 0-0 with France, 1-1 with Italy and 0-2 with the Netherlands.

In Cluj “everything fell apart”

The next season, also started at Dinamo, meant the decline of Bratu's career. At only 28 years old, he suffered a serious knee injury in a duel with CFR Cluj, and was absent for a year.

“That summer I also had a good offer from France, Dinamo wouldn't let me go… In the end, I started the championship very well at Dinamo and the injury from Cluj came… Everything fell apart! I haven't really been back since. 28 years!

I lost, through injury, my speed – my main quality. And I also lost my confidence. I couldn't… I was at Gaz Metan, Bistrita before, but I realized that I was struggling, there was no way I could play anymore”, adds Bratu.

FULL VIDEO | GSP podcast “2 to 1” with Florin Bratu:

About Florin Bratu:

• now TV analyst and coach at CS Dinamo, which he promoted to the 2nd League;
• played in Romania at Tractorul Brașov, Electromagnetica, Rapid, Dinamo, Gaz Metan and Gloria Bistrița;
• “outside” he performed for Galatasaray (Turkey), Nantes, Valenciennes (France), Litex Loveci (Bulgaria);
• 45 goals in 135 Superliga games;
• the first time he really confirmed at Rapid, where he won a title, a Cup and a SuperCup, between 2000 and 2003;
• at Dinamo he played for 4 seasons (2005-2006, 2007-2010) and won a Romanian SuperCup in red and white, scoring 28 goals in 67 games for the “dogs” in League 1;
• abroad, he won two trophies, both with Litex, a title and a SuperCup;
• wore the national team shirt 13 times, scored twice;
• his transfers totaled 6.5 million euros;
• started coaching in 2014 – trained Dinamo II, CS Tunari, Dinamo U19, Dinamo, Aerostar, Turris, Concordia, Karmiotissa (Cyprus), plus the Romanian national teams U18 and U21;
• with Dinamo's U19 team, technician Bratu triumphed in the Elite League in 2017;
• another achievement as a coach is the play-out won with Dinamo's first team in 2018.