Article by Remus Dinu – Published on Tuesday, 23 December 2025, 20:57 / Updated on Tuesday, 23 December 2025 21:03
Radu Troi, 76 years old, former champion with Steaua, lifelong coach at children's and junior leveltakes an unfiltered X-ray of the realities of youth football. Troi, the man who discovered Dan Petrescu and Ogăraru, still teaches at CSA Steaua groups today, but is skeptical when asked about the future.
Nicknamed “The Rabbit” for his impressive speed as a player, Radu Troi agreed, in an interview with Gazeta Sporturilor, to address some of the problematic themes he identified working with children.
Double champion of the country with Steaua, which he represented between '75 and '79, and former international, Radu Troi does not believe that Romanian football will progress at the junior level any time soon, believing that part of the blame also belongs to the coaches tempted to copy the methods that work in the West.
Radu Troi works with children and is worried: “I don't know if things are going well!”
“This year I completed 50 years of activity at Steaua… I am with a group of children now, I am a coach for the 2011 group. What I see now in football… I don't know if things are going well!
I have also said it face to face with my colleagues and those from the football world, in the discussions we have face to face. We have no players to perform!
Lucescu had to come from abroad to say that the teams are not well prepared… He is right! I'm not a fan of Lucescu, but hats off to him for having the courage to say it.
Sir, you must prepare! We were in camp from Monday to Sunday and we did very hard camps, there were no easy trainings then. The training was more physical. It was always said that we were not at the level of those from abroad because of our physical qualities, even if technically we were superior to many. Before, we used to beat Turkey and Greece whenever we wanted! Now, they're beating us!” declared Radu Troi, exclusively for Gazeta Sporturilor.
Radu Troi, a true talent discoverer / Photo source: Gazeta Sportsurilor Archive
“Only possession, possession?! All the teams started to go after Guardiola”
Troi continued on the same note:
“Is it only physical qualities to blame? I say everything is to blame. I also hear what is done with children and juniors. Only possession, only possession?! The world is obsessed with it, because everyone wants to play like Barcelona!
Guardiola achieved his goal with Barcelona, won the competition, won everything he wanted… Then all the teams started chasing him!
We are now watching on the internet what Barcelona is doing and the young coaches are copying! I understand them, but we also have our own qualities and style. We have to use our qualities, not look at how the English, the French play. We qualified for the European Championship on the qualities of our players, right? We want to play like Barcelona, like Spain! You can not!
I also went to Valencia and saw their training, I saw how they prepare for children and juniors. There are 4-5 coaches there to a group of kids! With us, if you have two coaches, that's a lot! If there are more than 20 players in a group, you can't put only one coach!”, said Troi.
Do the people from the Federation have to come and tell me to do individualization? Well, as a coach, that's what I have to do!
We didn't have the school for children and juniors, but we had the maidan, which formed us! At 18, I put on my boots, I was playing on the ice. The words of Costică Zamfir, may God forgive him: “Do you know why we learned football? That I was playing in my underwear and when I had to pass, I had to hold my head up. Have an instinct!”
– Radu Troi, coach
