REPORT “Steaua Bucharest, then Steaua Budapesta. After the final, the whole world remembered the name of the champion” » Mugur Isărescu handed the heroes from Seville anniversary coins, at the BNR Palace

BNR, an institution that periodically launches numismatic shows dedicated to important moments in Romania's history, chose this time to pay tribute to the performance in Seville with two anniversary coins.

PHOTO. Steaua '86, honored with two BNR anniversary coins

The first of them, made of silver, has a nominal value of 10 lei and shows the European Champions Cup trophy on the reverse, while the obverse shows, in a rarely used color process, the logo of the Star, together with a ball and the inscription “Winning the European Champions Cup 1986”. The coin weighs 31.103 grams and has a diameter of 37 millimeters.

The second coin, made of coppered and serrated tombac, has a face value of 1 leu, a weight of 23.5 grams and the same diameter.

260 leiit costs the coin with the face value of 1 leu.

1000 leicost the one made of silver.

Almost all the heroes of the evening from Seville were present at the event. One by one, Ștefan Iovan, Tudorel Stoica, Victor Pițurcă, Gabi Balint, Anghel Iordănescu, Miodrag Belodedici, Marin Radu II, Anton Weissenbacher, Mihail Majearu, Marius Lăcătuș, Adrian Bumbescu and the other members of the golden generation of Stella went on stage to receive an anniversary coin from Mugur Isărescu, the governor of the BNR since 1990.

The coins intended for the disappeared among the legends of the Star, Helmut Duckadam, Lucian Bălan, Ilie Bărbulescu or Emeric Ienei, will reach their families.

The atmosphere in the elegant hall of the BNR Palace was solemn but warm, dominated by the feeling that the people present were witnessing the celebration of a performance almost impossible to equal. About 100 guests, journalists and employees of the institution, watched the ceremony held under the chandeliers of the building that dominates the narrow streets of the Old Center of the Capital since the 19th century.

In the halls of the palace, among the massive columns and polished marble, the former champions were constantly stopped for photos, autographs and memories of the night in Seville, when Steaua became the first team from this part of Europe to win the supreme trophy of continental football.

Mugur Isărescu delivered a speech in front of the guestsevoking the importance of that success for sport and for Romania's image, at the same time reviewing personal memories with the “speeders”.

Mugur Isărescu: “I am an old admirer of Stella”

“Exactly 40 years ago, at this time, the whole country was waiting for the grand final in Seville. For the first time in our history, a Romanian team was going to play in the final of the European Champions Cup. I was also hoping for the fulfillment of a dream, even if the battle that Steaua Bucharest was going to have against the Spanish champions, Barcelona, ​​was more like the battle between David and Goliath.

Today, 40 years later, BNR has the joy and privilege to honor a success that is difficult to match in the history of Romanian sport and that continues to have reverberations to this day. More important than the sporting performance, however, was the influence on the collective mind, in an era when manifestations of public enthusiasm were carefully controlled by the authorities.

This was even seen in the preparation of the promotional materials for the match, in which the name of our team was sometimes mentioned as «Steau Bucuresti», sometimes as «Steaua Budapesta», with a more difficult pronunciation. After winning the trophy, the entire football world, and not only, remembered the name of the champion: Steaua Bucharest. “The Star” was then pronounced all over the world, and I remember that perfectly”the governor of the BNR sent, during the special event.

I still remember from that final that Puiu Iordănescu reached the ball on the field, kept spinning it, hiding it. It was 0-0 and that's how it went into overtime.

I am honored to welcome the presence of these exemplary athletes in the hall and to honor the memory of those who are no longer with us. After four decades, we thank you for the joy you brought to Romanians and for being together on such an honorable anniversary.

I am also an old admirer of Stela, since the time when Steaua was called CCA, with Voinescu in goal, in the 50s. Big players.

They also came to Drăgășani, in my town, and beat us in a friendly match 11-0. Of course I haven't forgotten them since. I remained an admirer of Stella even in the 60s, with Constantin and Ienei in the midfield, then in the 70s, with a good part of those present here.

– Mugur Isărescu, BNR governor

During the event, Radu Miruță, the Minister of National Defense, made the big announcement about the promotion of the Star

“If we are to think about the reasons why this intensity exists today, there are two. One is given by the performance that you have been able to achieve, and the second is the fact that no other team from Romania has been able to come close, for 40 years, to such a performance.

This forces us to learn something: the lesson of sportsmanship, teamwork and performance obtained through the parameters mentioned earlier should force the managers of institutions to propagate it in the duties of each one of us.

Superimposed on the political situation of this period, I think it is better to learn from the discipline of the result. In Romania, these forces often do not combine, and the meaning is opposite, even if the direction seems the same.

Radu Miruță: “The star can no longer be turned away from the road to League 1”

Of course a lot of people ask me, and it's completely legitimate, given the excitement of this event: what is happening with Steaua Bucharest? In my presence at MApN, I had to go through some stages to be able to give a concrete answer, not like it happened in the past, when answers were given and nothing was done”, said Radu Miruță, after speaking at the celebration at the BNR Palace.

Some say that the value of the club has been artificially inflated so that someone else cannot come up with an equivalent amount of money. I invite those of you who can evaluate performance in money to raise your hand. You can not. Thus, the discussion cannot be opened that the value of the brand is much too high. We must hold on to this. Value is what brings us to the intensity of the now moment.

In my estimation, there are several factors with little decision-making power in Romania who do not want Steaua to reach the first league. I am among those who want this. My stubbornness I am convinced will outweigh the will of those who do not want this to happen.

Regarding the many questions about what is happening at Steaua, the answer is the following: the road for Steaua to reach League 1 cannot be turned back. If we are at the BNR today, we should realize that it is not normal, regardless of the context, for the value of some athletes, proven after a season of competition, to be pulled down by a political or legislative decision. You can't tell an athlete who has proven himself to be good that he should be brought down by a law.

In order for Steaua to reach the first league, the law must be changed, and the experience of recent years has shown that political will alone is not enough. I analyzed all the scenarios. One of them involves interaction with the private environment, which will come with the necessary investments, and this is what must happen. MApN should not be extracted from this interaction. There must be a private partner to bring a better and more competitive environment.

We have had 14 proposals for association with the private sector since we made the public call. I met with some of those interested. However, there is a fear related to the bureaucratic mechanisms in MApN, which make the association difficult. However, in order to increase the value of the club, we have demonstrated that we can overcome this obstacle before even partnering with a private.

Of the two conditions for Steaua to have the right to play in League 1, one is the bureaucratic one, and this can be fulfilled even without association with a private company. The second is the existence of a partner willing to invest financially.

We are in the last moments, within the ministry, to make a decision: either for an association or for an internal formula within the ministry. If these things will encounter obstacles due to the political situation, there is also the option of a non-patrimonial association between the ministry, the supporters' association and an NGO that MApN already has. In this case, the obstacle regarding promotion would disappear, but the problem of financing would remain.

In order for this to be solved, the association with a private partner is needed, and this does not belong to the Ministry of Defense. It is a request and an invitation to these respected champions to mediate the relationship with various private entities, guaranteeing that until the private solves the financial part, MApN will solve the bureaucratic problems.

This road cannot be turned back and I believe that things will come to fruition in the coming days, so that the bureaucratic barrier is definitively overcome.

– Radu Miruță, Minister of National Defense