Scouting Romania

Glory days...

Excellent interview today in Gazeta Sporturilor, with Gica Popescu, the footballer I admired as a kid – yes, loved him more than Hagi, as I was considering truly outstading his ability to take the ball from the goalkeeper and brush everybody aside in a powerful, yet elegant run through the middle, deep into the opposition’s half! -, who told a nice little story from the good old days, when he was Barcelona’s captain. Sir Bobby Robson was the coach and Jose Mourinho, his assistant, and I think you all might enjoy it:

“The afternoon training session was over. We were supposed to be on the bus and head back to the hotel for dinner at 7 o’clock sharp. Everybody was there, except Sir Bobby and Mourinho. Xema, the bus driver, asked: “Popi, now what?”. “Vamos!”, I said, and the guys were smiling in disbelief. Xema insists: “What about Mister?”. “He can handle it, he’ll find a cab.” We left. A quarter to eight, Robson gets to the hotel and looks over the players, who were already eating. “Who said that the bus could leave?”, asked on a serious and a bit angry tone. I stood up and said: “I did, Mister!”. He replied instantly: “Very well, that’s the way a captain should handle things!”. He returned to pay the cab and, the next day, he also payed a fine, for being late.”