Archive
Comeback
Toyed with the idea of letting this go, as the blog’s domain was about to expire, but the passion for writing is still there. So is the will to share info and thoughts on Romanian footie, which lots of you appreciated over time, so here I am. Back on the road, scouting, back on the blog, writing.
Let’s talk some football here, on Twitter (@rbaicu) and Facebook.
Best of 2011
Best day: January 20, 1.802 visitors.
Bogdan Stancu signs from Galatasaray and a comparison between Lacina Traore and Bogdan Stancu, written in November 2010, before their moves to Russia and Turkey, respectively, gets a lot of attention especially from Gala’s fans. The surprise came when Traore moved to Kuban Krasnodar for less money than what CFR Cluj was hoping to get, while Stancu’s deal demanded a fee that can be explained only by the Becali’s involvement and their understanding with both Steaua’s and Gala’s boards.
And, while Traore is a hit under Petrescu’s strict command, Stancu failed to cope with the pressure and the controlled chaos that Galatasaray seems to enjoy living in every single year, and is now playing with some success on loan to Orduspor.
Search terms: “scouting Romania” and my name occupy the first two places, with Marius Niculae in third spot. The top five is closed by “Wesley Vaslui” and a certain Cristiano Ronaldo. Don’t worry, the only thing to blame is a photo of the guy taken while Niculae was playing alongside him for Sporting Lisbon. The all time leader remains Gabriel Torje!
Most clicks: The Scouting Network, one of the companies I used to work for, followed by my Twitter feed, where I’m very, very close to 3.000 followers.
Best referrers: The Almost 3.000 are the ones that get credit, with Twitter sitting comfortably in 1st place. The Guardian helped to finish the year in style, the blog’s presence in “Our favorite things this week” column brining in a lot of (quality) traffic.
I would like thank each visitor though and wish you all a great 2012!, I hope to see you back here next year as well, because I’m not going anywhere :-). I leave you with the top three articles in 2011:
1. Unirea Urziceni no longer exists as a professional football club
2. The story of Juan Culio, the Argentinian midfielder bought by Galatasaray from CFR Cluj
3. Otelul Galati, before their Champions League debut disaster.
One year of scoutingromania.com!
A year ago, I was on the sidelines, having stopped the excellent project that I had the privilege to be working on for Boutique Football, and decided to offer something that nobody around here thought of: the chance to find information, opinion and insight on Romanian football for those who don’t speak Romanian. One year later, I can look back and find motivation to continue, in spite of a limited time, as I’m back working in football as a scout, which has been always THE goal. But I feel I’ve made too many friends around the world who are interested in what’s (really) going on in the fascinating (not always for the right reasons) Liga I to abandon them now…
So, thanks to some stats offered as a birthday present by wordpress.com, I can tell you that:
- this was the story that brought the most traffic in one day
- twitter, transfermarkt.de and theoffside.com have been my top referrers
- the most searched players have been Gabriel Torje and Lacina Traore
I wish all of you a great 2011 and invite you to return here in numbers!
Kick off
Became a “Romanian football observer” in 2003, when I got the chance to work for Bayer 04 Leverkusen (forever grateful to Ilja Kaenzig, Tor Kristian Karlsen and Fernando Troiani for the opportunity and guidance). Even though I’ve changed clubs and also worked for different companies involved in the beautiful game, travelling and scouting live on almost every continent, I never took my eyes away from the always intriguing and surprising Romanian football.
Through this blog, I’ll try to provide the daily important information and some insight as well, for all those fans or professionals interested in a player, a club or anything related to Romanian football. So do not hesitate to forward me your questions, requests or thoughts!
Oh, and please accept my appologies for any mistakes in English! Thanks! 🙂
Radu Baicu
• 15 years of continuous work in scouting, for top clubs and companies;
• Worked for clubs like Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Hannover 96, covering the Romanian market;
• Worked for Birmingham based company ‘The Scouting Network’ (www.tsn.co.uk) as a football scout;
• Worked for Zurich based company Boutique Football as a scouting network coordinator;
• International scout for Young Boys Bern for 2 years, covering Eastern European football.
• Working for the past 5 years as an international scout for a top French club.
Let’s tweet again!
- RT @federicocasotti: Bellissimo: oggi i giocatori della Nazionale olandese 🇳🇱 si sono allenati indossando la maglia del primo club in cui s… Published: 2 weeks ago
- RT @Yokhin: Nicolò Napoli at FC U Craiova Dec 03 - Hired Feb 04 - Fired Oct 07 - Hired May 09 - Fired Jan 11 - Hired Apr 11 - Fired Jul… Published: 2 weeks ago
- @lecrin @JasonHolyhead Not Ruud Gullit’s “How to watch football”. Published: 3 weeks ago
- @denizcandas I did not say that Besiktas plays 4-3-3. I just said he is not suited for that system. In 3-4-3 he is not ideal either… Published: 3 weeks ago
- @RafaelH117 …or any other decent manager that uses a back three. Published: 3 weeks ago
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