Romanian national team won, for the second time in the row, the European minifootball title. In the final match of the three day international tournament held in Tulcea, the Czech Republic representative got very close to winning their first European title, only to lose on penalty kicks, 1-2 (3-3 after regular playing time).
The game was controlled by the Czechs for most of its regular time. However, the Romanian team had a miraculous awakening during the past five minutes, succeeding to even out the table and force the game into penalties.
The visitors achieved a 2-1 lead after the first half-time, mounting to what they believed a secure 3-1 lead only seven minutes to go. Suddenly, the Romanian team got carried out to an astonishing two goal feat by the generous local public who shouted for an incredible comeback. And they lived to see their dreams come true.
The revival had much to do with the excellent performance of Dumitru, who is the all-time scorer at European minifootball championships, with 11 goals in Bratislava, last year, and 7 in Tulcea. He succeeded to score the last two regular time goals of this final, which got Romania back on its feet.
During penalty shots, the Romanian goalkeeper Popa – tool under the spotlight, defended his post like a real pro, while the Czech team looked a bit tired after the incredible resurrection of their opponents.
The battle for third place was won by Moldova, 1-0 against the Greek national team.
Frantisek Karaffa (Czech Republic) was voted best player of the tournament, whilst Cristinel Popa (Romania) got the best goalkeeper accolades.
The European championship was hosted by Tulcea, a Romanian city located right at the mouth of the wonderful Danube Delta. The Danube river witnessed in 2010 another Romanian European winning bid, in Bratislava, where they won their first European minifootball title.