First Division. Strange reality – highly talented generation, with Hagi leading the pack, but concentrated in only 2 teams, both representing powerful, even ominous institutions, which fought between themselves by every legal and illegal mean. As a result, the picture is distorted and difficult to judge: let say, a team practically consisting of half of the national team would be much superior to most of the league members and players like Hagi and Lacatus could score many goals. But it was already known around Europe that goal-scoring in Romania was fixed… and how many games a leading team won by football means and how many their ‘sponsors’ fixed in backrooms? And can we speak of ‘fixing’ when it was pretty much enough just to know that one has a match against the team of the son of the dictator of a totalitarian state? There was hardly any need to use ‘muscle’… The final table was quite curious as a result: two teams way above the rest and entangled in fight for the title, one team – which was barely disguised second team of one of the leading clubs – had nothing to do with the title, but left the rest of league behind by far, then 13 teams almost equal in strength, but inferior to the top three, and finally absolutely weak team, which finished with 6 points. Suspect final table, but… speculations are only speculations. Yet… how not speculate – only 4 teams ended with positive goal-difference?
ASA (Targu Mures) – hopelessly last with 6 points. 2 wins, 2 ties, 30 losses. Scored 23 goals, received 101! Terrible… and they an Army team… just giving easy points to Steaua would not explain such a miserable season. So easy to slip into speculations… the fact, though is they were last and relegated.
Rapid (Bucharest) – 17th with 23 points. Very weak and relegated. The 1980s were terrible decade for Rapid, yet, one may wonder why they were so bad… but let not go into speculations.
Otelul (Galati) 16th with 28 points and relegated. Weak, no doubt, but not so weak – rather, they ended at the bottom of the big group or relatively equal teams – they finished with just 8 points less than the 4th team in the final table.
Corvinul (Hunedoara) – lucky 15th with 29 points. Survived.
Universitatea (Cluj) – 14th with 30 points.
Arges (Pitesti) -13th with 30 points.
SC Bacau – 12th with 30 points.
Inter (Sibiu) – 11th with 31 points.
FCM Brasov (Brasov) – 10th with 31 points.
Farul (Constanta) – 9th with 32 points.
Olt (Scornicesti) – 8th with 32 points. Here they are again… of course, not a team to compete for the title, but… can the team of Ceausescu’s birthplace fail? There was a string of interesting players through the years… now former national team goalkeeper Stangaciu. Fresh from Steaua… and one wonders again: why such a player did not join Rapid, but a village team located in the great nowhere?
Bihor (Oradea) – 7th with 32 points.
Sportul Studentesc (Bucharest) – 6th with 34 points.
Universitatea (Craiova) – 5th with 36 points. Nothing special now… and how could be otherwise? The national team regular goalkeeper for years Lung was no longer with them… did he moved on his own to Steaua? Of course best players want to play for the best clubs, but why he did not move 7-8 years ago then?
Flacara (Moreni) – 4th with 36 points. The best among the bulk of ‘equal’ teams. One of the only four teams with positive goal-difference. Their best success so far – frankly, if there was a pleasant story in Romanian football, it was theirs: only a few years before they hardly heard of Second Division team. Now going to play in the UEFA Cup – and done without ‘sponsor’.
Victoria (Bucharest) – 3rd with 45 points. A team entirely on its own… nothing to do with the race for the title, nothing to do with general bulk of the league either – 9 points ahead of Flacara. Great success of a team which popped up recently. Then again… such a team should not have been in First Division at all – they were originally the second team of Dinamo, hastily renamed after promotion to show independence. But were they independent? After all, in very near future they were the club to pay most heavily for the ills of political football – most likely they continued to serve their real masters. Hence, stronger than most, because they still received ‘help’.
May be Victoria served the purpose to battle Steaua, but as a second Dinamo, they would not be permitted to go higher – the duel was only between Steaua and Dinamo, the classic Army vs Police battle in the Communist countries with Romanian additional flavour: the club of the dictator’s son, Steaua, vs the club of the Secret Police, serving by now the power and security of the dictator. One hand of Ceausescu vs the other hand of Ceausescu – there was no love between the two hands. There was war… and in war everything goes. Yet… when one looks at the squads of the bitter enemies… may be it was exciting to watch? The best coaches and players of the country – all of them major international stars already and even more during the 1990s. The whole exciting Romanian team fought among itself for domestic superiority… Hard to tell how much was great football and how much political ‘muscle’.
Dinamo (Bucharest) finished with 62 points from 30 wins, 2 ties, and only 2 lost games. Goal-difference: 130-30. They scored 130 goals in 34 games! The squad, including their coach, does not any introduction… Dorin Mateut scored 43 goals and won the Golden Boot and, since Romanians were already under heavy suspicion of fixing scoring records, his achievement contributed to the destruction of the European scoring award. Yes, Mateut was wonderful player, but… why he and not his teammate Rodion Camataru, who won the 1987 Golden Shoe with 44 goals? Hm… Camataru was a high scoring striker for years – Mateut was a midfielder… and right behind Mateut in the European ranking of the season came Karas of Victoria (Bucharest) with 36 goals. Funny business… and on top of it, not helping Dinamo. Was it humanly possible to beat their record? Yes, it was… Dinamo finished 2nd.
Steaua (Bucharest) did not lose any game this season, winning 31 and tying 3. Scored 121 goals, permitted only 28 in their net. With 65 points, they bested the arch-enemy by 3 points and grabbed the title again. Looking at this starting team… well, everything clear and simple – so formidable. Can prevail over Dinamo. Can score a lot. Then again, would they be so invincible without ‘help’? And why Belodedici disappeared?
Questions or no questions, Steaua won 3rd consecutive title and in the Romanian context they much preferable champion than Securitate’s Dinamo for many. And Hagi was playing for Steaua, one more bonus and point of public sympathy.