Railway Journal: You
are the champions of the edition 1966-1967 as a player and the year 1999 brought you the
title of champion of the junior team Rapid. What do these titles mean to you?
Teo Codreanu: In the history of the Rapid club we were the first ones who opened the way to success. We are proud to be the initiators of this club’s victories.
R.J.: Please, tell our readers how you managed to win the Championship three decades ago?T.C.: In 1967, our opponent was also the team Dinamo. We were playing in Ploiesti and Dinamo had a game with UTA on the stadium on the road Stefan the Great. If we lost with 1-0 and the players from Dinamo won home, we were risking to lose that Championship. Why? Simply because they obtained a higher number of goals. But as both teams finished at the same score, we the players from Rapid became champions with two points ahead.
R.J.: We all know the technical and material conditions of today’s players. But we don’t know what advantages had the generation from 1966-67. Tell us, please.
T.C.: Nea Tinel, God rest him in peace, “caught” an extraordinary generation. We came to play for pleasure, not for money’s sake. This counted a lot in obtaining the victory. When we had matches, we didn’t think of playing for bonuses, but for the show’s sake. This is what we were doing on the ground – a show. We were satisfied that we had the opportunity to travel abroad and be in the attention of the public. For each of us Rapid was the second family. We were friends, we even replaced each other when it was necessary, or we helped each other.
I remember there was also a tradition. In that spring, whenever we had a match, we also heard about a funeral. Thus, we drew the conclusion that “dead people” bring us luck, as we won those games without problems. On the day when we won the Championship, from the railway station till that large avenue, whose name I cannot recall, “we couldn’t see any funeral”. In those moments we thought that bad luck is waiting for us, when suddenly we heard Dan Coe “Dead man! God shall give you health!” 50 m from us we spotted a column of people accompanying (what do you think?) a dead man on his last road. Only then we knew that we wouldn’t lose and according to our tradition we would become champions.
R.J.: You played football until 1974. What have you done afterwards?
T.C.: I must tell you that from that year, 1974 and up to now I have been only assistant coach, excepting a couple of months when the manager coach got sick. I was a coach at the Children and Junior Center, where I worked with Marian Bazil. In 1979 I went for two years at the Fine Mechanics team, where the manager coach was Mircea Lucescu. Until 1985 I have also trained teams from the B and C League and afterwards I came to Rapid also as an assistant coach. In 1990, when there were neither money, nor conditions, the team was promoted to League A. The fact is that the juniors team is also a champion.
R.J.: Besides whom do you coach this team?
T.C.: The manager coach is Mr. Ionut Chirila. Together with him we formed the team. The defense is composed of our players and the rest of the team from players from other teams, brought by Mr. Chirila. We won this Championship also with the help of Mr. Mircea Lucescu who sent us players whenever we needed them. At the juniors team have played Marius Bratu, Radu Sergiu, Daniel Pancu, Nicolae Stanciu, Mugur Bolohan, etc.
R.J.: Do you think they have chances to get to the senior team of Rapid?
T.C.: Yes, but they must be promoted, as they are very talented. I personally trust them. At the senior team, Mr. Lucescu used Voicu and he was not disappointed. They confirm only if they are promoted.
R.J.: Mr. Teo Codreanu, now in the final, I would like you to tell us whether you continue to meet the former co-players. I ask you this, because in those times you were a family.
T.C.: Of course we meet. Either at games or when we go out to drink a beer and we remember the times when we were young and we played football. In those times, football players were sometimes quarreling, but when they entered the ground, they forgot everything and played to win. There were also those game relations which one couldn’t’ oversee.
