Romanian Club Taking Squad Rotation Very Literally

By: Daryl | December 28th, 2007

Panduri crest We all know the January transfer window is a time for strengthening European squads, but one Romanian team is going to the extreme and planning to replace the entire first eleven, with Portuguese players. Pandurii Târgu Jiu are currently second bottom on Romania’s Liga 1 and recently replaced coach Eugen Neagoe (the 15th managerial casualty so far in a ruthless Romanian season) with Portugueezer Joaquim Teixeira. The plan is for Teixeira to get rid of most of the current squad like a bad hand he’s been dealt in a game of cards, and sign eleven new Portuguese players in a last-ditch attempt to save the club from relegation.

Pandurii Târgu Jiu president Marin Condescu outlined the plan: “Joaquim Teixeira agreed a two-and-a-half year deal and his main task is to avoid relegation.” The plan is to get all the new team of Portuguese players in place by January 7th, ready for February when Liga 1 gets back in session after the winter break. What could possibly go wrong?

Well… first of all it might not work. There’s no guarantee that eleven random Portuguese players will fare any better in Romania than the mostly Romanian team who are currently second bottom. This could be a very expensive and very silly gamble, especially as it’s eternally optimistic to expect two or three weeks of January training to forge these new men into an organized team.

But if it does pay off, then what’s the benefit? Sure, Pandurii Târgu Jiu get to stay in Liga 1 but at the expense of the team’s identity. I know some English Premier League fans are irked at having complete teams of foreigners representing them, but at least that was a slow process. Pandurii Târgu Jiu fans will go from having a team of Romanians to cheer on (however unsuccessfully) to all of a sudden having a team of Portuguese players they’ve probably never heard of to support.