Lilian Popescu became the 16th head coach of the Moldovan national soccer team // Photo: facebook.com
Leonid Oleynichenko said that the decision to appoint Lilian Popescu as head coach of the national team was made after a meeting of the coaches’ committee, which considered various candidates. “Still we need to rely on our coaches in order to develop our coaching school. And also from the considerations that the national team coach should be involved in the domestic championship, among other things. The Executive Committee decided to increase from this season the number of rounds to three in the first phase of the Super League and League 1 to ensure that local players, who are in the field of vision of the national and youth team coaches, have game practice comparable to that in foreign championships,” – said in an interview with the TV channel “WeSport” head of the Federation.
He thanked for the work of the previous staff headed by Sergei Kleshchenko and urged not to forget the achievements of the national team, which came during the period of his work. “They brought us many moments of joy and pride. We should not forget that the national team won the group stage in the Nations League. In the previous qualifying cycle for the European Championship, our guys fought on equal terms with opponents from Albania and the Czech Republic. I’m not talking about the two surprise matches with Poland, even an away draw was a historic moment for us, and even more so the victory in front of our own fans. The last two matches were played by the same guys with the same staff headed by the best coach according to the results of the previous two years, and not only in the opinion of the federation, but also by specialists from other public institutions,” emphasized Oleynichenko.
According to the functionary, Kleshchenko relied on those players who were in the best shape. At the same time, Leonid Oleynichenko believes that the decisions were made by the previous staff without taking into account the risks they entailed.
“We are not putting our hands down. It is now that we have to support our guys not only by the federation, but by the whole society. The players are looking at the comments, receiving criticism. I recognize that we fully deserve this reaction, but the criticism must be constructive … But let’s not forget that the national team players know how to play, and they know how to play. I hope that the new coaching staff will give the national team a new impetus, inject new blood. He will have to determine the core of the national team before the upcoming Nations League. The remaining four matches this year, including one friendly, are preparatory for the next cycle, but we hope that we will not be left with zero points at the end of the qualifying cycle,” summarized the FMF president.
These words should be a good farewell for Lilian Popescu, who has been handed the helm of the national team. For the specialist, who had experience of working mainly in clubs, the new post becomes a serious challenge. Only this year he took charge of the Moldovan national youth team, which he prepared for the qualifying tournament of the European Football Championship among athletes under 19 years old and was optimistic about its prospects of reaching the final stage. Due to his departure from the youth national team, the task was entrusted to Stefan Stoica, who was the interim head coach of the “tricolor” in 2015.
Despite little national team experience, Popescu has interacted with many of the players on his current roster. He has led clubs that delegate many of their players to the national team. In particular, during almost five years of work at the head of the coaching staff of Petrocub club from Hincesti, which is oriented on its own pupils and local players, the specialist proved that in the state of professional freedom he is able to motivate the team, unite it and, having much less resources compared to the main competitor, can impose a fight and make it a force to be reckoned with.
Sergei Kleshchenko, before joining the national team, had experience of working in the youth national team, which is the main supplier of the “tricolor” players. Lilian Popescu does not have this experience, but it does not detract from his charisma and ability to unlock the potential in players. The main thing he strives for is to get full freedom of action in terms of training process and selection of players. The lack of this, as can be seen from his short tenure at the helm of Zimbru, does not help improve the team’s performance.
In an interview with Moldova 1, the new head of the coaching staff emphasized the importance of creating in the national team “a family, a united team that knows what it is fighting for.” “I believe in the guys from the national team, although there might be some changes in its composition. It is very important that everyone understands that they are playing for the national team. I was told that the team should give their best, leave all their strength on the field. If we have the right attitude and approach, I hope that we will be able to achieve this in the near future,” Popescu said.
The difficulty of the work of the head coach of the national team is that the specialist does not constantly interact with his charges, but during short periods of time, when the players are released from their clubs. It is very difficult to adjust and unite the team, having a disastrously small amount of time. Whether Lilian Popescu is capable of doing so, the remaining matches until the end of the year will show.
In one of them, at the home arena in Chisinau, they will face the four-time world champions – the Italian national team, whose freshly appointed coach Gennaro Gattuso is known for his fiery temper and is ready to resort to radical measures to motivate the players in order to achieve the national team’s goals. If Popescu will properly adjust the players of the national team before the match on November 13 and fight the venerable opponents, he will pass the “test”, showing that he is ready to cope with the biggest challenges.
Lilian Popescu is the most optimal specialist to head the national team’s coaching staff, experts believe. The Football Federation, having listened to the recommendations of the committee of coaches, made the right choice, they believe. “Tricolor” have one friendly and three official matches left to play, which have no tournament significance. Thus, the new coach is given carte blanche and the opportunity to prove himself with little risk for the national team.
|
All head coaches of the national team of Moldova |
|||
|
Specialist |
Period of work |
Success rate |
|
|
1 |
Ion Karas* |
1991-1992 |
0% |
|
2 |
Eugene Piunovsky |
1992 |
60% |
| Ion Karas |
1992-1997 |
18,52% |
|
|
3 |
Ivan Daniljants |
1998-1999 |
14,29% |
|
4 |
Alexander Matsyura (acting) |
1999-2001 |
23,53% |
|
5 |
Alexander Spiridon |
2001 |
25% |
|
6 |
Viktor Pasulko (Ukraine) |
2002-2006 |
20% |
| 7 | Anatoliy Teslev |
2006-2007 |
16,67% |
| 8 | Igor Dobrovolsky (Russia / Moldova) |
2007-2009 |
23,33% |
| 9 | Gabi Balint (Romania) |
2010-2011 |
27,78% |
| Ion Karas |
2012-2014 |
22,22% |
|
|
10 |
Alexandru Curtian (Moldova / Russia) |
2014-2015 |
0% |
|
11 |
Stefan Stoica (acting) |
2015 |
0% |
| Igor Dobrowolski |
2015-2018 |
11,11% |
|
| Alexander Spiridon |
2018-2019 |
18,75% |
|
|
12 |
Semyon Altman (Ukraine) |
2019 |
0% |
|
13 |
Engin Fırat (Turkey) |
2019-2020 |
0% |
|
14 |
Roberto Bordin (Italy) |
2021 |
8,33% |
|
15 |
Sergey Kleshchenko |
2021-2025 |
31,58% |
|
16 |
Lilian Popescu |
с 2025 |
——- |
| * Specialists without specifying the country are citizens of Moldova | |||
