Lilian Popescu pledged to pull the Moldovan national soccer team out of crisis // Photo: facebook.com
The decision on Popescu’s appointment was adopted unanimously by the members of the FMF Executive Committee. As a consequence, he is forced to leave the post of the head of the coaching staff of the Moldovan national youth team (U-19) and will not be able to accompany it at the qualifying tournament for the European Under-19 Championship to be held in Italy in November.
In an interview with the FMF press service, Popescu said that he understands the responsibility he will have to bear during the difficult period experienced by the “tricolor”. “It is a great honor for me. I am convinced that we can change things for the better only through joint efforts – hard work, with discipline and maximum dedication. I aim at building a united and competitive team, which will proudly represent Moldova and please our fans,” said the appointed head of the national team’s coaching staff.
Popescu’s debut as head coach will be a friendly match between Romania and Moldova, which will take place on October 9 in Bucharest. The first European qualifier for the World Cup will be an away match in Estonia on October 14.
Lilian Popescu was born on November 15, 1973 in Făleşti Noi village, Făleşti district. In the past, he was a soccer player and played in the clubs Cristalul (Falesti), Agro (Chisinau), Nistru (Otaci village, Ocnita district), Sheriff (Tiraspol), Olimpia (Balti) and Ekibastuzets (Kazakhstan).
The specialist holds the UEFA PRO coaching license, the highest in the hierarchy. He was the head coach of clubs Olimpia, Nistru, FC Costuleni, Veris (Chisinau), FC Tiraspol, Sheriff, Petrocub (Hincesti), Zimbru (Chisinau). Currently holds the position of sports manager of Petrocub. In 2020, he led Petrocub to victory in the Moldovan Cup. This year he led the Moldovan national youth team (U-19). Four times he was recognized by FMF as the best coach of the year in Moldova – in 2014, 2018, 2020 and 2022.
As Logos Press previously reported, the place of the head coach of the national team of Moldova became vacant on September 11, when Sergiu Cleschenko announced his resignation after a series of defeats with a large score – from Israel (0:4) and Norway (1:11). The Moldovan national team occupies the last, fifth place in qualifying group I, in which its opponents are the national teams of Israel, Italy, Norway and Estonia.
