“Champions creating champions”. It is the title of the book in which Gheorghe Hagi recounts the first 10 years of life of FC Viitorul, an entity created by the former footballer with the aim that Romania once again have a presence in Europe. A decade after the formation of the academy, whose first team went from competing in Third to conquering League 1 in just eight years, Hagi decided to leave his position as coach of the Constanta team. And the one chosen to replace him was a Spaniard, Ruben de la Barrera, who accepted the difficult challenge of continuing to form stars: “Hagi called me personally and I could not say no, he is a legend of world football. I perceived the illusion he has put into this project and that was decisive. We talked about a first division in the one where there are important teams like Cluj or Steaua Bucharest, which have a Champions League in their showcases “.
Far from feeling the pressure of replacing a Romanian football legend like Gica Hagi, Rubén de la Barrera, who is about to serve two months in office, is “excited” about what is his second experience abroad He previously directed the Qatari Al Ahli. “Personally, being around Hagi is making me very rich. We share everything. From his experience as a player in top-level clubs to his skill as a manager and coach, “reveals the Galician, who compares Viitorul's philosophy with that of Ajax or FC Barcelona:” Hagi believes in that model. The objective is to consolidate the club as one of the best in the country and to have a permanent presence in European competitions. For these reasons, the level of demand is very high. Our days start very early and end very late. ” The idea is clear: recruit young players, show them to the world through the first team and then sell them to more important clubs. “But that is impossible if we do not compete every game,” De la Barrera clarifies.
After starting the season with two draws and two defeats, Rubén de la Barrera celebrated his first win as FC Viitorul coach against Astra. Winning, as the Spanish coach himself reiterates, is the first step in a project that dreams of distributing youth players to clubs throughout Europe: “There are very few things more attractive than what I have in hand. The idea is that, at medium term, these guys can compete in the first divisions of Italy, Spain or England. I have players from 2002 or 2003 with a tremendous desire to succeed “. Hagi's ambition takes time, but the results have not been long in coming. With only 18 years old, Louis Munteanu left two million euros in the club's coffers after his transfer to Fiorentina this summer. It is the last proper name of a list of outputs in which they also appear Ianis Hagi, son of Gica Hagi himself, Razvan Marin or Florinel Eat, signed at the stroke of the checkbook by Genk, Standard Liège and Steaua Bucharest respectively. Total, the club has made about 40 million in sales in the last decade and Gabriel Iancu, Alexandru Matan or Virgil Ghita threaten to continue increasing the number soon.
Rubén de la Barrera and Antonio Caballero
Antonio Caballero (Twitter)
De la Barrera is not the only Spaniard in the FC Viitorul discipline. The Galician coach has on his 'staff' the assistants Fran Beltrán and Iván Peñaranda, the physical trainer Antonio Caballero and the analyst Pere Romeu, while the club added Víctor Fernández, Ángel Martínez, Josemi Castañeda and Jon Gaztañaga to reinforce the squad . Total, nine professionals from Spain to work under Gica Hagi, whose prestige continues to increase. “Seeking that Romanian football be reborn and doing it with money from his pocket has enlarged his legend”, reveals Caballero. “When you meet him for the first time, he instills respect. He is one of the most loved, admired and respected people in Romania and working alongside him is an enormous responsibility,” completes the coach from La Mancha.
More than 300 players are part of the FC Viitorul quarry, which takes care of all their expenses. The club began competing in Tercera a decade ago and three years later it had already reached the elite of Romanian football. In 2017, those from Constanta won their first league championship and last season they won the Cup and the Super Cup, which allowed them to take their first steps in the previous phases of Europe and the Champions League. At a sporting level, however, “the objective is to reach the 'play-off' in the league and that those matches, now without the pressure of avoiding relegation, serve as a showcase for the footballers,” persists Caballero, who does not hesitate when He asks him if he prefers to win a title or for one of 'his' players to be signed by a LaLiga or Premier League team: “The latter, without any doubt. On a personal level I also hope to help the team win titles.” Viitorul in Romanian means future. And its most immediate future is in the hands of the Spanish.