First of all, how are you?
I won’t hide the fact that I’m a little in shock… I don’t really know where I am, or what’s going to happen. It’s not very pleasant to live…
When were you made aware of the situation?
The day they announced it, last Friday… I had just received a call from the director asking to see me and my staff. Just afterwards, we received a notification of publication from the club on the networks. We translated it, and that’s how we learned that the club was withdrawing its professional teams from all competitions. But it is not a bankruptcy filing either: the young teams continue their activity.
“We received a paper today (Monday) indicating that the contracts, that of the staff, of the players, were cut. Point “.
Did you feel the blow coming?
Absolutely not. In recent weeks, we were talking about the future and recruitment… We didn’t see any warning signs, the girls were paid by the hour… And Buzau was renowned for never having had a money problem.
What are the reasons given?
The mayor has decided to withdraw public funding from all high-level sports. It’s not just the hand that will suffer. The club’s budget (2.5 million euros) depends 99% on subsidies from the town hall. The mayor has been there for years, Buzau is a bastion of the socialist party which until now dominated Romania, but the presidential election was obviously costly
. And left debts… So everything stopped overnight. We received a paper today (Monday) indicating that the contracts, that of the staff, of the players, were cut. Point.
You signed a two-year contract. What recourse is available to you?
-We will look into this with our agents and our lawyers…
Do you know what your near future will hold?
It’s complicated, I didn’t come alone… My partner, who is a teacher in France, had taken leave to find work here. And for me, the timing is really bad because the first transfer market was a month and a half ago. Everything is already agreed for next year. Here, it’s mid-January, and with my staff (a fitness trainer, an assistant, a goalkeeping coach), we find ourselves back on the floor…
We imagine that your situation does not leave many people indifferent in the world of handball…
I have received lots of messages of support and expressions of sympathy, and quite honestly, it feels good… It’s always comforting to see that our situations do not leave us indifferent, that there is support, and that everything the world hopes that we manage to bounce back…
* Romania is currently going through a major political crisis following last year’s presidential election, which was annulled by the Constitutional Court amid suspicions of Russian interference.
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