2014-08-05 08:36:53

Alin Rațiu, one of Universitatea Cluj's defenders, announced his retirement from football at the beginning of the season. He featured in over 200 matches in first two divisions and in the Romanian Cup. "U"'s former number 24 gave an interview for ucluj.ro in which he reminisced about his playing career and discussed his hopes for the future of the team he finished his career with.

ucluj.ro: How do you feel after officially announcing your retirement a few days ago?

Alin Rațiu: Honestly, it's tough knowing that you'll never play the sport you played 7 years at the professional level again...save for friendly games with your friends. But you need to be strong and move on...You need to know that your life will take different paths and that you'll find new joy and challenges along the way.

ucluj.ro: How did the fans react to your decision and did you expect them to react that way?

Alin Rațiu: "U"'s fans have supported me from my first game for the club; I've always felt close to them. Many of them have wished me sucess in my future endeavors and have congratulated me for everything I've done while others have told me that I retired too early.

ucluj.ro: What is one of your first memories as a player?

Alin Rațiu: I remember my debut in Liga 1. I was 19 at the time. In that game against Bistrița I was hit hard in the tibia... To this day I still have a scar from that game.

ucluj.ro: Who are your favorite players?

Generally speaking, I like attacking players. To name a few of my former teammates: Gigel Bucur, Costin Lazăr, Marian Aliuţă, Tibi Bălan, Chiricheş, Latovlevici...Outside of Romania, I like Messi, Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic, to name a few...

ucluj.ro: Who made the biggest impact on your career as a player?

Alin Rațiu: There are many: Mr. Gigi Mulțescu, who promoted me to the senior team; Ioan Andone, who gave me my debut in Liga 1; Dan Petrescu, who taught me a lot about football; Balint, with whom I had a good relationship with.

ucluj.ro: How do you characterize yourself?

Alin Rațiu: I'm serious, reliable; a man with heart.

ucluj.ro: Who is/are the best defender(s) that you have played with?

Alin Rațiu: The defenders at Sportul Studențescu when we had a great team that fought for the title with Secăreanu - around 2005 I think.

ucluj.ro: Who is the striker that gave you the most trouble?

Alin Rațiu: (Laughs) Seriously? Ionuț Bălbă from Iași. Whenever we played against them we never knew how he would create problems, but he always did. (Laughs) 

ucluj.ro: What were the best and the worst moments during your playing career?

Alin Rațiu: I had many great moments... I can't forget when we played a match behind closed doors but the fans bought tickets and sung outside the stadium the entire match in spite of the closed stadium... We celebrated with them after the game... I'll never forget those moments... My worst moment was when I was acused of throwing a game against Steaua when I played for Sportul. That was my worst moment because it hurts when everyone acuses you of something but only you and God know it isn't true. It's very frustrating when someone acuses you of something that you can't disprove. That being said, that moment taught me that the only opinions that matter are those of people who truly know you... you're fighting with windmills with other opinions.

ucluj.ro: Which coach brought the best out of you as a player?

Alin Rațiu: Dan Petrescu

ucluj.ro: What's your favorite memory from your time at "U"?

Alin Rațiu: I mentioned one earlier, but another one of my favorite memories was when we beat *** away and we made all of "U"'s fans happy ...It's an incredible feeling when you make so many people happy!

ucluj.ro: There are many young players on "U"'s roster. Of them, who do you think will make their mark on Romanian football, and, why not, European football at some point?

Alin Rațiu: Kovacs and Calcan are very talented. Kovacs has grown a lot and understands that he needs to work hard and be very serious to be a great player. Calcan is a very talented player that I have a lot faith in. If he understands that he needs to work harder, he will be a great player.

ucluj.ro: Where do you think Universitatea will be in the standings at the end of the season?

Alin Rațiu: I think we can finish in the top 7.

ucluj.ro: What league would you have liked to play in?

Alin Rațiu: In Spain.

ucluj.ro: As a player, did you have certain superstitions?

Alin Rațiu: I had a few: I always came onto the field with my right foot, things like that; but now I think they're all bullshit! (Laughs)

ucluj.ro: Where do you want/hope to be in five years?

Alin Rațiu: In 5 years... (Laughs) In the Forbes 500 - in the top 10! (Laughs)

Info sheet:

Name: Alin Robert Rațiu

Date of Birth: September 14th, 1982.

Height: 186 cm

Position: Centerback

Teams he's played for: Sportul Studenţesc; Politehnica Timişoara; CS Buftea; Gloria Buzău; Internaţional Curtea de Argeş; Universitatea Cluj

Goals scored: 5 (all of them for Sportul Studenţesc)

Red cards: 1

Liga 1 Debut: 11/16/2001 in Gloria Bistrița-Sportul Studențesc (4-1)

First goal scored in Liga 1: 8/13/2005 in Farul Constanţa-Sportul Studenţesc (2-2) - goal tied the game at 1-1 in the 11th minute.

Violeta Merie