The Romanian national football team, which progressed to the round of 16 at the European Championship – EURO 2024, was welcomed on its return from Germany by several hundred supporters on Wednesday night at the Mogosoaia Football Centre, the traditional training camp of the side.

Fans dressed up in yellow tee-shirts and waving tricolour flags waited for the players at the gate of the sports base, despite the late hour.

The plane that carried the team was initially supposed to land at 23:20hrs, but due to technical problems it left Frankfurt late and arrived at Henri Coanda Airport in Otopeni at 01:00hrs.

The national team bus was greeted with cheers at Mogosoaia around 01:45hrs, with fans chanting „Romania, Romania” and „We are proud of you.” The players and members of the technical staff were applauded on the central stadium of the Mogosoaia base, and their names were chanted several times.

The captain of the national team, Nicolae Stanciu, told the attendees that the Romanian supporters were the first and not the twelfth player of the national team at EURO 2024.

„I can see many children here, and we are happy because we want to be role models for the children of Romania. We are glad that they are here, that they love us and grow with this generation and with the results we have achieved after a long period of time. You were player number one of the national team, not 12, and for that we thank you,” Stanciu said.

Coach Edward Iordanescu, to whom the fans chanted „Edi don’t leave”, underlined the importance of the unconditional support offered by the supporters throughout the final stages of the tournament.

„I want to thank you on behalf of the family of the national team, of this ‘Soul Generation’. You can’t even imagine how much your support mattered to the boys, to all of us. You can rest assured that they gave everything on the field especially for you and for Romania’s children,” Iordanescu said.

Only 16 of the 26 players who were part of Romania’s EURO 2024 national side arrived in Bucharest last night. The rest left Germany directly on vacation or to their clubs.

The performances of the „tricolors” at EURO 2024 brought the fans back to the national team, which had not participated in a final tournament for eight years. Tens of thousands of Romanians celebrated in the stadiums and on the streets of Munich, Cologne and Frankfurt the results of the national team.

Romania’s national team left the European Football Championship – EURO 2024, hosted by Germany, after being defeated by the Netherlands team 3-0 (1-0), on Tuesday evening at the Football Arena in Munich in the round of 16.

AGERPRES