Romanians At The Basis Of Soccer Development In The United States Of America

Abstract

Long before the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the United States was signed on 1997, the two countries were already working closely together in the realm of soccer. Although the soccer movement in the United States began much earlier than in Romania (in 1620, according to the U.S. Soccer Timeline on the U.S. Soccer Federation's website), and the early achievements were in favor of the Americans (winning silver at the 1904 Olympic Games and bronze at the inaugural World Cup), Romanian soccer during the communist era excelled in both organization and tactical gameplay, asserting its dominance. Despite differing political ideologies and the significant distance between the two nations, collaboration began as early as the 1970’s. Given that communist laws severely restricted the emigration of Romanians and that successful athletes were regarded as ambassadors of the regime-valuable assets not to be "exported"- legal exchanges of best practices were effectively impossible.