CHALLENGE Cup: A DREAM THAT HAS BECOME TRUE
The CHALLENGE CUP is in RESITA! At an honorable place, in the trophy glass case of or club! It's not a dream, its genuine reality! At the beginning of last year this was a dream but Adrian Chebutiu - President & General Director of UCM Resita really believed in it and that's why he brought at Resita the No. 1 coach, "the teacher" Aihan Omer. The aim was not only to have an honorable behavior at the European Cups but, moreover, to be No. 1 in Challenge Cup as well. That's how the story of bringing a European Cup in Resita has started! During summer, he who already had in his record ten internal trophies, gave up the see for the mountain and came to Resita to prove once more that he is the best Romanian handball coach and agreed to stay beside a whose aim was to prove that is No. 1 also in the European handball play. And, what is very important, at their début in the European Cups. What else can be nicer for Butulija & company, that to fulfill their dream at first hand? They are worthy of our compliments!
After his arrival at Resita, "the wizard" Aihan Omer starts working after a recipe known only by him and he succeeded to change the players from the last championship, together with the new ones Butulija and Tucanu, in real champions, having in mind the aim of being No. 1. In less than one year, from a team that was trying to reach the dais of the National League the Handball Team UCM Resita succeeded to bring home a European trophy. Aihan Omer, who never gave up the idea of wining the Cup, has calculated every step with a precision of a surgeon.
The "Teacher" is an incurable optimist. After a draw game at Severin, with the team MKS Zaglebie Lubin (32-32), Omer said: "It might be better this way. We'll start as outsiders and we'll win in Poland!" In the return game that took place in Lubin, after leaving the impression that the adversaries are favorites for the qualification, the Romanian team found out the required strength and played a great match wining an extraordinary victory at a score of 37-36. Same happened in all the other crucial games: in the quarters of the Cup championship, during the game with Kaustik Volvograd at home, he asked his pupils to step on the "gas pedal" only from the middle of the second half, in the semifinals with MKS Zaglebie Lubin, when he turned a tie game into a victory. We prove to the entire Europe that it was not by chance that we joined the same table with the "rich" ones and we won the respect of everybody. As recognition, the officials of EHF put us on the site of the Handball European Federation. This is the recognition of the value of a team whose desire was to win and do their best for the final victory.
In the first act of the Challenge Cup Finals, at Severin, the pupils of Aihan Omer let slip the victory through their fingers before the Vikings from Drammen HK, who presumptuously thought already that they are the winners but, for us this game shown us that the descendants of Eric the Red are not invincible and, practically this was a tie game that made us spring into life! For sure, the well known Romanian hospitality offered to the guests by the leaders of or team (Well done, Zamfirescu!) wasn't rewarded in the same manner in Drammen, where the staff from Resita was continuously hindered with all arms of a "physiologic hostilities". For instance, we can mention the travel of the team by bus (that was unduly belated) from Oslo Airport to Drammnen, or those happened during the official training of or team, who made their practice on a lateral court while on the main sports hall was playing a junior team.
But those who have tried to make difficult the staying of the EURO-UCMR team in Drammen, didn't understood that all Romanian players, beginning with Cenusa and Cuciula, wanted one thing only: to bring the CHALLENGE Cup to Resita. And they succeeded to do this!
At the end of a dramatic game, encouraged continuously by a small but large-hearted group of supporters from UCMR, the handball players from Resita succeeded to make their dream to become true. They brought into the city along the Barzava River the proud of being a European citizen having the Challenge Cup in their arms. It wasn't easy, on the contrary was very hard for them but this made everything so beautiful.
The finals started with an immense bad luck, with the serious accident suffered by the player Vali POPESCU during the warming up training. The "wizard" Aihan Omer didn't loose heart and hi succeeded to prove his class once again by changing casually all the tactics prepared in Resita. The last four seconds of the game were dramatic and in the huge uproar of Drammenshalen, for a moment, Hagen made our hearts to frozen. But the release gesture of Cenusa, made us understood that the ball is out and blow us up! Since this was the victory of all Romanians, of all those who belied until the last second in this marvelous team. We cut the antlers of the Vikings in their own house, making them to meditate upon the lesson of a real value, modesty and fair-play.
The words are uselessly in front of these extraordinary players that "steal" under the nose of the Norwegians, who didn't believe their eyes that our handball player won the Challenge Cup right there in Norway.
The entire contingent played the dance of victory right on the court of the Vikings, the terminus line of an incredible European campaign. It was the victory of the fight spirit and sacrifice, the victory of Maximus, a word already famous of Butulija, in the competition ruled by us through elegance and value! The dance of victory from Drammenshalen court was a retort to the dance of the Norwegian tem in Severin, a difficult moment surpassed by our handball players with dignity, proving that they have strong characters.
They had the nerve to prove that they are No. 1: Adrian Chebutiu - President of UCM Resita Group, Ion Zamfirescu - Executive Manager of the Club, Aihan Omer - No. 1 coach of Romania, Gligore Czari - assistant coach of the team , Mihai "Misi" Zsizsik, masseur of the team, Catalin Negreanu - spokesman, Oana Balan - Marketin coordinator, Cristian "Paloma" Ionescu - the oldest player of Resita team, Razvan Cenusa, Cristian Antonaru, Georgianos Macri - the hero from Lubin, Bojan "Maximus" Butulija - goal-getter of the team and responsible with the high-spirits, Dusan "Pasa" Pasici - no.1 performer of throwers from 7 meters, Adrian "Uca" Tucanu - lieder of the team, Gheoghe "Ghita" Irimescu -the warrior from the semicircle, Mihai "Misa" Rohozneanu - the clear mind from the team attack, Sebastian "Sebi" Parvan - the junior international, Florin "Ciobi" Ciubotariu - with a constancy of an international, Marius "Leo" Grozavescu, Florin Cuciula, Vladimir "Vania" Kovacevici, Valentin Popescu - the unlucky man of Drammen finals, Ilie Vaidasigan, Alin Macovei. Always by their side was the brave group of supporters from UCM Resita that followed the team everywhere, both at Severin and on their travel games, also the entire people from UCM Resita, who waited them at the airport from Timisoara or at the MOL station from Resita, with a reception worthy of the greatest champions, as deserved by our No. 1 team.
Congratulation for our boys, who always believed that a dream can become true when you really believe in it! WE WERE, ARE AND WILL BE NO.1!!! (F. STIUBE).