The Blues, Romania, and Half a Century of Rivalry
Before you say anything: I know this blog is mostly about Tottenham Hotspur, but the Blues’ recent visit to Romania is just too funny not to mention.
The background: Manchester City traveled to Romania to play against Steaua (= the star) Bucuresti, one of the most famous (or infamous) two football teams in the country (the other is called Dinamo, and yes – its name is a sign of the Soviet influence on the country). Both teams have a massive following in the country, and their fans – some of them ultras, of course – have a habit of settling their differences in more or less (un)civilized ways. But not this time.
This time, Dinamo fans have chosen the finest, and most elaborate, ways to troll their rivals ahead of their game against the Blues.
The trolls of the century?
Steaua was looking forward to its Champions League qualifier – and so were its fans. The 30,000 tickets available for the game have been sold in a mere 10 hours. Some of them, though, were bought by Dinamo fans, and used in the most clever way possible to troll their rivals.
Apparently, Dinamo fans – posing as professionals – offered Steaua their services to prepare a tifo to give the team on the field a boost of morale. But the result was the contrary – especially since the tifo spelled out “Doar Dinamo Bucuresti” (Only Dinamo Bucuresti) right ahead of the game’s kickoff. No wonder Steaua lost its knock-out against Manchester City 0 to 5…
Such cunning, such trolling… chapeau!
Steaua is out!
Steaua players will have to set their Champions League dreams aside for the season. Their fans will have nothing to do but play the latest casino games at Euro Palace while thinking of a clever way to return the favor. Hopefully, they’ll manage to remain focused – the Euro Palace offers its players such a large collection of games that it’s hard to focus on anything else. Not to mention its specials: this month, aside from a selection of great new games, the Euro Palace offers its players a collection of mini-games with free spins and a share of a total prize pool worth €160,000 to win. Besides, the Euro Palace also has some of the best football-themed slot machines ever.
Sixty years of rivalry
Steaua and Dinamo (and their fans, of course) have been rivals for almost sixty years by now. Their rivalry officially started in 1948, with the two teams meeting over 160 times on the field ever since. Steaua-Dinamo is among the eight “five-star” rivalries in Europe, similar to those between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split, and others. Dinamo is the team with the most won matches at this time – and now it also won the title of the best prank ever.
