Multumesc şi Noroc, Florin!

A little less than forty-eight hours ago Florin Pelecaci, Bath City's popular Romanian midfielder, entered the following status on his Facebook account:

I'm thinking to my future.....I've seen my flag in my wall and I'm moved. What can I say... I had nice moments with Bath City thanks to my collegues and the fans for support, but unfortunatelly for me, I think is imposible to play anymore for Bath.

Although it is not entirely clear from what he wrote why he felt he had to leave Bath City, it was still pretty clear he would be leaving.

Pretty clear, but not definate enough for many fans, including myself. Within hours of the discovery of this statement a 'Campaign to Keep Florin at City' Facebook Group had been started. As of this writing there are forty-eight members. One ambitious Florin fan has even printed flyers to distribute at the Woking match to try and persuade Florin to stay.

At 2 o'clock this afternoon the Bath Chronicle published an article on its website confirming that Florin had indeed left Bath City. Or, it sort of confirmed it. Actually, it only confirmed that he probably would be leaving. City manager Adie Britton was quoted saying:

Florin's left. He's living in London with relatives having moved his family over here and is uncertain as to whether he is going to play football here or seek education. He's going to have a think about it over Christmas but it looks unlikely he'll play for us – if he does play it is likely to be in the London area.

So if Florin still wants to play football (which would appear likely) and is unable to find a London club to take him on (which would appear to be very unlikely) he might come back to Bath City. Realistically, though, it appears that we have seen the last of a player who has brought a huge amount of excitement to the Bath City season so far.

But why can it be said that Florin Pelecaci has brought a lot of excitement to the Bath City season? And why has the news of his departure caused such an emotional reaction from so many supporters? This is, after all, a player who has made a mere five starting appearances and scored just a single goal. Considering that two of the appearances (and the goal) were against lower-league opposition in cup matches, it would be easy to see this as just the predictable departure of a fringe player.

It would be easy, yes , but wrong. Florin did something special, something that every football supporter wants to happen: he captured our imagination. His arrival was sudden and unexpected. He had never played in England before, and there was precious little information to be had about his career in Hungary and Romania. A Youtube clip (now removed) was published on this blog showing him scoring a wondergoal from the halfway line, and his friend and team mate, Sido Jombati, vouched for his abilities. That was pretty much it. He was a man of mystery!

He joined Bath City as it was struggling through a serious injury crisis. If he had not turned out for the match against Dover Athletic then it was not clear how Adie Britton would have fielded a full squad. I did not see him at this match, but I did see him the following week in the FA Cup match at Willand Rovers.

He was obviously different. He warmed up differently. He ran differently. His touches were different. His first meaningful pass was a beauty: a pinpoint diagonal cross onto the forehead of Darren Edwards, who needed only to gently nudge the ball to beat the opposition keeper. A few minutes later Florin scored his own goal. It was a Premiership-worthy shot from twenty-five yards out into the left corner of the Willand net. I was so stunned I almost missed the series of somersaults he performed on the pitch immediately afterwards.

Everyone who saw that match was convinced Florin was a player of quality. He was nominated for the FA Cup Player of the Round award. The Bath City online forum was awash with excitement. The fact that City went over a month without a home match only served to heighten expectations.

Part of Florin's appeal, however, must have been the somewhat tragic figure that he cut. Bath City is a great non-league club, but Florin had played at the top level in two other European countries (Hungary and Romania). He had been managed by Chelsea great Dan Petrescu at Unirea Urziceni. What was he doing in the Conference South?

As he explained in an interview for this blog, Florin had been the victim of bad luck, a bad run of injuries, and some misleading promises by a football agent. He wanted to bring his family to the UK and break into a League 1 club. To the fans this seemed likely - Bath City would just be a stepping stone into a big club and a new career. Sadly, and in line with his luck over the last few years, it didn't work out.

After being dropped for another FA Cup match for a more physical mid-fielder, Florin never recovered his place in the starting lineup. Reduced to a substitute, his most notable further appearance was again in the FA Cup against Forest Green Rovers. After some impressive work with the ball he received a pass on the right of the goal, with only the FGR keeper between him and an equalising goal. Perhaps he rushed the shot, although it was not clear he had time to take an extra touch. For whatever reason his shot went into the side netting, and City was eliminated. If he had scored, surely he would have earned back his starting place? Surely he would have played in the Third Round of the FA Cup, perhaps against Notts County? Would he have been noticed by a league side in such a high profile match and offered a contract ? Sadly, we will never know.

Although I did interview him, I cannot say that I really knew Florin. I did have a twenty minute conversation with him, of which the sole purpose was to get to know him as much as I could. I was impressed by his earnestness and his dedication. I was impressed by his gratitude to the supporters, and by his willingness to be frank and forthcoming with one posing as a journalist (me). Most impressive, though, was his determination to play better for Bath City. Everyone was singing his praises, but Florin was annoyed with himself that he was not playing better.

Florin will leave behind a sizable fan club who will follow his progress with whatever club he plays for next. I was told by a supporter of Diósgyőri VTK, Florin's former Hungarian club, that no one was much bothered when Florin left that club after a long run of injuries. 'On the whole, we don't cry after him,' he said. Well, at Bath City, we may not cry after him, but we will miss him very much.

As the title of this post says, thank you and good luck, Florin!