Gheorghe Hagi has decreed that from this moment every Romanian citizen must play one-touch football, and he has begun enforcing the rule at Mogoșoaia with a training regime that runs from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week, until Sweden is beaten by a margin he has not yet specified but has described as «respectful».
The «King» personally divided the squad into two groups of ten for a version of «Măgărușul» that permits only a single touch, and he has ordered that the distinctive bibs be worn on the body, never held in the hand. «If a player holds the bib, he is holding doubt,» Hagi told his staff. «We do not hold doubt. We wear it.»
By Tuesday, the entire town of Mogoșoaia had adopted the one-touch rule. Butchers now toss cuts of meat to one another in a single motion. The mayor answers questions only after a single bounce off the pavement. A local bakery has begun selling loaves that must be caught, not bought.
Sweden, meanwhile, has been informed that its superior talent from the Premier League and Serie A is irrelevant. «We have studied them,» Hagi said. «They have players. We have a rule.» The match at Friends Arena will proceed, but Romanian officials have already printed the return-leg tickets for a game that, under the new regulations, Sweden will be permitted to watch only from a distance of one touch.