RONALDO AND ME
Killie’s Romanian keeper reveals how special it was to face ‘fantastic’ Juventus star in training
FROM facing Cristiano Ronaldo free-kicks at Juventus training sessions to wearing Edwin van der Sar’s boots in international matches, Laurentiu Branescu has already experienced a journey most goalkeepers would envy.
Before joining Kilmarnock earlier this season, the Romanian had also seen a deal with Manchester United scuppered due to paperwork issues when he was a teenager, before signing for Juventus and then being sent around the world on loan.
At one point, he was room-mates with Paul Pogba and mentored by Italian goalkeeping legend Gianluigi Buffon. Yet, Branescu admits, nothing could truly compare with training alongside Ronaldo.
‘When I first saw Cristiano, I didn’t think it was him,’ said the 25-year-old. ‘I thought he and (Lionel) Messi are from a different world!
‘But he is just like us, a hard worker and he is a very good person. He is a fantastic player and knows when to make a joke, when to smile.
‘It was a short period I was there, but I tried to follow his example. Sometimes I was not so concentrated on the training, I was just watching him. Cristiano is a machine.
‘With all the guys who were there, we watched him a little bit like: “Wow, it’s Ronaldo”. Two days before, I had watched him play in the Champions League final and now he was shooting at me!’
The 6ft 4in keeper dramatically motions with hands the freak-like swerve produced by Ronaldo’s shooting, explaining: ‘His first shot was a free-kick. I didn’t know what to do, I was like: “Wow — where did the ball go?”.
‘There was a bit of emotion from us because you meet a guy who has made history. Like Messi, he has made history and scored lots of goals, won many individual trophies, breaking record after record. They are at another level.’
Branescu was part of the youth team set-up for his local Romanian side Ramnicu Valcea from the age of six, before being spotted by Manchester United in 2011 and offered a trial when he was 16.
The Old Trafford club then wanted to sign him, with ‘everything agreed’. Paperwork issues, however, prevented the deal going through.
Despite that setback, the experience is one he won’t forget, mainly down to the generosity of United legend Van der Sar.
‘I trained with Edwin van der Sar,’ said Branescu. I actually have boots, gloves and a T-shirt from him, from that time.
‘They played a game against Arsenal, I think it was my last day there, and the goalkeeping coach,
Eric Steele, gave me all of this stuff.’ The boots, in fact, came in handy. The Kilmarnock keeper added: ‘I wore his boots when playing for Romania in the Under-19 Euros because all of our players were obligated to play with Adidas boots but I didn’t have any — so I played with van der Sar’s, as his boots are Adidas.’
Not long after the trial with United, Juventus signed him for their youth set-up, where he established himself as first-choice.
His progression was rewarded by occasionally featuring on the first-team bench in the 2012-13 season and he was even named in their Champions League squad.
‘It was a fantastic experience. You stay with the big players, learn from them, live the dressing room, live the important games,’ he continued. ‘It’s special to be part of such a big club but it’s not for everybody.
‘Obviously, everybody wants this but it’s not possible for all of us. I think sometimes that it’s luck or working hard a lot.
‘I hope that in the future, I will live these moments again.’
Fast forward to today and Branescu is enjoying life in the Scottish Premiership under his former assistant boss at Juventus — Angelo Alessio.
The Romanian has hit the ground running and established himself as Kilmarnock’s firstchoice keeper, with six clean sheets in the league.
‘I think you should be confident within yourself and scared about nothing.’ said Branescu, who will be looking to keep Aberdeen out at Pittodrie today. ‘The most important thing is don’t be afraid of a mistake.
‘I don’t look a lot at this (the statistics). For example, there were two or three games where I didn’t concede a goal — but we didn’t win the game.
‘Sometimes I prefer to concede a goal if it means we score one more than the opposition. If we keep a clean sheet, it’s not only me, it’s all the guys on the pitch.’
The physical nature of the league is something Branescu has particularly taken to.
‘It’s a great experience because I’m playing in a very good league,’ he added. ‘It’s competitive, every match is a battle.
‘It’s more physical but, for me, it’s a good place for young players to develop. In other countries, referees whistle every little moment and there’s too much stopping in the 90 minutes. Here, it’s more fluid and that’s much better.’
Branescu remains hopeful that, one day, he might be able to break into the formidable Juventus first-team squad.
Prior to joining Kilmarnock, however, he had played only 32 matches in seven seasons.
‘It’s not easy,’ he admitted. ‘But Juventus have a lot of players and sometimes you should take this way of loan, after loan, after loan and hope you find the right moment to show your quality.
‘For me, it is very hard. I’ve been on seven loans. In the two years at Dinamo Bucuresti, I did very well. But in the others, I didn’t play well, which is probably why I go on loans because I don’t prove myself fast enough.
‘I always stay positive and now, if I have my moment, I will take it because I know my qualities.’