skygod Posted March 4, 2020 Report Share Posted March 4, 2020 Settling into a new country is never easy – but doing it alone is even harder. That’s exactly what Laurentiu Branescu has had to do while his wife-to-be Teodaora finishes her university course in Romania. And the on-loan Juventus goalkeeper admits one thing keeps his mind off of being alone – Football Manager. He plays the management simulation game in his free time – and, of course, manages Kilmarnock. He says the board in the game expect him to finish in the top three. But away from that, he admits he is loving life in Scotland despite how different it has been for him. He said: “Scotland is very beautiful, I enjoy it a lot.“The football is good, it’s very different to what I am used to. “The game is more aggressive, in other countries it’s more about technique – but here it’s different but good. “The stadiums are nice, the fans everywhere are very good and passionate.” He added: “Most of my time that’s spare I play Football Manager. “I manage Kilmarnock. I have actually just started a new season – not that I am any better at it. “In the game, the club said to me I need to get into the top three. “I am not far off of that, so I must reach that reality soon, it’s fun.” Branescu’s deal at Juventus expires in the summer. He has remained coy on his future but has refused to rule out a permanent move to Rugby Park. He said: “I will see in the summer what will happen, I haven’t spoke to anyone about anything yet. “My agent tries to talk to me about my future but I told him to wait until the end of the season. “I will be going back to Romania in the summer for my wedding – after that I will see. “But football is like a lottery, you can end up at a club you don’t expect to be at, you never know.” On his future wife, he said: “She doesn’t stay here because she studies, she is in her last month of university. “She has to prepare for that, so she is better to stay there now.” He laughed: “She is the boss, the wife will always be the boss. “Anyone who says she is not the boss, you are a liar.” Branescu admits he is learning every day in this vital loan spell. He said: “Every game we play is about everyone, every game and training session we learn. “Every match is important here which is important as I am growing as a player. “I didn’t play much before I came here so this season was important for me to come and play games. “A few things have been bad of course, my red card and a bad goal conceded against Hibs. “I expected this before I came, but I now need to stay strong and focused to continue developing. “There is no limit to progression, you can get better even if you’re 35 or 45. “I had a coach when I was young who said that after a mistake the game should start again from there. I think my reaction after the goal against Hibs was good, and also after the red card, so I am happy.” Next up for Killie is a clash with Aberdeen tonight in the Premiership. Killie have five games to secure a top-six spot and Branescu has every confidence they can do it. He said: “Of course I think we can, we have a good chance. “We need a bit of help from other teams, but if we even have a one per cent chance then we must fight because if you raise the white flag it’s not fair for your team, fans or anyone. “We need to be strong every game.” He added: “The cup defeat was very tough to take because we had the win in our hands twice and we still lost. “Bur we don’t have time to cry about it because football always gives you another opportunity to make it right. “It’s up to us to win the games and get the points needed. “I think the game tonight will be different to the one in the cup, this one is about a vital three points “We must do all we can to get the points because we have the chance to repair the season in the next five games.” https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/ayrshire/kilmarnock-goalkeeper-laurentiu-branescu-opens-21631744 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historyman Posted March 5, 2020 Report Share Posted March 5, 2020 Sounds like a nice guy but he's not a good goalkeeper. Instead of playing Football Manager he should paint a white line on the floor of his kitchen and practise coming off it. -5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jam1869 Posted March 5, 2020 Report Share Posted March 5, 2020 24 minutes ago, historyman said: Sounds like a nice guy but he's not a good goalkeeper. Instead of playing Football Manager he should paint a white line on the floor of his kitchen and practise coming off it. He would drop the paint brush -2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allybee Posted March 5, 2020 Report Share Posted March 5, 2020 (edited) he gives me the fear, on the few occasions he does come for anything including passbacks he is as slow as a week in the jail. Edited March 5, 2020 by allybee -2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prahakillie Posted March 5, 2020 Report Share Posted March 5, 2020 1 hour ago, Killie alan said: Seems a nice guy but not for me I’m afraid we’ll go and sign him in the summer. Hope not. Might not be so easy to go out and sign the likes of Branescu or Koprivec next season, or certainly not from the end of the year when we leave the EU. Perhaps with those examples it appears no great loss but it will affect all teams in he league and I doubt they'll be bringing in so many European players. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom061087 Posted March 5, 2020 Report Share Posted March 5, 2020 Currently has made more saves and has the highest save % of any keeper in the league. Also faced the highest number of shots which could indicate a few things I suppose. admittedly His distribution is very poor at times. Certainly can look awkward but I’m not sure he is half as bad as made out 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casual observer Posted March 5, 2020 Report Share Posted March 5, 2020 Sadly for him his high profile errors have invariably led to goals and cost us points rather than near misses we would have commented on and moved on. Doidge outjumping him for a routine keepers ball, ‘Well scoring the free kick that we could all see was to his side instead of it hitting the post or bar and bouncing out are two examples. He’s not great, but is a young lad in a foreign country making a big step up from age grade uncompetitive football to SPL standard. We’ve had worse for sure and will do again no doubt. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capitalkillie Posted March 5, 2020 Report Share Posted March 5, 2020 Way better than what you read on this forum. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraggle Posted March 6, 2020 Report Share Posted March 6, 2020 2 hours ago, Tom061087 said: Currently has made more saves and has the highest save % of any keeper in the league. Also faced the highest number of shots which could indicate a few things I suppose. admittedly His distribution is very poor at times. Certainly can look awkward but I’m not sure he is half as bad as made out Worrying stats! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilm53 Posted March 6, 2020 Report Share Posted March 6, 2020 I would keep him..if possible 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bute-killiefan Posted March 6, 2020 Report Share Posted March 6, 2020 Branescu is nowhere near as bad as is made out here. Just our fans seem to need at least one player to single out for abuse, and right now it's oor Larry 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garvis Posted March 6, 2020 Report Share Posted March 6, 2020 Loves a spectacular save gives us a howler now and again,, but needs to command his box better he's a big unit and should not be bullied when coming to claim crosses in his box. Jury is still out for me. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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