Soccer-Romania coach Piturca stands up for under-fire Chiriches
Oct 7 (Reuters) - Romania coach Victor Piturca has jumped to Tottenham Hotspur centre back Vlad Chiriches's defence in the wake of criticism from fans and the media following some poor performances for his club in recent weeks. The defender's error gifted Besiktas a last-gasp equaliser in a 1-1 Europa League draw on Thursday and the Romanian was panned for a woeful performance against West Bromwich Albion in his last league appearance two weeks ago. "Well, he has made some mistakes but it's normal to make mistakes and we shouldn't dramatise it," Piturca told reporters on Tuesday, four days ahead of an eagerly anticipated Euro 2016 qualifier against neighbours Hungary. "We should not put him against the wall." Romania, who failed to qualify for the Euro 2012 finals, began their Group F campaign with a 1-0 win at Greece with Ciprian Marica scoring an early penalty. "What matters now is what we do against Hungary," added Piturca, who included eight players from Romanian champions Steaua Bucharest in his squad for qualifiers against the Hungarians and away to Finland next Tuesday. Following the back-to-back underwhelming displays, Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino dropped Chiriches from the squad for the 1-0 league win over Southampton on Sunday. "I don't care what Chiriches did at Tottenham," Piturca, who is expected to join Al Ittihad later this month after holding talks with the Saudi Arabian club, said. "What interests me is that he plays very well for the national team." Local media said that Piturca may even consider giving the 24-year-old Chiriches the captain's armband to boost his morale with regular skipper Marica suspended after being sent off in the Greece win. "The coach knows what to do very well," Chiriches said. "I'm not thinking who will be the captain. I'm only thinking about my progress and my performance on the field." Chiriches, capped 25 times by Romania, joined Spurs from Steaua in August 2013. (Writing by Angel Krasimirov; Editing by John O'Brien)
