Romania players don't need bonuses for motivation says Chivu

Romania's players are proud to play for their country at Euro 2008 next month and are not after huge bonuses, captain Cristian Chivu said yesterday.

"We represent our country so we want to win for Romania and not for a bonus offered by one (person) or another," Chivu told a news conference.

Squabbles over bonuses have spoilt the atmosphere in the squad in the past.

Chivu and striker Adrian Mutu backed the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) when it turned down hefty rewards offered by controversial Steaua Bucharest owner Gigi Becali last week.

Becali said he would offer €500,000 for staff and players if Romania reach the quarter-finals and €5.5 million if they win the tournament.

Becali is under investigation for alleged bribery in the Romanian championship. He denies the allegations.

"If we manage a good performance in Switzerland, many local club players will earn good money from lucrative contracts abroad," Chivu said.

"For the moment, our strongest motivation is to play in Austria," a smiling Chivu said.

Romania face a tough task qualifying from Group C, based in Switzerland, where they meet world champions Italy, 2006 World Cup runners-up France and Netherlands. If they go through as group runners-up, they will play the Group D winners in Vienna.

At the weekend, two other local businessmen, both traditional sponsors of local clubs, promised they would give €600,000 each to the players if Romania qualify.

Mutu warned Romania's rivals that they would find and exploit their weak spots.

"Any team has their dark spots and all our partners in Group C have some," Mutu said. "It remains (for us) to discover them and exploit them with intelligence.

"We'll show that we have become a great team by playing with our heads more than with our legs against the world's strongest teams."