Ioana Cosma, Romanian sports journalism star: about sheltering a family of Ukrainian refugees, Mircea Lucescu's role in Ukrainian football, and how she almost died during a business trip to Donetsk in spring 2014.
Mircea Lucescu and Ioana Cosma in the studio on Romanian TVIoana Cosma is Romania's most famous sports journalist, producer and commentator with almost 30 years of experience in the media. For more than 20 years, she worked for ProTV. Cosma became a real star of Romanian television in May 2019, when she commented on... a football match for the first time in Romanian history. It was the final of the National Cup among women's teams. Her success was huge, and she was recognized as "her own" even in the usually picky men's football circles. And soon Ioana's voice was heard on the air at matches involving the Romanian national women's national team, after which she was honored to work at UEFA EURO 2021.
There is one more facet of my heroine's remarkability. As a philanthropist, Ioana supports stray animals. She has 5 dogs and 3 cats in her private home. This incredible woman is also an ambassador of the SOS Satele Copiilor România organization, which takes care of orphans and children from disadvantaged families. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Cosma has sheltered a Ukrainian family with whom she still maintains strong, almost family-like ties. This family is mine. More precisely, it is me, the author of these lines, my daughter Anna, who was 14 at the time, and my mother Olena Oleksandrivna, who returned to Ukraine after a couple of months in Romania.
...Now I realize that on that cool March morning in 2022, meeting Ioana on the platform of the Bucharest train station was a real gift of fate for us, three frightened, morally and physically devastated women. After all, hiding in our home "bomb shelter," which was a tiny and rather primitive cellar in the yard of my father's house a few kilometers from the military airfield of Vasylkiv in the Kyiv region, and literally shuddering every minute from the explosions, we could not imagine what a life-saving, life-changing meeting awaited us in a week.
At that time, the legendary Romanian Mircea Lucescu was the head coach of Dynamo Kyiv, where my father was vice president. Not least thanks to his initiative and comprehensive support, the football club's management organized two evacuation buses to Romania for the families of players and coaches. We were lucky enough to get on one of them. After a day on the road, we found ourselves, exhausted, but with the realization that we were already safe, in a mountain hotel in the Romanian city of Iasi.
The picture of my first impression of a forced meeting with a foreign country is forever etched in my memory: bitter cold, endless snowdrifts around and... some ominous silence that literally made my mind go blank against the backdrop of yesterday's Kyiv explosions.
Confusion, multiplied by fear of the uncertainty of the future, even for the next few hours, was the main state of most of us at that time. We'll spend a night or two in a hotel, and then what? Where do we go? And is there someone waiting for us somewhere? A lot of unanswered, scary questions were depressing.
But fortunately, Emilian Karas was in our delegation. He is a former Moldovan professional football player, and at the time he was one of Mircea Lucescu's assistants at Dynamo Kyiv. Emilian's natural sociability and tactfulness, balance and endurance, ability to find an answer to any question that came from all sides of our nervous delegation, as if from a cornucopia, became a real elixir for everyone. And his fluency in Romanian helped Karas solve all logistical problems.
"You're going to Bucharest, and I've already bought train tickets for you," Karas told us, smiling. He added: "There is a pleasant surprise waiting for you there.
As it turned out later, the creators of that surprise were my father's old friend, Mircea Lucescu's longtime football agent, Arcadie Zaporozhanu, and... Ioana Cosma, a star of Romanian sports television! Arcadie, who started his career in journalism and knew Ioana, learned that she intended to shelter refugees from Ukraine in her home and offered us to her.
The emotions of gratitude and hope that gripped us after this news were the first positive emotions since the beginning of the war. However, they did not last long. Already on the train from Iasi to Bucharest, we read the news that the village of Markhalivka, where our father stayed, had been subjected to another rocket attack by the Nazis, which destroyed several houses and killed many people. My father did not get in touch, so those were hours of terrible uncertainty. Luckily, we found out that he was okay as we were approaching the Bucharest train station.
Ioana, although we had never seen her before, of course, we recognized her immediately. Something invisible and strong drew our eyes in the station crowd to that fragile blonde girl with blue eyes and a sincere smile, who (probably also recognized us!) was running in our direction, waving her arms in a friendly manner. A moment later, all four of us, women of three different generations, but with the same perception of the moment, froze in a sincere embrace, hiding our tearful faces in each other. Ioana cried with us...
Angela, Ioana's mother, met us on the doorstep of their home. She hugged us and gave us each a bouquet of flowers. After the horrors we had experienced, it seemed like a fairy tale, like a dream, like an unreality...
Even Ioana's numerous dogs did not bark at us, strangers on their doorstep, but, on the contrary, wagged their tails in a friendly manner and sniffed the guests with interest, as if following their masters' lead, saying "Bine ati venit!", which means "Welcome!"
This is how our life as refugees began. Daughter Anya was studying quite successfully at a Ukrainian school online and dreamed of a good further education. Ioana realized this right away and step by step helped to make the girl's dream come true. Now we understand that the fact that Anya, having won the international NMC Project competition a year ago, was granted the right to study at the prestigious Durham School (Durham, UK) on a full board basis is certainly due to Ioana's efforts, heart and soul.
Here is how Anna herself tells about this and more:
"Ioana and her mother Angela immediately surrounded us with care and warmed us up. To say that I was confused and scared is an understatement. Ioana and Angela made every effort to make us feel at home. Within a week, Ioana enrolled me in a lyceum, where I met my first Romanian friends. And Angela, despite her advanced age and a rather long journey, traveled with my mother to the other end of Romania to pick up our dog Willie, who had been evacuated there by a girl from Kyiv who was a complete stranger to us.
On March 8, on my birthday, Ioana arranged an incredible surprise that I will remember all my life. She invited my mother, grandmother Olena, and me to the PROTV TV company where she worked at the time. She took me to the studio to meet the hosts of the daytime show, and it turned out that all this was happening... live! I was greeted with a birthday cake and interviewed. I took the opportunity to talk about the war in Ukraine and called on Romania and the whole world to help our country as much as possible. We stayed in Ioana and Angela's hospitable home for almost four months. Later we rented our own apartment. My mom found a job, and I started going to an international school offline, while continuing my studies at a Ukrainian school online.
For me, Ioana is not only a role model and an example of nobility and compassion, she is my soul mate. Ioana, her mom Angela, and their entire four-legged team are now my family forever."
...Two and a half years have passed. We are sitting with Ioana in the kitchen of her cozy country house, which has long since become my home. Despite the fact that it is September, it is a typical Bucharest heat wave. Ioana's mother, Angela, is frying mitchi, a traditional Romanian meat dish. Angela is an excellent cook. Next to her is the four-legged boss, a handsome Labrador named Krontzi. He is already 16 years old and he is the one who keeps all the tailed and mustached brothers in the house under control. I've been asking Ioana for an interview for a long time - to talk about her impressive career, achievements, charity and love for animals... And most importantly, I wanted to publicly thank her and her mother Angela for our shelter, for their care for us, Ukrainian refugees. I think that the story of the Romanian sports television star will be of interest to Ukrainian readers as well.
-Ioana, I know that you have a lot of experience in the media and that you are one of the key figures in Romanian sports journalism. How did you start your career in this field and what attracts you to it?
- This year marks the 30th anniversary of my work in sports journalism, and I feel very happy because I consider my profession to be the best in the world. I have always liked sports. Since childhood, I have been attracted to everything that signified the very essence of competition. My grandfather instilled this love of sports in me when he took me to the stadium for the first time. That's where my passion began.
- You have worked as a reporter, produced sports programs and commentated on football matches.Which of these roles can be called a challenge, and which one gives you the most pleasure?
- Absolutely all of them. But I will never forget the period when I was a reporter. Although I've done thousands of talk shows, I think I enjoyed my time as a reporter the most. Of course, I like commentating on matches, but being a reporter, reporting directly from the scene, has always seemed to me the best thing.
- In May 2019, you commented on your first football match, the Romanian Women's Football Cup final. What were your impressions of this experience?
- It was something extraordinary. I remember the great emotions I felt and how good the match was with five goals scored. Commentating on a match is something special, you need to convey the emotion from the stadium to people, and it's definitely a great challenge.
-Your work as a commentator was also appreciated by experts, because soon you were entrusted to work at a match with the participation ofthe Romanian national team and even within the framework of Euro 2021...
- Yes, this was the biggest challenge for me, especially because no woman in Romania has ever had the privilege of commentating on football matches of this magnitude on TV. Everyone was discussing this topic at the time. People perceived this fact differently, of course. I accepted both criticism and praise with gratitude. I can say that it was a unique experience, and now other journalists in Romania are trying to follow in my footsteps. The France-Switzerland match at Euro 2021 is still the best of my commentary work. With Kylian Mbappe's unrealized penalty, with all its drama, it was something unique for me...
- In Ukraine, women in sports journalism are already quite commonplace. And how is it inRomania?
- It's the same in Romania. This is a general trend. If at the beginning of my career we had 3-4 women reporters in sports, now there are more than two dozen of them. There is room for everyone. It is important that you like what you do. And professionalism and a thorough knowledge of the subject matter, of course, is the first thing.
- What advice would you give to young journalists, especially women, who want to start a career in sports journalism?
- Be dedicated, informed and have passion. If you don't love what you do, change your job!
- Ioana, let's change the topic of our conversation a bit. You actively support stray animals and campaign in their favor. What inspired you to do this?
- I love life in all its forms and manifestations. Mahatma Gandhi said: "The level of civilization of a nation is determined by the way it treats animals." That's where you have to start. I don't know how it is with you in Ukraine, but I think we have the following problem in Romania: we like dogs only when they help us, say, get out of the rubble after an earthquake or some other disaster, or when these gentle and caring four-legged friends act as our "therapists". But, for example, I and my like-minded people in this business respect them always and in any situation. Animals are a real blessing from God for us...
- Tell us about yourpets. How did dogs and cats from the street become members of your family?
- I would save all the stray dogs in the world if I could. But I can't. So now I have only five dogs and three cats at home. Kronzi, Norochel (his leg was amputated after he was hit by a car), Cora, Max and Brenkusha, Shumudika, Alba and Bobica. Sometimes I think I would give my life for them. And if I had, for example, only 100 euros left in my wallet, I would buy them food first. When one of them leaves us, I feel devastated.
- What animal welfare projects or initiatives are you currently implementing and how can people get involved or help?
- I have an animal-friendly podcast where I present an animal that can be adopted; I cooperate with the Directorate for Animal Protection of Ilfov County (a suburb of Bucharest - ed.), and I work with the Hope shelter. Recently, I was in the city of Tirguiu to hold a rally after 60 dogs were euthanized in one night. I "adopted" Brenkusha from that shelter. I urge people to sterilize and chip their animals. I also donate to stray animals every month. I do everything I can.
-You are alsoanambassadorof the SOS Satele Copiilor România organization. Tell us about your activities in this organization and why it is important to you.
- My cooperation with SOS started nine years ago, I am a volunteer there. I have a ward, a child with whom we have a strong, deep connection. I have been taking care of her for all these nine years, helping, guiding, and am proud of her development. At SOS, I also developed a social program: I founded the SOS national football team, children are selected, and the best ones get into the national team and play matches with Romanian football legends. This year, they were at a training camp in Greece, played a friendly match, visited the PAOK Thessaloniki stadium and met with the famous coach Razvan Lucescu. It was impressive.
- What motivates you to be so active in your professional and charitable activities?
- I am motivated by two things. Doing something every day: writing, working, and always doing something good, charitable. Help someone cross the road, smile at the elderly, help a child, help an animal...
It's so simple and yet so important to others.
- Let's get back to football. In your opinion, what roledid Mircea Lucescu play in Ukrainian football and what does he mean for Romania?
- Of course, for you, Ukrainians, Valeriy Lobanovsky is number one and will probably always remain so. But Mircea Lucescu - at least in terms of the number of trophies won by the teams he led - also inscribed his name in golden letters in the history of Ukrainian football. Isn't that right?
How many titles did he win with Shakhtar, including the last ever UEFA Cup! He even managed to win three trophies in two years with Dynamo Kyiv. This is an incredible achievement that is unlikely to be surpassed by any foreign coach.
What does Lucescu mean to Romania? The same thing as Lobanovsky for Ukraine. They are outstanding sons of their nations.
- I know that you managed to attend the Euro 2024 Romania-Ukraine match , which was so unfortunate for us and triumphant for you...
- Oh, those were great emotions! Yes, I was in Munich at the time, and the atmosphere in the city was incredible. I remember how we met with huge groups of Ukrainian fans and traditionally "fraternized" with them, although we wished victory, of course, to our national teams. The stands of the stadium were painted yellow, because we both have yellow on our shirts. I think this was also one of the manifestations of fraternization between Ukrainians and Romanians, our support for our neighbors who are fighting the aggressor for their independence.
-Ioana, I know that you have a special attitude towards Ukraine and Ukrainians also becauseyou had a rather dramatic episodeinyour life when youfound yourself in life-threatening Donetsk in thespring of 2014. Tell us about it.
- I was there as a reporter in May 2014, right after the Russians seized Crimea. We were filming with a hidden camera in the conflict zone. This was noticed by Russian soldiers who were already in charge of Donetsk. They grabbed me hard, twisted me and... put a gun to my head. Fortunately, they did not shoot me, but only scared me. My cameraman colleague was also arrested, and for several hours we did not know anything about each other. I was kept in a room with the door open. From there, I saw some people being severely kicked in the next room - it was horrible...
Finally, after making sure that we were foreign journalists, they gave me and my cameraman some papers, explaining that they were passports of the "independent Republic of Denmark" and allowing us to work in that area for a few more days. We managed to capture vivid and at the same time terrifying footage of the chaos that was the pillboxes, barbed wire, damaged and abandoned tanks, the grief of people mourning their dead relatives...
These were the images of war. At the time, I had no idea that eight years later I would face it again - this time on the full-scale side of the racist aggressor country.
- Literally from the very first days after the beginning of this horror , you provided shelter to us, afamilyof Ukrainian refugees. What prompted you to take this step?
- How could I not help! This is a terrible tragedy that has befallen our Ukrainian neighbors. From the first days of the war, I watched reports on television of many frightened women with children crossing the border into Romania... I could not look at the screen without crying. It makes me cry even now.
At the time, I wanted to go to Iași to help refugees there, but I couldn't do it because of my work. I was very worried about it. But then I received a call from Arkadii Zaporozhan. The long-time agent of Mircea Lucescu found out that my mother Angela and I wanted to take in some Ukrainian refugees, and he offered me you - the mother, daughter and granddaughter of his old friend from Dynamo Kyiv. Some may not believe it, but for Angela and me, it was a small consolation in an ocean of tears. I helped as much as I could. I think we will remain friends for life.
- Ioana, what did you learn from this situation and how did this experience affect you personally?
- Do you know what impressed me the most? That, despite the real tragedy that Ukrainians were experiencing at that time, I saw people coming to Romania with their pets, which they had not left behind in the darkness of war.
This is also an example for us, Romanians. I would like to see how many Romanians would do the same in a similar situation, God forbid. I repeat, this is what best defines people - empathy for animals. I thank you for this life lesson!
- How else do you think we can help refugees affected by the war?
- Through integration. We need to find ways to include them in the community. Millions of Romanians have left and continue to leave for the West. They were accepted there, of course, primarily because they did work that locals did not want to do-but that's another conversation. Just as the Romanians were accepted, those who need help should be supported by all of us. And when you win the war, I will go to Ukraine as a tourist to help the economy of Kyiv a little bit.
-Ioana, has your experience with your Ukrainian family influenced your vision or professional work?
- I hope I've become a little bit better. I am not very often afraid of anything, but after the war in Ukraine I pray that God will give me time to do as many good deeds in this world as possible, to help as many people as possible, whether it be animals or people.
- What motivates you to be so active in your professional and charitable work?
- I am motivated by two things. Doing something every day: writing, working, and always doing something good. Help someone cross the road, smile at the elderly, help a child, help an animal.
- Do you have any new projects or plans for the future that you would like to share?
- I am involved in a lot of projects. I'll tell you a secret: I might be the only sports journalist in Romania who will vote for the Ballon d'Or awarded in women's soccer.
- What helps you keep your passion and motivation alive after almost 30 years in the industry?
- The fact that I haven't lost my passion. Even now, when I watch a good football match, I get a shiver. I am passionate about sports and it will always be that way.
Yulia Semenenko
The material was created with the participation of CFI, Agence française de développement médias, as part of the Hub Bucharest Project with the support of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
