ROMANIA DIDN'T LOSE ALEXIA. IT DROVE HER AWAY - AND CALLED THAT NORMAL
I am not writing this as an observer.
I am writing this as someone who knows exactly what this story costs.
I grew up alongside Alexia Carutasu. I played for years on the same basketball team as her brother, Darius Căruțașu. I saw the work nobody watches, the discipline nobody posts about, and the sacrifices that never appear in any article.
That is why I say it plainly: Romania did not lose Alexia. It drove her away.
At 13, she debuted in Divizia A1 - an absolute record that still stands today. At 15, she was already a national champion, Romanian Cup winner, and playing in the CEV Champions League. At 15, she was no longer a talent. She was a certainty.
And also at 15, she left.
Not because she wanted more comfort. But because she had no room to breathe in a system that didn't know what to do with her.
Turkey knew.
At VakıfBank she entered a world-class environment, trained under Giovanni Guidetti, one of the most respected coaches on the planet. At Yeșilyurt she won the CEV Challenge Cup and was named MVP of the competition. With VakıfBank she lifted the Turkish Cup, the Super Cup, and the Champions League in 2022-23. Today, at Galatasaray Istanbul, she has just won the CEV Volleyball Cup, finishing as Best Scorer and Best Server of the entire competition. She is 22 years old. And she has built a trophy cabinet that Romania would never have allowed her to build.
This is not a beautiful story for Romania.
It is an indictment.
Because Alexia did not appear from nowhere. She was validated constantly: Best Scorer, Best Server, Best Opposite, MVP in European competitions, statistical leader in top leagues.
Excellence confirmed at every level, in front of everyone.
And we lost her.
No. We drove her away!
Let us call things by their name.
In Romania, too often, talent is blocked by connections, selections are influenced by favoritism, and performance becomes optional. Players promoted for their surname. Doors opened because parents work inside the system. Selections that make no logical sense - until you understand who knows whom.
I have seen this. Everyone sees this. But nobody speaks up.
And when failure becomes undeniable, nobody looks at the players who had no business being there. Nobody asks who selected them. We blame coaches, conditions, referees - anything except the truth.
And in the meantime, we destroy trust.
Children see. They understand. They learn that hard work is not enough, that merit is negotiable, that the system is not built for them.
And then they leave. Or they quit.
Alexia did not quit. She left. And she became what our system would never have allowed her to become. But how many others don't even manage that? Because if you are from Dorohoi, from Adjud, if you have no connections, if you have no money, your chances are nearly zero from the start.
And inside clubs, we keep pretending everything is normal.
There is no real sports psychology. There are no professional structures. The coach is simultaneously massage therapist, nutritionist, psychologist, and saviour in a system that provides nothing. There are no scholarships for talented children in private clubs.
There is no real national scouting program that travels to Dorohoi or Adjud to find value.
This is not development. It is negligence.
It is the reason we lost Alexia. It is the reason her brother Darius is today developing within the youth academy of Anadolu Efes Istanbul - twice EuroLeague champions — and representing Turkey at FIBA junior competitions.
This is not a coincidence.
It is a pattern.
And the worst part is that we have accepted it.
We know exactly what needs to be done. Everyone knows. Real national scouting in every corner of the country. Transparent selections with public, verifiable criteria. Scholarships based on talent, not relationships. Sports psychologists integrated into clubs. Coaches evaluated, not protected. Federations led by competence, not connections.
We do not lack solutions. We lack courage.
Because change means losing control, losing influence, losing the comfort built on interests. So nothing changes. And we keep losing.
I admire Alexia. I respect her journey. I know what her decision cost her and her family. She herself stated publicly that she was deeply disappointed by the Romanian volleyball federation's attitude and that she waited four years to change her sports nationality. Today she plays for the Turkish national team. Romania plays for nothing.
The truth is simple and needs none of the diplomacy we keep applying:
A country that cannot keep its own values is not unlucky.
It is guilty.
I am Nicholas Carstoiu, athlete and member of the Children's Board of Romania supported by UNICEF, and I refuse to accept that this is normal. Perhaps change will come when my generation reaches the point of leading these institutions - if we have not already been shaped by them into exactly what we are fighting against.
Because if nothing changes, we will not inherit this system. We will become it.
And then the final question will no longer be rhetorical: who, exactly, does this system work for?
Nu scriu acest text ca observator.
Il scriu ca unul care stie exact cat costa povestea asta.
Am crescut langa Alexia Carutasu. Am jucat ani de zile alaturi de fratele ei, Darius Carutasu. Am vazut munca pe care nu o vede nimeni, disciplina despre care nu se posteaza si sacrificiile care nu apar niciodata in articole.
De aceea spun direct: Romania nu a pierdut-o pe Alexia. A alungat-o.
La 13 ani debuta in Divizia A1 - record absolut, nedoborat pana astazi. La 15 ani era deja campioana nationala, castigatoare a Cupei Romaniei si juca in CEV Champions League. La 15 ani nu mai era un talent. Era o certitudine.
Si tot la 15 ani a plecat.
Nu pentru ca a vrut mai mult confort. Ci pentru ca nu mai avea aer intr-un sistem care nu stia ce sa faca cu ea.
Turcia a stiut.
La VakifBank a intrat intr-un mediu de elita mondiala, antrenata de Giovanni Guidetti, unul dintre cei mai respectati antrenori de pe planeta. La Yesilyurt a castigat CEV Challenge Cup si a fost MVP-ul competitiei. Cu VakifBank a ridicat Cupa Turciei, Supercupa si Champions League in 2022-23. Astazi, la Galatasaray Istanbul, tocmai a castigat CEV Volleyball Cup si a incheiat competitia ca Best Scorer si Best Server. Are 22 de ani. Si un palmares pe care Romania nu i l-ar fi permis niciodata sa-l construiasca.
Asta nu este o poveste frumoasa pentru Romania.
Este un rechizitoriu.
Pentru ca Alexia nu a aparut din senin. A fost confirmata constant: Best Scorer, Best Server, Best Opposite, MVP in competitii europene, lider de statistici in campionate de top.
Performanta validata la toate nivelurile, in fata tuturor.
Si noi am pierdut-o.
Nu. Am alungat-o!
Hai sa spunem lucrurilor pe nume.
In Romania, prea des, talentul este blocat de relatii, selectia este influentata de pile, iar performanta devine optionala. Jucatori promovati pentru nume. Usi deschise pentru ca parintii sunt in sistem. Selectii fara nicio logica - pana intelegi cine pe cine cunoaste.
Am vazut asta. O vede toata lumea. Dar nimeni nu semnaleaza nimic.
Si atunci cand esecul devine evident, nimeni nu se uita la jucatorii care nu aveau ce cauta acolo. Nimeni nu intreaba cine i-a ales. Dam vina pe antrenori, pe conditii, pe arbitri - pe orice, numai nu pe adevar.
Si intre timp distrugem increderea.
Copiii vad. Inteleg. Invata ca munca nu conteaza suficient, ca meritul este negociabil, ca sistemul nu este pentru ei.
Si atunci pleaca. Sau renunta.
Alexia nu a renuntat. A plecat. Si a devenit ceea ce sistemul nostru nu i-ar fi permis niciodata sa devina. Dar cati nu reusesc nici macar atat? Pentru ca daca esti din Dorohoi, din Adjud, daca nu ai relatii, daca nu ai bani, sansele tale sunt aproape zero din start.
Iar in cluburi continuam sa ne prefacem ca totul este normal.
Nu exista psihologie sportiva reala. Nu exista structuri profesioniste. Antrenorul este si maseor, si nutritionist, si psiholog si salvator intr-un sistem care nu ofera nimic. Nu exista burse pentru talentele din cluburi private. Nu exista scouting national real care sa mearga la Dorohoi sau Adjud sa caute valoare.
Asta nu este dezvoltare. Este neglijenta.
Este motivul pentru care am pierdut-o pe Alexia. Este motivul pentru care fratele ei, Darius, creste astazi in structura de juniori a lui Anadolu Efes Istanbul - dublu campion EuroLeague - reprezentand Turcia la competitiile FIBA.
Nu este o coincidenta.
Este un tipar.
Si cel mai grav este ca l-am acceptat.
Stim foarte bine ce trebuie facut. Toata lumea stie. Scouting national real in fiecare colt al tarii. Selectii transparente cu criterii publice si verificabile. Burse pentru talent, nu pentru relatii. Psihologi sportivi integrati in cluburi. Antrenori evaluati, nu protejati. Federatii conduse de competenta, nu de pile.
Nu ne lipsesc solutiile. Ne lipseste curajul.
Pentru ca schimbarea inseamna pierderea controlului, a influentei, a confortului construit pe interese. Asa ca nu schimbam nimic. Si continuam sa pierdem.
O admir pe Alexia. Ii respect parcursul. Stiu cat a costat decizia ei si a familiei ei. Ea insasi a declarat public ca a fost dezamagita de atitudinea Federatiei Romane de Volei si ca a asteptat patru ani sa-si schimbe nationalitatea sportiva. Astazi joaca pentru nationala Turciei. Iar Romania joaca pentru nimic.
Adevarul este simplu si nu are nevoie de diplomatia pe care o tot aplicam:
O tara care nu isi poate pastra valorile nu este ghinionista.
Este vinovata.
Sunt Nicholas Carstoiu, sportiv si implicat in initiative pentru tineri, si refuz sa accept ca asta este normalitatea. Poate schimbarea va veni cand generatia mea va ajunge sa conduca aceste sisteme — daca nu vom fi deja deformati de ele.
Pentru ca daca nu schimbam nimic, nu vom mosteni acest sistem. Vom ajunge sa fim exact ceea ce combatem.
Si atunci intrebarea finala nu va mai fi retorica: pentru cine functioneaza, de fapt, acest sistem?
Originally published on LinkedIn.Publicat inițial pe LinkedIn.
