Romania are not used to making a lot of headlines in football these days, but this week could change that.
Enes Sali, a 15-year-old playmaking midfielder, has been called-up to the senior international squad, and could debut against either Iceland or Liechtenstein in Romania's upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
If Sali does make it onto the pitch, he would become the youngest European player to feature in a competitive international game, usurping Martin Odegaard, who also made his Norway debut as a 15-year-old.
Born in February 2006, Sali has already written his name into Romanian football's history books by becoming the youngest ever scorer in the country's top-flight.
The tricky attacking midfielder has only made eight substitute appearances for his club, Farul Constanta, so far, but found the net in their 5-0 demolition of Clinceni in September.
It was a superb effort too – a solid candidate for the league's Goal of the Season award. Sali received the ball in his own half before leaving four opponents for dead on a mazy run before beating the goalkeeper with a neat chip.
Comparisons to Lionel Messi are inevitable after such heroics, and the Argentinian is not only Sali's idol. The youngster was actually lucky enough to train with him at La Masia.
Sali was born in Toronto, and Barcelona scouts - who are quite active in Canada - noticed him playing for Woodbridge Strikers back in 2015.
Aged just nine, Sali travelled to Catalunya with two of his compatriots for trials, and impressed academy coaches with his dribbling skills, speed and ability to read the game well beyond others of his age.
"Messi, Neymar and Andres Iniesta taught me many things. They told me to trust myself," Sali later recalled.
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Barcelona intended to sign him, but experienced legal and bureaucratic difficulties in their bid to do so due to his young age, as FIFA are strict on transfers of minors.
The saga kept dragging on for three years before the player's family lost patience. They needed a new path, and that is when Romania legend Gheorghe Hagi stepped in.
Sali's father, Engi,, was born in Constanta county, just like the greatest Romanian player of all time. As a child, Engi lived close to the Constanta stadium, and used to witness the young Hagi playing for the local club. As such, he has worshipped the country's footballing idol ever since.
Sali Sr. left Romania for Canada after getting married, but kept following Hagi's impressive project as he led Viitorul Constanta to European qualification and, in 2016-17, their first ever national title. Now, all of a sudden, his son was asked to join Hagi's project.
The Sali family did not intend to return to Romania, but the footballing opportunity changed their mind. Engi came back to Constanta with Enes in 2019, and the youngster soon established himself as one of the brightest talents in the club's academy.
Soon after Viitorul had been merged with neighbours Farul Constanta last summer, Hagi - who has roles of both owner and head coach at the same time - invited Sali to join the first squad.
For the teenager, who grew up in Ontario watching countless videos of Hagi starring for the national team in the 1990s, that was a thrilling experience.
"I feel like a lion when I see him", Sali says of his mentor, and it is only natural that he jumped into Hagi's arms after scoring that majestic maiden goal in September. Both could hardly have imagined that he would be wearing the senior national team shirt less than two months later.
"Enes is a very promising player. No youngster of such quality has appeared in Romanian football since Gheorghe Hagi at his age," Nicolae Dica, Romania's assistant coach, said after announcing the squad for the November international break.
Hagi himself agrees. "It is not premature to call him up, and he has already overtaken me. I only reached the national team at the age of 18, and Enes isn't even 16. He is a serious kid who deserves to be trusted," he remarked.
It sounds like a romantic story, but the decision to promote the prodigy to the senior team has a cynical angle to it.
Romania are desperate to prevent Sali from representing other nations, and such a call-up is likely to force him to make the decision as early as possible.
As a Canadian through birth, Sali could have chosen to play alongside the likes of Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David for the ever-improving 2026 World Cup co-hosts. He is also an ethnic Turk,and though does not possess Turkish citizenship yet, he could easily have received it so as to represent Stefan Kuntz's team.
Sali's father hinted that Romania would be his son's preferred option after Enes was called up for the Under-17 team earlier in 2021, but did not close the door on his other options either.
The Romanian FA, however, want to eliminate those options now. They are massively disappoined to have missed out on the Germany starlet Karim Adeyemi, who would have been eligible to represent them thanks to his Romanian mother.
The country has also been forced to watch on as Canadian-born Romanian tennis starlets Emma Raducanu and Bianca Andreescu have thrived while playing under the flags of other countries.
Sali is their chance to take 'revenge', while FA president Razvan Burleanu is using the Farul midfielder as a political tool in his bid to win the upcoming elections.
"You can see what a great player Sali will become in two or three years," he said, not overly concerned by the fact that putting the 15-year-old in the spotlight could actually hurt his progress.
Sali's mental strength, then, will now be tested. The kid who dreams of emulating Messi is about to become the first international player born after the Argentine made his own international debut in 2005.
It remains to be seen whether the attention he receives will prove to be justified in retrospect.
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