On The Road: From Hagi and Popescu to Danny Armstrong... football in Bucharest has history and hope

The Starbucks at the entrance to the Old Town makes a familiar point by its very presence. The Half-Time Bar roars a modern truth incessantly. Starbucks serves its universal wares and the Half-Time Bar resounds to the English Premier League . Yet the fabulous gems of Romanian football are not far away. The Muzeul Fotbalului sits on the edge of the Old Town. It is starkly modern. Its four floors offer strips to buy, interactive displays to goggle at and fiddle with, and shirts to admire or even covet. There are strips worn by Maradona, Pele , Cruyff and Ronaldo.