RomaniaChairman, player and legend in one
Where to start with Alex.
Băcica played football in his native Romania mostly in a casual nature with his friends. Due to the location of his home village, the ability to play football was almost non-existent owing to a lack of public transport.
In September 2015, a kickabout on a sports field in Kraków, led Alex to meet a new group of friends. Football is always a great way to break barriers and this was no different. Wanting to continue playing football and meeting with his new group of friends, Alex took on the painstaking task of organising weekly kickabouts.
Through football, Alex made great friendships and felt a desire to keep these people close to him. There was testing times, with people coming and going, but a core unit stuck together week in and week out, all with a joint love of playing the beautiful game.
For Alex, the transition from a kick around to Sunday League came easy. Alex did not decide to create the club, it is something that happened naturally with everyone pulling together.
A homage to Smok the Kraków dragon, the name Dragoons came about and competed each week, with games filmed and put on YouTube. Whilst it felt good to have a team playing each week, this did not satisfy the ambitious nature of the Romanian.
Most young men who enjoy football have a dream of pulling on a jersey and becoming professional. The belief that Alex could create an opportunity for a group of Expats living in Kraków to play for an official football club kept him going. It has not all been plain sailing with Alex becoming a leading masseuse with all the egos he has had to massage along the way!
It looked an impossible task, but an unwavering will to succeed saw Alex able to change his life forever.
Alex turned down opportunities in his professional life in leaving Poland in order to help the club take shape. He has taken two different coaching courses, became an IPSO certified football scout and obtained a master’s degree in sports management all in the name of taking the club as far as he could. He has created a network of sorts with football teams from abroad coming to Kraków to play the Dragoons.
With a group of now lifelong friends around him, Alex has transformed football in the Małopolskie region and gained the club national exposure.
A very personal moment for Alex came on 28th July 2019. Accepted by the MZPN to compete in the 8th tier of Polish football, the Dragoons first competitive game would be in the Puchar Polski.
With victory all but secured and with ten minutes remaining, the Dragoons first ever number 7 took to the field. In front of a crowd of 100 people, the largest cheer of the day came when Alex Băcica stepped on to the pitch to make his first competitive appearance for a licenced football club – the stuff only dreams are made of had come true.
Away from the Dragoons, Alex grew up watching Dinamo Bucharest on TV, with his dad being an avid fan. On leaving home at 18, a new love formed with Steaua Bucharest. Alex would walk 10km at all hours just to fulfil his passion of watching the team live at the stadium.
Despite antagonising his brother, he soon followed his footsteps in following Manchester United. In more recent times, Alex has taken his influences from Palmers FC from YouTube and a variety of other grassroots/fan owned clubs from different countries such as FCUM, AKS ZLY, Prague Raptors, Olimpia Satu-Mare, YBSK Beveren. Alex says apart from the Dragoons, the only football shirts he currently owns are Palmers and South Bank Cuaco!
When asked about his favourite players, Gheorghe Hagi is the instant riposte. Growing up in the 90’s, Alex had no choice but to follow the attacker. After discovering Serie A in the late 90’s, the performances of Ronaldo at Inter, George Weah and Leanardo Araujo at AC Milan left the young Băcica drooling too.
Going forwards, being the guy that has been a Dragoon since day one, only the next moment can be the best for Alex. It has already been a memorable ride to get to the last tier of Polish football and there have been too many memorable moments as well as crushing lows to tell. The Dragoons are more than just 11 blokes kicking a football around – For Alex it is a special club and special bonds have been formed. In essence, the Dragoons are one big family.
As a last word, without Alex’s dedication, drive and determination – the Dragoons simply would not exist and he’d like to congratulate you for making it to the end of his epic bio.
