Gheorghe "Gică" Craioveanu (born 14 February 1968) is a Romanian retired footballer who played as a striker.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 14 February 1968 | ||
| Place of birth | Hunedoara, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1981–1986 | Olt Scornicești | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1986–1988 | Constructorul Slatina | 65 | (37) |
| 1989–1990 | Metalurgistul Slatina | 27 | (11) |
| 1990 | Drobeta-Turnu Severin | 18 | (18) |
| 1991–1995 | Universitatea Craiova | 129 | (61) |
| 1995–1998 | Real Sociedad | 90 | (26) |
| 1998–2002 | Villarreal | 122 | (28) |
| 2002–2006 | Getafe | 120 | (16) |
| Total | 571 | (197) | |
| International career | |||
| 1993–1999 | Romania | 25 | (4) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2013–2023 | Universitatea Craiova (image director) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
He spent most of his professional career in Spain–11 years out of 18–with Real Sociedad, Villarreal and Getafe, respectively, amassing totals of 330 matches and 70 goals in both major levels combined.
A Romanian international in the 1990s, Craioveanu represented the nation at the 1998 World Cup.
Club career edit
Craioveanu was born in Hunedoara, Transylvania. After playing for modest clubs, he reached Liga I in January 1991 (one month shy of his 23rd birthday) after signing with FC Universitatea Craiova. On 3 March he made his competition debut in a 0–1 away loss against FC Steaua București, but his team would eventually win the national championship with three goals from 13 appearances from the player; during his spell in Craiova, they never ranked lower than fourth and also won two domestic cups, while he was also crowned the league's top scorer in 1994 and 1995.
In summer 1995, after a combined 49 goals in his last two seasons at Universitatea, Craioveanu joined La Liga side Real Sociedad,[1][2] netting 11 times in his first season to help the Basques finish in seventh position. Two years later he moved to Villarreal CF which were having their first top-tier experience,[3] scoring a career-best – in Spain – 13 goals as they were immediately relegated.
Craioveanu was again a very important attacking unit – 38 games, eight goals – as Villarreal promoted the year after and, already a veteran, helped to the club's domestic consolidation. In 2002 the 34-year-old signed with Getafe CF of the second level, scoring 16 goals in 120 appearances over the course of four seasons and helping the Madrid team achieve a first ever top-flight promotion in his second year; he retired in June 2006, having appeared in 459 league matches during his professional career and scored a total of 131 goals.[4][5]
International career edit
Craioveanu earned 25 caps for Romania, his debut coming on 8 September 1993 in a 4–0 win in the Faroe Islands for the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. His only major tournament was the 1998 World Cup in France, where his output consisted of 33 minutes in the round of 16 0–1 defeat to Croatia.[6]
International stats edit
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | 1993 | 2 | 0 |
| 1994 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 4 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 7 | 3 | |
| 1998 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 25 | 4 | |
- Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Craioveanu goal.[citation needed]
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 August 1996 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania |  Israel |
2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 29 March 1997 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania |  Liechtenstein |
7–0 | 8–0 | World Cup 1998 Qualifying |
| 3 | 6 September 1997 | Sportpark Eschen-Mauren, Eschen, Liechtenstein | Liechtenstein |
2–0 | 8–1 | World Cup 1998 Qualifying |
| 4 | 3–0 |
Post-retirement edit
After retiring, Craioveanu settled in Getafe (the city of his last club) in Madrid's metropolitan area. During the local elections of 2007 he won a sports adviser seat on the local council, running as an independent with backing from the People's Party;[7][8][9] this was the first suffrage during which Romanian citizens were eligible in other European Union counties, following Romania's European integration.
On 16 June 2007, as a result of a local alliance between the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and Izquierda Unida, which took away PP's control over the Sports Adviser seat, Craioveanu convened with the PP not to hold a political office, and resigned from the council.[7][9] He also worked as a co-presenter in La Sexta's football programme Minuto y Resultado, and a radio commentator on Onda Cero; after his first marriage ended in divorce, he remarried with a Spanish woman named Gemma, and eventually fathered two children, one from each union.[7]
Personal life edit
Craioveanu's son, Alejandro, played youth football for Castellón de la Plana-based CD Drac as well as Villarreal.[10][11]
Honours edit
CS Universitatea Craiova
FC Universitatea Craiova
Individual
References edit
- ^ Gica Craioveanu: "Esta Real es más rápida que la nuestra, pero le falta Darko" (Gica Craioveanu: "This Real is better than ours, but they don't have Darko"); Mundo Deportivo, 6 May 2013 (in Spanish)
- ^ Gica Craioveanu: "La zurda de Javi de Pedro no era caviar, era beluga" (Gica Craioveanu: "Javi de Pedro's left was not caviar, it was beluga"); El Diario Vasco, 20 December 2016 (in Spanish)
- ^ El Villarreal en el Camp Nou: De la exhibición de Craioveanu a la chilena de Ronaldinho (Villarreal at the Camp Nou: From Craioveanu's show to Ronaldinho's bicycle); Marca, 6 May 2017 (in Spanish)
- ^ Craioveanu renueva un año con el Getafe (Craioveanu renews with Getafe for one year); Diario AS, 26 May 2005 (in Spanish)
- ^ Yo jugué en el Getafe FC: Gica Craioveanu (I played with Getafe FC: Gica Craioveanu); Vavel, 10 May 2013 (in Spanish)
- ^ De pena máxima (Maximum penalty); Mundo Deportivo, 1 July 1998 (in Spanish)
- ^ a b c Gică Craioveanu renunţă la politică (Gică Craioveanu leaves politics) Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine; Jurnalul Naţional, 16 June 2007 (in Romanian)
- ^ Craioveanu, consilier la Getafe (Craioveanu, counsellor of Getafe) Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine; Adevărul, 29 May 2007 (in Romanian)
- ^ a b Gică Craioveanu a renunţat la postul de consilier municipal la Getafe (Gică Craioveanu resigns as Getafe city counsellor); Sport 365, 16 June 2007 (in Romanian)
- ^ Gica, un padre ejemplar en el CD Drac Castellón (Gica, a role model of a father at CD Drac Castellón); El Periódico Mediterráneo, 19 November 2011 (in Spanish)
- ^ EXCLUSIV Naționala are viitor! Craioveanu junior vrea sa fie "grande" (EXCLUSIVE National team have the future! Craioveanu junior wants to be "grande"); Digi Sport, 8 August 2017 (in Romanian)
External links edit
- Gheorghe Craioveanu at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
- Gheorghe Craioveanu at BDFutbol
- Gheorghe Craioveanu at National-Football-Teams.com
- Gheorghe Craioveanu – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Gheorghe Craioveanu at EU-Football.info