gheorghe popescu - fact file

1994 - 1995            midfielder

Born on 9th October 1967 in Calafat, Romania.

Height : -  1.88m  (6' 2")

Weight : -  - kgs


Another star of Romania in the 1994 World Cup finals, Popescu was a classy sweeper or midfielder, who looked like he had all the time in the world when he played, but it proved to be a short period of time he spent at Tottenham.  He joined in September 1994 for £2.9 million from Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, but lasted less than a year.

Spurs sold him on to Barcelona, where he won the European Cup-Winners' Cup, a Spanish Cup and a Spanish Supercopa, before he left to move to Turkey with Galatasaray, who won the UEFA cup by beating Arsenal on penalties in 2000.  He also had plenty of domestic success with the team in the five years he was there.

Moved on in 2008 to Lecce in Italy, Dinamo Bucharest and Hannover 96 in Germany, playing a season at each before calling it a day on his playing days, having appeared for his country on 115 occasions.

Gica, as he was affectionately known, scored three times in 28 games in his short stay at Tottenham, but never really settled into the team, having to play in defence or midfield rather than his normal sweeper's role.

Having retired from playing in 2003, Popescu now has interests in real estate and acts as a player's agent.  He also ran an academy for young players in Craiovia.

It was a shame that Gica did not settle for whatever reason, as he was a classy player, who could bring the ball out of defence and break forward, as he proved when he scored his first goal for the club against Arsenal at White Hart Lane in January 1995 with the only goal of the game.

After leaving the game in Romania, he took up a Director's post and was found to be laundering money and tax evasion in March 2014, for which he received a three year and one month jail sentence.

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Career Record
 
Club Signed Fee Debut Apps Goals
Universitatea Craiova (Romania) ?? ?? ??  124 19
Steaua Bucharest (Romania) ?? Loan ??  13 1
PSV Eindhoven (Holland) ?? ?? ??  108 23
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR September 1994 ?? ??  28 3
Barcelona (Spain) ?? ?? ??  68 9
Galatasaray (Turkey) ?? ?? ??  130 5
Lecce (Italy) ?? ?? ??  28 3
Dinamo Bucharest (Romania) ?? ?? ??  8 0
Hannover 96 (Germany) ?? ?? ??  14 1
- ?? ?? ??  ?? ??

Career Record
Universitea Craiova (Romania)
124 League appearances; 19 goals
- Romanian Cup appearances; goals
- Other appearances; goals
Steaua Bucharest (Romania) (loan)
13 League appearances; 1 goal
- Romanian Cup appearances; goals
- Other appearances; goals
PSV Eindhoven (Holland)
108 League appearances; 23 goals
- Dutch Cup appearances; goals
- European appearances; goals
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
23 League appearances; 3 goals
3 FA Cup appearances; 0 goals
2 League Cup appearances; 0 goals
0 Other appearances; 0 goals
Barcelona (Spain)
68 League appearances; 9 goals
- Spanish Cup appearances; goals
- European appearances; goals
Galatasaray (Turkey)
130 League appearances; 5 goals
- Turkish Cup appearances; goals
- European appearances; goals
Lecce (Italy)
28 League appearances; 3 goals
- Italian Cup appearances; goals
- European appearances; goals
Dinamo Bucharest (Romania)

8 League appearances; 0 goals
- Romanian Cup appearances; goals
- Other appearances; goals
Hannover 96 (Germany)
14 League appearances; 1 goal
- German Cup appearances; goals
- Other appearances; goals
 

Honours
Romania international
115 full caps;  16 goals
Under-21 caps; goals
European Cup Winners Cup winners medal 1997 (Barcelona)
UEFA Cup winners medal 2000 (Galatasaray)

 

November 1994 (Spurs Monthly)
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What they said about Gica Popescu
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What Gica Popescu said about ...
... his time at Tottenham ...  November 1994 (Spurs Monthly)

"I realised that I joined during a difficult time for the club, and now it is up to us to end the crisis. We can do it because we have some very good players here. E have to improve our defending our defending – from the front to the back because it's a team responsibility – and become better organised. At the moment we are giving the opposition too much space so we need to be more compact and close then down quicker. At times we play like two teams – one in attack and one in defence. But we need to be one unit with everybody attacking and everybody defending equally."

... on football in England ...  November 1994 (Spurs Monthly)

"It's very quick and you don't have as much time or space as you get in European football. But I love the atmosphere and excitement of the games here. The crowds are beautiful."

... ? ...  .. ()

"."

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            Appearances

Season League FA Cup League Cup UEFA Cup
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          For other articles on Gheorghe Popescu

          By - Barry Levington
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