Gabriel Popescu (footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gabriel Popescu | ||
| Date of birth | 25 December 1973 | ||
| Place of birth | Craiova, Dolj County, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Voluntari (sporting adviser) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1994 | Electroputere Craiova | 65 | (0) |
| 1994–1997 | Universitatea Craiova | 93 | (15) |
| 1997–1998 | Salamanca | 15 | (5) |
| 1998–1999 | Valencia | 25 | (1) |
| 1999–2000 | Numancia | 7 | (1) |
| 2000 | Dinamo Bucureşti | 9 | (0) |
| 2000–2002 | National Bucureşti | 47 | (5) |
| 2000–2001 | → Universitatea Craiova (loan) | 8 | (1) |
| 2002–2004 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 59 | (12) |
| 2004–2005 | National Bucureşti | 11 | (1) |
| 2005 | JEF United Chiba | 7 | (1) |
| Total | 346 | (41) | |
| International career‡ | |||
| 1996–1998 | Romania | 14 | (1) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 December 2009 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 December 2009 | |||
Gabriel Popescu (born 25 December 1973) is a Romanian former footballer.
Career
Popescu went on to represent the Romanian national team 21 times and scored four goals, he was also capped 37 times for the U-21 side. The undoubted highlight of his international career was his appearances at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, where he played in all four Romanian matches, including their dramatic 2–1 victory over England.
Popescu began his career with Romanian side Universitatea Craiova, before moving to Spain where he played with three different La Liga clubs - UD Salamanca, Valencia CF and CD Numancia. After his Spanish spell he returned to Romania firstly with Dinamo Bucureşti before joining city rivals National Bucureşti. Popescu then joined Suwon Samsung Bluewings in June 2002, in a double deal that also saw Bosnian-born forward Slaviša Mitrović join the K-League club.
'Gabi', as he was known to Korean fans, made a great impression in the Suwon Samsung Bluewings midfield during his first season, scoring six times in his 24 appearances. He weighed in with another six strikes in the 2003 season to further endear himself to the Suwon Samsung Bluewings fans, but struggled with injury during the close season and was limited to a peripheral role during the first half of 2004.
Popescu was allowed to return to National Bucureşti on a 6-month loan deal in the summer of 2004, where he linked up again with Slaviša Mitrović. At the end of the year, Popescu completed a switch to Japanese side JEF United Chiba.
Club statistics
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Romania | League | Cupa României | Cupa Ligii | Total | ||||||
| 1992/93 | Electroputere Craiova | Divizia A | 16 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||||
| 1993/94 | 33 | 0 | 33 | 0 | ||||||
| 1994/95 | 16 | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||||||
| 1994/95 | Universitatea Craiova | Divizia A | 15 | 1 | 15 | 1 | ||||
| 1995/96 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 2 | |||||
| 1996/97 | 29 | 7 | 29 | 7 | ||||||
| 1997/98 | 19 | 5 | 19 | 5 | ||||||
| Spain | League | Copa del Rey | Copa de la Liga | Total | ||||||
| 1997/98 | Salamanca | La Liga | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 5 | ||
| 1998/99 | Valencia | La Liga | 25 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 31 | 1 | ||
| 1999/00 | Numancia | La Liga | 7 | 1 | 7 | 1 | ||||
| Romania | League | Cupa României | Cupa Ligii | Total | ||||||
| 1999/00 | Dinamo Bucureşti | Divizia A | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||||
| 2000/01 | Naţional Bucureşti | Divizia A | 18 | 1 | 18 | 1 | ||||
| 2001/02 | 29 | 4 | 0 | 29 | 4 | |||||
| Korea Republic | League | FA Cup | K-League Cup | Total | ||||||
| 2002 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | K-League | 24 | 6 | 0 | 24 | 6 | |||
| 2003 | 31 | 6 | 0 | 31 | 6 | |||||
| 2004 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||||
| Romania | League | Cupa României | Cupa Ligii | Total | ||||||
| 2004/05 | Naţional Bucureşti | Divizia A | 11 | 1 | 11 | 1 | ||||
| Japan | League | Emperor's Cup | J.League Cup | Total | ||||||
| 2005 | JEF United Chiba | J1 League | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 6 |
| Country | Romania | 225 | 21 | 225 | 21 | |||||
| Spain | 47 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 53 | 6 | ||||
| Korea Republic | 59 | 12 | 59 | 12 | ||||||
| Japan | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 6 | ||
| Total | 338 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 351 | 45 | ||
Honours
Club
- Valencia
- Spanish Cup: 1998–99
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1998–99
- Dinamo Bucharest
- Romanian League: 1999–00
- Suwon Samsung Bluewings
- Korean League: 2004
- Korean FA Cup: 2002
- Asian Super Cup: 2002
- JEF United Chiba
- J.League Cup: 2005
References
- ^ Gabriel Popescu at National-Football-Teams.com
External links
- Gabriel Popescu at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)
- Gabriel Popescu – K League stats at kleague.com (in Korean)
- Gabriel Popescu – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Gabriel Popescu at National-Football-Teams.com
- Gabriel Popescu at BDFutbol
|  | |
- 1973 births
- Living people
- Association football midfielders
- Romanian footballers
- Romania international footballers
- FC U Craiova 1948 players
- UD Salamanca players
- Valencia CF players
- CD Numancia players
- FC Dinamo București players
- FC Progresul București players
- Suwon Samsung Bluewings players
- JEF United Chiba players
- Romanian expatriate footballers
- Liga I players
- La Liga players
- K League 1 players
- J1 League players
- Expatriate footballers in Spain
- Expatriate footballers in South Korea
- Expatriate footballers in Japan
- 1998 FIFA World Cup players
- Sportspeople from Craiova
- Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Spain
- Romanian expatriate sportspeople in South Korea
- Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Japan
- FC Sportul Studențesc București managers
- Romanian football managers