Gheorghe Popescu
Encyclopedia
Gheorghe Gică Popescu is a former Romania
n footballer
who played as a defender
, and was a key part of the Romania national team
in the 1990s. He played for a string of European clubs in an illustrious career that saw him amass many honours. His tactical knowledge as a defender made him valuable team member in top European competitions even until he reached his late-thirties. Beside from his defending skills, his is also capable of using the ball and starting attacks from deep. He is the brother-in-law of fellow Romanian international
Gheorghe Hagi
.
, Popescu was loaned to country giants Steaua Bucharest reaching the semi-finals of the European Cup during their 1987–88 campaign. He moved abroad to the Netherlands
in 1990, and signed for PSV Eindhoven at the request of Sir Bobby Robson, helping keep them among the top Dutch sides, until he transferred to Tottenham Hotspur
in the Premier League on 9 September 1994 for a fee of £2.9million. He played 23 times in the Premier League and scored three goals as Spurs (who changed manager from Ossie Ardiles to Gerry Francis
a few weeks after Popescu arrived) finished seventh in the league - their highest finish for five years. He also helped them reach the FA Cup
semi-finals, where they lost 4–1 to eventual cup winners Everton
. However, after less than a year in England, he left Tottenham to sign for the Spanish
club Barcelona
for £3million, succeeding Ronald Koeman
in the team. He was made captain of the Catalan
club, contributing to their Copa del Rey
(domestic cup) glory in his first season and their UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
triumph in his second.
After leaving Barcelona in the summer of 1997, he transferred to Galatasaray
of Turkey, where he spent four years and won several major trophies with them, including the UEFA Cup
in May 2000 - where Galatasaray
defeated Arsenal
, key rivals of his old club Tottenham, on penalties after a goalless draw in open play and he scored the final penalty in the penalty shootout. He spent the 2001–02 season in Italy with Serie A
club Lecce
, before returning to his native Romania for a brief spell with Dinamo Bucharest, before wining up with a season in Germany with Hannover 96
.
Popescu was never outside the top 4 in the Romanian Footballer of the Year
awards for 13 years from 1989 until 2001. He was recently voted into Romanian footballs all-time World Cup team.
all-time most capped players with 115, in which he scored 16 goals. He played for his country in the 1990
, 1994
, and 1998 World Cups
, Euro 96 and Euro 2000. He also entered the symbolic but exclusive circle of players with a century of caps.
|1984/85||rowspan="4"|Universitatea Craiova
||rowspan="4"|Divizia A
||2||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1985/86||18||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|1986/87||31||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|1987/88||14||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|1987/88||Steaua Bucureşti||Divizia A
||13||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|1988/89||rowspan="2"|Universitatea Craiova
||rowspan="2"|Divizia A
||33||8||||||||||||||||
|-
|1989/90||26||7||||||||||||||||
|-
|1990/91||rowspan="5"|PSV Eindhoven||rowspan="5"|Eredivisie
||30||5||||||||||||||||
|-
|1991/92||29||7||||||||||||||||
|-
|1992/93||24||6||||||||||||||||
|-
|1993/94||23||5||||||||||||||||
|-
|1994/95||2||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1994/95||Tottenham Hotspur
||Premier League||23||3||||||||||||||||
|-
|1995/96||rowspan="2"|Barcelona
||rowspan="2"|La Liga
||39||5||7||2||–||–||8||1||54||8
|-
|1996/97||29||4||5||0||–||–||8||1||42||5
|-
|1997/98||rowspan="5"|Galatasaray||rowspan="4"|First League||32||2||||||||||||||||
|-
|1998/99||29||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|1999/00||24||2||||||||||||||||
|-
|2000/01||24||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|2001/02||Süper Lig||1||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|2001/02||Lecce
||Serie A
||28||3||||||||||||||||
|-
|2002/03||Dinamo Bucureşti||Divizia A
||8||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|2002/03||Hannover
||Bundesliga||14||1||||||||||||||||
145||19||||||||||||||||
108||23||||||||||||||||
23||3||||||||||||||||
68||9||||||||||||||||
106||5||||||||||||||||
28||3||||||||||||||||
14||1||||||||||||||||
492||63||||||||||||||||
|}
Cup Includes Copa del Rey
and Supercopa de España
.
|-
|1988||4||0
|-
|1989||8||1
|-
|1990||14||0
|-
|1991||6||0
|-
|1992||4||1
|-
|1993||4||0
|-
|1994||15||1
|-
|1995||5||0
|-
|1996||8||6
|-
|1997||7||4
|-
|1998||12||2
|-
|1999||8||0
|-
|2000||6||0
|-
|2001||5||1
|-
|2002||8||0
|-
|2003||1||0
|-
!Total||115||16
|}
PSV Eindhoven:
FC Barcelona:
Galatasaray:
Individual:
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n footballer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
who played as a defender
Defender (football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
, and was a key part of the Romania national team
Romania national football team
The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...
in the 1990s. He played for a string of European clubs in an illustrious career that saw him amass many honours. His tactical knowledge as a defender made him valuable team member in top European competitions even until he reached his late-thirties. Beside from his defending skills, his is also capable of using the ball and starting attacks from deep. He is the brother-in-law of fellow Romanian international
Romania national football team
The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...
Gheorghe Hagi
Gheorghe Hagi
Gheorghe Hagi is a former Romanian footballer. He was famous for his passing, close control, long shots and was regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe during the 1980s and 1990s and is considered the greatest Romanian footballer of all time...
.
Club career
After playing six seasons for Universitatea CraiovaUniversitatea Craiova
Universitatea Craiova may refer to:*University of Craiova, an education institution from Craiova*CS Universitatea Craiova, a sport club from Craiova*FC Universitatea Craiova, a football club from Craiova...
, Popescu was loaned to country giants Steaua Bucharest reaching the semi-finals of the European Cup during their 1987–88 campaign. He moved abroad to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in 1990, and signed for PSV Eindhoven at the request of Sir Bobby Robson, helping keep them among the top Dutch sides, until he transferred to Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
in the Premier League on 9 September 1994 for a fee of £2.9million. He played 23 times in the Premier League and scored three goals as Spurs (who changed manager from Ossie Ardiles to Gerry Francis
Gerry Francis
Gerald Charles James Francis is an English former footballer and manager, now working as First Team coach at Stoke City.-Playing career:Francis made his debut for Queens Park Rangers v Liverpool in March 1969...
a few weeks after Popescu arrived) finished seventh in the league - their highest finish for five years. He also helped them reach the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
semi-finals, where they lost 4–1 to eventual cup winners Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
. However, after less than a year in England, he left Tottenham to sign for the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
club Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
for £3million, succeeding Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman is a former Dutch footballer, and the current manager of Feyenoord. He is the younger brother of former Feyenoord coach Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman...
in the team. He was made captain of the Catalan
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
club, contributing to their Copa del Rey
Copa del Rey
The Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....
(domestic cup) glory in his first season and their UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
triumph in his second.
After leaving Barcelona in the summer of 1997, he transferred to Galatasaray
Galatasaray S.K.
Galatasaray Spor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club based in Istanbul, most notable for its football section, also known as Galatasaray S.K.. It also fields teams in Athletics, Basketball, Wheelchair basketball, Volleyball, Water polo, Swimming, Rowing, Sailing, Judo, Bridge, Equestrian, Handball,...
of Turkey, where he spent four years and won several major trophies with them, including the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
in May 2000 - where Galatasaray
Galatasaray S.K.
Galatasaray Spor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club based in Istanbul, most notable for its football section, also known as Galatasaray S.K.. It also fields teams in Athletics, Basketball, Wheelchair basketball, Volleyball, Water polo, Swimming, Rowing, Sailing, Judo, Bridge, Equestrian, Handball,...
defeated Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
, key rivals of his old club Tottenham, on penalties after a goalless draw in open play and he scored the final penalty in the penalty shootout. He spent the 2001–02 season in Italy with Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
club Lecce
U.S. Lecce
Unione Sportiva Lecce or simply U.S. Lecce is an Italian football club based in Lecce, Apulia who play in the Italian Serie A. After being crowned Serie B champions in 2009–10, the team successfully managed to avoid relegation in 2010-11....
, before returning to his native Romania for a brief spell with Dinamo Bucharest, before wining up with a season in Germany with Hannover 96
Hannover 96
Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96, Hannover or simply 96, is a German association football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony.-Foundation to WWII:...
.
Popescu was never outside the top 4 in the Romanian Footballer of the Year
Romanian Footballer of the Year
The Romanian Footballer of the Year award is given to the best Romanian football player. It was started in 1966, by Gazeta Sporturilor.-Players of the year :-References:*...
awards for 13 years from 1989 until 2001. He was recently voted into Romanian footballs all-time World Cup team.
International career
At international level, Popescu stands among Romania'sRomania national football team
The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...
all-time most capped players with 115, in which he scored 16 goals. He played for his country in the 1990
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
, 1994
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
, and 1998 World Cups
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
, Euro 96 and Euro 2000. He also entered the symbolic but exclusive circle of players with a century of caps.
Career statistics
|-|1984/85||rowspan="4"|Universitatea Craiova
FC Universitatea Craiova
Fotbal Club Universitatea Craiova is a Romanian professional football club from Craiova. They became the first Romanian football team to reach the semi-finals of a European tournament, during the UEFA Cup in 1982–83...
||rowspan="4"|Divizia A
Liga I
Liga I, or in full, due to sponsorship reasons, Liga I Bergenbier, is the top division of the Romanian football league system. Before the 2006/2007 season, it was called Divizia A, but the name had to be changed following the discovery that someone else had registered the trademark "Divizia A"...
||2||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1985/86||18||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|1986/87||31||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|1987/88||14||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|1987/88||Steaua Bucureşti||Divizia A
Liga I
Liga I, or in full, due to sponsorship reasons, Liga I Bergenbier, is the top division of the Romanian football league system. Before the 2006/2007 season, it was called Divizia A, but the name had to be changed following the discovery that someone else had registered the trademark "Divizia A"...
||13||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|1988/89||rowspan="2"|Universitatea Craiova
FC Universitatea Craiova
Fotbal Club Universitatea Craiova is a Romanian professional football club from Craiova. They became the first Romanian football team to reach the semi-finals of a European tournament, during the UEFA Cup in 1982–83...
||rowspan="2"|Divizia A
Liga I
Liga I, or in full, due to sponsorship reasons, Liga I Bergenbier, is the top division of the Romanian football league system. Before the 2006/2007 season, it was called Divizia A, but the name had to be changed following the discovery that someone else had registered the trademark "Divizia A"...
||33||8||||||||||||||||
|-
|1989/90||26||7||||||||||||||||
|-
|1990/91||rowspan="5"|PSV Eindhoven||rowspan="5"|Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
||30||5||||||||||||||||
|-
|1991/92||29||7||||||||||||||||
|-
|1992/93||24||6||||||||||||||||
|-
|1993/94||23||5||||||||||||||||
|-
|1994/95||2||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|1994/95||Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
||Premier League||23||3||||||||||||||||
|-
|1995/96||rowspan="2"|Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
||rowspan="2"|La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
||39||5||7||2||–||–||8||1||54||8
|-
|1996/97||29||4||5||0||–||–||8||1||42||5
|-
|1997/98||rowspan="5"|Galatasaray||rowspan="4"|First League||32||2||||||||||||||||
|-
|1998/99||29||1||||||||||||||||
|-
|1999/00||24||2||||||||||||||||
|-
|2000/01||24||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|2001/02||Süper Lig||1||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|2001/02||Lecce
U.S. Lecce
Unione Sportiva Lecce or simply U.S. Lecce is an Italian football club based in Lecce, Apulia who play in the Italian Serie A. After being crowned Serie B champions in 2009–10, the team successfully managed to avoid relegation in 2010-11....
||Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||28||3||||||||||||||||
|-
|2002/03||Dinamo Bucureşti||Divizia A
Liga I
Liga I, or in full, due to sponsorship reasons, Liga I Bergenbier, is the top division of the Romanian football league system. Before the 2006/2007 season, it was called Divizia A, but the name had to be changed following the discovery that someone else had registered the trademark "Divizia A"...
||8||0||||||||||||||||
|-
|2002/03||Hannover
Hannover 96
Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96, Hannover or simply 96, is a German association football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony.-Foundation to WWII:...
||Bundesliga||14||1||||||||||||||||
145||19||||||||||||||||
108||23||||||||||||||||
23||3||||||||||||||||
68||9||||||||||||||||
106||5||||||||||||||||
28||3||||||||||||||||
14||1||||||||||||||||
492||63||||||||||||||||
|}
Cup Includes Copa del Rey
Copa del Rey
The Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....
and Supercopa de España
Supercopa de España
The Supercopa de España is a Spanish football championship contested by the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey...
.
|-
|1988||4||0
|-
|1989||8||1
|-
|1990||14||0
|-
|1991||6||0
|-
|1992||4||1
|-
|1993||4||0
|-
|1994||15||1
|-
|1995||5||0
|-
|1996||8||6
|-
|1997||7||4
|-
|1998||12||2
|-
|1999||8||0
|-
|2000||6||0
|-
|2001||5||1
|-
|2002||8||0
|-
|2003||1||0
|-
!Total||115||16
|}
Club honours
Steaua Bucureşti:- Romanian LeagueLiga ILiga I, or in full, due to sponsorship reasons, Liga I Bergenbier, is the top division of the Romanian football league system. Before the 2006/2007 season, it was called Divizia A, but the name had to be changed following the discovery that someone else had registered the trademark "Divizia A"...
: 1987-88 - Romanian CupRomanian CupThe Cupa României is a football competition which was held annually since 1933-34, except during the World War II. It is the country's main cup competition, and it is open to all clubs affiliated with FRF and the county football associations regardless of the league they belong to...
: 1987-88
PSV Eindhoven:
- Dutch LeagueEredivisieThe Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
: 1990-91Eredivisie 1990-91The Dutch Eredivisie in the 1990/1991 season was contested by 18 teams. PSV won the championship.-League standings:1 Winners KNVB Cup. 2 SVV would remain in the eredivisie after winning the promotion/relegation play-offs...
, 1991–92 - Dutch Super Cup: 1991-92
FC Barcelona:
- Spanish Cup: 1996-97
- Spanish Super Cup: 1996
- UEFA Cup Winners' CupUEFA Cup Winners' CupThe UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
: 1996–97
Galatasaray:
- Turkish League: 1997-98, 1998–99, 1999-00
- Turkish Cup: 1998-99, 1999-00
- UEFA CupUEFA CupThe UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
: 1999-00 - UEFA Super Cup: 2000
Individual:
- Romanian Footballer of the YearRomanian Footballer of the YearThe Romanian Footballer of the Year award is given to the best Romanian football player. It was started in 1966, by Gazeta Sporturilor.-Players of the year :-References:*...
: 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996
International goals
- Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first. "Score" column indicates the score after the player's goal.
| International goals | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 May 1989 | Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest Bucharest Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River.... , Romania Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea... |
1–0 | 1–0 | FIFA World Cup 1990 Qualifying | |
| 2 | 29 November 1992 | Neo GSZ Stadium Neo GSZ Stadium GSZ Stadium or Gymnastic Club Zenon Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Larnaca, Cyprus. Usually it is referred as the 'neo GSZ Stadium' to distinguish it from the old GSZ Stadium, which it replaced. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of AEK Larnaca FC... , Larnaca Larnaca Larnaca, is the third largest city on the southern coast of Cyprus after Nicosia and Limassol. It has a population of 72,000 and is the island's second largest commercial port and an important tourist resort... , Cyprus Cyprus Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the... |
1–0 | 4–1 | FIFA World Cup 1994 Qualifying | |
| 3 | 12 November 1994 | Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania | 1–0 | 3–2 | UEFA Euro 1996 Qualifying | |
| 4 | 1 June 1996 | Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania | 2–0 | 3–1 | Friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |
|
| 5 | 1 June 1996 | Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania | 3–0 | 3–1 | Friendly | |
| 6 | 9 October 1996 | Laugardalsvöllur Laugardalsvöllur Laugardalsvöllur is the national stadium of Iceland. It is located in Reykjavík, and seats 9,800 individuals, another 5,627 people can be seated on concrete benches, but due to FIFA restrictions they are rarely used.-Overview:... , Reykjavík Reykjavík Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay... , Iceland Iceland Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population... |
3–0 | 4–0 | World Cup 1998 Qualifying | |
| 7 | 14 December 1996 | Gradski Stadium, Skopje Skopje Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre... , Republic of Macedonia Republic of Macedonia Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991... |
1–0 | 3–0 | World Cup 1998 Qualifying | |
| 8 | 14 December 1996 | Gradski Stadium, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia | 2–0 | 3–0 | World Cup 1998 Qualifying | |
| 9 | 14 December 1996 | Gradski Stadium, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia | 3–0 | 3–0 | World Cup 1998 Qualifying | |
| 10 | 29 March 1997 | Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania | 2–0 | 8–0 | World Cup 1998 Qualifying | |
| 11 | 29 March 1997 | Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania | 3–0 | 8–0 | World Cup 1998 Qualifying | |
| 12 | 29 March 1997 | Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania | 6–0 | 8–0 | World Cup 1998 Qualifying | |
| 13 | 29 March 1997 | Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania | 8–0 | 8–0 | World Cup 1998 Qualifying | |
| 14 | 6 June 1998 | Stadionul Ilie Oană Stadionul Ilie Oana Ilie Oană Stadium is a football stadium located in Ploieşti, Romania and is the current home of Petrolul Ploiești. The stadium opened in September 2011 and has an all seated capacity of 15,500.... , Ploieşti Ploiesti Ploiești is the county seat of Prahova County and lies in the historical region of Wallachia in Romania. The city is located north of Bucharest.... , Romania |
1–0 | 5–1 | Friendly | |
| 15 | 2 September 1998 | Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania | 1–0 | 7–0 | UEFA Euro 2000 Qualifying | |
| 16 | 6 October 2001 | Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania | 1–1 | 1–1 | World Cup 2002 Qualifying | |