Sorin Ghionea
Encyclopedia
Sorin Ghionea (born 11 May 1979 in Galaţi
) is a Romania
n footballer
who plays for FCM Târgu Mureş.
season and helped his team avoid relegation in Liga III. Just one year later, he joined Oţelul Galaţi. He debuted in Divizia A on 7 August 1998 in the win against FC Naţional.
He played for Oţelul between 1998-2003 62 matches and scoring 2 goals. He also was loaned by Steaua to Oţelul Galaţi in the 2004-05
season in Liga I
.
, Steaua's manager at that time, playing only in 6 matches and then being loaned back to Oţelul Galaţi. He played as a captain for Oţelul on his loaned season in most of the matches and he had excellent performances.
In 2004, the ex-president of Oţelul Galaţi, now manager of Steaua Bucureşti, Mihai Stoica
, took him back to the team from Bucharest.
When he returned to Steaua, Victor Piţurcă
left to coach the Romanian national football team and Walter Zenga
became Steaua's new manager.
In September 2004, Ghionea went through an operation on his nose after the match against FK Voždovac
. To protect his nose, he played wearing a mask and he was nickanamed "Zorro". He became close to Dorin Goian
a basic player for Steaua Bucureşti especially after he took Mirel Rădoi
's place in the central defense after he was injured for a couple of time. When Rădoi returned to the first team he was put to play in the midfield and Ghionea kept his place.
With Steaua Bucureşti he played 53 games in 2 seasons and succeeded to win two consecutive champion titles in 2005 and 2006.
In the European Cups he debuted with Steaua in UEFA Cup
in the season 2004-05 which was very good for them because they succeeded to qualify in the European Spring after more than 10 years.
Steaua passed from a group with Standard Liege
, Sampdoria, Besiktas Istanbul and Athletic Bilbao
and also eliminated after this the ex-winner of UEFA Cup, Valencia
.
The next season in UEFA Cup was even better because Steaua played in the semi-finals after defeated teams like Lens
, Heerenveen, Real Betis
and in the quarter-finals Rapid Bucureşti, one of their traditional Romanian rivals. In the semi-final was eliminated by Middlesbrough after two fantastic games.
He scored his first goal for Steaua against Dinamo Kiev, in the UEFA Champions League
group stage. After a corner kick served by Vasilică Cristocea
, Ghionea placed a header on the right post and in the back of the net.
On 25 February 2007, Ghionea suffered an injury in Steaua - UTA Arad, match ended with a draw. His situation got worse and was forced to have surgery on his left knee in April 2007. After 4 months from the injury, Ghionea started his training on the pitch, closely supervised by medic Radu Paligora. Even though it was said that Ghionea will not miss the start of Liga I 2007-08
season on 28 July, his knee was not fully recovered and he did not played in any match for Steaua. In October 2007 there were rumors that Ghionea will no longer play football, but coach Massimo Pedrazzini
said that the information is not true and Ghionea is still recovering. On 13 October 2007 the center back withstanded another surgery to check the natural causes of his injury and to estimate the period that he will be unavailable.
On 18 January 2008, he played his first game since his injury, after 11 months, a friendly match against Wisła Kraków that ended 0-0. Since then he has played in almost all of the matches of the remaining season.
On 10 July 2008, Steaua Bucureşti rejected a €1.5m bid from Serie A
side Catania but Ghionea decided to remain at the club for the foreseeable future.
. The Romanian centre-back signed until June 2013. He made his debut in a 0–2 defeat to Tom Tomsk on 13 March 2010. After spending a season in the Russian Premier League
Ghionea, decided to terminate his contract with Rostov on 7 February 2011.
for Politehnica Timişoara in 3–1 win against Gaz Metan Mediaş
on 26 February 2011.. Although Poli finished second at the end of the 2010–11 Liga I
season and was supposed to play in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League
, however, the club was relegated to the second division
because of accumulated debt and Ghionea left Poli on 19 July.
side FCM Târgu Mureş.
on 27 March 2002 in a friendly against Ukraine
, and his international career got off to a winning start with a 4–1 victory for Romania. Since then Ghionea has won nine further caps for Romania. He was sent off in Romania's second 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
match against the Faroe Islands
in which Romania won 1–0.
Galati
Galați is a city and municipality in Romania, the capital of Galați County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, in the close vicinity of Brăila, Galați is the largest port and sea port on the Danube River and the second largest Romanian port....
) is a 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...
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 plays for FCM Târgu Mureş.
Oţelul Galaţi
At the age of 12, Ghionea was sent to Oţelul Galaţi football club by his teacher, Tică Ploieşteanu. The second day he was hand-picked by the coach and played there for 2 years. After that he studied hard at school and left football until the 10th grade when he went back to the youth team of Oţelul Galaţi. At first he played as a full left back, but then he moved into the center of defense.Dunărea Galaţi
Ghionea made his debut as a player for Dunărea Galaţi during the 1997-98Divizia A 1997-98
-League table:||rowspan=10|-Positions by round:-Results:...
season and helped his team avoid relegation in Liga III. Just one year later, he joined Oţelul Galaţi. He debuted in Divizia A on 7 August 1998 in the win against FC Naţional.
He played for Oţelul between 1998-2003 62 matches and scoring 2 goals. He also was loaned by Steaua to Oţelul Galaţi in the 2004-05
Divizia A 2004-05
The 2004-05 season of the Divizia A began in July 2004 and ended in June 2005. Steaua Bucureşti became champions on 11 June 2005.-Promoted:These teams were promoted from the Divizia B at the start of the season:* Politehnica Iaşi...
season in Liga I
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"...
.
Steaua Bucureşti
In 2002, Ghionea moved to Steaua Bucureşti for free transfer, but he did not convince Victor PiturcaVictor Piturca
Victor Piţurcă is a Romanian football manager and former player.-Club career:Piţurcă was one of the prolific strikers of Steaua Bucureşti, being one of the team's top scorers – he scored 137 goals in 174 league games...
, Steaua's manager at that time, playing only in 6 matches and then being loaned back to Oţelul Galaţi. He played as a captain for Oţelul on his loaned season in most of the matches and he had excellent performances.
In 2004, the ex-president of Oţelul Galaţi, now manager of Steaua Bucureşti, Mihai Stoica
Mihai Stoica
Mihai Stoica , commonly known as Meme Stoica or MM Stoica, is a former president of Oţelul Galaţi and former general manager of Unirea Urziceni. Since November 2010 until September 2011, Mihai Stoica was the manager of Steaua Bucureşti. He is currently the permanent co-host of some TV shows at...
, took him back to the team from Bucharest.
When he returned to Steaua, Victor Piţurcă
Victor Piturca
Victor Piţurcă is a Romanian football manager and former player.-Club career:Piţurcă was one of the prolific strikers of Steaua Bucureşti, being one of the team's top scorers – he scored 137 goals in 174 league games...
left to coach the Romanian national football team and Walter Zenga
Walter Zenga
Walter Zenga is a retired Italian footballer and current manager. He is a long-time goalkeeper for the Italian national team and Internazionale. He also holds Romanian citizenship...
became Steaua's new manager.
In September 2004, Ghionea went through an operation on his nose after the match against FK Voždovac
FK Voždovac
FK Voždovac is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia.- Hystory :The club was formed in 1912 under the name FK Dušanovac. In 1929 it is renamed into Voždovački SK. The main success in this period was the winning of the II Razred League in the 1933-34 season, and the III Razred in 1948-49...
. To protect his nose, he played wearing a mask and he was nickanamed "Zorro". He became close to Dorin Goian
Dorin Goian
Dorin Goian is a Romanian footballer who plays for Scottish Premier League club Rangers. A physical centre back, he is also a member of the Romanian national team.-Foresta Fălticeni:...
a basic player for Steaua Bucureşti especially after he took Mirel Rădoi
Mirel Radoi
Mirel Matei Rădoi is a Romanian football midfielder who can also play as center back. He currently plays for Al-Ain FC in the UAE Pro-League. Radoi is considered a symbolic player for Steaua Bucureşti...
's place in the central defense after he was injured for a couple of time. When Rădoi returned to the first team he was put to play in the midfield and Ghionea kept his place.
With Steaua Bucureşti he played 53 games in 2 seasons and succeeded to win two consecutive champion titles in 2005 and 2006.
In the European Cups he debuted with Steaua in 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 the season 2004-05 which was very good for them because they succeeded to qualify in the European Spring after more than 10 years.
Steaua passed from a group with Standard Liege
Standard Liège
Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (Dutch: Standard Luik [], German: Standard Lüttich , is a Belgian football club from the city of Liège....
, Sampdoria, Besiktas Istanbul and Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Club, also known as Athletic Bilbao, is an association football club from Bilbao in Biscay, Spain. The club has played in the Primera División of La Liga since its start in 1928. They have won La Liga on eight occasions...
and also eliminated after this the ex-winner of UEFA Cup, Valencia
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
.
The next season in UEFA Cup was even better because Steaua played in the semi-finals after defeated teams like Lens
RC Lens
Racing Club de Lens is a French association football club based in the northern city of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department. Its nickname, sang et or , comes from its traditional colours of red and gold. Their primary rivals are their northern neighbors Lille OSC, whom they contest the Derby du...
, Heerenveen, Real Betis
Real Betis
Real Betis Balompié S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Seville, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 12 September 1907, it currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at Estadio Benito Villamarín....
and in the quarter-finals Rapid Bucureşti, one of their traditional Romanian rivals. In the semi-final was eliminated by Middlesbrough after two fantastic games.
He scored his first goal for Steaua against Dinamo Kiev, in the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
group stage. After a corner kick served by Vasilică Cristocea
Vasilica Cristocea
Vasilică Cristocea, is a Romanian football player.-Playing style:Cristocea is a player who is able to link attack and midfield effectively.Originally a left midfielder, he can as well play in the center of behind the forwards...
, Ghionea placed a header on the right post and in the back of the net.
On 25 February 2007, Ghionea suffered an injury in Steaua - UTA Arad, match ended with a draw. His situation got worse and was forced to have surgery on his left knee in April 2007. After 4 months from the injury, Ghionea started his training on the pitch, closely supervised by medic Radu Paligora. Even though it was said that Ghionea will not miss the start of Liga I 2007-08
Liga I 2007-08
The 2007-08 season of Liga I began on July 27, 2007 and ended on May 7, 2008. CFR Cluj became champions, winning their first trophy and ending a 17-year long reign of Bucharest-based teams....
season on 28 July, his knee was not fully recovered and he did not played in any match for Steaua. In October 2007 there were rumors that Ghionea will no longer play football, but coach Massimo Pedrazzini
Massimo Pedrazzini
Massimo Pedrazzini is an Italian football coach and former player, last in charge as Walter Zenga's assistant coach at Serie A club Palermo.- Player :...
said that the information is not true and Ghionea is still recovering. On 13 October 2007 the center back withstanded another surgery to check the natural causes of his injury and to estimate the period that he will be unavailable.
On 18 January 2008, he played his first game since his injury, after 11 months, a friendly match against Wisła Kraków that ended 0-0. Since then he has played in almost all of the matches of the remaining season.
On 10 July 2008, Steaua Bucureşti rejected a €1.5m bid from 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...
side Catania but Ghionea decided to remain at the club for the foreseeable future.
Rostov
On 20 January 2010, Steaua announced that Ghionea was sold to FC RostovFC Rostov
FC Rostov is a Russian football club based in Rostov-on-Don, Rostov Oblast. The club are currently members of the Russian Premier League and play at the Olimp – 2 stadium.-History:...
. The Romanian centre-back signed until June 2013. He made his debut in a 0–2 defeat to Tom Tomsk on 13 March 2010. After spending a season in the Russian Premier League
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League , currently called SOGAZ Russian Football Championship due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of Russian football. There are 16 teams in the competition...
Ghionea, decided to terminate his contract with Rostov on 7 February 2011.
Politehnica Timişoara
On 9 February 2011, Ghionea signed an initial six-month contract with Poli, with the option to extend it for another two years. Ghionea made his home debutStadionul Dan Paltinisanu
Dan Păltinişanu Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Timişoara, Romania. It is currently used mostly for football matches by the local team, Politehnica Timişoara...
for Politehnica Timişoara in 3–1 win against Gaz Metan Mediaş
CS Gaz Metan Medias
Clubul Sportiv Gaz Metan Mediaș is a Romanian professional football club from Mediaș, Sibiu county, founded in 1945, and currently playing in the Romanian first division.- First promotion in Divizia A :...
on 26 February 2011.. Although Poli finished second at the end of the 2010–11 Liga I
2010–11 Liga I
The 2010–11 Liga I was the ninety-third season of the top-level football league of Romania. The season commenced on 23 July 2010 and ended on 21 May 2011. A winter break where no matches were played was held between December 11, 2010 and February 18, 2011...
season and was supposed to play in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League
2011–12 UEFA Champions League
The 2011–12 UEFA Champions League is the 57th season of the European Cup, Europe's premier football tournament, and the 20th season in its current Champions League format. The final venue will be the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany...
, however, the club was relegated to the second division
Liga II
Liga II is the second tier league of the Romanian football league system. The league acquired this name in the 2006-07, being previously called Divizia B....
because of accumulated debt and Ghionea left Poli on 19 July.
Târgu Mureş
On 19 July 2011, he signed a two-year deal with Liga ILiga 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"...
side FCM Târgu Mureş.
International career
Ghionea made his international debut for RomaniaRomania 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...
on 27 March 2002 in a friendly against Ukraine
Ukraine national football team
The Ukraine national football team is the national football team of Ukraine and is controlled by the Football Federation of Ukraine. After Ukrainian Independence and breakaway from the Soviet Union, they played their first match against Hungary on 29 April 1992...
, and his international career got off to a winning start with a 4–1 victory for Romania. Since then Ghionea has won nine further caps for Romania. He was sent off in Romania's second 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
The qualification competition for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC , CAF , CONCACAF , CONMEBOL , OFC , and UEFA — was allocated a certain number of the 32 places at the tournament...
match against the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands national football team
The Faroe Islands national football team represents the Faroe Islands in association football and is controlled by the Faroe Islands Football Association, the governing body for football in the Faroe Islands. The Faroe Islands became a member of FIFA in 1988 and UEFA in 1990 and are the third...
in which Romania won 1–0.
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 May 2008 | Ghencea, Bucureşti, 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... |
2–0 | 4-0 | Friendly | |
Titles
| Season | Club | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 2004–05 |  Kingdom of Romania Steaua Bucureşti |
Divizia A |
| 2005–06 | Kingdom of Romania Steaua Bucureşti |
Divizia A |
| 2005–06 | Kingdom of Romania Steaua Bucureşti |
Supercupa României |
External links
- Sorin Ghionea's career at RomanianSoccer.ro
- Profile UEFA.com