Gigi Ion (born 15 September 1967), also known as Ion Gigi, is a
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
n former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
and manager. Ion played as a defender or midfielder and mostly for
Oțelul Galați, but he also played for other teams like:
Universitatea Cluj,
Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț,
Dacia Unirea Brăila and
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
side
Sandhausen.
[ Gigi Ion is considered a symbol of Oțelul, being introduced in 2014 by the ''Dunărea Bătrână'' publication in the top 50 legends of the club from ]Galați
Galați ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the river Danube. and the sixth-larges ...
. Ion always shown his attachment for Oțelul and even refused an important offer from FC Steaua București
Fotbal Club FCSB (), formerly named and still sometimes referred to as FC Steaua București, is a Romanian professional Association football, football club based in Bucharest. It has spent its entire history in the Liga I, the top flight of th ...
, years later he stated: ''I wanted to play for Oțelul, not anywhere else. It really matters for me to feel something for the team I play, in this way I was raised''. Despite his loyalty, he is considered one of the most unlucky footballers, in his career Gigi suffered two double tibia and fibula fractures, first in 1987 after which he, with much sacrifice spirit, returned to the pitch, having a metal rod in his leg and the second one in 2000, injury that ended his career.Viaţa lui Gigi Ion: "Cu pastramă şi cu vin, uite aşa ne chinuim!"
evz.ro After the retirement Gigi Ion worked for 5 years as a manager, later becoming a sports teacher.
[
]
Honours
Oțelul Galați
*Divizia B
The Liga 2, most commonly spelled as Liga II, is the second level of the Romanian football league system. The league changed its name from Divizia B just before the start of the 2006–07 football season. It is currently sponsored by Casa Pariu ...
: 1985–86, 1990–91[
Universitatea Cluj
*]Divizia B
The Liga 2, most commonly spelled as Liga II, is the second level of the Romanian football league system. The league changed its name from Divizia B just before the start of the 2006–07 football season. It is currently sponsored by Casa Pariu ...
: 1991–92[
Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț
*]Divizia B
The Liga 2, most commonly spelled as Liga II, is the second level of the Romanian football league system. The league changed its name from Divizia B just before the start of the 2006–07 football season. It is currently sponsored by Casa Pariu ...
: 1992–93[
Sandhausen
*]Oberliga Baden-Württemberg
The Oberliga Baden-Württemberg is the highest association football league in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg and the Baden-Württemberg football league system. It is one of fourteen Oberliga (football), Oberligas in German footb ...
: 1999–2000[
]
Notes
References
External links
*
1967 births
Living people
Footballers from Galați
Romanian men's footballers
Men's association football defenders
Men's association football midfielders
Liga I players
Liga II players
ASC Oțelul Galați players
FC Universitatea Cluj players
CSM Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț players
AFC Dacia Unirea Brăila players
Regionalliga players
SV Sandhausen players
Romanian expatriate men's footballers
Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
Romanian football managers
ASC Oțelul Galați managers
FC Vaslui managers
AFC Dacia Unirea Brăila managers
20th-century Romanian sportsmen
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