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 *

: 1991–92 Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț *

: 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 {{Romania-footy-defender-1960s-stub