Tudorel Stoica (born 7 September 1954, in Brăila, Brăila County,

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 ...

) is a

n former footballer who played as a midfielder. He is the most capped player in the history of Steaua București. He is one of the most famous and successful players who has ever played in the Romanian First League. He is 2nd in an all time ranking, tied with Giedrius Arlauskis, Ciprian Deac, Adrian Bumbescu, Mircea Lucescu and Dumitru Stângaciu, all with 7 championships won. Marius Lăcătuș won it 10 times and is ranked 1st.

Club career

Stoica made his Romanian first division debuts with FCM Galaţi in 1974, having previously played for CSU Galaţi in the second league. After only one season, he transferred to country giants Steaua București where, safe for his first year, he was a nuclear midfield element as the team won – that season included – seven league titles and five domestic cups. He was a main player and captain of the squad that won the first European title in Romanian football's history, the 1985–86 European Cup, even though he did not play in the final against FC Barcelona, because of accumulation of yellow cards. In 1989, 35-year-old Stoica moved abroad for the first time, playing one season in

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with second level side RC Lens, returning to Steaua where he finished his career at the age of 37. The longtime team captain amassed totals of 369 games and 43 goals (377 counting with FCM Galaţi) in his country's top division, over the course of 15 professional seasons; in the early 1990s, he had brief spells as assistant manager with Steaua București and as head coach Romania U21. On 25 March 2008, Stoica was decorated by Romanian president Traian Băsescu with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" – ("The Sportive Merit" Order) class II, for his part in the winning of the 1986 European Cup.

International career

During eight years, Stoica was capped 15 times for the Romania national team, but did not attend any major international tournament. He made his debut on 14 October 1979 in a 1–3 friendly loss with the

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Honours

Steaua București * Divizia A: 1975–76, 1977–78, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89 * Romanian Cup: 1975–76, 1978–79, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1988–89 * European Cup: 1985–86 * UEFA Super Cup: 1986

Personal

After retiring from football, Stoica served as scout for Belgian team R.S.C. Anderlecht. His son, Alin, was also a footballer and a midfielder. He also represented Steaua and the Romania national team, and played mainly in Belgium, representing four teams.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stoica, Tudorel 1954 births Living people Romanian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Liga I players Liga II players FCM Dunărea Galați players FCSB players UEFA Champions League–winning players Ligue 2 players RC Lens players Romania men's international footballers Romanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in France Romanian football managers FCSB non-playing staff Romanian expatriate sportspeople in France Footballers from Brăila 20th-century Romanian sportsmen