 Trică withCFR Cluj in August 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1976-08-05)5 August 1976 (age 49) | ||
| Place of birth | Teslui, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1988–1993 | Universitatea Craiova | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1994–1998 | Universitatea Craiova | 91 | (14) |
| 1998–2003 | Steaua București | 130 | (21) |
| 2003–2005 | Litex Lovech | 54 | (22) |
| 2005–2006 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 10 | (1) |
| 2006–2007 | CSKA Sofia | 34 | (17) |
| 2007–2008 | CFR Cluj | 46 | (15) |
| 2009 | Anorthosis | 12 | (1) |
| 2009 | CFR Cluj | 1 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Universitatea Craiova | 16 | (2) |
| 2010–2011 | Concordia Chiajna | 22 | (6) |
| Total | 416 | (99) | |
| International career | |||
| 1996–1998 | Romania U21 | 20 | (6) |
| 1999–2007 | Romania | 4 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2010 | Universitatea Craiova (sporting director) | ||
| 2010 | Universitatea Craiova (caretaker) | ||
| 2011 | Concordia Chiajna (sporting director) | ||
| 2012–2013 | Juventus București | ||
| 2013 | CFR Cluj | ||
| 2013 | Al-Nahda (assistant) | ||
| 2013–2014 | UTA Arad | ||
| 2014 | Juventus București | ||
| 2015 | CFR Cluj | ||
| 2015 | Metalul Reșița | ||
| 2015–2016 | Ittihad (assistant) | ||
| 2017–2018 | Politehnica Iași (assistant) | ||
| 2019 | Sportul Snagov | ||
| 2019–2020 | FC U Craiova | ||
| 2020–2021 | Turris Turnu Măgurele | ||
| 2021 | FC U Craiova | ||
| 2021 | Viitorul Târgu Jiu | ||
| 2021 | FC U Craiova | ||
| 2022 | Viitorul Târgu Jiu | ||
| 2022 | Metaloglobus București | ||
| 2022–2023 | Concordia Chiajna | ||
| 2023 | Gloria Băneasa | ||
| 2023–2024 | CSM Alexandria | ||
| 2024 | FC U Craiova | ||
| 2024 | Sohar | ||
| 2025 | Lovech | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Eugen Trică (born 5 August 1976) is a Romanian professional footballmanager and formerfootballer who played as amidfielder.
Trică was born on 5 August 1976 in the Romanian village ofTeslui, where he spent his early years.[1] He was raised mainly by his grandparents until age 7, when he moved toCraiova for school.[1] Shortly after arriving in Craiova, his father noticed his talent when he saw him playing football in the neighborhood, so he took him to the youth center of local clubUniversitatea.[1][2] Trică made hisLiga I debut on 17 June 1995 under coachVictor Pițurcă in "U" Craiova's 5–4 loss toElectroputere Craiova.[1][2][3] The club reached the1998 Cupa României final where coachJosé Ramón Alexanko used him the entire match in the 1–0 loss toRapid București.[4] During this period he earned the nicknameJosé after teammateIonel Gane compared him toJosé Mari Bakero.[1]
Trică joinedSteaua București in 1998.[2] He won the1998–99 Cupa României after being introduced by coachEmerich Jenei in thefinal'sovertime against Rapid, a match decided by a penalty shoot-out where he netted his spot kick.[2][5] In the2000–01 season, he also won the championship withThe Military Men, being used by coach Pițurcă in 30 games in which he scored seven goals.[2][6][7] Subsequently, he netted two goals in Steaua's 2–1 victory againstDinamo București in the2001 Supercupa României.[2][7][8]
Trică joinedLitex Lovech in 2003 where over the course of two seasons he scored 22 goals in 54 league matches.[2] He helped the club win the2004–05 Bulgarian Cup, coachLjupko Petrović using him the entire match in the penalty shoot-out victory againstCSKA Sofia in thefinal where he scored the first spot kick.[2][9] Subsequently, he joined the squad of Israeli sideMaccabi Tel Aviv in 2005.[2] After a few months, he returned to Bulgaria, this time atCSKA Sofia where he played alongside fellow RomaniansFlorentin Petre andAlexandru Pițurcă.[10] There, he won the2005–06 Bulgarian Cup and the2006 Bulgarian Supercup.[2] The latter trophy was secured after he played the entire match under coachPlamen Markov in the penalty shoot-out victory againstrivalsLevski Sofia in which Trică netted the first spot kick.[2][11] Trică was one of the highest-scoring foreign players in theBulgarian league as in the 98 appearances made in the competition he had 39 goals to his name.[2][12]
In 2007, Trică returned to Romania, signing withCFR Cluj.[2] There, he helped the club win the championship and the cup for the first time in its history in the2007–08 season, and Trică was the team's top-scorer, netting 13 goals in 31 league matches under coachIoan Andone.[2][6][13] Coach Andone also sent him in the 71st minute to replaceManuel José in the 2–1 victory againstUnirea Urziceni in theCupa României final.[2][14] Subsequently, he played five games in the2008–09 Champions League group stage withThe Railway Men, and in the first match, he providedEmmanuel Culio with two assists, leading to a historical 2–1 victory atStadio Olimpico againstAS Roma.[2][15] His performances in 2008 earned him the fifth place in theRomanian Footballer of the Year award.[16] Trică moved in 2009 toAnorthosis in Cyprus.[2] However, he shortly returned to CFR Cluj where he won the2009 Supercupa României after coachToni Conceição introduced him in the 68th minute to replaceSixto Peralta in the penalty shoot-out win against Unirea Urziceni.[2][17]
In 2009, Trică made a comeback to his first club Universitatea Craiova.[2] However, after a year, in 2010, he joinedConcordia Chiajna inLiga II which he helped gain a first-ever promotion to Liga I.[2][18] On 15 October 2011, following Concordia's 4–0 loss to his former club CFR Cluj, Trică decided to end his playing career.[2][19] Through his career, Trică earned a total of 289 matches with 51 goals scored in Liga I and 30 appearances with seven goals in European competitions.[2]
Trică was part ofRomania's under-21 side that managed a first-everqualification to a European Championship in 1998, which Romania subsequently hosted.[20] In thefinal tournament that was composed of eight teams, coachVictor Pițurcă used him only in the 2–1 loss toRussia where he scored his side's goal, as they finished in last place.[20]
Trică played four games forRomania, making his debut on 3 March 1999 when coach Pițurcă introduced him in the 74th minute to replaceDennis Șerban in a 2–0 friendly victory againstEstonia.[21][22] His following game was a 1–0 win in a friendly againstUkraine.[21] His last two were appearances in the successfulEuro 2008 qualifiers, a 3–1 victory againstBelarus and a 1–0 loss toBulgaria.[21]
Trică started his coaching career in 2012 atJuventus București, after which he coached various other teams in Romania and abroad, including as an assistant coach.[7][23][24] His biggest performances were a runner-up position in aCupa României final withCFR Cluj, and earning two promotions from the third league to the second and then from the second to the first withFC U Craiova.[7][23][25]
Trică was married to Lorena, daughter ofIlie Balaci, one of Romania's best football players.[26] They divorced in 2015.[27] Their son,Atanas Trică, is also a footballer.[28]
| Romania national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1999 | 1 | 0 |
| 2001 | 1 | 0 |
| 2007 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 4 | 0 |
Universitatea Craiova
Steaua București
Litex Lovech
CSKA Sofia
CFR Cluj
Individual
CFR Cluj
FC U Craiova