 Dumitrescu in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ilie Dumitrescu | ||
| Date of birth | (1969-01-06)6 January 1969 (age 56) | ||
| Place of birth | Bucharest, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1977–1987 | Steaua București | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1987–1994 | Steaua București | 165 | (71) |
| 1987–1988 | →Olt Scorniceşti (loan) | 31 | (1) |
| 1994–1995 | Tottenham Hotspur | 18 | (4) |
| 1995 | →Sevilla (loan) | 13 | (1) |
| 1996 | West Ham United | 10 | (0) |
| 1996–1997 | América | 13 | (1) |
| 1997–1998 | Atlante | 27 | (3) |
| 1998 | Steaua București | 7 | (3) |
| Total | 284 | (84) | |
| International career | |||
| 1989–1998 | Romania | 64 | (20) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2000 | FC Braşov (sporting director) | ||
| 2000–2001 | Oţelul Galaţi | ||
| 2001 | FC Braşov | ||
| 2001–2002 | Alki Larnaca | ||
| 2002 | Romania U21 | ||
| 2002–2003 | FCM Bacău | ||
| 2003–2004 | Apollon Limassol | ||
| 2004 | AEK Athens | ||
| 2005 | Egaleo | ||
| 2005 | Akratitos | ||
| 2005–2006 | Kallithea | ||
| 2006 | PAOK | ||
| 2009 | Panthrakikos | ||
| 2010 | Steaua București | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ilie Dumitrescu (Romanian pronunciation:[iˈli.edumiˈtresku]; born 6 January 1969) is a former Romanian professionalfootballmanager and former player, who is currently a television sport pundit forDigi Sport.
As a player, he was awinger who notably played in thePremier League withTottenham Hotspur andWest Ham United, and inLa Liga withSevilla. He began and finished his career withSteaua București, had spells inMexico withAmérica andAtlante and had a brief loan spell withOlt Scorniceşti during the early stages of his career. He initially shot to fame when his frontline partnership withGheorghe Hagi andFlorin Răducioiu led theRomania national team to the1994 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals. In eliminatingArgentina en route, Dumitrescu scored twice in a 3–2 win, despite playing in an unfamiliar striker position with Răducioiu unavailable.[1] Overall he was capped 62 times, scoring 20 goals and was also a participant at the1990 and1998 FIFA World Cups.
Following retirement, Dumitrescu has had an extensive career as a manager in his native country as well asGreece andCyprus, with a spells atOţelul Galaţi,FC Braşov,Alki Larnaca,Romania U21,FCM Bacău,Apollon Limassol,AEK Athens,Egaleo,Akratitos,Kallithea,PAOK,Panthrakikos, andSteaua București.
Born inBucharest, Dumitrescu joined theSteaua București academy in 1977 at the age of 8 and made his way through the youth system. In April 1987, he made his debut inDivizia A at the age of 18. Steaua, who had won theEuropean Champions Cup the previous year, loaned Dumitrescu toOlt Scorniceşti to gain more experience.
At Olt Scornicești, Dumitrescu was a regular starter, playing as leftfull-back.
Returning from his loan, Dumitrescu became an important part of the Steaua București squad, playing alongside big names such asMarius Lăcătuş andGheorghe Hagi. After the1990 World Cup in Italy, the best of his club teammates got contracts abroad, but Dumitrescu remained with Steaua and became the side's captain. With Steaua, he won the Romanian Cup in 1992, the championship in 1993 and played in the quarterfinals of theCup Winners' Cup the same year.
Impressed by his performance at theUSA World Cup in 1994, the representatives ofTottenham Hotspur were keen to offer him a contract. The North London side paid £2.6 million for Dumitrescu.[2] He was later loaned out toSevilla FC, with theLa Liga side given an option to buy him during the loan.[citation needed][3]
Dumitrescu had a good time in southern Spain but the club baulked at the transfer fee Tottenham demanded. Dumitrescu returned to England.
After playing in the first half of the1995–96 Premiership season and failing to impress, Dumitrescu was sold toWest Ham United, whereHarry Redknapp wanted to make him the player he once was. Dumitrescu played only 10 games before encountering problems with his work permit. His contract with West Ham was broken, leaving him free agent.
In the summer of 1996 he signed a contract withClub América inMexico and before switching to their rivalsAtlante a year later.
After two years in Mexico, Dumitrescu returned toSteaua București in 1998. Halfway through the season he announced his retirement as a professional player aged only 29.
In 1989, Ilie Dumitrescu made his debut forRomania, being used as a substitute in a game againstGreece. Dumitrescu was part of the Romanian squad at the1990 FIFA World Cup.
At the 1994World Cup Dumitrescu played all the five games his team played in America. He was a key player in Romania's surprise 3–2 victory over previous runners-up Argentina, scoring the first two goals and assisting the third. His first goal came in the 11th minute and came direct via an eye-catching free kick from a wide position. Argentina equalized almost instantly from a penalty but Romania regained the lead minutes later through a well-worked passing move that enabled Dumitrescu to score from close range. The victory enabled Romania to progress to the quarter-finals; a first for theRomanian national team.
Following a short-lived career as a player agent – he had established a company called "Sport & Business World" in 1998 –, Dumitrescu took on his first position as a manager in 2000 signing withOţelul Galaţi from Romania'sDivizia A. From Galaţi he moved toFC Brașov and then Cypriot sideAlki Larnaca in 2001–02. Here he won promotion to theCypriot First Division and his team started the season very well, beating some of the best sides in Cyprus. However at the end of the season his team finished 11th. He then took the head coach role of theRomanian under 21 side. But Dumitrescu lasted only 6 weeks in the role.[4]
Subsequently, he took control ofFCM Bacău in Divizia A. However, after a disappointing season, Dumitrescu resigned in May 2003, leaving FCM Bacău in the relegation zone. Dumitrescu again went toCyprus, this time as a coach forApollon Limassol. By playing the Italian defensive systemcatenaccio, they won 12 of their first 13 matches and Dumitrescu was named the best manager in Cyprus for the year 2004. Dumitrescu soon moved on to his 6th club side, being named manager of the Greek sideAEK Athens in February 2004.
His roving managerial career continued as he left AEK to joinEgaleo, also from theAlpha Ethniki. The next three years found him at three other Greek clubs:Akratitos,Kallithea andPAOK. Dumitrescu was criticised for his style of play by PAOK fans.[citation needed] Having joined the club in February, he resigned in October.
After three years without a club he became manager ofPanthrakikos in May 2009, but was sacked after only one game.[5]
He ended his coaching career atSteaua București. He had spent only 40 days there, and resigned saying that he does not want to stay where he is not wanted.[6]
After leavingSteaua București, he no longer considered any coaching jobs, and focused on running his business, a high-class restaurant in the centre of Bucharest, in which he had invested some of the money earned in his sports career,[7] has been a regular guest commentator for television stations covering football matches,[8] and endorsed a sports bets company.[9]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | 1989 | 4 | 0 |
| 1990 | 11 | 0 | |
| 1991 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1992 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1993 | 9 | 5 | |
| 1994 | 17 | 10 | |
| 1995 | 5 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 4 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 3 | 1 | |
| Total | 64 | 20 | |
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 August 1992 | Stadionul Național,Bucharest, Romania |  Mexico | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 14 November 1992 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania |  Czechoslovakia | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 3 February 1993 | Estadio Nacional,Lima, Peru |  Peru | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 6 February 1993 | Harder Stadium,Santa Barbara, United States |  United States | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 5 | 14 April 1993 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania |  Cyprus | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 2–1 | |||||
| 7 | 13 October 1993 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania |  Belgium | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 8 | 13 February 1994 | Hong Kong Stadium,Causeway Bay, Hong Kong | United States | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 9 | 2–1 | |||||
| 10 | 16 February 1994 | Changwon Stadium,Changwon, South Korea |  South Korea | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 11 | 2–1 | |||||
| 12 | 20 April 1994 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania |  Bolivia | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 13 | 2–0 | |||||
| 14 | 25 May 1994 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania |  Nigeria | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 15 | 3 July 1994 | Rose Bowl,Pasadena, United States |  Argentina | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1994 FIFA World Cup |
| 16 | 2–1 | |||||
| 17 | 12 October 1994 | Wembley Stadium,London, England |  England | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 18 | 26 April 1995 | Hüseyin Avni Aker Stadium,Trabzon, Turkey |  Azerbaijan | 2–1 | 4–1 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying |
| 19 | 20 August 1997 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania | 1998 World Cup qualification | |||
| 20 | 6 June 1998 | Stadionul Ilie Oană,Ploiești, Romania |  Moldova | 3–0 | 5–1 | Friendly |
Steaua București[11]
Individual
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