Gheorghe "Gică" Popescu (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈɡe̯orɡe ˈdʒikə poˈpesku]; born 9 October 1967) is a Romanian former professional football player who played as a defender, currently he is the owner and the president of Liga I club Farul Constanța.
He notably played in La Liga, where he was a former captain of FC Barcelona. He played for a string of European clubs in that period, including a four-year stint at PSV Eindhoven and winning the UEFA Cup with Galatasaray. He also played in the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur, in Serie A with Lecce and in the Bundesliga with Hannover 96. In his native country he played for Universitatea Craiova, Steaua București and Dinamo București. In addition to his defensive skills, he was also capable of starting attacks deep from his own half. For 13 years, Popescu consistently ranked within the top four of the Romanian Footballer of the Year award between 1989 and 2001, winning it six times.
His tactical knowledge as a defender made him a valuable team member in top European competitions until he reached his late thirties. He was a key part of the Romania national team in the 1990s and earned 115 caps, scoring 16 goals. He was present at the 1990 World Cup, the 1994 World Cup, Euro 1996, the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. He is the brother-in-law of fellow Romanian international Gheorghe Hagi.
Popescu, nicknamed Baciul (The Shepherd) due to his leadership skills, was born on 9 October 1967 in Calafat, Romania and began playing junior-level football in 1975 at local club Dunărea. During his childhood years, his father would take him to Universitatea Craiova's matches during their "Craiova Maxima" era, and at one point Popescu told him: "Father, the day will come when I will be in Ștefănescu's place. And the people will love me more than him!" He started to play in the Romanian lower leagues for Dunărea's senior squad in 1982. His first coach, Valentin Ghiță, noted Popescu's ambition and passion, citing an instance in the winter of 1983 when Popescu sought him out for training. Ghiță agreed, training Popescu despite severe winter conditions.
Universitatea Craiova and Steaua București
In 1985, his talent was noticed by Nicolae Zamfir who brought him to play for Universitatea Craiova. Popescu made his Divizia A debut on 9 June 1985, when coach Florin Halagian sent him in the second half to replace Marian Bâcu in a 1–0 home victory against FCM Brașov. He scored his first goal in the competition almost one year later in a 7–0 win over Rapid București.
In the middle of the 1987–88 season, Popescu joined Steaua București, and played 13 league matches with one goal scored under coach Anghel Iordănescu, winning the title. He also played in both legs of the European Cup semi-finals in the 2–0 aggregate loss to Benfica.
He returned in 1988 to "U" Craiova where in the following two seasons he developed an appetite for goals, netting 15 goals. Notably, he scored a career-best of eight goals during the 1988–89 season.
In the summer of 1990, Popescu was transferred from Craiova to PSV Eindhoven, playing under Bobby Robson for two of his four seasons there. He made his Eredivisie debut on 28 August 1990 in a 5–0 home win over FC Utrecht. He scored his first goal on 8 September 1990, sealing the win in a 3–0 victory over MVV Maastricht. In his first two seasons, Popescu won two league titles under Robson. He then won the 1992 Dutch Supercup, being used the entire match by coach Hans Westerhof in the 1–0 victory against Feyenoord. In his years at PSV, Popescu was a regular starter for the club, also developing a close friendship with Brazilians Romário and Ronaldo.
He was transferred to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on 9 September 1994 for a fee of £2.9 million, being teammates with fellow Romanian Ilie Dumitrescu. He made his league debut on 24 September 1994, as coach Osvaldo Ardiles used him the entire match in a 4–1 home loss to Nottingham Forest. He made 23 league appearances and scored three goals, including one in a home win against Arsenal, when he beat goalkeeper David Seaman after a counter-attack. Spurs (who changed managers from Ardiles to Gerry Francis a few weeks after Popescu arrived) finished seventh with his help – their highest league finish in five years. He also helped them reach the FA Cup semi-finals, where they lost 4–1 to eventual cup winners Everton.
However, after less than a year in England, he left Tottenham to sign for Spanish club Barcelona for £3 million, succeeding Ronald Koeman in the team. Popescu made his La Liga debut on 2 September 1995, opening the scoring in a 2–0 away win against Real Valladolid. In his first season, he played alongside compatriot Gheorghe Hagi and was coached by Johan Cruyff. He scored a total of five goals in his first season with the Catalans, including a brace in a 4–1 victory over UD Salamanca. Popescu also scored once in a 3–1 win over Sevilla in the round of 16 of the 1995–96 UEFA Cup, as Barça reached the semi-finals, where they were eliminated by eventual winners Bayern Munich.
In his second season, his former coach from PSV, Bobby Robson became Barcelona's manager, and made Popescu the club's captain ahead of veterans Pep Guardiola and Albert Ferrer, and superstars Ronaldo, Luis Figo, and Luis Enrique. In that season, Popescu helped Barcelona win a cup treble, starting with the 1996 Supercopa de España after a 6–5 aggregate win over Atlético Madrid. The Copa del Rey was won after a 3–2 win over Real Betis in the final. Then, in the Cup Winners' Cup he scored one goal against AIK Stockholm in the quarter-finals and played the first half of the 1–0 win in the final against Paris Saint-Germain.
After leaving Barcelona in the summer of 1997, Popescu was transferred to Galatasaray in Turkey, where he reunited with Hagi, and with Romanians Adrian Ilie and Iulian Filipescu also at the club. He made his Turkish league debut on 31 July 1997 under coach Fatih Terim in a 0–0 draw against Ankaragücü, scoring his first goal in the competition on 26 September 1997 in a 4–1 home win over Şekerspor. In his first three seasons, he won three league titles, two Turkish Cups and the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup in May 2000 – where Galatasaray defeated Arsenal in the final on penalties after a goalless draw in open play. He scored the final penalty, defeating David Seaman in the shoot-out, and securing the victory.
In June 2000, Mircea Lucescu replaced Fatih Terim as coach, and the club clinched the 2000 UEFA Super Cup after a 2–1 victory against Real Madrid. They also reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League during the 2000–01 season, where after a 3–2 victory in the first leg, they lost 3–0 in the second leg against Real Madrid.
In 2001, Popescu moved to Serie A club Lecce, stating in an interview with la Repubblica: "I think of Lecce as something romantic. It is the only team in Italy that comes from the south of the country. I am fascinated by the battle with the troops of the North. I would like to complete my two-year contract". He made his league debut on 26 August 2001 in the 1–1 draw against Parma. He wore the number 10 shirt, scoring a brace in a 4–3 loss to Bologna and one goal in his last appearance for I Lupi, which was a 1–1 draw against Torino.
After 12 years, Popescu returned to his native Romania in 2002, signing with Dinamo București, and wearing the captain's armband from his first game, a 5–0 win over Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț on 17 August 2002. The following matches were less successful, as Popescu's performances and the club's results were disappointing in the eyes of the fans. In a derby against rivals Rapid București, he committed a handball, leading to a penalty, which resulted in losing the match. In his last game for the club, a 2–0 loss to Oțelul Galați, he struggled to contain Mihai Guriță, who scored both goals. After the match, fans chanted for Popescu to leave and told Giani Kiriță, the club's captain before Popescu's arrival, to tell him to leave. Kiriță applauded the supporters, a gesture that did not sit well with Popescu, who remarked: "In his place, I would have done it differently". The next day, Popescu terminated his contract with the club, stating: "I had to come to see for myself what is in Romanian football". He would later describe his transfer to Dinamo as "The mistake of my life".