# Ion Geolgău

Ion Geolgău (born 20 February 1961) is a former Romanian football midfielder and manager.

## Club career

Ion Geolgău was born in Pielești, Dolj County. On 7 November 1976, being 15 years and 9 months old, Geolgău made his Divizia A debut under coach Constantin Teașcă, playing for Universitatea Craiova in a 3–1 victory against UTA Arad. After his debut, writer Adrian Păunescu wrote an article about him called Visul lui Geolgău (Geolgău's dream), in which he mistaken Geolgău's first name calling him Gheorghiță instead of Ion, thus Gheorghiță becoming Ion Geolgău's nickname. On 16 March 1977, he scored his first Divizia A goal at the age of 16 in a 5–0 victory against Progresul București. Geolgău went on to play 13+1⁄2 seasons with Universitatea Craiova, being part of the "Craiova Maxima" generation, helping them win two consecutive league titles in 1980 and 1981, at the first he was used by coach Valentin Stănescu in 24 games in which he scored two goals and at the second coach Ion Oblemenco gave him 29 appearances in which he scored three goals. He also won the Cupa României four times, in the years 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1983. Geolgău played 38 games and scored 8 goals for "U" Craiova in European competitions, being part of the team that reached the 1982–83 UEFA Cup semi-finals in which he contributed with two goals scored in 9 matches from the campaign. In the middle of the 1989–90 season, Geolgău transferred to Argeș Pitești where he would stay only half of season, scoring one goal in 11 Divizia A appearances. After the 1989 Romanian Revolution, Geolgău went to play in the Cypriot First Division for Aris Limassol. After one season spent in Cyprus, he went to play for one year at Belgian side Avenir Lembeek, returning to Romania where he retired at Jiul Craiova. During his whole career, Ion Geolgău played 304 Divizia A matches in which he scored 34 goals and 21 games with one goal scored in the Cypriot First Division.

## International career

   "From Pielești to Bratislava / From Craiova to Glasgow / Europe hums / Come on Geolgău, Geolgău, Geolgău!"
Ion Geolgău played for Romania in 23 matches, scoring three goals, making his debut on 10 September 1980 when coach Valentin Stănescu sent him on the field in the 60th minute to replace Tudorel Stoica in a friendly which ended with a 2–1 away victory against Bulgaria, which took place in Varna on the Yuri Gagarin Stadium. He played four games at the Euro 1984 qualifiers, scoring the decisive goal that mathematically qualified Romania at the final tournament in a 1–1 against Czechoslovakia, which took place on Tehelné pole from Bratislava, earning him the nickname "The hero from Bratislava". Geolgău also played three matches at the 1986 World Cup qualifiers, scoring one goal in a 3–2 loss against Northern Ireland. His last match for the national team was on 1 June 1988 in a 2–0 away loss in a friendly against Netherlands. Geolgău also played one game for Romania's Olympic team in a 0–0 against Italy at the 1984 Summer Olympics qualifiers.

### International goals

    Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1. | 30 November 1983 | Tehelné pole, Bratislava | Czechoslovakia | 1–0 | 1–1 | Euro 1984 qualifier |
| 2. | 12 September 1984 | Windsor Park, Belfast | Northern Ireland | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1986 World Cup qualifier |
| 3 | 30 March 1988 | Kurt-Wabbel-Stadion, Halle | East Germany | 3–3 | 3–3 | Friendly |

## Managerial career

Ion Geolgău started his coaching career in 1994 at Jiul Petroșani and from 1996 until 1997 he was an assistant coach at Universitatea Craiova. In 1997 he went to coach in the Faroe Islands at HB Tórshavn where he spent five years, winning the title and the cup in 1998. In 2002 he moved to B36 Tórshavn where he stayed until 2003 when he won a cup. In 2004 Geolgău had his last coaching experience at Fram Reykjavík from Iceland.

## Personal life

Geolgău said that he was born on 19 February 1961 but his birth date was declared by his father to the People's Council only on 20 February 1961.

## Honours
### Player

Universitatea Craiova
* Divizia A: 1979–80, 1980–81
* Cupa României: 1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1982–83

### Manager

HB Tórshavn
* Faroe Islands League: 1998
* Faroe Islands Cup: 1998
B36 Tórshavn
* Faroe Islands Cup: 2003