Bogdan Stelea facts for kids
Stelea in 2015
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bogdan Gheorghe Stelea | ||
| Date of birth | 5 December 1967 | ||
| Place of birth | Bucharest, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1980–1986 | Dinamo București | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1986–1991 | Dinamo București | 98 | (0) |
| 1987 | → Politehnica Iași (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 1992–1993 | Mallorca | 52 | (0) |
| 1993 | Standard Liège | 3 | (0) |
| 1994 | Rapid București | 13 | (0) |
| 1994–1995 | Samsunspor | 31 | (0) |
| 1995–1997 | Steaua București | 47 | (0) |
| 1997–2004 | Salamanca | 183 | (0) |
| 2002 | → Rapid București (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | Dinamo București | 13 | (0) |
| 2005 | Akratitos | 14 | (0) |
| 2006 | Oțelul Galați | 0 | (0) |
| 2006–2008 | Unirea Urziceni | 37 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | FC Brașov | 23 | (0) |
| Total | 524 | (0) | |
| International career | |||
| 1988–2005 | Romania | 91 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2009–2011 | Romania (assistant) | ||
| 2012 | Astra Ploiești | ||
| 2013–2014 | Romania U21 | ||
| 2014 | Viitorul Constanța | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Bogdan Gheorghe Stelea, born on December 5, 1967, is a famous former Romanian footballer. He was a talented goalkeeper. He played professional football until he was over 40 years old!
Stelea played for all three of the biggest football clubs in Romania's capital city. He also spent many years playing in Spain, especially for a team called Salamanca. He played almost 100 games for the Romanian national team. He even represented his country in three World Cups and two European Championships.
Contents
Playing Career: A Goalkeeper's Journey
Bogdan Stelea started playing football when he was 12 years old. He joined the youth team of Dinamo București in his hometown of Bucharest. He made his first professional appearance in Romania's top league, Liga I, on November 20, 1986. He played for Dinamo and helped them win a 2–0 game.
Early Years at Dinamo București
After his debut, Stelea was loaned to Politehnica Iași for a short time. He returned to Dinamo and became their main goalkeeper in 1988. He helped Dinamo reach the quarter-finals of a European competition in 1989. They only let in two goals in six games!
The next season, he helped Dinamo win both the league and the cup, which is called "The Double." They also reached the semi-finals of another European competition. During this time, he got the nickname "Arnold" because his haircut looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger's from a movie. In the 1991–92 season, Dinamo won the national championship again.
Adventures Abroad and Back Home
In late 1991, Stelea moved to Spain to play for Mallorca. He played his first game in Spain's top league, La Liga, against Real Madrid. After two seasons in Spain, he went to Belgium to play for Standard Liège.
Because he wanted to make sure he was chosen for Romania's team for the 1994 World Cup, he quickly returned to Romania. He played for Rapid București for half a year. After the 1994 World Cup, Stelea played for a year in Turkey for Samsunspor.
Success with Steaua București
After his time in Turkey, Stelea came back to Romania again. He joined Steaua București. In his two years there, he helped the team win "The Double" in both seasons! This means they won both the league and the cup twice in a row. He also played in 11 Champions League games during this period.
Long Stay at UD Salamanca
In 1997, Stelea moved back to Spain to play for UD Salamanca. This was his longest time with one team, staying for seven years. He played 191 games for them. During his time there, Salamanca had many Romanian players, earning the nickname "Salamanca Rumana."
He had a short loan spell back at Rapid București in 2002. He helped them win the Romanian Cup final against Dinamo. In 2004, Stelea returned to Dinamo București and helped them win the Romanian Cup again in 2005. He kept a clean sheet in the final game. In 2005, he also played in Greece for Akratitos.
Final Years in Romania
In 2006, Stelea came back to Romania. He signed with Oțelul Galați, but he didn't play any games because of a serious injury. The next year, he joined Unirea Urziceni for two seasons.
Bogdan Stelea finally ended his amazing 23-year career at the age of 41. His last team was FC Brașov. In his final season, he managed to not let in any goals for an incredible 707 minutes in a row!
International Career: Playing for Romania
Stelea played 91 games for the Romanian national team. He made his first appearance on November 23, 1988, in a friendly game against Israel.
World Cup and Euro Appearances
He was part of Romania's "Golden Generation" of players. This was a special group of players who achieved great things for their country. He was in the squad for the 1990 World Cup, but he didn't play any games.
Stelea played in two games at the 1994 World Cup in the USA. Romania reached the quarter-finals in that tournament, which was a big achievement! He also played in the 1996 European Championship.
He played in all four games for Romania at the 1998 World Cup. The team reached the Round of 16. He also played in all four games at the 2000 European Championship, where Romania reached the quarter-finals.
In his later years with the national team, he played in qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004. He was even the team's captain once in a game against Armenia. His last game for Romania was on February 9, 2005.
For his contributions to Romanian football, especially in the World and European Cups, Bogdan Stelea received a special medal called "The Sportive Merit" in 2008.
Coaching Career
After he stopped playing, Stelea started coaching in 2009. He first worked as an assistant coach for the Romanian national team.
In 2012, Stelea became the head coach of Astra Ploiești. He then coached Romania's under-21 national team from 2013 to 2014. In June 2014, he coached Viitorul Constanța, but he resigned after a few games.
Personal Life
Bogdan Stelea has a son, Bogdan Stelea Jr., who also played football. His son was a defender and played in the lower leagues in Romania.
Honours
Dinamo București
- Divizia A: 1989–90, 1991–92
- Cupa României: 1989–90, 2004–05
Standard Liège
- Belgian Super Cup runner-up: 1993
Steaua București
- Divizia A: 1995–96, 1996–97
- Cupa României: 1995–96, 1996–97
- Supercupa României: 1995
Rapid București
- Cupa României: 2001–02
Unirea Urziceni
- Cupa României runner-up: 2007–08
See also
In Spanish: Bogdan Stelea para niños
