Gheorghe Gruia
Gheorghe Gruia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Full name | Gheorghe Gruia Marinescu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born |
Bucharest, National Legionary State | October 2, 1940||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died |
December 9, 2015 Mexico City, Mexico | (aged 75)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing position | Right back | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1958–1961 | CCA Bucharest | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Senior clubs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1961–1973 | Steaua Bucharest | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1962–1973 | Romania | 126 | (636) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Teams managed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1978–1980 | Mexico | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1981–1985 | Universitario Chiapas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1986–1989 | Pumas UNAM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1988–1991 | Mexico | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Gheorghe Gruia Marinescu (October 2, 1940 – December 9, 2015) was a Romanian handball player, coach and sports official. Born in Bucharest, Gruia won the gold medal in the 1964 World Handball Championship and the 1970 World Championship. In the 1972 Summer Olympics he won the bronze medal with the Romanian team and become the top scorer of the competition with 37 goals. He played as a right back and spent his entire professional career with Steaua Bucharest.
The International Handball Federation named him in 1992 "The Greatest Handball Player of All Times".
Gruia resided in Mexico City, Mexico since 1978, where he worked as a coach and an official in this sport and is credited with popularizing this sport in the country.
He died on December 9, 2015, in Mexico City following a heart attack. Gruia is considered the 'father of handball' in Mexico.
His daughter, Andreea, is a Mexican former telenovela actress who is known for playing in Spanish language telenovelas on Televisa.
Honours
Team
- 8× Romanian League Champion: 1963, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973
- European Cup Champion: 1968 Gold
- Runner-up: 1971 Silver
National team
Romania
- 2× World Champion: 1964, 1970 Gold
- World Championship: 1967 Bronze
- Summer Olympic Games: 1972 Bronze
Orders
- Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv": 2009.
- 1940 births
- 2015 deaths
- Romanian male handball players
- Romanian handball coaches
- CSA Steaua București (handball) players
- Handball players at the 1972 Summer Olympics
- Olympic handball players of Romania
- Olympic bronze medalists for Romania
- Olympic medalists in handball
- Sportspeople from Bucharest
- Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico
- National Autonomous University of Mexico faculty
- Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics
- Romanian handball biography stubs
- Romanian Olympic medalist stubs