Ilie Greavu

Ilie Greavu
Greavu in 1963
Personal information
Date of birth 19 July 1937
Place of birth Sibiu, Romania[1]
Date of death 1 April 2007 (aged 69)
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Position Left back
Youth career
1952–1954 Progresul Sibiu
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1955–1956 Progresul CPCS București
1957–1971 Rapid București 294 (1)
International career
1961–1966 Romania[a] 22 (0)
Managerial career
1988 Rapid București
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ilie Greavu (19 July 1937 – 1 April 2007) was a Romanian football defender and manager who spent the majority of his playing career with Rapid București and was part of the team that won the 1966–67 Divizia A title.

Club career

Greavu training with Rapid București in 1963
Greavu during a training session in 1965
Greavu (bottom, first from left) with Rapid in 1970

He was nicknamed Cauciuc ("Rubber") because his legs were compared to rubber due to their remarkable elasticity, as shown by his ability to leap 1.2 meters into the air.[4][5][6][7] Greavu began playing football in 1952 with local club Progresul Sibiu, before moving to Progresul CPCS București in 1955, where he played in Divizia B.[4][5] He was then transferred to Rapid București, where he made his Divizia A debut on 28 August 1957 under coach Ferenc Rónay, in a 1–0 away defeat against Energia Petroșani.[4][5][7][8]

He helped Rapid win the 1966–67 Divizia A title, the club's first championship, making 25 appearances under coach Valentin Stănescu.[4][5][7][9] After the final game of the season against Petrolul Ploiești ended in a 0–0 draw and secured the point that mathematically crowned Rapid champions, Greavu recalled: "I played the last thirty minutes with a lump in my throat. Every minute we got closer to the title seemed endless. That half hour was the hardest exam of my life."[10] During his 14-season spell with The Railwaymen, he also won the 1957 Cupa Primăverii and two Balkans Cups in 1964 and 1966.[4][5][7] Greavu reached three Cupa României finals, featuring in all of them. The first two, in 1961 and 1962 under coach Ion Mihăilescu, ended in defeats against Arieșul Turda and Steaua București, respectively.[11][12][13] In the 1968 final, he was coached by Stănescu as Rapid lost to Dinamo București.[13]

Greavu played seven games in European competitions (including four in the Inter-cities Fairs Cup), taking part in the 1967–68 European Cup campaign, in which he helped Rapid eliminate Trakia Plovdiv before being eliminated by Juventus in the following round.[4][14][15]

He made his last Divizia A appearance on 5 June 1971 in a 3–1 home loss to Steagul Roșu Brașov, totaling 294 appearances with one goal in the competition.[4][7]

International career

Greavu made 10 appearances for Romania, making his debut on 14 May 1961 under coach Gheorghe Popescu in a 1–0 friendly victory against Turkey.[16][17] He featured in six matches during the 1966 World Cup qualifiers.[16] His last appearance for the national team came on 21 September 1966 in a friendly against East Germany, which ended in a 2–0 defeat.[16] Greavu also played 12 games for Romania's Olympic team and was selected by coach Silviu Ploeșteanu for the squad at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where he featured in all six matches and helped the team finish fifth.[1][18]

Later life and death

After retiring, Greavu worked at Rapid București as vice-president from 1972 to 1974.[5][7] He also served as both head coach and assistant coach of the senior team, as well as coach of the club's youth center, where he helped develop generations of players, including Stelian Marin, Ion Ion, Iosif Damaschin, Marian Rada and Daniel Niculae.[5][7]

In 2004, Greavu had both legs amputated following health complications related to severe arthritis and diabetes. He died on 1 April 2007, at the age of 69, after suffering a heart attack.[4][5][7]

Honours

Rapid București

Notes

  1. ↑ Including 12 appearances for Romania's Olympic team.[2][3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ilie Greavu. sports-reference.com
  2. ↑ "Ilie Greavu". European Football. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Ilie Greavu at National-Football-Teams.com
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Ilie Greavu at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "A murit Ilie Greavu" [Ilie Greavu died] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 2 April 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
    "In memoriam - Ilie Greavu" [In memory of - Ilie Greavu] (in Romanian). Tribuna.ro. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
    "Greavu, legenda de "Cauciuc" a Rapidului" [Greavu, the "Rubber" legend of Rapid] (in Romanian). 1923.ro. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  6. ↑ "Oare cati stiu ca Ilie Greavu a jucat impotriva marelui Beckenbauer?" [How many know that Ilie Greavu played against the great Beckenbauer?] (in Romanian). Hotnews.ro. 3 April 2009. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Muzeul Rapidului prinde viață! Familia lui Ilie Greavu, prima care a contribuit la proiectul ambițios al giuleștenilor" [The Rapid Museum comes to life! The family of Ilie Greavu, the first to contribute to the ambitious project of the people of Giulești] (in Romanian). Digisport.ro. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  8. ↑ "Jiul Petrosani vs Locomotiva București 1-0". Labtof. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  9. ↑ "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  10. ↑ "Istoria secretă a Rapidului: blaturi pentru câștigarea primelor două titluri. Mărturii incredibile: "Hai, mă, copii să facem egal!" + regia tovarășilor Pădureanu și Lucescu" [The secret history of Rapid: Match fixing for winning the first two titles. Incredible testimonials: "Come on, kids, let's make it even!" + directed by comrades Pădureanu and Lucescu] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 22 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  11. 1 2 "Romanian Cup – Season 1960–1961". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  12. 1 2 "Romanian Cup – Season 1961–1962". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  13. 1 2 3 "Romanian Cup – Season 1967–1968". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  14. ↑ Ilie Greavu at WorldFootball.net
  15. ↑ "Ilie Greavu - European Cup 1967/1968". WorldFootball. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  16. 1 2 3 "Ilie Greavu profile". European Football. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  17. ↑ "Turkey - Romania 0:1". European Football. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  18. ↑ "Ilie Greavu". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
    "Ilie Greavu profile". 11v11. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
    "Cum a fost ultima participare a României la Olimpiadă, în 1964, când "tricolorii" au pierdut dramatic sfertul cu Ungaria" [How was Romania's last participation in the Olympics, in 1964, when "The Tricolors" dramatically lost the quarter to Hungary] (in Romanian). Theplaymaker.ro. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
    "Ilie Greavu - Olympic Games 1964". WorldFootball. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
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