Ilie Greavu


Ilie Greavu was a Romanian football defender and manager.

Club career

Greavu, nicknamed Cauciuc because he could jump one meter and 20 centimeters high, was born on 19 July 1937 in Sibiu, Romania. He began playing football in 1952 at local club Progresul, then in 1955 moving to Progresul CPCS București in Divizia B. He was transferred to Rapid București where on 28 August 1957 he made his Divizia A debut under coach Ferenc Rónay in a 1–0 away loss to Energia Petroșani.

He helped Rapid win the 1966–67 Divizia A, which was the club's first title, being used by coach Valentin Stănescu in 25 matches. After the last game of the season against Petrolul Ploiești that ended in a 0–0 draw, and the team earned the point that mathematically made them champions, Greavu said:"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". During his 14-season spell with The Railwaymen, he also won the 1957 Cupa Primăverii and two Balkans Cups in 1964 and 1966. Greavu reached three Cupa României finals, playing in all, the first two in 1961 and 1962 under the guidance of coach Ion Mihăilescu were lost to Arieșul Turda and Steaua București respectively. In the 1968 final he was coached by Stănescu in the loss to Dinamo București. He played seven games in European competitions, taking part in the 1967–68 European Cup campaign in which he helped Rapid eliminate Trakia Plovdiv, being eliminated by Juventus in the following round. Greavu 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.

International career

Greavu played 10 matches for Romania, making his debut on 14 May 1961 under coach Gheorghe Popescu in a 1–0 friendly victory against Turkey. He played in six games in the 1966 World Cup qualifiers. His last appearance for the national team was on 21 September 1966 in a friendly against East Germany which ended with a 2–0 loss. Greavu also played 12 games for Romania's Olympic team, being chosen by coach Silviu Ploeșteanu to be part of the 1964 Summer Olympics squad in Tokyo where he played in all six games, helping the team finish in fifth place.

Later life

After retirement, Greavu worked at Rapid București as vice-president from 1972 until 1974. He also served as head and assistant coach of the senior team, and coach of the children's and junior center where he taught generations of players, which include Stelian Marin, Ion Ion, Iosif Damaschin, Marian Rada and Daniel Niculae.
In 2004, Greavu had his legs amputated because he suffered from arthritis, and he was also ill with diabetes, ultimately dying on 1 April 2007 at age 69 from a heart attack.

Honours

Rapid București