Ion Voinescu

Ion "Țop" Voinescu (18 April 1929 – 9 March 2018) was a Romanian footballer, who is often considered as one of the finest goalkeepers Romania has ever produced.

Ion Voinescu
Voinescu with Steaua (then called CCA)
Personal information
Date of birth (1929-04-18)18 April 1929
Place of birth Valea Dragului, Romania[1]
Date of death 9 March 2018(2018-03-09) (aged 88)
Place of death Bucharest, Romania
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1939–1943 Olympia București
1943–1945 ASPIM București
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1945–1946 Carmen București 1 (0)
1946–1947 Solvay Uioara
1947–1948 RATA Târgu Mureş 5 (0)
1948–1950 Metalul București1 23 (0)
1950–1963 Steaua București 162 (0)
Total 191 (0)
National team
Romania B 2 (0)
1949–1962 Romania[lower-alpha 1] 22 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Voinescu joined his first club, Olympia București, in 1939 just before the start of World War II, aged 10. After four years with Olympia, Voinescu left to join another club from Bucharest, ASPIM, but left again after the war's conclusion in 1945, in order to sign his first professional contract with Carmen București, which was one of the best Romanian football teams during the interbelic period. However, he ended up leaving the club a year later, where he joined Solvay Uioara.

Voinescu left Solvay Uioara a year later to join RATA Târgu Mureș in 1947, where he remained at for a year before leaving in order to return to Bucharest, where he signed for Metalul București. Following a three-year spell with Metalul, Voinescu moved to Steaua București, which was where he remained at before his retirement from professional football in 1963, following an eighteen-year professional career.

Voinescu has won 21 caps for Romania, with his only honor being representing his country at the 1952 Summer Olympics.[2][1]

It was said that Arsenal and Vasco da Gama were both interested in securing his services during his playing career, but was unable to as it was impossible for Voinescu to leave the country due to the strict restrictions of the communist regime.[4]

Voinenscu worked as a goalkeeper coach for his former club, Steaua București, on multiple occasions after his retirement, before permanently retiring from coaching in the late 1980s.

On 9 March 2018, Voinescu died at the age of 88.[5][6][7]

Honours

Club
Steaua București

Notes
  1. Including one appearance for Romania's Olympic team.[2][3]

^1 The 1950 appearances and goals made for Metalul București are unavailable.

References
  1. Ion Voinescu. sports-reference.com
  2. "Ion Voinescu". European Football. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  3. Ion Voinescu at National-Football-Teams.com
  4. "Saving grace: Europe's favourite goalkeepers". UEFA. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  5. ”Țop” Voinescu s-a stins! Fostul mare portar al Stelei și al naționalei avea 88 de ani. digisport.ro (in Romanian)
  6. Ion Voinescu , fostul portar al naționalei de fotbal, a murit. dcnews.ro (in Romanian)
  7. A murit fostul portar legendar al Stelei, Ion Voinescu. gsp.ro (in Romanian)
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Alexandru Apolzan		 Steaua captain
Unknown–Unknown		 Succeeded by
Gheorghe Constantin
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