| When Tottenham's five-man attacking system proved itself alarmingly
vulnerable to counter-attacks in the early part of 1994-95, manager
Ossie Ardiles brought in Romanian international Gheorghe Popescu to
bring security to an overworked back four. Able to play either as a
centre back or defensive midfielder, the £2.9m signing from PSV
Eindhoven was earmarked as the final piece in Ardiles' jigsaw, bringing
balance to the attacking talents of Klinsmann, Sheringham, Barmby,
Anderton and international team mate Ilie Dumitrescu.
Tall yet
elegant on the ball, Popescu was an intelligent reader of the game, able
to make crucial interceptions and start attacks from deep. He saw at
first hand the size of the task awaiting him when, in his league debut,
Spurs were beaten 4-1 by Nottingham Forest at White Hart Lane. It was
their third consecutive loss in the league, making the next game at
Wimbledon an even less inviting prospect. Popescu proved to be the hero,
but not in the way expected, when his low drive from just inside the
box secured a 2-1 win. However, Spurs continued to struggle defensively
and the writing was on the wall for Ardiles after a 5-2 defeat at
Manchester City in October.
The shape of the jigsaw changed when
the Argentine lost his job and Gerry Francis took over as manager in
November. Francis reverted to a more conservative 4-4-2 formation,
partnering Popescu with the clean-tackling David Howells in a solid
central midfield. Spurs kept five consecutive league clean sheets from
the middle of December through to mid-January, the pair providing the
basis for the team's newfound solidity. Popescu also got forward when he
could, scoring two more goals for the club. He got the decisive 4th in a
4-2 win against Newcastle United in December and famously swept home a
low Darren Anderton cross to beat Arsenal 1-0 in January.
Sadly,
Gheorghe missed much of the last two months of the season through
injury and Spurs again started to concede goals in his absence - four at
Southampton in April and three against Newcastle and Coventry City in
May. Their league form trailed away and they were outfought by Everton
in a hugely disappointing 4-1 defeat in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Popescu
had indicated during the season that he was not enjoying the
physicality of English football, so it was no surprise when the Romanian
agreed to join Barcelona in a £3m deal in the summer of 1995, after
only 23 league appearances in a Spurs shirt. Despite having the memory
of his derby winner, Popescu's departure came as a great disappointment
to Spurs fans, who had already seen that the Romanian had the class and
authority to be the world class holding midfielder the team had lacked
for years. (Alex Voskou)
1984–1990 Universitatea Craiova 103 (22)
1988 Steaua Bucureşti (loan) 13 (1)
1990–1994 PSV 109 (24)
1994–1995 Tottenham Hotspur 23 (3)
1995–1997 Barcelona 68 (9)
1997–2001 Galatasaray 111 (6)
2001–2002 Lecce 28 (3)
2002 Dinamo Bucureşti 8 (0)
2002–2003 Hannover 96 14 (1)
On 4th. March 2014 Gheorghe Popescu and seven others were convicted by a Romanian appeals court of money laundering and tax evasion in connection with the transfer of football players from Romania to other countries.
Popescu was sentenced to a jail term of three years and one month
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