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Midfielder Ilie Dumitrescu had been one of the stars of the 1994
World Cup when he made the £2.6m move from Steaua Bucharest to Tottenham
Hotspur that July. Spurs had struggled in the season just gone and
Dumitrescu was the first big name signing of Ossie Ardiles' summer
rebuilding programme, which also saw Jurgen Klinsmann and another
Romanian, Gheorghe Popescu, brought to White Hart Lane.
Dumitrescu
arrived amid unsavoury tabloid reports about his private life - which
were later proved unfounded - but initial signs on the pitch were much
more promising. Along with Klinsmann, Teddy Sheringham, Nick Barmby and
Darren Anderton, he became part of Tottenham's five-pronged attack,
nicknamed the 'Famous Five'. Starting on the left but with the freedom
to exchange positions with his fellow attackers, Dumitrescu was
particularly adept at taking on defenders, his quick feet and speed
along the ground allowing him to evade challenges with ease. Ilie got
off the mark in only his fourth appearance, but not with his feet - a
stunning diving header that helped to beat Ipswich Town 3-1 at Portman
Road (the photo above is during the game).
Although his
preference to cut inside on his right foot was seen as predictable by
critics, there was nothing predictable about his goal against Nottingham
Forest at White Hart Lane on 24th September. Picking the ball up on the
left hand side, the Romanian weaved in and out of the Forest tackles
before drawing the goalkeeper and firing a left footed shot into the
roof of the net from an acute angle. A similar run later earned a
penalty, although Sheringham's effort was saved and Spurs went on to
lose the game 4-1. Dumitrescu's only other two league goals for Spurs
came in another heavy defeat, 5-2 at Manchester City in October.
Though
he was undoubtedly skilful, Ilie's inactivity when opponents were in
possession was particularly exposed during Tottenham's disappointing run
of two league wins in eight games from mid September to the end of
October. The attacking formation had proved too open and Ardiles lost
his job. As his replacement Gerry Francis looked to mould a talented
group of players into a more solid unit, there was no room for anyone
without the required workrate and Dumitrescu fell out of favour after
only 13 starts. A loan spell at Sevilla followed, but Ilie returned to
London after the Spanish club refused to meet the asking price to make
the transfer permanent.
His luck didn't improve as 1995-96 got
underway and after only three more league starts for Tottenham, the
Romanian was sold to West Ham United for £1.5m in March 1996. Work
permit problems restricted him to a handful of appearances at Upton Park
and after further brief spells in Mexico with Club America and Atlanta,
and back at Steaua, it was clear that Dumitresu's failures abroad had
severely affected his confidence. He retired from professional football
in 1999, aged just 29. (Alex Voskou)
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