Gheorghe Gruia

Gheorghe Gruia Marinescu (October 2, 1940 – December 9, 2015) was a Romanian handball player, coach and sports official. Born in Bucharest, Gruia won the gold medal in the 1964 World Handball Championship and the 1970 World Championship. In the 1972 Summer Olympics he won the bronze medal with the Romanian team and become the top scorer of the competition with 37 goals. He played as a right back and spent his entire professional career with Steaua Bucharest.[1]

Gheorghe Gruia
Gruia pictured in the 1970s
Personal information
Full name	Gheorghe Gruia Marinescu
Born	(1940-10-02)October 2, 1940 Bucharest, Romania
Died	December 9, 2015(2015-12-09) (aged 75) Mexico City, Mexico
Height	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Playing position	Right back
Number	10
Youth career
Years	Team
1958–1961	CCA Bucharest
Senior clubs
Years	Team
1961–1973	Steaua Bucharest
National team
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1962–1973	Romania	126	(636)
Teams managed
1978–1980	Mexico
1981–1985	Universitario Chiapas
1986–1989	Pumas UNAM
1988–1991	Mexico
Medal record Representing  Romania Men's handball Olympic Games 1972 Germany Team World Championship 1970 France Team 1964 Czechoslovakia Team 1967 Sweden Team World University Championship 1968 Germany Team

The International Handball Federation named him in 1992 "The Greatest Handball Player of All Times".[2]

Gruia resided in Mexico City, Mexico since 1978, where he worked as a coach and an official in this sport and is credited with popularizing this sport in the country.[3]

He died on December 9, 2015, in Mexico City following a heart attack.[4] Gruia is considered the 'father of handball' in Mexico.[5]

His daughter, Andreea, is a Mexican former telenovela actress who is known for playing in Spanish language telenovelas on Televisa.

Honours

Team

Steaua Bucharest

• 8× Romanian League Champion: 1963, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973
• European Cup Champion: 1968  Gold
  • Runner-up: 1971  Silver

National team

Romania

• 2× World Champion: 1964, 1970  Gold
• World Championship: 1967  Bronze
• Summer Olympic Games: 1972  Bronze

Orders

• Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv": 2009.[6]

References

1. "Gheorghe Gruia: La zurda rumana que dominó el mundo" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
2. "Handball World Mourns the Loss of Icon, Friend & Teacher". International Handball Federation. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
3. "Interviu cu Gheorghe Gruia" (in Romanian). Adevărul. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
4. "Doliu în sportul românesc. A murit Gheorghe Gruia, cel mai valoros handbalist român din toate timpurile". ProSport (in Romanian).
5. "Georghe Gruia Marinescu, el Pelé del handball" (in Spanish). Deportes UNAM. 12 December 2015. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
6. "Comunicat de presă" (in Romanian). old.presidency.ro. Retrieved 11 June 2009.

Bibliography

• Horia Alexandrescu, Gruia, Mister Handbal, Vivaldi, 2009 ISBN 978-973-150-033-1

External links

• Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Gheorghe Gruia". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03.