Florin Prunea
Florin Prunea (born 8 August 1968) is a Romanian former football goalkeeper. He was born in Bucharest and started his career for Dinamo București. His breakthrough came with U Cluj in the 1988/89 season. In 1991, he won with Universitatea Craiova both the title and the Romanian Cup. Later he was the first-choice goalkeeper for Dinamo București for six seasons. Prunea got 40 caps for the national team, and represented his country at the 1994 World Cup, Euro 1996, 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. In the 1994 World Cup, he replaced Bogdan Stelea as the goalkeeper in Romania's starting eleven after a devastating 1–4 loss against Switzerland, which shattered Stelea's confidence. Although Prunea kept a clean sheet in Romania's final group game against the USA, he performed rather badly in the Round of 16 game against Argentina, conceding an easy goal against Balbo in the 75th minute; however, due to splendid performances by Dumitrescu and Hagi, the result of the game was 3–2 for ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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București
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of the Danube River and the Bulgarian border. Bucharest was first mentioned in documents in 1459. The city became the capital of Romania in 1862 and is the centre of Romanian media, culture, and art. Its architecture is a mix of historical (mostly Eclectic, but also Neoclassical and Art Nouveau), interbellum (Bauhaus, Art Deco and Romanian Revival architecture), socialist era, and modern. In the period between the two World Wars, the city's elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite earned Bucharest the nickname of 'Paris of the East' ( ro, Parisul Estului) or 'Little Paris' ( ro, Micul Paris). Although buildings and districts in the historic city centre were heavily damaged or destroyed by war, earthquakes, and even Nicolae C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Romania National Football Team
The Romania national football team ( ro, Echipa națională de fotbal a României) represents Romania in international men's football competition and is administered by the Romanian Football Federation ( ro, Federația Română de Fotbal), also known as FRF. They are colloquially known as ''Tricolorii'' (The Tricolours). Romania is one of only four national teams from Europe—the other three being Belgium, France, and Yugoslavia—that took part in the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930. Including that participation, Romania have qualified for seven World Cup editions, the latest in 1998. The national team's finest hour came in 1994, when led by playmaker Gheorghe Hagi it defeated Argentina 3–2 in round of 16. This moved them on to the quarter-finals of the competition, where they were eliminated by Sweden on a penalty shoot-out. At the European Championships, Romania's best performance was in 2000 when they advanced to the quarter-finals from a group with Germany, Por ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tomas Brolin
Per Tomas Brolin (born 29 November 1969) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a forward or as a midfielder. At club level, he had a successful period with A.C. Parma during the early 1990s, winning the 1992 Coppa Italia, the 1993 Cup Winners' Cup, the 1993 UEFA Super Cup, and the 1995 UEFA Cup. He also represented Näsvikens IK, GIF Sundsvall, IFK Norrköping, Leeds, FC Zürich, Crystal Palace and Hudiksvall ABK during a career that spanned between 1984 and 1998. A full international between 1990 and 1995, Brolin won 47 caps and scored 27 goals for the Sweden national team and helped them finish third at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He was also a member of the Sweden squads that competed at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 1992, and 1992 Summer Olympics. He was the 1990 and 1994 recipient of Guldbollen as Sweden's best footballer of the year. 13 days before his 25th birthday in November 1994 he broke a bone in his foot leading to 5 months out of first team ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sweden National Football Team
The Sweden national football team ( sv, svenska fotbollslandslaget) represents Sweden in men's international football and it is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body of football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Friends Arena in Solna and the team is coached by Janne Andersson. From 1945 to late 1950s, they were considered one of the greatest teams in Europe. Sweden has made twelve appearances at the World Cup with their first coming in 1934. They have also made six appearances at the European Championship. Sweden finished second at the 1958 FIFA World Cup, which they hosted, and third in both 1950 and 1994. Sweden's other accomplishments also include a gold medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics, and bronze medals in 1924 and 1952. They also reached the semi-finals at UEFA Euro 1992, also while hosting. History Sweden has traditionally been a strong team in international football, with 12 World Cup appearances and 3 medals in the Olympics. The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gheorghe Hagi
Gheorghe "Gică" Hagi (; born 5 February 1965) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the owner and manager of Liga I club Farul Constanța. Deployed as an attacking midfielder, Hagi was considered one of the best players in the world during the 1980s and '90s, and is regarded by many as the greatest Romanian footballer of all time. Fans of Turkish club Galatasaray, with whom Hagi ended his career, called him "''Comandante''" ("The Commander"), while he was known as "''Regele''" ("The King") to Romanian supporters. Nicknamed "The Maradona of the Carpathians", he was a creative advanced playmaker renowned for his dribbling, technique, vision, passing and shooting. After starting his playing career in Romania, with Farul Constanța, and subsequently featuring for Sportul Studențesc and Steaua București, he later also had spells in Spain with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, Italy with Brescia, and Turkey, with Galatasaray; as such, Hagi i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ilie Dumitrescu
Ilie Dumitrescu (; born 6 January 1969) is a Romanian football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a winger who notably played in the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United, and in La Liga with Sevilla. He began and finished his career with Steaua București, had spells in Mexico with América and Atlante and had a brief loan spell with Olt Scorniceşti during the early stages of his career. He initially shot to fame when his frontline partnership with Gheorghe Hagi and Florin Răducioiu led the Romania national team to the 1994 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal. In eliminating Argentina en route, Dumitrescu scored twice in a 3–2 win, despite playing in an unfamiliar striker position with Răducioiu unavailable. Overall he was capped 62 times, scoring 20 goals and was also present at World Cup 90 and World Cup 98. Following retirement, Dumitrescu has had an extensive career as a manager in his native country as well as Greece a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Abel Balbo
Abel Eduardo Balbo (; born 1 June 1966) is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Estudiantes de La Plata. Balbo played for various clubs in Argentina and Italy during the course of his career. He was also an Argentine international. Club career Balbo was born in Empalme Villa Constitución, Santa Fe. At club level, Balbo played for Newell's Old Boys (1987–88), River Plate (1988–89), before moving to Italy and Udinese (1989–93), Roma (1993–98 and 2000–02), Parma (1998–99), and Fiorentina. He played four games for Boca Juniors before finally retiring. He scored a total of 138 goals in Serie A; his best seasons came in 1992–93 for Udinese and 1994–95 for Roma, with 22 goals in each of them. In 2000, Roma paid Fiorentina 1.75 billion Italian lire to re-sign him and offered him a two-year contract with 1.7 billion annual salary before tax. International career For Argentina, Balbo scored 11 goals i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Argentina National Football Team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina. Nicknamed ''La Albiceleste'' ('The White and Sky Blue'), they are the reigning world champions, having won the most recent World Cup in 2022. Overall, Argentina has appeared in a World Cup final six times; a record surpassed only by Brazil and Germany; Argentina played in the first ever final in 1930, which they lost 4–2 to their South American rival Uruguay. Argentina's next final appearance came 48 years later, in 1978, when the team captained by Daniel Passarella defeated the Netherlands 3–1 in extra time, being crowned world champions for the first time. Captained by Diego Maradona, Argentina won their second World Cup eight years later, in 1986, with a 3–2 final victory over West Germany. They reached the final once more under the guidance of Maradona, in 1990, but were ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United States Men's National Soccer Team
The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team has appeared in eleven FIFA World Cups, including the first in 1930, where they reached the semi-finals to finish third, the best result ever by a team from outside UEFA and CONMEBOL. They returned in 1934 and 1950, defeating England 1–0 in the latter, but did not qualify again until 1990. As host in 1994, the U.S. received an automatic berth and lost to Brazil in the round of sixteen. They qualified for the next five World Cups (seven consecutive appearances (1990– 2014), a feat shared with only seven other nations), becoming one of the tournament's regular competitors and often advancing to the knockout stage. The U.S. reached the quarter-finals in 2002, and controversially lost to Germany. In the 2009 Confederations Cup, the Ame ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Switzerland National Football Team
The Switzerland national football team (german: Schweizer Fussballnationalmannschaft, it, Nazionale di calcio della Svizzera, french: Équipe nationale suisse de football, rm, Squadra naziunala da ballape da la Svizra) represents Switzerland in international football. The national team is controlled by the Swiss Football Association. Switzerland's best performances at the FIFA World Cup were three quarter-final appearances, in 1934, 1938 and 1954. They hosted the competition in 1954, where they played against Austria in the quarter-final match, losing 7–5, which today still stands as the highest scoring World Cup match ever. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Switzerland set a FIFA World Cup record by being eliminated from the tournament despite not conceding a single goal, being eliminated by Ukraine after penalties in the round of sixteen. They did not concede a goal until a match against Chile at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, conceding in the 75th minute, setting a World Cup final ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bogdan Stelea
Bogdan Gheorghe Stelea (; born 5 December 1967) is a Romanian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and a current coach. Having played professionally into his 40s, he played for all three major Liga I clubs in his country's capital, and also spent a vast part of his career in Spain, mainly with Salamanca, also Stelea played nearly 100 times for Romania, and represented the nation in three World Cups and two European Championships. Club career Bogdan Stelea was born in Bucharest on 5 December 1967 and he started to play football at the age of 12 when he was brought by boxing coach, Dumitru Ion at the youth center of Dinamo București where he worked with Iosif Varga, also during his youth years he was teammate with future national team competitor, Florin Prunea. He made his Liga I debut on 20 November 1986 under coach Mircea Lucescu in a 2–0 victory against Oțelul Galați but shortly afterwards he was sent on loan for the second half of the season at Politehnica I ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2000 European Football Championship
The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a association football, football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was played between 10 June and 2 July 2000, and co-hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands, the first time the tournament had been held in more than one nation. Spain and Austria also bid to host the event. The finals tournament was contested by 16 nations; with the exception of the hosts, Belgium national football team, Belgium and the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands, the finalists had to go through a qualifying tournament to reach the final stage. France national football team, France won the tournament by defeating Italy 2–1 in UEFA Euro 2000 Final, the final, via a golden goal. The finals saw the first major UEFA competition contested in the King Baudouin Stadium (formerly the Heysel Stadium) since th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |