Gogu Tonca (2 May 1947 – 23 October 2010) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n footballer who played as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

and a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Career

Gogu Tonca was born on 2 May 1947 in

Bucharest 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 ...

and started practicing

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

before reorienting towards football at the junior squads of Steaua București. In 1966 he made his

Divizia A The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It is the country's top ...

debut under coach Ștefan Coidum in a 1–0 loss against

Dinamo București A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterin ...

. After playing in the first seasons at

Jiul Petroșani Jiul may refer to these places in Romania: * the River Jiu ( + ) ** Jiul de Vest ** Jiul de Est The Jiul de Est ("Eastern Jiu", previously also known as ) is a headwater of the river Jiu in Romania. Its source is in the Șureanu Mountains. At ...

as a right or left defender, Tonca started to play alongside

Andrei Stocker Andrei Stocker (born 22 November 1942) is a Romanian former footballer who played as a central defender and a referee. Career Andrei Stocker, nicknamed "Keke" was born on 22 November 1942 in Aninoasa, his parents being Transylvanian Saxon miner ...

in the central defense, where they became known for their tough way of playing, being considered by some as the most aggressive couple of defenders in

's history. Tonca in particular was known for his way of approaching his opponents before the start of home games, by going at them and telling them to not be so ambitious in their play if they don't want to be tackled hard, as he has four kids who are waiting for him at home and he needs to win the game and receive the victory money in order to provide for them. He appeared in 176

matches for Jiul, played two

Cupa României The Cupa României ( en, Romanian Cup) is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. I ...

finals, winning one and made two appearances in the double against

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

in the 1974–75 European Cup Winners' Cup in which he scored a goal in the 2–0 home victory of the second leg as the team lost with 3–2 on aggregate. In 1976, Tonca went to play for one year at

team

Corvinul Hunedoara Clubul Sportiv Corvinul 1921 Hunedoara, commonly known as Corvinul Hunedoara or simply as Corvinul, is a Romanian football club based in Hunedoara, Hunedoara County, currently playing in the Liga III. Founded in 1921 under the name of ''Fero Spo ...

, moving in 1977 at

Minerul Lupeni Clubul Sportiv Viitorul Minerul Lupeni, commonly known as Minerul Lupeni, is a Romanian football club based in Lupeni, Hunedoara County which competes in Liga IV – Hunedoara County, the fourth tier of the Romanian football league system. Estab ...

Divizia B The Liga 2, most often spelled as Liga II, is the second level of the Romanian football league system. The league changed its name from Divizia B just before the start of the 2006–07 Liga II, 2006–07. It is currently Sponsor (commercial), sp ...

where he ended his playing career. After he retired from his playing career, Tonca started working as an assistant for his former teammate,

Petre Libardi Petre Libardi (27 August 1942 – 14 August 2005) was a Romanian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Club career Petre Libardi was born on 27 August 1942 in Câmpulung-Muscel and started playing football at Minerul Câmpulung. He ...

, shortly after he became head coach of the team and he also coached

. His nephew, Andrei Tonca was also a footballer who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

, among other teams. Gogu Tonca died on 23 October 2010.

Honours

Jiul Petroșani *

: 1973–74, runner-up 1971–72

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonca, Gogu 1947 births 2010 deaths Romanian footballers Association football defenders Liga I players Liga II players CSM Jiul Petroșani players CS Corvinul Hunedoara players CS Minerul Lupeni players Romanian football managers CSM Jiul Petroșani managers Footballers from Bucharest