| Cristian Gheorghe | |
| Birth Date: | 10 September 1956 |
| Birth Place: | Bucharest, Romania |
| Height: | 1.89 m |
| Position: | Goalkeeper |
| Youthyears1: | 1970–1972 |
| Youthclubs1: | Autobuzul București |
| Youthyears2: | 1972–1974 |
| Youthclubs2: | Argeș Pitești |
| Years1: | 1974–1986 |
| Caps1: | 272 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 1986–1988 |
| Caps2: | 51 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 1988 |
| Caps3: | 0 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 1989–1991 |
| Caps4: | 1 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Totalcaps: | 324 |
| Totalgoals: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 1977–1981 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 14 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Manageryears1: | 1999–2001 |
| Managerclubs1: | Dacia Pitești |
Cristian Gheorghe (born 10 September 1956) is a Romanian former football goalkeeper and manager.[1] [2]
Cristian Gheorghe was born on 10 September 1956 in Bucharest, Romania, starting to play junior level football in 1970 at local club, Autobuzul.[1] In the 1978–79 season he helped Argeș win the title, being used by coach Florin Halagian in 17 games, having to compete to be first-choice goalkeeper with Andrei Speriatu.[3] In the following season they passed AEK Athens in the first round of the 1979–80 European Cup where he kept a clean sheet in the 3–0 from the first leg but the team got eliminated in the following one by title holders and eventual winners, Nottingham Forest.[4]
In 1986 Gheorghe went at Sportul Studențesc, playing four games in the 1987–88 UEFA Cup campaign where in the second round they eliminated Peter Schmeichel and Brian Laudrup's Brøndby, losing the away game with 3–0 but managing to win the second leg with the same score, obtaining at the penalty shoot-out a historical qualification to the third round where the campaign ended in front of Italian side, Hellas Verona.[5]
In 1988 Gheorghe returned to Argeș for a short while but did not play in any league games, moving to Divizia B club, Gloria Bistrița which he helped earn promotion to the first league at the end of the 1989–90 season.[1] On 23 September 1990 he made his last Divizia A appearance in Gloria's 5–2 away loss in front of Universitatea Craiova, having a total of 324 appearances in the competition, also he played a total of 17 games in European competitions.[1]
Cristian Gheorghe played 14 games at international level for Romania, making his debut on 16 April 1977 under coach Ștefan Kovács, keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 home win over Spain at the 1978 World Cup qualifiers.[6] [7] He played two more games at the same competition, keeping another clean sheet in a 2–0 away victory over Yugoslavia but conceded two in a loss in front of Spain from the second leg.[6] Afterwards he played three games at the Euro 1980 qualifiers, managing to not concede goals in home wins with Cyprus and Norway.[6] Gheorghe's last two games for the national team were at the 1982 World Cup qualifiers, keeping a clean sheet in a 0–0 with rivals Hungary and conceding two goals in a loss with Switzerland.[6]
From 1999 until 2001 Gheorghe coached Dacia Pitești in Divizia B.[1] He mostly worked at Argeș Pitești's Center for Children and Juniors, forming and teaching players like Nicolae Dică, Andrei Mărgăritescu and Leonard Manole.[1] [2]
Argeș Pitești
1978–79Gloria Bistrița