Ionel Ganea: goals, flashpoints and a recent family tragedy | OneFootball

Ionel Ganea was a brief but memorable figure at Wolves, one of the club’s early Premier League scorers. He also endured a recent family tragedy.

As reported by ExpressAndStar.com, he joined in December 2003 with hopes he might keep Wolves up, but he did not. He scored three Premier League goals and seven in 32 across two seasons, his second-tier campaign hampered by injuries. He later coached and managed in Romania.

He came through in Romania, moved to Stuttgart in 1999 and featured at Euro 2000. A stint in Türkiye preceded his Molineux move after cancelling his deal.

Trouble followed him. At FC Brasov he assaulted the captain and kicked a team-mate. In Germany he hurled an ice cream at coach Felix Magath and clashed with Sol Campbell at Euro 2000.

In 2004 against Scotland his challenge left Celtic defender John Kennedy sidelined for three years before retirement. Steven Gerrard later wrote of a severe tackle, and Ganea responded with a contemptuous put-down.

At Wolves he said in 2006 that Glenn Hoddle was his most difficult manager, and he was fined a week’s wages after a training-ground fight. Back in Romania he received a 22-match ban, later cut to 16, for attacking an assistant referee.

Other episodes included a near-confrontation with a priest at Ioan Dragan’s funeral and a row in his coaching days with a female journalist who allegedly threatened him. Last year he was involved in a car crash with his two-year-old son, who died a month later.

Source: ExpressAndStar.com