Retirement beckons for Petrescu
Tuesday 22 April 2003
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Dan Petrescu has announced that he will retire from professional football at the end of the season.
Golden generation
The vastly experienced former Romanian international - one of the golden generation of players who qualified for three successive FIFA World Cup finals - played 96 times for his country and earned a fine reputation abroad in Italy and England, but has decided to hang up his boots at the end of the season to concentrate on his coaching career.
Final decision
Currently working as a player and assistant coach at FC National Bucuresti, Petrescu was recently banned for a match after punching an opponent. He has experienced numerous disciplinary problems since returning to Romania last season, and this may have played a part in his decision to retire at the age of 35. "At the end of the season, I'll retire as an active player and I'll become only a trainer," he said. "This is the job which I want to have in the future."
Successful career
Having begun at FC Steaua Bucuresti the best part of 25 years ago, Petrescu grew to become one of the most celebrated and successful players in Romania. He played for Steaua until 1991, winning the league title and Romanian Cup twice, before moving to Italy where he played for Foggia Calcio and Genoa 1893.
English heritage
He subsequently moved to England, enjoying success at Sheffield Wednesday FC before making 150 appearances for Chelsea FC. He later spent brief spells with Bradford City FC and Southampton FC before deciding to return to Romania and National in the summer of 2002.
Last trophy
Petrescu's decision means that he has only seven more league games to play before retirement, but he could yet cap his final season with another Romanian Cup as National are in the semi-finals of the competition.
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