Gheorghe "Gicu" Teodor Grozav (; born 29 September 1990) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a winger or an attacking midfielder for Liga III club Corona Brașov, which he captains.
Grozav started his senior career at his hometown club Unirea Alba Iulia in 2007. At the start of 2010, he moved abroad for the first time to Belgian side Standard Liège. Following a loan to Universitatea Cluj in the 2011–12 season, Grozav returned to Romania again at Petrolul Ploiești, with which he won a Cupa României trophy. His performances prompted another transfer abroad to Russian club Terek Grozny in the summer of 2013, spending several seasons there before moving frequently between teams in Romania, Turkey, and Hungary.
At international level, Grozav made his full debut for Romania in May 2012, scoring the only goal of a friendly win over Switzerland. He has since totalled over 30 matches for his country.
Club career
Unirea Alba Iulia Grozav started his career at his hometown club Unirea Alba Iulia, playing his first match in the 2007–08 Liga II season. In the summer of 2009, after two years in the Romanian Liga II, Grozav wanted to score a move away at Standard Liège as a free agent. He was later forced by UEFA to sign for another three years with the club for which he was a junior.
On 1 September 2009, Gicu Grozav made his Liga I debut in a 1–0 defeat against FC Brașov.
Standard Liège László Bölöni eventually brought Grozav to Belgium in January 2010, signing for Standard Liège for an undisclosed fee, whilst Unirea Alba Iulia retained 15% of the players rights. He got limited playing time in his first two years with the team, only making 15 league appearances.
For the 2011–12 season Grozav was transferred to Liga I team Universitatea Cluj on a one-year loan move. He refound his form here as he helped his team to an eighth-place finish.
Petrolul Ploiești In the summer of 2012 Gicu Grozav signed a three-year contract with Petrolul Ploiești after a number of his teammates also signed with the Yellow Wolves. On 8 August 2013, he scored the decisive goal against Dutch outfit Vitesse Arnhem in the 95th minute to make sure Petrolul Ploiești progressed to the Europa League last preliminary round for the first time in the club's history. On 25 August 2013, Grozav scored a consolation goal with an overhead kick against Swansea City in the play-off.
Terek Grozny On 28 August 2013 he joined the Russian Premier League side Terek Grozny for a rumoured fee of €2.1 million.
On 2 February 2015, Grozav once again returned to Romania, signing for Dinamo București on loan.
Turkey On 27 July 2017, Grozav joined Turkish Süper Lig side Kardemir Karabükspor on a three-year contract. On 19 August, he scored on his league debut for the club in a 3–1 home win over İstanbul Başakşehir.
Grozav was signed by Bursaspor on a six-month contract with the option of another two years on 17 January 2018.
Return to Dinamo București On 2 October 2018, Grozav re-signed for Dinamo București. He was released from his contract on 2 November.
Hungary On 16 January 2019, Grozav signed for Kisvárda. On 31 March 2020, Kisvárda terminated Grozav's contract when he and teammate Iasmin Latovlevici left for Romania without permission during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Return to Petrolul Ploiești
On 14 June 2022, Petrolul Ploiești announced that Grozav would be returning to the club and commence training the following day.
International career Grozav made his debut for the senior team in a friendly match against Switzerland on 30 May 2012, where he scored the winning goal. This was the first-ever goal scored for the full side by a player born after the Romanian revolution. On 12 October 2012, Grozav netted the only goal of a 1–0 victory over Turkey at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium.
Personal life Grozav's uncle, Cornel Țălnar, also played football for Dinamo București, Petrolul Ploiești and Unirea Alba Iulia. In May 2022, he married handballer Sorina Tîrcă.
Career statistics
Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsUnirea Alba Iulia2007–08Liga II15621——1772008–09Liga II31600——3162009–10Liga II16210——172Total621431——6415Standard Liège2009–10Belgian Pro League50—10—602010–11Belgian Pro League10000——100Total1500010—160Universitatea Cluj (loan)2011–12Liga I24610——256Petrolul Ploiești2012–13Liga I31950——3592013–14Liga I51005610117Total36105056104716Terek Grozny2013–14Russian Premier League7031——1012014–15Russian Premier League0000——002015–16Russian Premier League18230——2122016–17Russian Premier League21520——235Total46781——548Dinamo București (loan)2014–15Liga I11300—21134Karabükspor 2017–18Süper Lig14220——162Bursaspor2017–18Süper Lig80———80Dinamo București2018–19Liga I3010——40Kisvárda2018–19Nemzeti Bajnokság I14521——1662019–20Nemzeti Bajnokság I23700——237Total371221——3913Diósgyőr 2020–21Nemzeti Bajnokság I29812——3010MTK Budapest 2021–22Nemzeti Bajnokság I2660000—266Petrolul Ploiești2022–23Liga I381031——41112023–24Liga I38930——4192024–25Liga I391020——41102025–26Liga I38721——408Total15336102——16338Corona Brașov2026–27Liga III0020——20Career total4651043576631508118
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsRomania2012832013100201410201500201610201752201840201920Total315
Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Grozav goal + List of international goals scored by Gheorghe GrozavNo.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 30 May 2012 Swissporarena, Lucerne, Switzerland 1 1–0 1–0 Friendly2 15 August 2012 Stožice, Ljubljana, Slovenia 3 3–4 3–4 Friendly3 12 October 2012 Şükrü Saracoğlu, Istanbul, Turkey 6 1–0 1–0 2014 World Cup qualification4 9 November 2017 Dr. Constantin Rădulescu, Cluj-Napoca, Romania 22 1–0 2–0 Friendly5 2–0
Honours Unirea Alba Iulia Liga II: 2008–09
Standard Liège Belgian Cup: 2010–11
Petrolul Ploiești Cupa României: 2012–13 Supercupa României runner-up: 2013
References
External links