Grigore Ciupitu (born 13 September 1948) is a Romanian former footballer who started his career as a forward, but later played as a left defender and sweeper.
Career Ciupitu was born on 13 September 1948 in Bucharest, Romania and began playing junior-level football at local club Dinamo. In 1967, he started his senior career at Divizia C club Progresul Brăila, helping his side gain second-league promotion at the end of the season. A few years later, Ciupitu joined Petrolul Ploiești where he made his Divizia A debut under coach Constantin Cernăianu on 14 March 1971 in a 3–0 away loss to Politehnica Iași. At the beginning of his spell with The Yellow Wolves, Ciupitu formed a partnership in the offence with Mircea Dridea. However, he changed positions from forward to left back after Mihai Mocanu got injured. At the end of the 1973–74 season, Petrolul was relegated, but he stayed with the club for another half a year in Divizia B.
Ciupitu joined Universitatea Craiova in 1975. He played the entire match under coach Cernăianu in the 2–1 loss to Rapid București in the 1975 Cupa României final. Subsequently, he played in both legs in the 4–2 aggregate loss to Red Star Belgrade in the first round of the 1975–76 UEFA Cup. In 1976, Ciupitu went to play for a four-season spell at Jiul Petroșani. Afterwards, he made a comeback to "U" Craiova, being part of the "Craiova Maxima" generation. Ciupitu helped the club win the 1980–81 title, playing 20 matches under coach Ion Oblemenco. Following this success, they reached the quarter-finals in the 1981–82 European Cup by eliminating Kjøbenhavns Boldklub, with Ciupitu playing two games in the campaign, being defeated by Bayern Munich. He also made two appearances in the 1982–83 UEFA Cup, including the 0–0 draw in the first leg of the semi-final against Benfica, as the team got eliminated after 1–1 on aggregate on the away goal rule.
In 1983, Ciupitu joined Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea. There, he made his last Divizia A appearance on 1 November 1983 in a 1–1 draw against his former side, "U" Craiova, totaling 320 matches with 11 goals in the competition. Afterwards, he went to play for Divizia B club Constructorul Craiova. Ciupitu ended his career, after playing during the 1984–85 Divizia B season for Drobeta-Turnu Severin.
After retirement After he ended his playing career, Ciupitu coached Aurul Brad for a short while. Subsequently, he worked as a police officer.
Personal life In 2003, Ciupitu received the Honorary Citizen of Craiova title.
Honours Universitatea Craiova Divizia A: 1980–81 Cupa României runner-up: 1974–75
Notes
References
External links Grigore Ciupitu at Labtof.ro