Ilie Greavu

Ilie Greavu (19 July 1937 – 1 April 2007) was a Romanian football defender and manager who spent the majority of his playing career with Rapid București and was part of the team that won the 1966–67 Divizia A title.

Club career

He was nicknamed Cauciuc ("Rubber") because his legs were compared to rubber due to their remarkable elasticity, as shown by his ability to leap 1.2 meters into the air. Greavu began playing football in 1952 with local club Progresul Sibiu, before moving to Progresul CPCS București in 1955, where he played in Divizia B.

He helped Rapid win the 1966–67 Divizia A title, the club's first championship, making 25 appearances under coach Valentin Stănescu. After the final game of the season against Petrolul Ploiești ended in a 0–0 draw and secured the point that mathematically crowned Rapid champions, Greavu recalled: "I played the last thirty minutes with a lump in my throat. Every minute we got closer to the title seemed endless. That half hour was the hardest exam of my life." During his 14-season spell with The Railwaymen, he also won the 1957 Cupa Primăverii and two Balkans Cups in 1964 and 1966. In the 1968 final, he was coached by Stănescu as Rapid lost to Dinamo București.

He made his last Divizia A appearance on 5 June 1971 in a 3–1 home loss to Steagul Roșu Brașov, totaling 294 appearances with one goal in the competition. He featured in six matches during the 1966 World Cup qualifiers.

Later life and death After retiring, Greavu worked at Rapid București as vice-president from 1972 to 1974. He also served as both head coach and assistant coach of the senior team, as well as coach of the club's youth center, where he helped develop generations of players, including Stelian Marin, Ion Ion, Iosif Damaschin, Marian Rada and Daniel Niculae.

In 2004, Greavu had both legs amputated following health complications related to severe arthritis and diabetes. He died on 1 April 2007, at the age of 69, after suffering a heart attack.

Honours Rapid București Divizia A: 1966–67 Cupa României runner-up: 1960–61, 1961–62, 1967–68 Balkans Cup: 1963–64, 1964–66 Cupa Primăverii: 1957