Article by Remus Dinu – Published Monday, October 27, 2025, 5:00 p.m. / Updated Monday, October 27, 2025, 5:00 p.m.
As the current course of the Rapid outranks the one from the “Șumudica era,” Ion Dumitru, 75 years old, suggests to the rapidist supporters to leave aside Gâlcă's stellar past and offer unconditional support to the technician installed by Șucu in the summer.
“Rapidists should understand that not only the roots can train”
Gâlcă, former football player at Steaua, later champion with FCSB as a coach, was received with reluctance in Giulesti precisely because of the red-blue origins that “Costelinho” never renounced.
“Rapid no longer has big personalities in the team, but it has talented players, it has young people with great perspective.
And Gâlcă has shown where he has been that he is a skilled coach. I believe that although it has no rapidist roots, rapidists must understand that not only roots can train.
Fast champion? Why not! “, said Liță Dumitru, in an extended interview given to Gazeta the other day. The former great midfielder also expressed his belief that “those from FCSB will return to the championship”.
Liță Dumitru returned to Rapid in 1986
The origins of Liță Dumitru are white-cherry
Liță Dumitru played for Rapid between 1967 and 1972, a period in which he scored 110 matches in the championship and scored 11 goals. Ion Dumitru also trained Giulești twice. First, between 1987 and 1988, and then between 1996 and 1997.
Dumitru won the Grant Cup with the team in the 1971-1972 season and was on the pitch in Rapid's memorable 2-0 victory over Napoli in the UEFA Cup, a match in which he also scored. It was the first time in history that a team from Romania eliminated a team from Italy.
18 years oldhad Liță Dumitru at the time of his debut in League 1, which happened in March 1968, in the shirt of Rapid
Does Gâlcă achieve what other “heavyweights” could not? Dan Petrescu resorted to a gesture that remained memorable, but it did not last long in Giulesti
At the beginning of his career, Dan Petrescu took over Rapidul in 2003, at that time the newly crowned champion of Romania. He only lasted four months in Giulesti, six matches to be exact. It was the first failure of his coaching career.
An episode that made waves during the mandate was the moment when the star player Dan Petrescu kissed the flag of Rapid, at the presentation of the team, right on Giulești, thus provoking the anger of the star supporters.
9 stages at Rapid convinced Anghel Iordănescu: “I was naive when I signed with Copos”
As for Anghel Iordănescu, “Tata Puiu” was dismissed from Rapid after 1-1 in Giulesti with Ceahlăul, in the tenth stage of the 2000-2001 season, a week before the derby with Steaua. At that time Rapid was in a disappointing 9th place, with a rather poor record: 3 wins, 4 draws and 3 defeats.
Iordănescu was then replaced by Mircea Rednic.
Anghel Iordănescu and Gigi Corsicanu', at that time leader of the rapidist gallery
I was naive when I signed with Mr. Copos. If in other situations I also knew what the boss of the team eats, when I was at Rapid I tried to find out from the one who was before me what Mr. Copos thinks, how he works, and yet I “stole” it too. However, I survived 9 stages. I don't hold any grudges now, I have great respect for him, but I was naive
– Anghel Iordănescu, in 2011, recalling the mandate from Rapid
Șiti Dumitriu, Marcel Pușcaș and Gheorghe Constantin are other former coaches with a red-blue past who coached in Giulesti.
