Miodrag Belodedici

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Personal information
Miodrag Belodedici
Full name	Miodrag Belodedici
Date of birth	May 20, 1964 (age 42)
Place of birth	Socol, Romania
Nickname	Belo
Playing position	Libero
Youth clubs
1978-82	Minerul Moldova Nouă
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1982-88 1989-92 1992-94 1994-95 1995-96 1996-98 1998-01	Steaua Bucureşti Red Star Belgrade Valencia CF Real Valladolid Villarreal CF CF Atlante Steaua Bucureşti	167 (15) 63 (3) 48 (0) 31 (0) 16 (0) 65 (3) 69 (6)
National team²
1984-00	Romania	55 (5)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of June 30, 2006. ² National team caps and goals correct as of June 30, 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Miodrag Belodedici (the usual Romanian spelling of Belodedić; b. May 20, 1964) is a former Romanian football (soccer) defender. He was nicknamed the Deer due to his elegant tackles.

1 Biography
2 Honours

[edit] Biography

Belodedici was born in a family of Serbian ethnicity in the village of Socol, near the border with Serbia.

[edit] Club career prior to 1988

He joined the youth squad of Minerul Moldova Nouă in 1978, where his first coach was Olimp Mateescu. Three years later, he was selected to play for Luceafărul Bucureşti, a team formed by the Romanian Football Federation for the purpose of gathering all talented young players in the country in one squad. From Luceafărul, Belodedici was signed by Steaua Bucharest, after being selected by the club's chairman Ion Alecsandrescu after a search for an adequate sweeper.

Between 1982 and 1988, Belodedici had a rewarding career with Steaua, winning the Romanian championship in 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988, the Romanian Cup in 1985, 1987 and 1988, as well as the European Cup in 1986, the European Supercup in 1987, and played the European Cup semifinal in 1988 (see European Cup and Champions League finals). During this period, Belodedici made his debut for the Romanian national team in 1984, playing in 18 other games and scoring four goals. During the time, Belodedici became frustrated in his ambitions to play for Red Star Belgrade, the team he supported in childhood, as the communist regime did not allow players to transfer abroad.

[edit] In Yugoslavia

In 1988, when the Nicolae Ceauşescu regime was still in power, he defected from his home country to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

He later gave an account of his escape to Belgrade: once he had seen himself in the city, Belodedici contacted the president of Red Star, but could not get trough due to widespread commotion in the team over the team's defeat in the derby with Partizan Belgrade. A Serbian friend attempted to have Belodedici agree to sign for Partizan instead, but Belodedici insisted that he would only play for Red Star. The president interrupted their conversation, and, when he realized that he was in fact the 1986 European Cup winner, he immediately signed him on the team as they where in need of a sweeper.

However, during his first year he had to play without a legal contract, and only in friendy matches, as the Romanian authorities forged his professional player contract, and UEFA suspended him for one year on the basis of data furnished. The Ceauşescu regime found him guilty of treason and sentenced him to ten years of prison in absentia. After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, all charges were dropped, and Belodedici returned to Bucharest.

[edit] Club career after 1989

In 1989, Belodedici was given the green light to play for Red Star Belgrade, and soon after became a permanent fixture on the squad. In 1991, he won the European Cup for the second time, scoring a penalty in the final against Olympique de Marseille, during the penalty shoot-out. As a result, important European football showed a keen interest to sign him. He was a sought after by Sampdoria Genova, but signed with Valencia CF instead. During the period, Belodedici was called to play for the Romania national football team for the first time in four years.

After only two years at Valencia CF, Belodedici signed with Real Valladolid, and then with Villarreal CF in the 1995, leaving Spain to Mexico in 1996 to play for CF Atlante. In 1998, he returned to Steaua, and won another Romanian championship in 2001 and the Romanian Cup in 1999.

Currently, Belodedici works for the Romanian Football Federation, where he coordinates Romania's national youth teams.

[edit] Honours

with Steaua Bucharest
- European Cup: 1986
- European Supercup: 1987
- Romanian championship: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2001
- Romanian Cup: 1985, 1987, 1988, 1999

with Crvena Zvezda Beograd
- European Cup: 1991
- Intercontinental Cup: 1991
- Yugoslav championship: 1990, 1991, 1992
- Yugoslav Cup: 1990

	Romania squad - 1994 FIFA World Cup Quarter-finalists
1 Prunea \| 2 Petrescu \| 3 Prodan \| 4 Belodedici \| 5 Lupescu \| 6 Popescu \| 7 Munteanu \| 8 Chiriţă \| 9 Răducioiu \| 10 Hagi \| 11 Dumitrescu \| 12 Stelea \| 13 Selymes \| 14 Mihali \| 15 Panduru \| 16 Vlădoiu \| 17 Moldovan \| 18 Gâlcă \| 19 Papură \| 20 Stîngă \| 21 Ivan \| 22 Preda \| Coach: Iordănescu