Eugen Trică

Universitatea Craiova

Trică was born on 5 August 1976 in the Romanian village of Teslui, where he spent his early years. He was raised mainly by his grandparents until age 7, when he moved to Craiova for school. Shortly after arriving in Craiova, his father noticed his talent when he saw him playing football in the neighborhood, so he took him to the youth center of local club Universitatea. Trică made his Liga I debut on 17 June 1995 under coach Victor Pițurcă in "U" Craiova's 5–4 loss to Electroputere Craiova. The club reached the 1998 Cupa României final where coach José Ramón Alexanko used him the entire match in the 1–0 loss to Rapid București. During this period he earned the nickname José after teammate Ionel Gane compared him to José Mari Bakero.

Steaua București

Trică joined Steaua București in 1998. He won the 1998–99 Cupa României after being introduced by coach Emerich Jenei in the final's overtime against Rapid, a match decided by a penalty shoot-out where he netted his spot kick. In the 2000–01 season, he also won the championship with The Military Men, being used by coach Pițurcă in 30 games in which he scored seven goals. Subsequently, he netted two goals in Steaua's 2–1 victory against rivals Dinamo București in the 2001 Supercupa României.

Litex Lovech, Maccabi Tel Aviv and CSKA Sofia

Trică joined Litex Lovech in 2003 where over the course of two seasons he scored 22 goals in 54 league matches. He helped the club win the 2004–05…

Trică was part of Romania's under-21 side that managed a first-ever qualification to a European Championship in 1998, which Romania subsequently hosted. In the final tournament that was composed of eight teams, coach Victor Pițurcă used him only in the 2–1 loss to Russia where he scored his side's goal, as they finished in last place. Trică played four games for Romania, making his debut on 3 March 1999 when coach Pițurcă introduced him in the 74th minute to replace Dennis Șerban in a 2–0 friendly victory against Estonia. His following game was a 1–0 win in a friendly against Ukraine. His last two were appearances in the successful Euro 2008 qualifiers, a 3–1 victory against Belarus and a 1–0 loss to Bulgaria.

Trică started his coaching career in 2012 at Juventus București, after which he coached various other teams in Romania and abroad, including as an assistant coach. His biggest achievements were a runner-up position in a Cupa României final with CFR Cluj, and earning two promotions from the third league to the second and then from the second to the first with FC U Craiova.

Trică was married to Lorena, daughter of Ilie Balaci, one of Romania's best football players. They divorced in 2015. Their son, Atanas Trică, is also a footballer.