Ilie Bărbulescu

Bărbulescu, nicknamed "Balamuc" (Madhouse), was born on 24 June 1957 in Pitești, Romania and began playing junior-level football in 1971 at local club Argeș where he worked with coach Leonte Ianovschi. He made his Divizia A debut on 9 November 1974 under coach Florin Halagian in a 1–1 draw against FCM Reșița. In the 1978–79 UEFA Cup he helped Argeș eliminate Panathinaikos in the first round with a 5–1 aggregate victory. In the following one they met Valencia led by Mario Kempes, earning a 2–1 win in the first leg, but they lost the second one with 5–2, thus the campaign ended. In the same season he helped Argeș win the title, being used by coach Halagian in 30 games in which he scored one goal. In the following season they defeated AEK Athens in the first round of the 1979–80 European Cup, the team being eliminated in the following one by title holders and eventual winners, Nottingham Forest against whom Bărbulescu scored once. In 1982 he joined Olt Scornicești where he worked once again with Halagian. After one and a half years he went to play for Petrolul Ploiești. In 1984, Bărbulescu joined Steaua București, reuniting for a while with Halagian, helping the club win The Double in his first season as Halagian and Emerich Jenei used him in 30 league matches but did not play in the 2–1 victory in the Cupa României final over Universitatea Craiova. In the following season, he won the league title, scoring two goals in the 33 appearances given to him by Jenei. The coach also…

Bărbulescu played five games for Romania, making his debut on 13 May 1979 under coach Florin Halagian in a 1–1 draw against Cyprus in the Euro 1980 qualifiers. He also played in a 3–1 win over Turkey in the 1986 World Cup qualifiers which took place at the İzmir Atatürk Stadium. Afterwards he made his last appearance for the national team on 4 March 1987 in a friendly against Turkey which ended with another 3–1 victory, played at the Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium.

Bărbulescu was awarded the Honorary Citizen of Pitești title. On 25 March 2008 he was decorated by the president of Romania, Traian Băsescu with Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" — (The Order "The Sportive Merit") class II for his part in winning the 1985–86 European Cup.

Argeș Pitești

Divizia A: 1978–79 Steaua București

Divizia A: 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87 Cupa României: 1984–85, 1986–87 European Cup: 1985–86 European Supercup: 1986 Intercontinental Cup runner-up: 1986 Callatis Mangalia

Divizia C: 1989–90