Ionel Ganea

Early career

Ganea was born on 10 August 1973 in Făgăraș, Romania and began playing senior-level football in 1992 at Divizia B side ICIM Brașov. Two years later, coach Ioan Nagy brought him to FC Brașov, giving him his Divizia A debut on 20 August 1994 in a 3–1 away loss to Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț. In the middle of the 1995–96 season he was transferred to Universitatea Craiova with whom he reached the 1998 Cupa României final, being used by coach José Ramón Alexanko the entire match in the 1–0 loss to Rapid București. He started the 1998–99 season by netting 17 goals in just 16 appearances for Gloria Bistrița, transferring in the middle of it to Rapid where he scored 11 more, helping them win the title and also being the top-scorer of the season.

VfB Stuttgart

Ganea was transferred in the summer of 1999 to VfB Stuttgart who paid €1.75 million to Rapid. He made his Bundesliga debut on 14 August when coach Ralf Rangnick used him as a starter in a 0–0 draw against Werder Bremen. He scored his first two goals for the club on 18 September in a 4–2 home win over MSV Duisburg, managing another brace on 14 December in a 3–1 success against Hansa Rostock. The team started the following season by winning the 2000 Intertoto Cup, a campaign in which he made two appearances. Afterwards, they played in the UEFA Cup, with Ganea scoring a brace in a 3–1 victory against Tirol Innsbruck, and then closing the score in a 2–2 draw against Feyenoord, helping his side reach the…

Ganea played 45 games and scored 19 goals for Romania, making his debut under coach Victor Pițurcă on 3 March 1999 in a friendly against Estonia, scoring both goals in a 2–0 win. He played five games in the successful Euro 2000 qualifiers in which he scored once in a 4–0 win over Azerbaijan and a brace in a 3–0 victory against Liechtenstein. He was used by coach Emerich Jenei in three games in the Euro 2000 final tournament, in all of them being sent on the field as a substitute. In the match against England, he scored in the last minutes of the game from a penalty the decisive goal of the 3–2 victory which helped Romania get past the group stage and reach the quarter-finals. There, he entered the field in the 54th minute to replace Viorel Moldovan in the eventual 2–0 loss to Italy. In July 2024, British tabloid newspaper, The Sun listed Ganea's penalty goal in England's top 18 disappointments suffered after winning the 1966 World Cup. He played seven games and netted once in a 1–0 win over Lithuania in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers. Afterwards, he made eight appearances in the Euro 2004 qualifiers where he scored a goal in both victories against Bosnia and Herzegovina, once in a 1–1 draw against Norway and his last goal for The Tricolours in a 4–0 success over Luxembourg. Ganea's last appearance for the national team occurred on 6 September 2006 when coach Pițurcă sent him in the 78th minute to replace Ciprian Marica in a 2–0 away win over Albania in the Euro 2008…

Ganea had his first coaching experience in 2009 when he was the assistant of Cornel Țălnar at Dinamo București. In 2010 he became the head coach of the club's satellite in the third league. After a short spell at Sănătatea Cluj, he had his only experience coaching abroad when in March 2012 he signed with Moldovan side Rapid Ghidighici where he coached compatriots Mădălin Militaru and Alexandru Bălțoi. In January 2013, Ganea had his first experience coaching in the Romanian top-league, Liga I when he came in charge of Universitatea Cluj which he managed to help avoid relegation. However, next season in September he was dismissed by the club's officials. At the beginning of the 2014–15 season he was appointed head coach at Rapid București with the objective of saving the club from relegation. In September 2014 after a 3–0 loss to Dinamo București and the team occupying a relegation position, the club owner Valerii Moraru replaced him with Marian Rada. With five rounds before the end of the 2014–15 Liga III season, Dunărea Călărași appointed him as head coach, Ganea managing to win all the games and gain promotion to Liga II. In the first half of the following season he led Dunărea to the first position, leaving afterwards to coach Liga I club, FC Voluntari which he led 11 rounds, being dismissed after a 2–0 loss to CS Universitatea Craiova. After a year and a half without an appointment, in April 2017, Ganea took charge of ASA Târgu Mureș but the spell was unsuccessful as the…

His son, George, is also a footballer. On 9 May 2025, Ganea was involved in a car accident. His two-year-old son, who was riding in the car with him, suffered a traumatic brain injury, and died on 6 June 2025.