Gheorghe Gruia
# Gheorghe Gruia

Gheorghe Gruia Marinescu (October 2, 1940 – December 9, 2015) was a Romanian handball player, coach and sports official. Born in Bucharest, Gruia won the gold medal in the 1964 World Handball Championship and the 1970 World Championship. In the 1972 Summer Olympics he won the bronze medal with the Romanian team and become the top scorer of the competition with 37 goals. He played as a right back and spent his entire professional career with Steaua Bucharest.

The International Handball Federation named him in 1992 "The Greatest Handball Player of All Times".

Gruia resided in Mexico City, Mexico since 1978, where he worked as a coach and an official in this sport and is credited with popularizing this sport in the country.

He died on December 9, 2015, in Mexico City following a heart attack. Gruia is considered the 'father of handball' in Mexico.

His daughter, Andreea, is a Mexican former telenovela actress who is known for playing in Spanish language telenovelas on Televisa.

## Honours

### Team

**Steaua Bucharest**

* 8× Romanian League Champion: 1963, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973
* European Cup Champion: 1968 Gold
   * Runner-up: 1971 Silver

### National team

**Romania**

* 2× World Champion: 1964, 1970 Gold
* World Championship: 1967 Bronze
* Summer Olympic Games: 1972 Bronze

### Orders

* Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv": 2009.
