President Klaus Iohannis has decorated on Monday former football legend, Ilie Balaci, with the National Order “Faithful Service” in the rank of Knight, post-mortem, for his talent for promoting for decades the value of football and the spirit of fair play among the young generations of footballers.
“As a sign of great appreciation and admiration for his remarkable football career, for the talent with which he has promoted for many decades the value of ‘football’ and the spirit of fair play among young generations of athletes, the President of Romania has decorated post-mortem footballer Ilie Balaci with the National Order ‘Faithful Service’ in the rank of Knight,” the decree signed by the head of state reads.
Former football legend Ilie Balaci passed away on Sunday at the age of 62, the Universitatea Craiova football club has announced on its Facebook page.
In Division A he played 347 matches and scored 84 goals for Universitatea Craiova (1973-1985), FC Olt Scorniceşti (1985-1986) and Dinamo Bucharest (1986-1988): 76 for Universitatea Craiova, 7 for FC Olt and one for Dinamo.
He has won 3 championship titles of Romania and 4 Romanian Cups with Universitatea Craiova, a team for which he has evolved for the most part of his career and before his retirement in 1988.