Place of birth Brasov, Romania Number 20 Name Gabriel Tamas Height 1.88 m Career start 1998 | Playing position Years Team Role Footballer Weight 79 kg | |
Full name Gabriel Sebastian Tamas Date of birth (1983-11-09) 9 November 1983 (age 32) Current teams Romania national football team (Defender), Cardiff City F.C. (#20 / Defender) | ||
Gabriel "Gabi" Sebastian Tamaș (born 9 November 1983) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays mainly as a central defender for Steaua București.
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Tamaș made his international debut for Romania in 2003. He has since gained over 60 caps and participated in one major tournament, the UEFA Euro 2008.
Club career
Tamaș started his career in lower divisions. In the summer of 2002 he transferred to Dinamo București who he spent a year with before earning a move to Turkish team Galatasaray where he spent a season-and-a-half before being linked with a move to the Russian Premier League.
Tamaș secured a move to Spartak Moscow in January 2004, but returned to Dinamo București in summer 2004 on a season-and-a-half loan, returning to Spartak in January 2006. Tamaș again moved out on loan to Celta de Vigo of Spain for the duration of the 2006–07 season.
He joined AJ Auxerre in France at the start of the 2007–08 season. After one year there he again joined Dinamo București, this time on a season-long loan. On 14 February 2009 he was sent to the reserve team due to an incident involving drinking alcohol in training. On 12 July 2009 he extended his loan for another season, and was also elected captain by his teammates.
His loan to Dinamo was cut short in December 2009, and on 1 January 2010, Tamaș signed for West Bromwich Albion on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut on 8 January in a 1–3 loss to Nottingham Forest. He scored his first goal for the Football League Championship club against Reading on 27 March 2010. On 19 May 2010, Tamaș signed permanently at The Hawthorns for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract, plus a further year's option in the club's favour. On 11 September 2011, in a match against Norwich City, he elbowed James Vaughan in the face inside his own penalty area. The referee gave no penalty and let the play continue, but he was given a three-match ban for violent conduct after the match.
He ended his contract with WBA by mutual consent, in September 2013. On 9 October 2013, Tamaș signed a one-year contract with Romanian Liga I club CFR Cluj. On 16 October, he ended his contract there following incidents in a local pub.
On 17 January 2014, he returned to England by signing for Doncaster Rovers. Upon the expiry of his contract, Tamaș signed for Watford on a one-year contract effective from 1 July.
After suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury in September 2014, Tamaș cancelled his contract with Watford in January 2015. On 15 January 2015 he signed a 2-year contract with Steaua București, the great historic rival of his former club Dinamo București. After a few months playing for Steaua București, he was dismissed because he drank a lot with a few friends and he was not able to come to training. Steaua's manager, Mirel Rădoi, said that Gabriel Tamaș lied to him, saying that his phone alarm didn't work.
On 26 August 2015, Tamaș joined Championship side Cardiff City on a one-year deal, with a further option to a second year. During the first half of the season, Tamaș only appeared for the development squad and wasn't involved in the first team at all from November, resulting in frustration and claiming he wanted to leave Welsh capital. He eventually made his first team debut in a FA Cup loss to Shrewsbury Town on 10 January. On 1 February 2016, his contract was terminated by mutual agreement. Tamas then returned to Steaua Bucuresti, albeit on a lower wage. His deal at Steaua was offered by the club's owner on the condition that Tamas addressed his issues with alcohol, and go to church every Sunday, which led some fans to make fun, saying that he only goes to church to drink the wine from communion.
International career
Tamaș made his debut for Romania on 12 February 2003, in a friendly match against Slovakia, under coach Anghel Iordănescu.
He was the captain of the Romanian U-21 team who finished third in its group in the 2006 UEFA U-21 Championship qualification.
He was an integral part of the Romanian squad that finished first in its group in the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying, usually playing alongside Dorin Goian in the central defence.
On 11 August 2011, Tamaș and his teammate Adrian Mutu were excluded from the Romanian national team. They were found drinking at a bar on the night of 10 August, while footballers had to play for the Romanian team against San Marino in a friendly match. After only three games, their suspension was lifted.
Club
Dinamo București
Steaua București
Individual
Club
Statistics accurate as of match played 1 March 2017