The past year or so has definitely been a rollercoaster ride for Florin Gardoș to say the least. From leaving his beloved club in București to spending almost seven entire months out of football without even kicking a ball.
Gardoș’ youth career began with Olympia Satu Mare in 1998 which is where he first developed his tigerish instincts as a defender and took a full blooded leadership role. He then used CSS Satu Mare, Florenta Odoreu and Somesul Sate Mare as stepping stones across the rocky land of Romania to gain a valuable experience of what playing as a Centre half was like. Of course the 27-year-olds 6 foot 4 inch frame didn’t exactly do him in any harm whilst learning the ropes of European football.
It was after this that Romanian first division outfit Concordia Chiajna decided to take a gamble on the young man handing him his first 51 apps for a professional club meanwhile netting once during this period of time. It was only a matter of years before the Romanian champions Steaeu Bucuresti came calling for the hot prospect and this is where his career really took off not only with the club but also internationally.
14 Romanian caps later and with 81 Steaeu apps in the bank he bagged 3 goals for the highly glorified team in eastern europe making scouts fully aware of just who Florin Gardos was. But just as things were looking up for the giant his career took a turn for the worst as he was suspended for 10 games after breaking the leg of Bâcilâ in 2011, however it is with no doubt in my mind that this was not Gardos’ intention as we have grown to love the gentle giants calm demeanour throughout his past year at St Marys.
After winning the Romanian Premier League (twice), the national cup and supercup it was time to seek pastures new for the fully fledged, mobile centre back. That new pasture turned out to be here, on the south coast of England signing a four-year-deal in the summer of 2014 as Southampton looked to restructure their squad following numerous departures. The fee was £6m which made some Saints fans ponder if this was money well spent on a unproven player, and after finding a break into the first team hard to come by that is a question still unanswered to some Saints fans.
His first Premier League appearance came in the 1-3 victory away at West Ham last season and after being used quite sporadically in his first season in England the devastating news broke at the beginning of the 2015/16 season that he was to sit 7 months out after suffering a knee injury in a 0-3 win over Feyenoord pre-season.
But in this present moment Gardos is turning over a new page in his career and is ready to bounce back with his never-say-die attitude. With news that Van Dijk has picked up a knock, has the opportunity for Gardos to make a first team appearance since March come too early? It would appear so but after a solid performance in the famous 0-1 victory at Man United it would appear that he is definitely capable of stepping up on the big stage.
His loving emotion towards the fans and the club certainly suggests the big Romanian is happy on the south coast of England and will have quite a part to play in the future of Southampton Football Club, possibly when we see the inevitable retirement of José Fonté.
So the real question is, what can he offer from here on in? Personally I believe he will have a big influence on the side when Fonté decides 90 minutes is becoming too much for him and I also believe a leadership role will be up his street to vocalise his instructions clearly to the rest of the team emulating the characteristics of the current captain.
His effect in the current season is expected to be minimal as the loan signing of Steven Caulker pushes him a little further down the pecking order, however if Caulker is to be sent back to QPR in January then a step up to Koeman’s plans will certainly be expected. How would you like to see Florin Gardos utilised this season?
