made his full debut for Romania on 22 September 1993, against Israel in a friendly. Called up for the 1994 FIFA World Cup he played three times during the tournament, against the United States in the group stage, in the famous 3–2 round-of-16 success against Argentina and in the penalty shootout defeat to Sweden in the last-eight. From 1996 to 2000, Gâlcă featured in over forty more international games for Romania, often pairing with Dorinel Munteanu in central midfield. During the qualifying phase for the 1998 World Cup the national side were undefeated in their ten group fixtures, drawing only once and netting 37 goals, with him scoring two. In those finals and UEFA Euro 2000 the country was beaten, respectively, in the last-16 and last-eight, as he started in every match. International goals (Romania score listed first, score column indicates score after each Gâlcă goal) Coaching career Established in Almería after his playing days, Gâlcă took up coaching in 2009–10, starting with Almería's B-team in the fourth tier. He was sacked on 19 January 2010, after a string of poor results. On 20 August 2013, Gâlcă was named head coach of Romania under-17s. He ended his contract in June 2014 and, also in that month, was appointed at league champions FC Steaua București on a two-year deal, replacing outgoing Laurențiu Reghecampf and leading the team to the double in his first and only season. On 14 December 2015, Gâlcă replaced former club teammate Sergio at the helm of Espanyol. His first game in charge took place the following day, a 2–1 home win against Levante UD for the Copa del Rey (3–2 on aggregate). The following 27 May, having led the Periquitos to 13th, his contract was not renewed. Gâlcă was hired by Al-Taawoun FC of the Saudi Professional League on 19 October 2016. For the following season, he moved to Al-Fayha FC in the same league. Having won once in nine games and with the club in the relegation zone, he was dismissed on 7 November 2017. On 6 March 2019, Gâlcă returned to European football with Vejle Boldklub, last-placed in the Danish Superliga. His team won the second tier in 2019–20, and survived on return to the top flight; he resigned in May 2021 due to disagreements with the board. Gâlcă returned to the Saudi top league on 10 December 2021, joining Al-Hazem F.C. after the dismissal