Victor Pițurcă: Difference between revisions
→Club career: Fixed typo Tags: canned edit summary Mobile edit Mobile app edit Android app edit |
→Career as coach: Fixed typo Tags: canned edit summary Mobile edit Mobile app edit Android app edit |
||
| Line 113: | Line 113: | ||
==Career as coach== |
==Career as coach== |
||
After playing for [[RC Lens|Racing Club de Lens]] during the 1989–90 season, Pițurcă called it a day and retired from professional football to take over as coach. His first appointment was with [[ |
After playing for [[RC Lens|Racing Club de Lens]] during the 1989–90 season, Pițurcă called it a day and retired from professional football to take over as coach. His first appointment was with [[CSA Steaua București|Steaua București]] in 1991, followed by another one with [[FC Universitatea Craiova|Universitatea Craiova]] in 1994, finishing second in the championship at the end of 1994–95 season. |
||
In 1996, he was named coach of the [[Romania national football team|Romania Under 21]] side, leading the team to its best performances ever, including a qualification to the Under 21 European Championship in 1998, hosted by Romania. |
In 1996, he was named coach of the [[Romania national football team|Romania Under 21]] side, leading the team to its best performances ever, including a qualification to the Under 21 European Championship in 1998, hosted by Romania. |
||
| Line 119: | Line 119: | ||
In 1998, he was appointed as [[Romania national football team|Romania]]'s manager and qualified the team to the [[2000 UEFA European Football Championship|2000 European Football Championship]]. However, despite finishing the qualification group undefetead, Pițurcă was sacked before even taking his squad to the [[2000 UEFA European Football Championship|Euro 2000]]. The reason was an argument he had had with [[Romania national football team|Romania]]'s best players, [[Gheorghe Hagi]] and [[Gheorghe Popescu]], both managed by Ioan Becali. Becali was Pițurcă's worst enemy because Pițurcă did not want to promote the players he managed to the national team, but he was great friends with [[Romanian Football Federation]] president [[Mircea Sandu]]. |
In 1998, he was appointed as [[Romania national football team|Romania]]'s manager and qualified the team to the [[2000 UEFA European Football Championship|2000 European Football Championship]]. However, despite finishing the qualification group undefetead, Pițurcă was sacked before even taking his squad to the [[2000 UEFA European Football Championship|Euro 2000]]. The reason was an argument he had had with [[Romania national football team|Romania]]'s best players, [[Gheorghe Hagi]] and [[Gheorghe Popescu]], both managed by Ioan Becali. Becali was Pițurcă's worst enemy because Pițurcă did not want to promote the players he managed to the national team, but he was great friends with [[Romanian Football Federation]] president [[Mircea Sandu]]. |
||
In December 1999 he took over as manager of [[ |
In December 1999 he took over as manager of [[CSA Steaua București|Steaua București]], winning the championship in 2001, but resigned in 2004 after an argument with the club's chairman, [[Gigi Becali]], who wanted to sack a player whom Pițurcă wanted to keep on the team. |
||
In December 2004 he was appointed manager of [[Romania national football team|Romania]] for the second time. At first Romania did well under his coaching, defeating several important European teams both in friendlies (Germany, Spain) and official matches (Czech Republic in Group 1 of the [[2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)#Group 1|2006 FIFA World Cup Qualification]] and the Netherlands in [[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group G|Group G of the UEFA 2008 Qualifying Round]]). |
In December 2004 he was appointed manager of [[Romania national football team|Romania]] for the second time. At first Romania did well under his coaching, defeating several important European teams both in friendlies (Germany, Spain) and official matches (Czech Republic in Group 1 of the [[2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)#Group 1|2006 FIFA World Cup Qualification]] and the Netherlands in [[UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group G|Group G of the UEFA 2008 Qualifying Round]]). |
||
| Line 129: | Line 129: | ||
Considering Romania's extremely poor performances in 2008 and 2009, the Romanian Football Federation released Victor Pițurcă from his job from the [[Romania national football team|Romania national team]] on 9 April 2009. A few weeks later, [[Răzvan Lucescu]] was appointed as his successor. |
Considering Romania's extremely poor performances in 2008 and 2009, the Romanian Football Federation released Victor Pițurcă from his job from the [[Romania national football team|Romania national team]] on 9 April 2009. A few weeks later, [[Răzvan Lucescu]] was appointed as his successor. |
||
In 2010, he had two short spells as manager at [[FC Steaua București| |
In 2010, he had two short spells as manager at [[FC Steaua București|FC Fcsb]] and [[FC Universitatea Craiova|Universitatea Craiova]]. |
||
On 14 June 2011, he returned for a third spell in charge of the [[Romania national football team|Romanian national team]]. |
On 14 June 2011, he returned for a third spell in charge of the [[Romania national football team|Romanian national team]]. |
||
Revision as of 14:12, 14 October 2019
 Pițurcă in June 2014. | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 8 May 1956 | ||
| Place of birth | Orodel, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Universitatea Craiova (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1970–1974 | Universitatea Craiova | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1974–1975 | Dinamo Slatina | 10 | (3) |
| 1975–1977 | Universitatea Craiova | 8 | (0) |
| 1977–1978 | Pandurii Târgu Jiu | 13 | (4) |
| 1978–1979 | Drobeta-Turnu Severin | 15 | (5) |
| 1979–1983 | Olt Scornicești | 98 | (28) |
| 1983–1989 | Steaua București | 174 | (137) |
| 1989–1990 | Racing Club de Lens | 28 | (4) |
| Total | 346 | (181) | |
| International career | |||
| 1985–1987 | Romania | 13 | (6) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1992 | Steaua București | ||
| 1994–1995 | FC U Craiova | ||
| 1996–1998 | Romania U–21 | ||
| 1998–1999 | Romania | ||
| 2000–2002 | Steaua București | ||
| 2002–2004 | Steaua București | ||
| 2004–2009 | Romania | ||
| 2010 | Steaua București | ||
| 2010 | FC U Craiova | ||
| 2011–2014 | Romania | ||
| 2014–2015 | Al-Ittihad | ||
| 2015–2016 | Al-Ittihad | ||
| 2019– | Universitatea Craiova | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Victor Pițurcă (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈviktor piˈt͡surkə]; born 8 May 1956) is a Romanian former professional football player and current manager of Universitatea Craiova. He is nicknamed "Satana" (Satan) by the press, something he calls remarkable.[1][2]
Club career
Pițurcă was born in Orodel, Dolj County. He joined Universitatea Craiova as a youth in 1970, aged 14, and four years later he was loaned to Dinamo Slatina, a club from Romania's Liga II, in order to gain more experience, before being called back to Craiova in 1975, making his debut for the team in November that year.
As he was not used much by Universitatea, Pițurcă left the club in 1977 to join Pandurii Târgu Jiu and then FC Drobeta Turnu-Severin, from where he was signed by FC Olt, thus returning to play in Liga I.
In 1983, he was requested by Steaua, helping the club to reach its highest peak in European football.
Pițurcă won with Steaua the European Cup in 1986, the European Supercup in 1987, and was semifinalist in the same competition losing to Benfica in 1988. During the 1988–89 season the team reached again the European Cup final, but loses to Milan. As for domestic performances, Pițurcă won the championship with Steaua București five times and the Romanian Cup four times.
At the end of the 1987–88 season he was the top scorer of Liga I and won UEFA's Bronze Boot.
A very funny moment happened in 1989 during the European Cup semifinal played by Steaua București against Galatasaray in İzmir when the Turkish side's goalkeeper relieved the ball hitting Pițurcă's back and from there the ball went straight into the goal. However, the goal was not validated because the referee did not see what happened.[3]
On 25 March 2008, he was awarded the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" medal — (The Order "The Merit for Sports Achievement") class II by the president of Romania, Traian Băsescu for his part in winning the 1986 European Cup Final.
International career
Despite being a prolific striker, Pițurcă only won 13 caps for Romania, scoring six times.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 June 1986 | 23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania |  Norway |
1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 4 June 1986 | 23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania | Norway |
2–0 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 8 October 1986 | Ramat Gan Stadium, Israel |  Israel |
1–1 | 4–2 | Friendly |
| 4 | 8 October 1986 | Ramat Gan Stadium, Israel | Israel |
4–1 | 4–2 | Friendly |
| 5 | 25 March 1987 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania |  Albania |
1–0 | 5–1 | UEFA Euro 1988 Qual. |
| 6 | 29 April 1987 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania |  Spain |
1–0 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 1988 Qual. |
Career as coach
After playing for Racing Club de Lens during the 1989–90 season, Pițurcă called it a day and retired from professional football to take over as coach. His first appointment was with Steaua București in 1991, followed by another one with Universitatea Craiova in 1994, finishing second in the championship at the end of 1994–95 season.
In 1996, he was named coach of the Romania Under 21 side, leading the team to its best performances ever, including a qualification to the Under 21 European Championship in 1998, hosted by Romania.
In 1998, he was appointed as Romania's manager and qualified the team to the 2000 European Football Championship. However, despite finishing the qualification group undefetead, Pițurcă was sacked before even taking his squad to the Euro 2000. The reason was an argument he had had with Romania's best players, Gheorghe Hagi and Gheorghe Popescu, both managed by Ioan Becali. Becali was Pițurcă's worst enemy because Pițurcă did not want to promote the players he managed to the national team, but he was great friends with Romanian Football Federation president Mircea Sandu.
In December 1999 he took over as manager of Steaua București, winning the championship in 2001, but resigned in 2004 after an argument with the club's chairman, Gigi Becali, who wanted to sack a player whom Pițurcă wanted to keep on the team.
In December 2004 he was appointed manager of Romania for the second time. At first Romania did well under his coaching, defeating several important European teams both in friendlies (Germany, Spain) and official matches (Czech Republic in Group 1 of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualification and the Netherlands in Group G of the UEFA 2008 Qualifying Round).
After topping their qualifying group (and thus qualifying for their first international tournament in 8 years), Romania was drawn in Group C at UEFA Euro 2008, alongside the Netherlands, Italy and France. At the time of the draw, these countries' respective Elo rankings among European teams were 1st, 2nd, 4th and 8th, and as such the group has been dubbed the competition's "group of death". After drawing their first two games against the finalists of the previous World Cup (0–0 against France, 1–1 against Italy), Romania lost 0–2 to the Netherlands, finishing the group in third place and thus being eliminated from the competition.
After Euro 2008, Romania showed an increasingly poor form in both friendly games and the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, where they had a slow start. In their first two official games after Euro 2008, Romania lost 0–3 against Lithuania at home and four days later secured a difficult 1–0 victory against the Faeroe Islands. Although many of the players which helped Romania qualify for the Euro 2008 missed these two matches, this was not accepted as a reasonable excuse for the extremely poor results by the Romanian media and public opinion. The next official match, against France, was considered decisive for Romania's qualification chances. Despite managing only a 2–2 tie, the team's performance was generally deemed satisfactory, and Pițurcă was offered one last chance to remain coach of the national team: to win both of the next two games in the qualifying group, against Serbia and Austria, within a four-day timespan. Romania eventually lost both matches (2–3 on 28 March 2009 against Serbia at home, 1–2 on 1 April against Austria away).
Considering Romania's extremely poor performances in 2008 and 2009, the Romanian Football Federation released Victor Pițurcă from his job from the Romania national team on 9 April 2009. A few weeks later, Răzvan Lucescu was appointed as his successor.
In 2010, he had two short spells as manager at FC Fcsb and Universitatea Craiova.
On 14 June 2011, he returned for a third spell in charge of the Romanian national team.
On 16 October 2014, he left the Romanian national team to sign a two-year deal with Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia.[4] In January 2015, he was heavily criticized for excluding Al-Ittihad's top stars Mohammed Noor and Hamad Al-Montashari due to disobeying training procedure. As of today, Noor has missed over 10 league matches, which was considered by Saudi journalists "way too far" for a punishment considering he is Al-Ittihad's longest tenured and most accomplished player. On 4 April 2015 before the decisive match between Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr, Pițurcă was seen shaking hands with Noor. On 10 May 2015 after four months, Noor and Al-Montashari returned.
Finally at the end of the season, Piturca's contract with Al-Ittihad was dismissed after a disappointing season, as he couldn't succeed to keep the team on the top three teams of the Saudi Premier league table. In addition, he failed to pass the semi-final round in the Saudi King's Cup.
On 22 August 2019 he signed a contract with his youth club Universitatea Craiova for 3 years.
Personal life
At Steaua București and FC U Craiova he coached his son, Alexandru who was a striker.[5][6][7] He is the cousin of Eugen Neagoe.[8][9]
Honours
Player
- Steaua Bucharest
- Romanian League: 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89
- Romanian Cup: 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89
- European Supercup: 1986
- European Cup: 1985–86
- Runner-up: 1988–89
Individual
- Divizia A Top Scorer: 1987–88 (34 goals)
- European Bronze Boot: 1987–88[10]
Manager
- Steaua Bucharest
Managerial statistics
- As of 10 March 2016
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Universitatea Craiova | 
|
1994 | 1995 | 34 | 21 | 5 | 8 | 61.76 |
| Romania |
|
1998 | 1999 | 16 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 56.25 |
| Steaua București |
|
2000 | 2002 | 60 | 32 | 14 | 14 | 53.33 |
| Steaua București |
|
2002 | 2004 | 52 | 31 | 15 | 6 | 59.62 |
| Romania |
|
2004 | 2009 | 46 | 27 | 7 | 12 | 58.70 |
| Steaua București |
|
2010 | 2010 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Universitatea Craiova |
|
2010 | 2010 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 43.75 |
| Romania |
|
2011 | 2014 | 36 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 50.00 |
| Al-Ittihad | 
|
2014 | 2015 | 23 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 52.17 |
| Al-Ittihad |
|
2015 | 2016 | 26 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 53.85 |
| Total | 311 | 173 | 69 | 69 | 55.63 | |||
References
- ^ Brown, Paul (10 June 2008). "Satan right little devil!". Daily Star. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
- ^ "Piturca este mandru de porecla Satana! Vezi de unde vine:" [Piturca is proud of his "Satan" nickname! See where it came from:]. March 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ Pițurcă against Galatasaray 1989 on YouTube. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
- ^ "Pițurcă and Romania part ways for third time". UEFA. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- ^ "Alexandru Piţurcă: "Nu mă compar cu tata!"" [Alexandru Piţurcă: „I can't compare myself with my father!“] (in Romanian). prosport.ro. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
- ^ "Alexandru Piţurcă, program separat de pregătire: "Tata e dur cu mine"" [Alexandru Piţurcă, separate training schedule: "My father is ruff with me"] (in Romanian). Retrieved 8 October 2017.
- ^ "SPECIAL Situaţie de gradul I în Liga 1. Ce a realizat Silviu Lung jr. prin câştigarea titlului cu Astra. De la fraţii Vâlcov, la fraţii Costea şi familia Piţurcă" [SPECIAL First grade situation in Liga 1. What Silviu Lung jr. accomplished by winning the title with Astra. From the brothers Vâlcov to the brothers Costea and the Piţurcă family] (in Romanian). prosport.ro. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
- ^ "Vărul lui Piţurcă este antrenor la Sepsi" (in Piţurcă's cousin is coach at Sepsi). monitorulexpres.ro. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ "Neagoe, înlocuit de vărul Piţurcă?" (in Neagoe and replaced by his cousin Piţurcă?). evz.ro. 13 December 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ Arotaritei, Sorin; Di Maggio, Roberto; Stokkermans, Karel (16 August 2016). "Golden Boot ("Soulier d'Or") Awards". RSSSF. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
External links
- Victor Pițurcă at National-Football-Teams.com
- Victor Pițurcă at RomanianSoccer.ro (archived) (in Romanian)
- Profile at SteauaFC.com Template:Ro icon
- 1956 births
- Living people
- Romanian footballers
- Association football forwards
- People from Dolj County
- CS Universitatea Craiova players
- CS Pandurii Târgu Jiu players
- FC Drobeta-Turnu Severin players
- FC Olt Scornicești players
- FC Steaua București players
- RC Lens players
- Romania international footballers
- Romanian football managers
- FC Steaua București assistant managers
- FC Steaua București managers
- FC U Craiova 1948 managers
- Romania national football team managers
- Ittihad FC managers
- CS Universitatea Craiova managers
- Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia
- UEFA Euro 2008 managers
- Romanian expatriates in Saudi Arabia