- Anghel Iordănescu
Football manager infobox
playername = Anghel Iordănescu
fullname = Anghel Iordănescu
nickname = Tata Puiu ("Father Puiu")
Generalul ("The General")
dateofbirth = birth date and age|df=yes|1950|5|4
cityofbirth =Iaşi
countryofbirth =Romania
position =Striker
currentclub = Retired
youthyears = 1962-1968
youthclubs =Steaua Bucharest
years = 1968-1982
1982-1984
clubs =Steaua Bucharest OFI Crete
caps(goals) = 317 (155)
34 (6)
nationalyears = 1971-1981
nationalteam = Romania
nationalcaps(goals) = 64 (26)
manageryears = 1984-1986
1986-1990
1990-1992
1992-1993
1993-1998
1998-1999
1999-2000
2000-2001
2001-2002
2002-2004
2004-2006
2006
managerclubs =Steaua Bucharest (assist)Steaua Bucharest Anorthosis Famagusta Steaua Bucharest
Romania
GreeceAl-Hilal Rapid Bucharest Al Ain FC
RomaniaAl-Ittihad Al Ain FC
pcupdate = 26 September 2006
ntupdate = 30 June 2006Anghel Iordănescu (born 4 May 1950 in
Iaşi ) is a formerRomania n footballstriker , currently a football manager. In 2007 Iordănescu retired from football, and the following February, after his predecessor resigned, he became a member of theRomanian Senate , sitting on the Social Democratic Party benches. [ [http://www.cdep.ro/pls/parlam/structura.mp?idm=149&cam=1&leg=2004 Page] at the Romanian Parliament site.]On 25 March 2008 he was decorated by the president of
România ,Traian Băsescu with Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" — (The Order "The Sportive Merit") class II for his part in winning the of1986 European Cup Final .Career as player
Iordănescu was a bright striker with a well-developed scoring technique, who scored many goals and helped the teams he played for achieve impressive performances. In Romania he played only for Steaua Bucharest, a team he joined as a youth in 1962, aged 12. Six years later he made his first appearance in
Steaua 's first team, followed by his first appearance for Romania in 1971.In Romania he played only for Steaua Bucharest between 1968 and 1982. During this period of time he scored a massive 146 goals, being the team's best scorer in its whole history.
With Steaua, Iordănescu won two championships (in 1976 and 1978) and four
Romanian Cup s (in 1970, 1971, 1976, and 1979). In 1981-82 he wasDivizia A 's top scorer.In 1982 he left Romania to play for
OFI Crete inGreece , but returned to Steaua two years later to become the team's assistant coach. Together withEmerich Jenei , then head coach, he won the championship in 1985 and led the team to its European Cup triumph in 1986, playing as a substitute in the final againstFC Barcelona .Career as coach
Emerich Jenei was appointed as Romania's manager in the summer of 1986, leaving Iordănescu as Steaua's new head coach. From his new position he led the team to victory in three championships (1987, 1988 and 1989) as well as threeRomanian Cup s in the same years. At the international level, Steaua and Iordănescu reached the European Cup semifinal in 1988 and the final one year later.In 1990 he left Steaua for the second time as he signed a two-year contract with the Cypriot team
Anorthosis Famagusta . Released from this contract, he returned to Steaua in 1992 to lead the team to theCup Winners' Cup quarterfinals in 1993 and then a new championship.In the summer of 1993 he was asked to replace
Cornel Dinu as Romania's coach and managed to qualify the team for the 1994 World Cup, where Romania reached the quarterfinals, the best-ever performance of Romanian football at the national team level.He continued as Romania's coach after the World Cup and led the team to new qualifications, for Euro 1996 and the 1998 World Cup.
After losing against Croatia in the second round of 1998 World Cup, he resigned and took over the managerial position of Greece, from where he would be sacked in 1999, as he failed to qualify the team for Euro 2000.
In 2000 he was appointed as head coach of
Al-Hilal , theSaudi Arabian club, where he won theAFC Champions League , the Supercup and the Prince Cup. Despite these performances he left the club after one year to take overRapid Bucharest , hoping to have the same kind of performances as he once had with Steaua. However, this was not to be the case and he was sacked after a few weeks in charge, causing him to sign withAl Ain FC from theUnited Arab Emirates .Romania failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup and Iordănescu was called to replace
Gheorghe Hagi , therefore becoming the national football team's coach for the second time. His main objective was to qualify the team for the Euro 2004, but he failed to do so. Saying that there was no one else both better than he and available to take charge of the national team, theRomanian Football Federation gave him credit for the 2006 World Cup qualifying stage but after a poor performance inArmenia he was finally sacked.After his second stint as team Romania's coach, he returned to
Saudi Arabia , where he signed withAl-Ittihad and won his secondAFC Champions League , in 2005, but one year later he was sacked because of the team's poor performances. Just as the 2006-2007UAE League started, Anghel Iordănescu went back to coachAl Ain FC .Trivia
* Iordănescu is a
General in theRomanian Army .Notes
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