A few
Romanian managers have had remarkable spells in the European top five leagues.
Romanian
managers are not exactly considered among the elite bosses in Europe. Only a
few can be considered so. A number of former stars have attempted to thrive as
a gaffer, such as Dan Petrescu and Gheorge Hagi, but neither has managed to
gain success in the major leagues yet.
Recently,
another former player began his managerial career, Christian Chivu. The ex-Inter Milan left back has been named Parma’s new boss to replace FabioPecchia. It is his first job on the senior side after six years in charge of
the Inter Milan youth team.
It has been
a while since the last Romanian boss was in charge of the Italian Serie A side.
The last one was Mircea Lucescu, who led Inter Milan in the 1998/99
campaign.
Only time
will tell if Chivu could thrive in the dugout at the top level. Yet, his 2-0
win over Bologna in his debut could signify his potential. He could certainly
be inspired by his seniors. Here are the four Romanian managers who have been
fairly successful in the European top five.
Cosmin
Contra
He was
Chivu’s teammate in his playing years. Contra had begun his managerial career
earlier and was named Getafe manager in the middle of the 2013/14 season. The
former wingback was able to lead his former club to safety by sitting 13th in
the standings. During his tenure, Getafe managed to pick up crucial results in
the campaign by thumping Sevilla 1-0 and holding Barcelona twice in both
fixtures in two different seasons.
Unfortunately,
he did not continue his spell in Spain but opted to move to the Chinese Super
League instead in the middle of the 2014/15 season. However, his stint in East
Asia was short-lived, and Contra eventually returned to Spain. He joined
Alcorcon, the team in the second tier of La Liga, before moving back to his
home soil for Dinamo Bucharest.
The former
Atletico Madrid and AC Milan man won notable silverware for Petrolul Ploiești
and Dinamo Bucharest. Contra’s
last club was Saudi Pro League side, Damar CF.
|
Clubs in European major leagues |
Notable games |
Silverware |
|
Getafe (2014 -2015) |
vs Valencia 3-1 (A) 2013/14 vs Barcelona 2-2 (A) 2013/14 vs Sevilla 1-0 (H) 2013/14 vs Barcelona 0-0 (H) 2014/15 |
Romanian Cup 2013 (Petrolul Ploiesti) Romanian League Cup 2017 (Dinamo Bucharest) |
Laszlo
Boloni
He is one of
the most well-known yet underrated managers in Europe. Boloni has various
spells in France, Portugal, Belgium, and Greece and played a small but
important part in Cristiano Ronaldo’s early career before moving abroad.
The Romanian
international in the 1980s has been in charge of four French sides, Nancy,
Rennes, Monaco, Lens, and Metz, plus Sporting Lisbon. His most successful stint
in Ligue 1 was with Rennes as he led them to finish fifth in the 2004/05
season. Previously, Boloni won the double domestic title with Sporting Lisbon in
the 2001/2002 campaign and gave the young CR7 his senior debut in the following season.
The former
midfielder also thrived with Standard Liege as he delivered another double
domestic title in 2009, plus the Belgian Cup in 2008. Nevertheless, he failed
to live up to the expectations of his last team, Metz. After guiding them back
to the top flight in 2023, they went straight back to relegation in 2024 after
suffering a loss to Saint Etienne in the relegation playoff. Such led to his
departure from the French side.
|
Clubs in European major leagues |
Notable games |
Silverware |
|
Nancy (1994-2000) |
vs PSG 2-1 (A) 1998/99 vs Marseille 2-2 (A) 1999/2000 |
Portuguese League and Portuguese Cup 2002 (Sporting Lisbon) Belgian League 2009, Belgian Cup 2008 and 2009 (Standard Liege) |
|
Rennes (2003-2006) |
vs Lyon 3-1 (H) 2003/04 vs Marseille 4-3 (H) 2003/04 vs Monaco 4-1 (A) 2003/04 vs PSG 2-1 (H) 2004/05 vs Marseille 1-0 (H) 2004/05 vs Lyon 4-1 (A) 2005/06 |
|
|
AS Monaco (2006) Lens (2011) Metz (2022-2024) |
|
|
Mircea
Lucescu
The current
Romanian manager is undoubtedly the best one in Romanian football history, but
his spells in European elite sides remain mediocre. Lucescu mostly spent his
career in Italy before wandering to Turkey, Ukraine, and Russia.
The former
Romanian skipper in the 1970 FIFA World Cup was in charge of Pisa, Brescia,
Reggiana, and Inter Milan, but none of his tenures ended in a satisfying finish
while competing in Serie A. Lucescu’s side was even suffering three or four
relegations and could not finish his campaign at the end of the season with
Nerazzurri.
On the
contrary, he enjoyed trophy laden years outside the top leagues. Lucescu lifted
the Turkish league trophy twice, once each with Galatasaray and Besiktas. He
also snatched UEFA Super Cup 2002 by beating Real Madrid 2-1. The former Rapid
and Dinamo Bucharest gaffer clinched nine Ukrainian league titles (8x with
Shakhtar Donetsk and once with Dynamo Kiev), seven domestic cups for both
sides, plus the UEFA Cup in 2009 with Shakhtar Donetsk.
Lucescu is
in his second stint with the Romania national team. His first one was from 1981
to 1986, when he was able to qualify for Euro 1984, eliminating the World Cup
winner Italy in the qualifiers. Now, he aims to lead Dennis Man and Co. to the
World Cup final round in North America in 2026 after their long absence since
1998.
|
Clubs in European major leagues |
Notable games |
Silverware |
|
Pisa (1990-1991) |
vs AS Roma 2-0 (A) |
Romanian league 1990, Romanian Cup 1986, 1990 (Dinamo Bucharest) Romanian league 1999, Romanian Cup 1998 (Rapid Bucharest) Turkish league, UEFA Super Cup 2002 (Galatasaray) Turkish league 2003 (Besiktas) Ukrainian league 8x, Ukrainian Cup 6x, UEFA Cup 2009 (Shakhtar Donetsk) Ukrainian league and Cup 2021 (Dynamo Kiev) |
|
Brescia (1991-1996) |
vs AS Roma 3-2 (A) 1992/93 vs Juventus 0-0 (A) 1992/93 vs Juventus 2-0 (H) 1992/93 vs Sampdoria 3-1 (H) 1992/93 vs Juventus 1-1 (H) 1994/95 vs Inter Milan 0-0 (H) 1994/95 |
|
|
Reggiana 1996 Inter Milan (1998-1999) |
|
|
Stefan
Kovacs
Last but not
least, there is a distinguished figure who could not be left out, Stefan Kovacs. He is the best Romanian boss in history, as he remains the only one who
won the Champions Cup/UCL, not just once but twice in a row.
Kovacs had
such success with Ajax Amsterdam as Rinus Michels’ successor in 1971. Despite
being looked down on initially, including by the team's star, Johan Cruyff, he
managed to prove his quality by winning all titles for Der Amsterdammers,
including two Eredivisie, UEFA Super Cup, and Continental Cup 1972.
The former
Steaua Bucharest boss also won the Greek Cup in 1982 with Panathinaikos and was
named the manager of the France national team and his own nation consecutively
after his spell in the Netherlands. Unfortunately, he failed to lead Les Blues
to qualify for EURO 1976 and did the same for Romania for EURO 1980.
Kovacs’ last
team was Monaco in the 1986/87 campaign. He was only able to bring them to finish
fifth in the final standings.
|
Clubs in European major leagues |
Notable games |
Silverware |
|
Ajax (1971-1973) |
vs Bayern Munich 4-0 (H) 1972/1973 |
Eredivisie 1972, 1973; European Cup 1972, 1973; KNVB Cup 1972 UEFA Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup 1972 (Ajax Amsterdam) |
|
Monaco (1986-1987) |
vs Olympique Marseille 2-0 |
|
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