Ilie Balaci (; 13 September 1956 – 21 October 2018) was a Romanian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

midfielder and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. He spent 12 of his 15 years as a professional with Universitatea Craiova, appearing in more than 300 official games with the club and winning seven major titles. Nicknamed ''Minunea blondă'' ("the Blonde Wonder"), Balaci is considered one of the greatest Romanian footballers of all time.

Club career

Ilie Balaci, nicknamed ''Minunea blondă'' ("the Blonde Wonder"), was a product of Universitatea Craiova's youth system, where he started to play football at age 9. He made his

Divizia A The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It is the country's top ...

debut on 12 August 1973, when Universitatea's coach

Constantin Cernăianu Constantin Cernăianu (12 October 1933 – 22 June 2015) was a Romanian football player and coach. As a manager, Cernăianu won league titles with non-Bucharest based clubs, Petrolul Ploiești and Universitatea Craiova. Managerial honours P ...

used him as a starter in a 1–1 against

Jiul Petroșani Jiul may refer to these places in Romania: * the River Jiu ( + ) ** Jiul de Vest ** Jiul de Est * A village in Țuglui Țuglui is a commune in Dolj County, Oltenia, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroad ...

at the age of 16, and he managed to win the league title in his first season in which he contributed with 3 goals scored in 27 appearances. Balaci went on to play twelve seasons with Universitatea Craiova, being part of the "Craiova Maxima" generation, helping them win two consecutive league titles in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

and

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, at the first he contributed with 29 appearances and 6 goals and at the second with 29 appearances and 12 goals. He also won the

Cupa României The Cupa României ( en, Romanian Cup) is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. I ...

four times, in the years

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

in which he opened the score in the final which ended 2–1 against Steaua București,

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

in which he scored the first two goals in the 6–0 final against Politehnica Timișoara and

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

. Ilie Balaci played 35 games and scored 7 goals for "U" Craiova in European competitions, being an integral part of the team that reached the

1982–83 UEFA Cup The 1982–83 UEFA Cup was the 12th edition of the UEFA Cup. It was won by Belgian club Anderlecht on 2–1 aggregate over Portuguese club Benfica. Association team allocation A total of 64 teams from 31 UEFA member associations participate in ...

semi-finals, appearing in 7 matches in the campaign, scoring 3 goals against

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fo ...

and one from a free kick in the second leg of the semi-final against Benfica, as the team got eliminated after 1–1 on aggregate on the

away goal rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

. In December 1982, he signed a pre-contract with Italian side

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...

, but the transfer did not materialize because Romania's

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

did not allow it. On 21 February 1984 in a

FC Baia Mare CS Minaur Baia Mare, commonly known as Minaur Baia Mare, simply as Baia Mare or unofficially as ''Minerul Baia Mare'', is a Romanian Association football, football Football club, club, based in Baia Mare, Maramureș County, northern Romania, fo ...

– "U" Craiova

match, Baia Mare's defender Grigore Arezanov gave a hard tackle with both feet on Balaci's leg which caused him an injury from which he never completely recovered. Nicolae Dobrin and Ilie Balaci

In the middle of the 1984–85 season, Balaci transferred from Universitatea Craiova to Olt Scornicești and after one season and a half with 30

appearances in which he scored 7 goals, he switched teams again going in the 1986–87 season at

Dinamo București A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterinbu ...

. He spent two seasons at Dinamo, under the leadership of

Mircea Lucescu Mircea Lucescu (; born 29 July 1945) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently head coach of Ukrainian Premier League club Dynamo Kyiv. He is one of the most decorated managers of all time. Lucescu is also ...

, appearing in 32

games in which he scored one goal, also making 3 appearances in European competitions. However, Balaci did not win any major trophies whilst he was playing for Dinamo and he went as a player-coach for two years in the second league, after which he ended his playing career. During his whole career, Balaci played 347 Divizia A matches in which he scored 84 goals and he was the

Romanian Footballer of the Year The Romanian Footballer of the Year ( ro, Fotbalistul român al anului), also known as the Nicolae Dobrin Trophy ( ro, Trofeul Nicolae Dobrin), is an annual association football award given by the ''Gazeta Sporturilor'' newspaper to the Romanian ...

in 1981 and 1982.

International career

Ilie Balaci has a total of 65 games and 8 goals scored at international level for

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

making his debut on 23 March 1974 at the age of 17 under coach

Valentin Stănescu Valentin Stănescu (20 November 1922 – 4 April 1994) was a Romanian football goalkeeper and manager. Club career Valentin Stănescu also known as "Tinel" or "Zimbrul" ( The bison) was born on 20 November 1922 in București, Romania and start ...

in a friendly against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

which ended with a 1–0 loss. He played three games at the Euro 1976 qualifiers and scored his first goal for the national team at age 20 in a friendly which ended with a 3–2 loss against

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. He played one game at the

1973–76 Balkan Cup The 1973–76 Balkan Cup was the 11th Balkan Cup football tournament. It was the first tournament played in a knockout system with semi-finals and finals. It was played between April 1973 and November 1976 between Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria and Gree ...

, five games in which he scored one goal at the 1977–80 Balkan Cup, three games at the 1978 World Cup qualifiers, two at the Euro 1980 qualifiers and seven games with one goal scored at the 1982 World Cup qualifiers. He also became captain of the national team during the successful Euro 1984 qualifiers where he played six games, including a praised performance in

's 1–0 victory against

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

holders,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in which he gave the assist to

László Bölöni László Bölöni ( ro, Ladislau Bölöni; born 11 March 1953) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Ligue 2 club Metz. He is best known for his time at Sporting CP as a manager where he introduced C ...

's goal, exposed his dribbling abilities and had a good performance against his direct opponent

Claudio Gentile Claudio Gentile (; born 27 September 1953) is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a defender in the 1970s and 1980s. Gentile appeared for Italy in two World Cup tournaments, and played for the winning Italian team in ...

. However coach

could not select him in the squad for the

final tournament Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

due to the injury he got in a

match from Grigore Arezanov. He played one game at the 1986 World Cup qualifiers and made his last appearance for the national team on 10 September 1986 in a 4–0 victory against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

at the Euro 1988 qualifiers. For helping his country qualify at Euro 1984, Balaci was decorated by

President of Romania The president of Romania ( ro, Președintele României) is the head of state of Romania. Following a modification to the Constitution of Romania, Romanian Constitution in 2003, the president is directly elected by a two-round system and serves ...

Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a conservatism, conservative Romanian politician who served as President of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian Minister of Transport on multiple occasions ...

on 25 March 2008 with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" – (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Balaci goal''.

Managerial career

After retiring as a footballer, Balaci went on to coach lower league sides

Pandurii Târgu Jiu The uprising of 1821 was a social and political rebellion in Wallachia, which was at the time a tributary state of the Ottoman Empire. It originated as a movement against the Phanariote administration, with backing from the more conservative bo ...

and

Drobeta-Turnu Severin Drobeta-Turnu Severin (), colloquially Severin, is a city in Mehedinți County, Oltenia, Romania, on the northern bank of the Danube, close to the Iron Gates. "Drobeta" is the name of the ancient Dacian and Roman towns at the site, and the modern ...

. In 1991, he coached clubs in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

, he became one of the most successful managers there having won over 22 major trophies domestic and international. He took charge of Tunisia's

Club Africain Club Africain ( ar, النادي الإفريقي) is a Tunisian football club based in Tunis that competes in the Tunisian Championship. It fields several sports teams, including football, handball, basketball, swimming and volleyball. The foot ...

and Moroccan club Olympique Casablanca in the early 1990s guiding them to their first

African Champions League The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and co ...

, the league title and the Tunis Cup. He then managed UAE, Qatari and Saudi Arabian clubs Al Shabab,

Al Nassr Al Nassr Football Club ( ar, نادي النصر السعودي; '' Naṣr'' meaning ''Victory'') is a Saudi Arabian football club based in Riyadh. Formed in 1955, the club plays its home games at the Mrsool Park. Their home colours are yellow ...

, Al-Hilal,

Al Ain Al Ain ( ar, ٱلْعَيْن, , ) is a city in the western side of Tawam (region), Tuwwam region and the seat of the administrative division of its namesake, Al-Ain Region, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. ...

and

Al Sadd Al Sadd Sports Club ( ar, نادي السد الرياضي, lit=Dam Sports Club) is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the city of Doha. It is best known for its association football team, which competes in the ...

winning the championship and domestic cup with each side. At the beginning of the

1998–99 Divizia A The 1998–99 Divizia A was the eighty-first season of Divizia A, the top-level football league of Romania. Teams League table Positions by round Results Top goalscorers Champion squad References {{DEFAULTSORT:1998-99 Divizia ...

season, Balaci was put in charge of FC U Craiova but after a 1–0 loss against Oțelul Galați in the 7th round, he lost his temper and threw a pair of football shoes in referees Aron Huzu's head for which he received a one year suspension, after which he decided to resign. In the second half of the

2000–01 Divizia A The 2000–01 Divizia A was the eighty-third season of Divizia A, the top-level football league of Romania. Season began in August 2000 and ended in May 2001. Steaua București was crowned as champion for the 21st time. Team changes Relegated T ...

season, Balaci returned to FC U Craiova but his second spell lasted only a month. In June 2003, he was appointed manager of Al Ahli until January 2005, where he won the

UAE President's Cup The UAE President's Cup, or simply the President Cup, is a football tournament that takes place in United Arab Emirates, between clubs in the UAE Pro League and the UAE First Division League. The winner qualifies for the AFC Champions League. His ...

. He then went on to join Qatari side Al-Arabi in the 2005–06 season, before moving to the United Arab Emirates club Al Shabab for a second spell, but without success. In August 2007, Balaci was hired as general manager of Universitatea Craiova whom he also coached in two periods, and remained there for two seasons. On 22 July 2009, Balaci was named head coach of Kuwait club

Kazma Kazma () is an ancient city in Kuwait. It is located in Al Jahra Governorate, north of Kuwait City, the capital of Kuwait. It is an ancient city with a long history, known to Persians and Arabs since the Sassanid, Jahiliyyah and the early Isla ...

. He had an impressive start with the Kuwaiti side at the

2010 AFC Cup The 2010 AFC Cup was the seventh edition of the AFC Cup, playing between clubs from nations who are members of the Asian Football Confederation. With the Asian Football Confederation currently reviewing the format of the AFC Champions League bet ...

. On 11 July 2011, he returned to Morocco signing for

Raja Casablanca Raja Club Athletic ( ar, نادي الرجاء الرياضي, Nādī ar-Rajāʾ ar-Riyāḍī, zgh, ⴰⵙⵔⵉⵔ ⵏ ⵕⴰⵊⴰ ⴰⵎⴰⵏⵓⵏ), commonly referred to as Raja CA, Raja Casablanca or simply RCA is a professional Footb ...

but was sacked following a financial dispute with the club in September after just two months. Raja appointed

Bertrand Marchand Bertrand Marchand (born 27 April 1953) is a French former football player and manager. Career Marchand was coach-player then coach at Thouars Foot 79 from 1982 to 1997. Then he was at Stade Rennais F.C. (educator at the training center then ass ...

as his replacement. On 4 June 2013, Balaci signed a contract with newly promoted

Saudi Premier League The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...

side

Al-Nahda The Nahda ( ar, النهضة, translit=an-nahḍa, meaning "the Awakening"), also referred to as the Arab Awakening or Enlightenment, was a cultural movement that flourished in Arabic-speaking regions of the Ottoman Empire, notably in Egypt, Leb ...

saving the club from relegation. In September 2013, he was sacked as coach due to a poor start to the season with only one point from the first four matches. In April 2016, he took over the head coach position at

Omdurman Omdurman (standard ar, أم درمان ''Umm Durmān'') is a city in Sudan. It is the most populated city in the country, and thus also in the State of Khartoum. Omdurman lies on the west bank of the River Nile, opposite and northwest of the ...

-based club Al-Hilal. Balaci was sacked in September 2016 after the team clinched the title with three games left to play. Balaci thought that the club's owners did not want the title win associated with his name. In July 2017, Balaci was unveiled as the new manager of Omani side Al-Suwaiq. Although the team was assured of top of the championship with 38 points from 15 games Balaci decided to terminate his contract in March 2018 with 12 games left on the season.

Managerial overview

Personal life

Balaci said that he was born on 8 September 1956 but his birth date was declared by his relatives to the People's Council only on 13 September 1956. He had two daughters; the older one Lorena was married to footballer

Eugen Trică Eugen Trică (born 5 August 1976) is a Romanian football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder, currently in charge of Liga II club Concordia Chiajna. Club career Eugen Trică started his career at Universitatea Craiova as a ...

and is divorced since 2015, and the younger one,

Liana Ungur Liana-Gabriela Ungur (née Balaci; born 2 January 1985) is a former professional tennis player from Romania. On 13 December 2010, she reached her highest singles ranking of 157 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Personal life Liana, daught ...

is a professional tennis player and she is married to

Adrian Ungur Adrian Ungur (born 22 January 1985) is a Romanian former tennis player who mainly competed on the ATP Challenger Tour. He was a member of the Romania Davis Cup Team and was coached by Fabrizio Fanucci. In June 2012, Ungur reached his career-hi ...

Death

Balaci died on 21 October 2018, aged 62, while at home in

Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...

with his mother. The cause of death was

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may ...

Honours

Player

Universitatea Craiova *

: 1973–74, 1979–80, 1980–81 *

: 1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1982–83 Romania *

Balkan Cup The Balkan Cup was an international association football competition contested on and off from 1929 to 1980 by countries from the Balkans region. The most successful team was Romania with four titles. Overview The first edition featured Romania, ...

: 1977–80

Individual

: 1981, 1982

References

External links