Anghel Iordănescu (; born 4 May 1950), is a Romanian former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

and former

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

, who played as a forward. In 2007, Iordănescu retired from football, and the following February, after his predecessor resigned, he became a member of the Romanian Senate, sitting on the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

benches. On 26 December 2011, he became an independent senator, affiliated to the

National Union for the Progress of Romania The Party for the Homeland, Military and Police in Reserve and Retirement (, PPMPRR), sometimes shortened to the Party for the Homeland, Military and Police (, PPMP), and formerly known as the National Union for the Progress of Romania (, UNPR) is ...

. His son,

Edward Iordănescu Edward "Edi" Iordănescu (; born 16 June 1978), sometimes known as Iordănescu Jr., is a Romanian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, currently in charge of Ekstraklasa club Legia ...

, is also a former footballer, currently the head coach of the Romania national team.

Club career

One of Steaua București's greatest players, Iordănescu was a forward or

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

with a well-developed scoring technique and uncommon dribbling ability. He was also well known for his vision and set-piece ability. In Romania, he played only for Steaua, a team he joined as a youth in 1962, aged 12. Six years later, he made his debut for the first team, followed by his first appearance for the Romania national team in 1971. During this period, he scored 155 goals, becoming the team's highest ever goal scorer. Iordănescu won two league championships (in 1976 and 1978) and four Cupa Romaniei (in 1970, 1971, 1976, and 1979). In 1981–82, he was Divizia A's top goalscorer. In

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

, aged 32, Iordănescu left Romania to play for

OFI Crete OFI Football Club (, ''Heraklion Sportsmen Club 1925 FC''), commonly referred to as OFI, is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in Heraklion, on the island of Crete. It is part of the O.F.I. (sports club), OFI mul ...

in Greece under head coach Les Shannon, but returned to Steaua two years later to become the club's assistant manager. Together with Emerich Jenei, then head coach, he won the championship in 1985 and helped lead the team to its

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

triumph in 1986, playing as a substitute in the final against

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

International career

Iordănescu made his international debut on 22 September 1971 against

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and scored the opening goal of a 4-0 win. The highlight of his international career came in the 1977-80 Balkan Cup, when he scored a hat-trick in the second leg of the final to defeat

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

4-3 on aggregate and give Romania a record-breaking fourth title (

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

won 3 times), and subsequently being the tournament's top goal scorer with 6 goals.

International stats

International goals

''Scores and results table. "Score" indicates the score after the player's goal:

Coaching career

Emerich Jenei was appointed as

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

's manager in the summer of 1986, leaving Iordănescu as Steaua's new head coach. From his new position, he led his side to victory in three championships (1987, 1988 and 1989) as well as three Cupa Romaniei in the same years. At international level, Steaua and Iordănescu reached the European Cup semi-final 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 Cypriot club

Anorthosis Famagusta Anorthosis Famagusta (), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Famagusta multi-sport club founded in 1911 in Varosha, Famagusta.

. After being released from his contract, he returned to Steaua in 1992 to lead the club to the

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

quarter-finals in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, and then a new league championship. In the summer of 1993, he was asked to replace Cornel Dinu as Romania's coach and managed to lead the team to qualification for the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

, where Romania reached the quarter-finals, the best-ever performance of the Romanian national team at that level. He continued as Romania's coach after the World Cup and led the team to a new qualification, for

UEFA Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in ...

and the 1998 World Cup, where Romania reached the knockout stage as winners of

Group G Group G may refer to: * A set of international motor racing regulations used in touring car racing Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition that uses race-prepared touring cars. It has both similarities to and significant dif ...

. However, although he had led the team to a new qualification for a World Cup, Iordănescu was harshly criticized by the media, with some journalists accusing him of the low level of the team during the process. After losing against

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

in the second round of the 1998 World Cup, he resigned and took over the managerial position of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, from where he would be sacked in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

after Greece failed to qualify for

Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

. In the 1999–2000 season, Iordănescu was appointed head coach of Saudi club Al-Hilal, where he won the Saudi Crown Prince Cup and the Asian Club Championship (the forerunner to the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

). Despite these performances, he left the club to lead Rapid București. He led Rapid to the first round of the 2000–01 UEFA Cup, losing 1–0 on aggregate to eventual winners

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. However, he was sacked after only three months, after which he signed with Emirati club

Al Ain Al Ain () is a city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the seat of the administrative division of the Al Ain Region. The city is Oman–United Arab Emirates border, bordered to the east by the Omani town of Al-Buraimi. Al A ...

, guiding them to UAE President's Cup title. After Romania failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, Iordănescu was asked to replace

Gheorghe Hagi Gheorghe Hagi (; born 5 February 1965) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the owner of Liga I club Farul Constanța. Deployed as an attacking midfielder, Hagi was considered one of the best players in ...

, thereby becoming the national football team's coach for the second time. His main objective was to qualify the team for

Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. Th ...

, but failed to do so. Saying that there was no one else both better than he and available to take charge of the national team, the

Romanian Football Federation The Romanian Football Federation (; FRF) is the governing body of football in Romania. They are headquartered in the capital city of Bucharest and affiliated with FIFA and UEFA since 1923 and 1955 respectively. The Federation organizes the men's ...

gave him credit for the 2006 World Cup qualifying stage, but after a poor performance away against

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

, he was finally sacked. After his second stint as Romania's coach, Iordănescu returned to Saudi Arabia to manage Al-Ittihad, with whom he won his second AFC Champions League (in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

) and the Arab Champions League, but one year later was sacked after drawing with Al-Ettifaq. Just as the 2006–07 UAE League season began, Iordănescu returned to coach Al Ain for a few months before announcing his retirement from professional football. In October 2014, Iordănescu came out of retirement to take charge of Romania for a third time. On 27 June 2016, he resigned as Romania coach after an unsuccessful Euro 2016 finals campaign, finishing last place in

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived touring cars for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles wer ...

with just one point earned, from a 1–1 draw with

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Honours

Player

Steaua București *

Divizia A Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...

: 1975–76, 1977–78 *

Cupa României The Cupa României () 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. It is the Romania ...

: 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1975–76, 1978–79 *

: 1985–86 Romania * Balkan Cup: 1977–80 Individual *''

Gazeta Sporturilor Gazeta Sporturilor () is a Romanian sports website, originally founded in 1924 as a daily newspaper. It was the third-oldest daily newspaper in Europe, with 99 years of uninterrupted publication, before issuing its last edition on 31 October 2023. ...

'' Romanian Footballer of the Year runner-up: 1980 *

top scorer: 1981–82

Coach

Steaua București *

: 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1992–93 *

: 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89 *

runner-up : 1988–89 *

European Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

: 1986 * Intercontinental Cup runner-up: 1986 Al Hilal * Asian Club Championship: 1999–00 * Saudi Crown Prince Cup:

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

* Saudi Federation Cup: 1999–00 * Saudi Founder's Cup: 1999–00 *

Gulf Club Champions Cup The AGCFF Gulf Club Champions League (), formerly known as the GCC Champions League, is a regional football competition governed by the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation (AGCFF) for clubs from its eight member nations. The tournament was founde ...

runner-up: 2000 Al Ain * UAE President's Cup: 2000–01 Al Ittihad *

* UAFA Arab Champions League: 2005

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Iordanescu, Anghel 1950 births Living people Footballers from Bucharest Romanian football managers Romanian men's footballers Romania men's international footballers Romanian expatriate men's footballers Liga I players Super League Greece players FCSB players UEFA Champions League–winning players OFI Crete F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in Greece FCSB managers Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah) managers Expatriate football managers in Cyprus FCSB non-playing staff FC Rapid București managers 1994 FIFA World Cup managers UEFA Euro 1996 managers 1998 FIFA World Cup managers Men's association football forwards Greece national football team managers Al-Hilal Saudi FC managers Members of the Senate of Romania Social Democratic Party (Romania) politicians Romanian sportsperson-politicians Anorthosis Famagusta FC managers Al Ain FC managers Romanian expatriate football managers Romania national football team managers Expatriate football managers in Greece Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate football managers in the United Arab Emirates Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Romanian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia UEFA Euro 2016 managers 20th-century Romanian sportsmen