Constantin "Costel" Gâlcă (born 8 March 1972) is a Romanian professional

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

, who is currently in charge of

Liga I 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 ...

club Rapid București. Equally at ease as a

defensive Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and possessing an accurate long-range shot, he first made a name for himself at Steaua București. He then spent a full decade in Spain, playing in 318 matches in both major levels combined and representing five clubs, most notably Espanyol. Additionally, Gâlcă appeared for

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 ...

in two World Cups and as many European Championships, winning 68 caps. As a manager, he led teams including both Steaua and Espanyol.

Club career

Born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, Gâlcă's senior career began at age 16 in the third division, with FC Progresul București. Only one year after he switched to the

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 ...

with

FC Argeș Pitești Asociația Clubul Sportiv Campionii Fotbal Club Argeș, commonly known as FC Argeș Pitești (), Argeș Pitești or simply FC Argeș, is a Romanian professional football club based in Pitești, Argeș County, that competes in the Liga I. The te ...

, for whom he played four times towards the end of the season, soon breaking into the Romanian national under-21 team. After one more season with solid displays (31 games, two goals), Gâlcă signed with country giants Steaua București, immediately beginning to produce: in his debut campaign, he scored five times in 26 matches. Gâlcă stayed at Steaua two more years, netting 13 goals combined. After winning the domestic cup and having appeared in nearly 200 official matches, he left for Spain where he would remain the next 11 years. First stop was

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (, , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or RCD Mallorca, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Palma de Mallorca, ...

in the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

, for which he scored 13 times to help to a promotion to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

(that total was tied for squad best). He then experienced a steady period with

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 ...

-based

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

, scoring five goals in his third season, which also ended with

conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

of the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

. In July 2001, Gâlcă signed for

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D., usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Villarreal, in the Province of Castellón, Castellón province of easte ...

on a three-year deal with the option of one more. Midway through his his second year he was loaned to

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

club

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

; the team had an option to sign him if they won promotion, but did not transfer him despite the achievement. Gâlcă still had three more solid seasons in the country with second-tier club

UD Almería Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish professional football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 26 July 1989 and known as ''Almería Club de Fútbol'' until 2001 ...

, playing 40 matches in his last season, one year before the

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

ns first reached the top division. He eventually returned to the national team with this team in 2005 – after a three-year absence – and retired in June 2006 at the age of 34.

International career

Galca made his full debut for

on 22 September 1993, against

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in a friendly. Called up 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 ...

he played three times during the tournament, against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the group stage, in the famous 3–2 round-of-16 success against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and in the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

defeat to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in the last-eight. From 1996 to 2000, Gâlcă featured in over forty more international games for Romania, often pairing with

Dorinel Munteanu Dorinel Ionel Munteanu (; born 25 June 1968) is a Romanian football manager and former player. A former midfielder, Munteanu is the most capped Romanian player of all time, with a total of 134 appearances and 16 goals. He played in two edition ...

in central midfield. During the qualifying phase for the 1998 World Cup the national side were undefeated in their ten group fixtures, drawing only once and netting 37 goals, with him scoring two. In those finals and

UEFA 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 ...

the country was beaten, respectively, in the last-16 and last-eight, as he started in every match.

International statistics

International goals

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

Coaching career

Established in

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...

after his playing days, Gâlcă took up coaching in 2009–10, starting with Almería's B-team in the fourth tier. He was sacked on 19 January 2010, after a string of poor results. On 20 August 2013, Gâlcă was named head coach of Romania under-17s. He ended his contract in June 2014 and, also in that month, was appointed at league champions Steaua București on a two-year deal, replacing outgoing

Laurențiu Reghecampf Laurențiu Aurelian Reghecampf (born 19 September 1975) is a Romanian professional association football, football manager (association football), manager and former player. Playing career Club Reghecampf was born in Târgoviște and began his ca ...

and leading the team to the double in his first and only season. On 14 December 2015, Gâlcă replaced former club teammate Sergio at the helm of Espanyol. His first game in charge took place the following day, a 2–1 home win against

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community. Founded on 6 September 1909, the club will compete in La Liga for the 2025– ...

for the

( 3–2 on aggregate). The following 27 May, having led the ''Periquitos'' to 13th, his contract was not renewed. Gâlcă was hired by

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

club Al-Taawoun on 19 October 2016. For the following season, he moved to Al-Fayha in the same league. Having won once in nine games and with the club in the relegation zone, he was dismissed on 7 November 2017. On 6 March 2019, Gâlcă returned to European football with

Vejle Boldklub Vejle Boldklub is a Danish professional football club based in Vejle in Jutland. Formed in 1891, the club is one of the most successful clubs in Danish football history, having won the Danish championship five times and the Danish cup title six ...

, last-placed in the

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

. His team won the second tier in the 2019–20 season, and survived on return to the top flight; he resigned in May 2021 due to disagreements with the board. Gâlcă returned to the Saudi top league on 10 December 2021, joining Al-Hazem after the dismissal of

Hélder Hélder is a given name in Portuguese. The unrelated German-Jewish surname "Helder" is also given the accent in Portuguese, such as the Portuguese poet Herberto Hélder (1930-). The name is sometimes confused with Heitor. People named Hélder incl ...

. He left the club by mutual consent on 21 February 2022. On 16 April 2023, Gâlcă was appointed manager of Polish

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

side

Radomiak Radom Radomiak Spółka Akcyjna (''Radomiak S.A.''), commonly known as Radomiak Radom, is a Polish football club based in Radom, Poland. The club was founded in 1910 and competes in Ekstraklasa, the top level of Polish football. They play their home ma ...

, replacing

Mariusz Lewandowski Mariusz Lewandowski (; born 18 May 1979) is a Polish professional football manager and former player. He was most recently in charge of Polish I liga club Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza. He was mostly a central defender and could also play as a d ...

. His stint started off well, with three wins and one draw in five league games. However, as the 2023–24 season started and progressed, he became vocal about his disappointment in the board's decisions regarding transfer activity and lack of youth players to fulfill their mandatory playing time quota. On 27 November 2023, 86 minutes before Radomiak's home game against

Śląsk Wrocław Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna, commonly known as WKS Śląsk Wrocław (), is a Polish professional Association football, football club based in Wrocław that plays in , the second level of the Polish football leagu ...

, it was announced Gâlcă left the club by mutual consent. On 17 April 2024, he was revealed as the new manager of Romanian top tier side Universitatea Craiova, signing on until the end of the 2024–25 season, with an extension option. He was sacked by the club on 27 January 2025 after a 1–0 away loss to Rapid București. On 3 June 2025, Gâlcă was appointed manager of Romanian

club Rapid București, signing a two-year contract.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Progresul București *

Divizia C The Liga 3, most often spelled as Liga III, is the third level of the Romanian football league system. It was founded in 1936 and was called Divizia C until 2006. An exception was the seasons 1992–93 to 1996–97, in which the league was call ...

: 1989–90 Steaua București *

: 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96 *

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 ...

: 1991–92, 1995–96 *

Supercupa României The Supercupa României () is a Romanian football (soccer), football championship contested by the winners of the Liga I and the Cupa României. It is usually played at the Arena Națională in Bucharest. The competition started off in 1994 Supe ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

Espanyol *

Copa Catalunya The Copa Catalunya () is a knockout competition organised by the Catalan Football Federation for football clubs in the Catalonia autonomous community of Spain. History Between 1903 and 1940, it was known as the ''Catalan football championship ...

: 1998–99 *

: 1999–00 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

runner-up:

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 ...

Coach

Steaua București *

: 2014–15 *

Cupa Ligii The Cupa Ligii () was Romania's secondary club football tournament. Like the Cupa României, it was played on a knockout (single elimination) basis. History It is unclear when the competition was first created, as there are no official recordi ...

: 2014–15 *

runner-up:

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Vejle *

Danish 1st Division The 1st Division (''1. Division'') is the second-highest football league in Denmark, also known as NordicBet Liga for sponsorship reasons. From 1945 to 1991, the 1. Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark. With the for ...

: 2019–20

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Galca, Constantin 1972 births Living people Footballers from Bucharest Romanian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Liga I players Liga III players FC Progresul București players FC Argeș Pitești players FCSB players La Liga players Segunda División players RCD Mallorca players RCD Espanyol footballers Villarreal CF players Real Zaragoza players UD Almería players Romania men's under-21 international footballers Romania men's international footballers UEFA Euro 1996 players 1994 FIFA World Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2000 players Romanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Romanian football managers Liga I managers La Liga managers Danish Superliga managers Danish 1st Division managers Saudi Pro League managers Ekstraklasa managers UD Almería B managers RCD Espanyol managers FCSB managers Al Taawoun FC managers Al-Fayha FC managers Vejle Boldklub managers Al-Hazem F.C. managers Radomiak Radom managers CS Universitatea Craiova managers FC Rapid București managers Romanian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Spain Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate football managers in Denmark Expatriate football managers in Poland Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Poland 20th-century Romanian sportsmen