Serghei Cleșcenco (; born 20 May 1972) is a Moldovan

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and a former player. He is the head coach of the Moldova national team, for which he held the records for most goals and most appearances as a player. He holds the record for the most goals scored in a single season by a foreigner in

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 ...

. He is a former manager of Zimbru Chișinău, where he also spent large parts of his playing career.

Playing career

Aged 17, Cleșcenco made his debut for Nistru Chișinău as substitute in the 72nd minute in a 1990 Soviet First League match against Kotayk Abovyan. He played for half of the season at

Spartak Oryol FC Oryol () is a Russian football club based in the city of Oryol. From 2004 to 2006 FC Oryol played in the Russian First Division. History Football has been played in Oryol since 1911. In 1960 a team named '' Lokomotiv'' was formed in Oryol to ...

, where he was invited by the Moldovan coach Valentin Goian. In the following season of the

Soviet First League The Soviet First League in football () was the second highest division of Soviet football,Evgeni Kazakov. The Soviet First Football League (Первая лига СССР по футболу)''. History of Soviet football championships. Volume 1 ...

he played for Zimbru Chișinău. From 1992 to 1996 Cleșcenco played in the

Moldovan National Division The Moldovan Liga, officially known as Liga 7777.md for sponsorship reasons, is an association football league that is the top division of Football in Moldova, Moldovan football league system. The competition was established in 1992, when Moldov ...

, winning the championship four times. He made his debut in the National Division in a match against Speranţa Nisporeni in which he scored. In 1994 he was chosen as the Moldovan Footballer of the Year, and also the best Moldovan forward in 1994, 1995, 1998 and 1999. In 1996 he joined the Dutch side

Go Ahead Eagles The Go Ahead Eagles are a Dutch professional football club from the city of Deventer in the province of Overijssel. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, having achieved promotion from the second tier Eerste Divisie in th ...

, for which he played two seasons. He scored a brace in a 2–2 draw against

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

. Cleșcenco returned to Zimbru, which won the Moldovan double in the 1997–98 season. He scored 25 goals in 20 matches, being the top goal scorer in the National Division. After a successful period with Zimbru, Cleșcenco was taken on trial by English club

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

in early 1998. He impressed, but work permit issues, along with Zimbru Chișinău asking for too much money prevented the deal from going through. In 1998 Cleșcenco joined Zenit St. Petersburg. He debuted on 1 July as a substitute in a 5–0 win over

FC Tyumen FC Tyumen () is a Russian football club based in Tyumen. The former member of the Russian Premier League will play in the third-tier Russian Second League Division A in the 2025–26 season. The club was previously known as ''Geolog'' (in 1 ...

. During the half of the year he spent at the club, he played only 175 minutes in 7 matches. After returning to Zimbru he played 8 more matches. In 1999, Cleșcenco joined

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa () is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football, Basketball, Weightl ...

. It was one of the most successful starts ever for a foreigner in

as he bagged 22 goals in his first season topping the record set by

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

striker Andrzej Kubica for most goals scored by a foreigner in Israel in a single season. After another strong season in Haifa, he moved to

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv () is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as football, basketball, w ...

, where he was part of the squad that reached the quarter-finals of the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. He scored one of the goals as they memorably knocked out Chelsea. He was nicknamed "Kalashnikov" by the Israeli fans after scoring four goals during 30 minutes in a 5–2 win over Hapoel Petah Tikva. In 2003 Cleșcenco transferred to Chernomorets Novorossiysk. After 6 matches for the Russian side, he returned to Israel, signing for Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv, scoring one goal in 14 appearances. The following season he returned to Zimbru, scoring one goal in 18 matches. Cleșcenco spent the rest of his playing career in Russia, playing for Sibir Novosibirsk and Metallurg-Kuzbass Novokuznetsk.

International career

Aged 19, Cleșcenco made his international debut as a substitution in Moldova's first official match, a 2–4 loss against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

in 1991. He scored his first goals for the national team as a brace in a 2–1 win over

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

in a frinedly match. In a 2006 friendly against

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

he scored his 11th and last goal for the national team, remaining Moldova's top goalscorer until 2023. In the same year, he made his 69th and last appearance for Moldova against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

UEFA Euro 2008 qualification Qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2008 finals tournament took place between August 2006 and November 2007. Fifty teams were divided into seven groups. In a double round-robin system, each team played against each of the others in their group on a hom ...

, which was another record at the time.

Managerial career

Cleșcenco started his managerial career in 2008 at Moldova under-16 and under-17 teams. He led the Moldova under-19 team to

2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship elite qualification 2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship (Elite Round) was the second round of qualifications for the final tournament of 2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. The 28 teams that advanced from the qualifying round were distributed into seven gr ...

. In 2012 he won the Moldovan Cup and Moldovan Super Cup with

Milsami Orhei Fotbal Club Milsami Orhei, commonly known as Milsami Orhei or simply Milsami, is a Moldovan professional football club based in Orhei, Moldova, currently playing in the Liga, the top tier of Moldovan football. Previously known as ''FC Viito ...

. From 2012 to 2014 he was executive assistant at Zimbru Chișinău. During this period the club won the Moldovan Cup and Moldovan Super Cup. In 2014 he was invited by Alexander Tolstikov to work at União Leiria. He worked as a sporting director and assistant coach. In 2017 he was Leonid Kuchuk's assistant at

Rostov Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

. From 2018 to 2020 he headed the Moldova under-20 and under-21 teams. Between 2019 and 2021, Cleșcenco was an assistant coach to Engin Fırat and Roberto Bordin at Moldova's national team. He became the head coach on 3 December 2021. He debuted in a match against

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

in 2020–21 UEFA Nations League relegation play-outs. The Moldovans lost at penalties and were relegated to 2022–23 UEFA Nations League D. Moldova placed second in its group, being tied to points with

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, but had a lower goal difference, failing to achieve promotion. In

UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying The UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from March 2023 to March 2024 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams that would join the automatically qualified host team Germany in the UEFA Eur ...

Moldova obtained a historic shock 3–2 comeback win over

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. Moldova acquired ten points in a

group of five The Group of Five (G5) encompasses five nations which have joined together for an active role in the rapidly evolving international order. Individually and as a group, the G5 nations work to promote dialogue and understanding between developing ...

, and also were undefeated at home throughout the qualification. However, the Moldovans did not achieve qualification.

Personal life

Cleșcenco's son, Nicky Cleșcenco, is also a footballer who has appeared for the Moldova national team.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Moldova's goal tally first.''

Honours

Player

Zimbru Chișinău *

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98 *

Moldovan Cup Cupa Moldovei (), officially known as Cupa Orange Group, Orange for sponsorship reasons, is a association football, football competition, held annually in Moldova. The winner qualifies for the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round. Finals Th ...

: 1997–98 Maccabi Haifa *

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

: 2000–01 Hapoel Tel Aviv *

Toto Cup The Israel Toto Cup (, ''Gvia Ha'Toto'') is an association football tournament that features clubs in the two highest divisions in Israel: the Israeli Premier League Ligat ha'Al, Ligat Ha'Al; and the Israeli 2nd division Liga Leumit. Both of the ...

: 2001–02 Individual * Moldovan Footballer of the Year: 1994, 2000

Manager

Milsami *

: 2011–12 *

Moldovan Super Cup The Moldovan Super Cup () is the national football (soccer), football super cup competition in Moldova, officially having the winners of the previous season's Moldovan Liga and Moldovan Cup face-off against each other. In case when the national cu ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Managerial Statistics

References

External links

Profile and biography of Sergei Cleșcenco on Maccabi Haifa's official website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clescenco, Serghei 1972 births Living people People from Criuleni District Moldovan men's footballers Moldovan expatriate men's footballers Moldova men's international footballers FC Oryol players FC Zimbru Chișinău players Go Ahead Eagles players FC Zenit Saint Petersburg players Maccabi Haifa F.C. players Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. players FC Chernomorets Novorossiysk players Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C. players FC Sibir Novosibirsk players FC Novokuznetsk players Moldovan Super Liga players Russian Premier League players Moldovan football managers FC Zimbru Chișinău managers FC Milsami Orhei managers U.D. Leiria managers Men's association football forwards Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Moldovan expatriate sportspeople in Israel Moldovan expatriate sportspeople in Russia Moldovan Super Liga managers Moldova national football team managers Soviet men's footballers Moldovan expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Moldovan expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands