Corneliu Papură

Corneliu Papură (born 5 September 1973) is a Romanian professional football manager and former football player, who played as a centre-back or a defensive midfielder, currently head coach at Universitatea Craiova U18.

Corneliu Papură

Personal information
Date of birth	(1973-09-05) 5 September 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth	Craiova, Romania
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back, defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Universitatea Craiova U18
Youth career
0000–1992	Universitatea Craiova
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1992–1996	Universitatea Craiova	101	(4)
1996–1999	Rennes	26	(2)
1996–1999	Rennes B	22	(2)
1999–2000	Universitatea Craiova	53	(3)
2001	Național București	12	(1)
2001–2002	Beitar Jerusalem	25	(1)
2002–2004	Universitatea Craiova	60	(7)
2004	AEL Limassol	10	(1)
2005	Universitatea Craiova	12	(0)
2005	Changchun Yatai	12	(2)
2006	Guangzhou Pharmaceutical	19	(1)
2006–2007	Național București	13	(0)
Total		365	(24)
International career
1994–1996	Romania	12	(0)
Managerial career
2007	Progresul București
2010–2011	ALRO Slatina
2012	Olt Slatina
2013	Universitatea II Craiova
2013–2014	Universitatea Craiova (assistant)
2016–2018	Universitatea II Craiova
2018–2019	Universitatea Craiova (scout)
2019	Universitatea Craiova
2019	Universitatea Craiova (assistant)
2020	Universitatea Craiova
2020–2021	Universitatea Craiova
2021–2023	Universitatea II Craiova
2023	Universitatea Craiova (caretaker)
2023–2024	Universitatea II Craiova
2024–	Universitatea Craiova U18
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Papură was born in Craiova, and started his career with his hometown team Universitatea Craiova, in 1992. As a player, he played for Universitatea in four different periods, spending a large part of his career with the club, with short stints in France, Israel and Cyprus.^[1]

International career

Papură earned 12 caps for the Romania national team, and was in the squad for the 1994 World Cup.^[2]

International stats

Romania
Year	Apps	Goals
1994	7	0
1995	2	0
1996	3	0
Total	12	0

Honours

Player

Universitatea Craiova

• Cupa României: 1992–93