Gheorghe Constantin

Gheorghe Constantin (14 December 1932 – 9 March 2010) was a Romanian footballer and coach, nicknamed 'The Professor' and a symbol of Steaua București.

Gheorghe Constantin

Constantin in the 1960s
Personal information
Date of birth	(1932-12-14)14 December 1932
Place of birth	Bucharest, Romania
Date of death	9 March 2010(2010-03-09) (aged 77)
Place of death	Bucharest, Romania
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
1946–1949	Unirea Tricolor București
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1949–1950	Venus București
1950–1951	Avântul Reghin
1951–1954	CFR Iaşi
1954–1955	CFR Sighetu Marmației
1955–1969	Steaua București	264	(148)
1969–1970	Kayserispor	26	(5)
1970–1971	Farul Constanța	3	(0)
Total		293	(153)
International career
1956–1967	Romania[a]	39	(12)
Managerial career
1971–1972	Steaua București (assistant)
1972–1973	Steaua București
1973–1975	Steaua București (assistant)
1975–1976	SC Bacău
1976	Fenerbahçe (assistant)
1976–1977	Romania (assistant)
1977–1978	FCM Galaţi
1978–1981	Steaua București
1981–1982	Politehnica Iaşi
1982–1984	Steaua Mecanică Fină
1984–1986	Gloria Buzău
1986–1987	Olt Scornicești
1987–1988	Universitatea Craiova
1989–1990	Farul Constanța
1990	Romania
1990–1991	Zeytinburnuspor
1991–1992	Rapid București
1993–1994	Farul Constanța (assistant)
1994	Farul Constanța
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

Constantin began his career with Unirea Tricolor's youth team, and shortly after their dissolution, he signed with Venus București. He played for only one year at his new club before moving to Avântul Reghin, then CFR Iaşi, before finally signing a contract with Steaua București. He played for Steaua for 15 years and helped the club win 8 domestic titles. In 1969, the Romanian Communist authorities allowed him to play abroad for Kayserispor in Turkey at age 37.^[4]

Constantin made his debut for the Romania national team on 22 April 1956 in a 1–0 win against Yugoslavia in Belgrade, a game notable for the fact that the entire Romanian team consisted of players from Steaua București. He was also a member of Romania's team at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Japan.^[1]

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	14 September 1958	Zentral Stadium, Leipzig, East Germany	East Germany	1–1	3–2	Friendly
2.	2 November 1958	23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania	Turkey	2–0	3–0	1960 European Nations' Cup Qual.
3.	8 November 1959	23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania	Bulgaria	1–0	1–0	1960 European Nations' Cup Qual.
4.	8 October 1961	23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania	Turkey	3–0	4–0	Friendly
5.	8 October 1961	23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania	Turkey	4–0	4–0	Friendly
6.	25 November 1962	23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania	Spain	3–1	3–1	1964 European Nations' Cup Qual.
7.	23 December 1962	Stade D'honneur, Casablanca, Morocco	Morocco	0–1	3–1	Friendly
8.	23 June 1963	Idrætsparken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark	Denmark	0–1	2–3	1964 Summer Olympics Qual.
9.	27 April 1964	23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania	Czechoslovakia	1–0	4–1	Friendly
10.	3 May 1964	23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania	Austria	1–0	2–1	Friendly
11.	3 May 1964	23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania	Austria	2–0	2–1	Friendly
12.	22 October 1964	Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan	Yugoslavia	3–0	3–0	1964 Summer Olympics (5th place match)

Managerial career

After his return from Turkey, he was appointed by Steaua București as assistant manager. Constantin was the manager of the club in 1972, but after only a short period, he moved to Bacău. After Bacău, he managed FCM Galaţi, but returned to Steaua in 1978. He won the Romanian Cup in his second spell there, then left the club to manage Politehnica Iaşi. In 1983, he was appointed the manager of Steaua București's second team, Steaua Mecanică Fină București. He managed a number of clubs in his native country and also coached in Turkey.

Death

He died in Bucharest on 9 March 2010, at the age of 77.^[5]

Gallery

• 
  Constantin (front row, second from left) with CCA Steaua in 1961
• 
  Constantin (back row, fourth from left) with Romania's Olympic team in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1963
• 
  Constantin with Steaua in 1963
• 
  Constantin with the Romanian Cup trophy in 1967
• 
  Constantin (bottom row, second from the left), Romania 1–0 West Germany November 1967

Honours

Player

Steaua Bucharest

• Romanian League: 1956, 1960, 1961, 1968
• Romanian Cup: 1955, 1962, 1966, 1967

Individual

• Romanian League top scorer: 1960, 1961, 1962

Manager

Steaua Bucharest

• Romanian Cup: 1978–79
• Romanian League runner-up: 1979–80

Politehnica Iaşi

• Romanian Second League: 1981–82

Notes

1. Including 19 appearances and 6 goals for Romania's Olympic team.^[2][3]