Nicolae Dumitrescu
![]() Nicolae Dumitrescu (left) arriving on Zestienhoven on September 14, 1970. | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 8 December 1921 | ||
Place of birth | Bucharest, Romania | ||
Date of death | 17 March 1999 | (aged 77)||
Place of death | Arad, Romania | ||
Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Youth career | |||
Suter București | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1941–1946 | Sparta București[a] | 11 | (2) |
1946–1955 | ITA Arad | 164 | (51) |
Total | 175 | (53) | |
International career‡ | |||
1947–1948 | Romania | 10 | (2) |
Managerial career | |||
1956–1964 | UTA Arad (juniors) | ||
1962 | Romania U18 | ||
1965–1973 | UTA Arad | ||
1975–1976 | UTA Arad | ||
1979 | UTA Arad | ||
1985–1986 | UTA Arad | ||
1993–1994 | UTA Arad | ||
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15 August 2017 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 15 August 2017 |
Nicolae "Coco" Dumitrescu (8 December 1921 – 17 March 1999) was a Romanian footballer and manager. As a footballer, he played mainly as a forward and throughout his career, he won four Divizia A titles and two cups with ITA Arad.[2][3][4][5] As a manager, he won two titles with the same team, also in the 1970–71 European Cup season they eliminated Feyenoord who were European champions at that time.[2][3][4][5] For these performances he is considered a symbol of the club.[2][3][4][5]
Club career
[edit]Dumitrescu was born on 8 December 1921 in Bucharest, Romania and began playing football in 1938 at local club Suter.[1][2] In 1941 he went to Sparta București with whom he played a Cupa României final which was lost with 4–0 to CFR Turnu Severin.[1][2][3][6] In 1946, Dumitrescu joined ITA Arad where he made his Divizia A debut under coach Zoltán Opata on 22 September 1946 in a 1–1 draw against UD Reșița in which he scored a goal.[1][2][3] By the end of the season he earned a total of 10 goals in 10 appearances, helping the club win the first title in its history.[1][2][3][7][8] In the following season, Dumitrescu helped the team win The Double, playing under coach Petre Steinbach in 27 matches in which he netted a personal record of 17 goals.[1][2][3][7] However, he was not the team's top-scorer as Ladislau Bonyhádi scored 49 and Adalbert Kovács scored 19.[7] He also played the entire match in the 3–2 victory in the 1948 Cupa României final against CFR Timișoara.[1][2][3][9] In the 1950 Divizia A season he won another title with the club, being used by coach Francisc Dvorzsák in 15 matches in which he did not score, also appearing in the 1950 Cupa României final which was lost with 3–1 to CCA București.[1][2][3][7][10] Dumitrescu helped The Old Lady win the 1953 Cupa României, being utilized by coach Coloman Braun-Bogdan in the 1–0 victory against CCA București in the final.[1][2][3][11] Braun-Bogdan further used him in 23 matches in which he scored four goals in the 1954 Divizia A season, where he and the club secured their fourth title together.[1][2][3][7] On 27 November 1955, Dumitrescu made his last Divizia A appearance, playing for ITA in a 2–0 away victory against CCA București, having a total of 164 appearances with 51 goals scored in the competition, all while representing The Old Lady.[1]
International career
[edit]Dumitrescu played 10 games and scored two goals at international level for Romania, making his debut under coach Colea Vâlcov on 25 May 1947 in a 4–0 away victory against Albania in the 1947 Balkan Cup, a competition in which he made a total of three appearances.[12][13] He scored his first goal for the national team in a friendly that ended with a 6–2 loss to Czechoslovakia.[12] He made his last four appearances in the 1948 Balkan Cup in which he netted a goal in a 3–2 home victory against Bulgaria.[12]
International goals
[edit]- Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Dumitrescu goal.[12]
Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 21 September 1947 | Stadionul Giulești, București, Romania | ![]() |
2–3 | 2–6 | Friendly |
2 | 20 June 1948 | Stadionul Giulești, București, Romania | ![]() |
3–2 | 3–2 | 1948 Balkan Cup |
Managerial career
[edit]

Dumitrescu started his coaching career shortly after he ended his playing career at the junior squads of UTA Arad in 1956 where he stayed until 1964.[14] During this time he reached three national junior championship finals, winning the first two against Dinamo București and Farul Constanța and losing the third to Rapid București.[14] In these years he discovered and promoted talents like Mihai Țârlea, Constantin Koszka or his stepbrother, Ion Pârcălab.[14] He also coached Romania's under-18 national team with Gheorghe Ola, winning together the 1962 European championship.[2][15][16] In 1965, Dumitrescu became the head coach of UTA's senior squad with whom he reached the 1966 Cupa României final which was lost with 4–0 to Steaua București and won two consecutive Divizia A titles in the 1968–69 and 1969–70 seasons.[2][3][14][17][18] He also made some European performances with The Old Lady as eliminating Ernst Happel's Feyenoord in the 1970–71 European Cup who were the defending European champions.[3][4][17] They also reached the 1971–72 UEFA Cup quarter-finals by eliminating Austria Salzburg, Zagłębie Wałbrzych and Vitória Setúbal, being eliminated by Tottenham Hotspur who eventually won the competition.[3][4][19] Dumitrescu coached UTA on several other occasions, having a total of 375 matches as manager in Divizia A, consisting of 154 victories, 80 draws and 141 losses.[2][20]
Personal life
[edit]His stepbrother, Ion Pârcălab was also an international footballer.[14][21]
A book about Dumitrescu was written by Radu Romănescu called Coco Dumitrescu, pentru totdeauna în inima Bătrânei Doamne (Coco Dumitrescu, forever in the heart of the Old Lady), which was released on 18 April 2021, a date that signified 100 years since his birth.[2][4][17]
Death
[edit]Dumitrescu died on 17 March 1999 at age 77.[1][2][3]
Honours
[edit]Player
[edit]Sparta București
- Cupa României runner-up: 1942–43[6]
ITA Arad
Manager
[edit]Romania U18
UTA Arad
Notes
[edit]- ^ The Divizia A 1940–41 was the last season before World War II and the Divizia A 1946–47 was the first one after, so the appearances during this period for Sparta București are not official.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Nicolae Dumitrescu at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "În amintirea lui Coco Dumitrescu, la centenar" [In memory of Coco Dumitrescu, at the centenary] (in Romanian). Uta-arad.ro. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Un veac de "Coco"! Nicolae Dumitrescu, omul care a fost prezent la toate performanțele Bătrânei Doamne" [A century of "Coco"! Nicolae Dumitrescu, the man who was present at all the performances of the Old Lady] (in Romanian). Specialarad.ro. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "A 76-a aniversare a UTA-ei, sub semnul figurii marcante a lui Nicolae Dumitrescu" [The 76th anniversary of UTA, under the sign of the outstanding figure of Nicolae Dumitrescu] (in Romanian). Sportarad.ro. 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ a b c "45 de ani de la a opta minune a lumii. Feyenoord era eliminată de UTA" [45 years since the eighth wonder of the world. Feyenoord was eliminated by UTA] (in Romanian). Radiotimișoara.ro. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
- ^ a b "Romanian Cup – Season 1942–1943". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ "CSM Resita vs UTA Arad Liga1 1946–1947". Labtof. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ "Romanian Cup - Season 1947 - 1948". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ a b "Romanian Cup - Season 1950". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
- ^ "Romanian Cup - Season 1953". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Nicolae Dumitrescu". European Football. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ "Albania 0-4 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Cinci decenii şi jumătate de la primul campionat de juniori câştigat de UTA. Pe când juniorii creșteau ocrotiţi de fotbaliştii legendari" [Five and a half decades since the first junior championship won by UTA. While the juniors grew up protected by the legendary footballers] (in Romanian). Glsa.ro. 1 July 2013. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- ^ a b "O tempora!U18 România-campioana Europei! Azi, ne bate Liechtenstein" [O tempora! U18 Romania-European champion! Today, Liechtenstein beats us] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 29 April 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ "România, campioană europeană la fotbal în 1962! Juniorii U18, succes total prin toate mijloacele" [Romania, European football champion in 1962! Juniors U18, total success by all means] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
"Acum 55 de ani, Romania devenea campioana europeana la fotbal!" [55 years ago, Romania became the European football champion!] (in Romanian). Playbuzz.com. 8 May 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
"Șase decenii de la singurul titlu European al fotbalului nostru" [Six decades since our football's only European title] (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2024. - ^ a b c "Un secol de la nașterea lui "Coco" Dumitrescu, "Omul trofeu" al "Bătrânei Doamne"!" [A century since the birth of "Coco" Dumitrescu, the "trophy man" of the "Old Lady"!] (in Romanian). Sportarad.ro. 18 December 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ a b "Romanian Cup - Season 1965-1966". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
- ^ "Fotbalul de altă dată: UTA Arad – Tottenham Hotspur, Cupa UEFA, 1972" [Football of another time: UTA Arad - Tottenham Hotspur, UEFA Cup, 1972] (in Romanian). Tackle.ro. 10 February 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ "Top 60 antrenori" [Top 60 coaches] (in Romanian). RomanianSoccer.ro. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ "SPECIAL Situaţie de gradul I în Liga 1. Ce a realizat Silviu Lung jr. prin câştigarea titlului cu Astra. De la fraţii Vâlcov, la fraţii Costea şi familia Piţurcă" [SPECIAL First grade situation in Liga 1. What Silviu Lung jr. accomplished by winning the title with Astra. From the brothers Vâlcov to the brothers Costea and the Piţurcă family] (in Romanian). prosport.ro. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
External links
[edit]- Nicolae Dumitrescu at WorldFootball.net
- Nicolae Dumitrescu at National-Football-Teams.com
- Nicolae Dumitrescu at Labtof.ro