Silviu Ploeșteanu (28 January 1913 – 13 April 1969) was a Romanian footballer and manager.

Silviu Ploeșteanu
Silviu Ploeșteanu in 1963, coach of Romania's national football team
Personal information
Date of birth (1913-01-28)28 January 1913
Place of birth Craiova, Romania
Date of death 13 April 1969(1969-04-13) (aged 56)
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1930–1932 UD Reșița
1932–1937 Universitatea Cluj 87 (30)
1937–1946 Venus București[a] 88 (18)
1948–1949 UA Brașov
Total 175 (48)
International career
1937–1941 Romania 11 (1)
Managerial career
1948–1968 Steagul Roșu Brașov
1962–1963 Romania
1964 Romania Olympic
1968–1969 Tractorul Brașov
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of March 2010
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of March 2010

Club career

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Silviu Ploeșteanu, nicknamed Ploaie (Rain) was born on 28 January 1913 in Craiova, Romania and he started to play football in 1930 at UD Reșița, winning the Divizia A title in his first season as a footballer.[1][3][4][5] In the following season he was a runner-up in Divizia A with UD Reșița, afterwards moving at Universitatea Cluj where he earned another runner-up position with the team in his first season spent at the club.[1][3][4][5] In the following season, he reached with "U" Cluj in the 1934 Cupa României final where he scored a goal in the first game as the club lost the trophy in front of Ripensia Timișoara.[1][3][4][5][6] In 1937, Ploeșteanu switched teams again moving at Venus București with whom he won two Divizia A titles in the 1938–39 and 1939–40 seasons, being used by coach Béla Jánosy in 22 matches in which he scored three goals in the first one and in 21 games in which he scored four goals in the second.[1][3][4][5][7] He also reached the 1940 Cupa României final with Venus, which was composed of four games, Ploeșteanu playing in all of them, scoring a goal in the first as the team eventually lost in the last game against Rapid București.[8] Silviu Ploeșteanu ended his career by spending one year as a player-coach in the regional championship at UA Brașov.[1][3][4][5]

International career

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Silviu Ploeșteanu played 11 games and scored one goal at international level for Romania, making his debut on 8 July 1937 under coach Constantin Rădulescu in a friendly which ended with a 2–0 away victory against Lithuania.[9][10] He scored a goal in a game against Germany and was captain in a 2–1 victory against Yugoslavia.[9] His last appearance took place on 12 October 1941 in a 3–2 victory against Slovakia.[9]

International goals

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Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first. "Score" column indicates the score after the player's goal.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 14 July 1940 Riederwaldstadion, Frankfurt am Main, Nazi Germany   Germany 2–7 3–9 Friendly

Managerial career

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"Everything I know in football I know from our beloved coach Silviu Ploeșteanu. He taught us that to succeed you need measure, common sense, heart, character and passion"

Emanoil Hașoti, former Steagul Roșu Brașov player[3]

Silviu Ploeșteanu started his managerial career at Steagul Roșu Brașov in 1948, being also a player in the first year.[3][4][5] He helped Steagul earn the promotion from the regional championship to Divizia B in 1950, afterwards in 1956 promoting to Divizia A where he earned a runner-up position in the 1959–60 season, also managing to do some performances in the European competitions such as winning the 1960–61 Balkans Cup and reaching the 1965–66 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup sixteenths-finals as the club was eliminated by Espanyol Barcelona against whom he earned a 4–2 victory.[3][4] In 1962 he also started coaching Romania's national team simultaneously while still coaching Steagul, leading the national team in four friendly games which consist of one victory, two draws and one loss, afterwards coaching Romania's Olympic team which he helped qualify to the 1964 Summer Olympics where the team finished on the fifth place.[3][4][11][12] In January 1967, Ploeșteanu took the decision to change the colors of Steagul from white and blue to black and yellow, considering that in the new colors the team will be seen better on the field, being inspired to take this decision by his player, Csaba Györffy who participated with Romania's Olympic team in a tournament in Uruguay where after a match with Peñarol, Györffy received from captain Alberto Spencer the shirt with which he played and at the return in the country, he wore the shirt during his training sessions with the team.[3][13] After 20 years spent at Steagul he was dismissed after the team finished on the last place of the 1967–68 season, relegating to Divizia B.[3][4] His last coaching experience took part at Tractorul Brașov from 1968 until 1969.[3] Silviu Ploeșteanu has a total of 249 Divizia A games as a manager, consisting of 104 victories, 49 draws and 96 losses.[14]

Personal life

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Silviu Ploeșteanu was known as an anti-communist, telling everyone whom he would interact:"Never call me comrade! I was born a sir and I will always be a sir".[3] After dying of a heart attack on 13 April 1969, people who were close to him claim that one of the reasons of his death was because of the sadness he felt after being dismissed by Steagul Roșu Brașov after coaching it for 20 years.[3][4] The Stadionul Silviu Ploeșteanu from Brașov is named in his honor.[3][4]

Honours

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Player

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UD Reșița

Universitatea Cluj

Venus București

Manager

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Steagul Roșu Brașov

Notes

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  1. ^ 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 and goals scored during this period for Venus București are not official with the exception of the 1945–46 regional championship.[1][2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Silviu Ploeșteanu at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  2. ^ "File de poveste – perioada Juventus! Episodul XXIV – "Ultimul șut aduce promovarea"" [Story files - the Juventus period! Episode XXIV - "The Last Shot Gets the Promotion"] (in Romanian). Ploiestiulpatrianoastra.com. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "109 ani de la naşterea lui Silviu Ploeșteanu, omul care a ridicat "Steagul Roșu" şi care a obţinut cel mai mare rezultat al României la Jocurile Olimpice. Era un anti-comunist convins: "Mie să nu-mi spuneți niciodată tovarăș!"" [109 years since the birth of Silviu Ploeșteanu, the man who raised the "Red Flag" and who obtained Romania's highest result at the Olympic Games. He was a staunch anti-communist: "Never call me comrade!"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "SPORT108 ani de la naşterea lui Silviu Ploeșteanu. Marele antrenor încă trăieşte prin inimile "stegarilor"" [SPORT 108 years since the birth of Silviu Ploeșteanu. The great coach still lives on in the hearts of the "flagbearers"] (in Romanian). Brasov.net. 28 January 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Silviu Ploeșteanu profile" (in Romanian). 4everucluj.ro.
  6. ^ a b "Romanian Cup – Season 1933–1934". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Romanian Cup – Season 1939–1940". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  9. ^ a b c "Silviu Ploeșteanu player profile". European Football. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  10. ^ "Lithuania 0-2 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  11. ^ "Silviu Ploeșteanu manager profile". European Football. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Cum a fost ultima participare a României la Olimpiadă, în 1964, când "tricolorii" au pierdut dramatic sfertul cu Ungaria" [How was Romania's last participation in the Olympics, in 1964, when "The Tricolors" dramatically lost the quarter to Hungary] (in Romanian). Theplaymaker.ro. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Galben-negrii au fost alb-albaştri! Povestea culorilor lui FC Braşov relatată de fosta glorie a "stegarilor", Csaba Gyorffy" [The yellow-blacks were white-blue! The story of FC Braşov's colors told by the former glory of "The Flag-bearers", Csaba Gyorffy] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 21 October 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Top 60 antrenori" [Top 60 coaches] (in Romanian). RomanianSoccer.ro. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
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