Dan Petrescu

Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox football biography Daniel "Dan" Vasile Petrescu ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; born 22 December 1967) is a Romanian football manager and former player who is currently in charge of Liga I club CFR Cluj.

As a player, Petrescu was deployed as a full-back or a winger and began his career at Steaua București, with which he played in the 1989 European Cup final. Abroad, he represented Serie A clubs Foggia and Genoa, before moving to the Premier League where he played for Sheffield Wednesday, Chelsea, Bradford City, and Southampton, respectively. With Chelsea, Petrescu won the 1998 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. He earned 95 caps for the Romania national team, being selected in two World Cup squads, in 1994 and 1998, and in two European Championships, in 1996 and 2000.

Petrescu became player-assistant manager to Walter Zenga at Național București towards the end of his playing career,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and has since had an extensive career as a head coach in Poland, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, China, Turkey, and South Korea, in addition to his native country. His first job was at Sportul Studențesc, which he led to Liga I promotion. Petrescu has won domestic honours with Unirea Urziceni, Kuban Krasnodar, ASA Târgu Mureș, Jiangsu Suning, and CFR Cluj. He is the second-most successful manager in Romania, tied with Emerich Jenei, winning the league on six occasions (five times with CFR Cluj and once with Urziceni),<ref name=gsp>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and was also named Romania Coach of the Year a record five times, tied with Mircea Lucescu.

Playing careerEdit

ClubEdit

After playing for Steaua București's youth teams, Petrescu was promoted into the first team in 1986 in a match played by Steaua just one month after winning the European Cup. He was loaned to Olt Scornicești for the 1986–87 season, but asked to return to Steaua in 1987.

File:RO B Steaua 1989.jpg

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Petrescu was part of the Steaua squad that reached the European Cup semi-finals (1988) and the final (1989).

In 1991, Petrescu was bought by Italian club Foggia in a period when the club saw promotion to Serie A. In 1993, he moved to Genoa.

Petrescu signed for Sheffield Wednesday in 1994 from Genoa, after a successful 1994 World Cup for Romania. After one season at Hillsborough, he signed for Chelsea and featured prominently there for the next five years. During his term at Chelsea, he was a member of the teams which won the FA Cup in 1997 and the League Cup and Cup Winners' Cup (both in 1998). After falling out with Chelsea manager Gianluca Vialli after a defeat to Manchester United (a game in which he scored),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Petrescu never played for the club again and was not even selected as a substitute for the 2000 FA Cup final against Aston Villa.

Turning down a move to Southampton in August 2000,<ref name = "ITN565">Template:Cite book</ref> he instead moved to Bradford City for £1 million, scoring one goal, against West Ham United.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In January 2001, Petrescu's former Chelsea manager, Glenn Hoddle, eventually persuaded him to join Southampton for a "nominal" fee.<ref name = "ITN565"/> He initially settled in well at The Dell, scoring against Leicester City<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Manchester City<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in his first few matches.<ref name = "ITN268">Template:Cite book</ref> In March, Hoddle left the Saints to take up the managerial reins at Tottenham Hotspur and his replacement, Stuart Gray, dropped Petrescu, replacing him with Hassan Kachloul for the remainder of the season.<ref name = "ITN268"/> After making only two substitute appearances in the 2001–02 season, Petrescu was released and returned to Romania.<ref name = "ITN565"/>

Petrescu returned to his native Bucharest for a last season as a footballer, with Național București. His last match was the Cupa României final, on 31 May 2003; Național lost 1–0 to Dinamo București, during which Petrescu received much abuse from some of the Dinamo fans as he left the pitch at the end of 90 minutes, even though it was the last game of one of Romania's greatest footballers. Presumably, this was because he used to play for Dinamo's greatest rivals, Steaua.

InternationalEdit

Petrescu registered 95 caps for the senior Romania national team. He made his debut in 1989 and played at four major tournaments: the 1994 World Cup, UEFA Euro 1996, the 1998 World Cup (where the entire Romania squad famously dyed their hair blonde after losing a bet with head coach Anghel Iordănescu), and Euro 2000.

Petrescu missed the 1990 World Cup due to injury. In 1994, Petrescu played in his first World Cup, held in the United States. He scored the only goal in a win against the United States which saw Romania qualify for the second round as group winners. They were then handed a difficult game against Argentina which they managed to win, only to lose to Sweden on penalties in the quarter-finals, with Petrescu one of two Romanians to miss his spot-kick.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The miss still haunts him today. "It will probably stay with me for the rest of my life", he said. After the World Cup, he flew to Saint Thomas and spent two weeks in the Caribbean region.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Euro 1996 was a disappointment for Romania, as they lost all three group matches and only managed to score one goal.

At the 1998 World Cup in France, Petrescu raced past his Chelsea teammate Graeme Le Saux and scored the winning goal against England, which effectively won them the group and ensured they would not have to face Argentina in the second round. He became the second Romanian player to score in two different World Cups after Ștefan Dobay. The Romanians, however, lost their second round match to Croatia, 1–0.

Petrescu was an important piece of the Romanian team at Euro 2000, where they survived a group with Portugal, Germany and England. A new victory over the English team was decisive to qualify for quarter-finals. Romania won all the matches where Petrescu scored.

Managerial careerEdit

After retiring in 2003, Petrescu pursued a career as a coach. He began his managerial career in July 2003 with second division side Sportul Studențesc, whom he led to promotion before taking over at Rapid Bucharest in December, but stepped down in April 2004, after only six games and four months at the helm.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He then returned for a second spell at Sportul Studențesc, where he helped the club to a seventh-place finish in Diviza A.

Wisła KrakówEdit

In December 2005, Petrescu agreed to manage 2004–05 Ekstraklasa champions Wisła Kraków in Poland, replacing caretaker manager Tomasz Kulawik. Wisła finished second in the 2005–06 championship. He was dismissed as manager of Wisła on 18 September 2006 after unconvincing results to begin the 2006–07 season. Petrescu accused the Wisła players for not wanting to train hard to improve their performances.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Unirea UrziceniEdit

File:Dan Petrescu.jpg

Petrescu in 2008

About one week after his termination, Petrescu was appointed as manager of Romanian Liga I newly promoted club Unirea Urziceni, with which he had considerable leading. Under his management, Unirea Urziceni was runner-up in the 2007–08 Cupa României and qualified for the 2008–09 UEFA Cup. He was considered for the vacant manager's position at his former club Steaua București after Marius Lăcătuș' resignation in October 2008. Dorinel Munteanu was appointed instead, but Petrescu has not ruled out a future role at the club. In May 2009, Petrescu won the Liga I title with outsiders Unirea Urziceni, the first title for both Petrescu and his club, and consequently achieving qualification to the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League, during which he led Unirea to a shock 4–1 victory at Ibrox against Rangers and a win against Sevilla at home, 1–0.

Petrescu resigned as manager of Unirea Urziceni in December 2009.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Kuban KrasnodarEdit

File:Dan Vasile Petrescu.jpg

Petrescu with Kuban Krasnodar in 2011

On 28 December 2009, Russian First Division club Kuban Krasnodar hired Petrescu on a five-year contract.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Petrescu managed to gain promotion to the Russian Premier League in his debut season, winning the 2010 Russian First Division with a total of 80 points, nine clear of second place. His team conceded only 20 goals in 38 matches.<ref name="kuban">Template:Cite news</ref>

On 14 August 2012, it was announced that Petrescu had resigned as Kuban Krasnodar manager, citing the need for a new challenge.Template:Citation needed Kuban later participated in the UEFA Europa League for the first time.

Dynamo MoscowEdit

File:Dan Petrescu 2012.jpg

Petrescu as Dynamo Moscow manager in 2012

Shortly after his resignation, in August 2012 Petrescu signed a three-year contract reportedly worth €2.5 million per year to join Dynamo Moscow.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

On 8 April 2014, his contract was terminated by mutual agreement after a heavy loss to outsiders Anzhi Makhachkala, 0–4.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Dynamo Moscow director of sports Guram Adzhoyev stated, "Last year Dan drew the team from the complicated situation, lifted it to the certain level, but recently we have seen no progress."<ref name="FC Dynamo Moscow">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Al-ArabiEdit

In June 2014, Petrescu agreed to coach Qatari side Al-Arabi.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 1 December 2014, his contract with the club was terminated after a mutual agreement.

Târgu MureșEdit

On 10 June 2015, Petrescu was announced as the new manager of Liga I runner-up ASA Târgu Mureș. His first, and only, match in charge was in the Supercupa României against champions Steaua București ended with Târgu Mureș winning 1–0.<ref name= "uefa 2264234" >Template:Cite news</ref> He resigned the next day, to take up a lucrative contract with Chinese side Jiangsu Suning.<ref name=BBC>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Jiangsu SuningEdit

On 9 July 2015, Petrescu left Târgu Mureș, claiming his decision was due to the club's growing financial problems, though he was immediately hired as manager of Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning on a lucrative deal.<ref name=BBC/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Petrescu said in a statement, "It's very hard to leave the team in this moment. I don't how it'll be in China, I hope it will be like in Russia."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In his first season in charge, Petrescu guided the club to victory in the 2015 Chinese FA Cup.<ref name = "sohu n428770821" >Template:Cite news</ref> On 3 June 2016, Suning announced that Petrescu will no longer be the manager of the club.<ref name="Petrescu stepdown">Template:Cite news</ref>

Kuban KrasnodarEdit

On 14 June 2016, Petrescu signed a two-year contract with Kuban Krasnodar, after the club was relegated to the second-tier Russian National Football League.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On 4 October 2016, with Kuban winning only 3 out of first 15 games and sitting in the 14th spot in the league instead of the expected fight for promotion, he left Kuban by mutual consent, stating that the club had not paid him.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

On 29 October 2016, Petrescu was announced as the manager of Emirates Arabian Gulf League side Al-Nasr until the end of the season. He led the club to the final match of the UAE President's Cup but was defeated by Al-Wahda in his last game in charge. Al-Nasr appointed Cesare Prandelli as his replacement.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

CFR ClujEdit

On 10 June 2017, he was appointed head coach of Liga I club CFR Cluj.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On 20 May 2018, Cluj were crowned as Liga I champions for the 2017–18 season after a 1–0 victory over Viitorul Constanța.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Guizhou HengfengEdit

On 7 June 2018, he was announced as the manager of Chinese club Guizhou Hengfeng to replace Gregorio Manzano.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Return to CFR ClujEdit

On 22 March 2019, Petrescu returned as manager of CFR Cluj after the club had experienced a string of poor performances in the league. He managed to win the 2018-19 Liga I title, successfully defending the trophy he won one year prior. The next season, CFR Cluj sought to have an ambitious European campaign, with the goal to qualify for the group stages of a European Competition. Petrescu guided his side to the 2019-20 Europa League group stage, after a loss in the 2019-20 Champions League playoffs against Slavia Praha, eliminating Scottish giants Celtic on the way. In the group stages, he faced Italian giants SS Lazio, Stade Rennais and meeting Celtic once again, proving to be an almost impossible challenge for CFR. However, with two wins over Stade Rennais and one win over Lazio and Celtic each, CFR finished second in the group stages and qualified for the knock-out phase of the Europa League. There, Petrescu met Spanish giants Sevilla and were eliminated after a 1-1 and 0-0 draws. The team's performance in Europe was praised by Romanian media, and Petrescu himself claims it was one of the highlights of his career.

Domestically, CFR were able to maintain their dominance, winning the regular season of the 2019-20 Liga I by a comfortable margin. However, the playoffs proved to be a much bigger challenge, as the COVID pandemic allowed Craiova to stabilize and pose a challenge to Petrescu's side. While Craiova lead the standings for most of the playoff phase, following a win on CFR's ground and CFR's draws against Astra Giurgiu and Gaz Metan Medias, CFR won the reverse fixture against Craiova on the last matchday, thus securing their third consecutive title.

On 19 August 2020, CFR restarted the European campaign against Maltese champions Floriana FC with a 2–0 victory but were eliminated in the second round by Dinamo Zagreb on penalties. After CFR was eliminated from the Europa League, and had begun to faltering domestically, Petrescu announced on 30 November that he and the club had agreed to terminate his contract.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Third spell at CFR ClujEdit

On 28 August 2021, after a weak European campaign which saw the club fail to qualify for the Europa League, CFR Cluj's owner Nelutu Varga dismissed Marius Sumudica, and after few days of negotiations, Petrescu signed a contract on 31 August for a third stint at CFR Cluj.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 15 May 2022 Petrescu won his 4th league, and CFR's 5th consecutive championship after a 2–1 win over Universitatea Craiova, establishing the Hegemony of CFR Cluj in Romanian football.

Jeonbuk Hyundai MotorsEdit

On 9 June 2023, Petrescu was appointed as the head coach of K League 1 club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 6 April 2024, he stepped down after a five-game winless start.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

A fourth chapter at CFR ClujEdit

On 15 April 2024, Petrescu agreed to return to CFR Cluj on a three-year contract,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> with an effective start in the summer of 2024, citing desire to rest after his spell in South Korea. However, on 30 April, Petrescu announced his decision to cancel his break, and took charge of the club for the fourth time, replacing interim manager Ovidiu Hoban.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He made his return to Romanian football on 5 May, leading Cluj to a 3–2 win over Rapid București.

Personal lifeEdit

Petrescu was married to Daniela Carmen from 1992 to 2003, with whom he has two daughters: Rebecca (born 1994) and Beatrice Chelsea (born 1998). He named one of his daughters "Chelsea" in honour of one of his former clubs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In May 2007, he married Adriana Stan, a former athlete. The couple have a daughter together, Jennifer, born in 2008.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career statisticsEdit

ClubEdit

citation
Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Other		Total
CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Citation needed
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Steaua București	1985–86	Divizia A	2	0	0	0	–		0	0	–		2	0
	1987–88	Divizia A	11	1	1	0	–		1	0	–		13	1
	1988–89	Divizia A	28	5	2	0	–		8	1	–		38	6
	1989–90	Divizia A	23	9	3	1	–		4	1	–		30	11
	1990–91	Divizia A	31	13	3	2	–		3	2	–		37	17
	Total		95	28	9	3	0	0	16	4	0	0	120	35
Olt Scornicești (loan)	1986–87	Divizia A	24	0	1	0	–		–		–		25	0
Foggia	1991–92	Serie A	25	4	2	0	–		–		–		27	4
	1992–93	Serie A	30	3	4	0	–		–		–		34	3
	Total		55	7	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	61	7
Genoa	1993–94	Serie A	24	1	1	0	–		–		–		25	1
Sheffield Wednesday	1994–95	Premier League	29	3	2	0	2	0	–		–		33	3
	1995–96<ref name="Petrescu 1996">Template:Soccerbase season</ref>	Premier League	8	0	0	0	0	0	–		–		8	0
	Total		37	3	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	41	3
Chelsea	1995–96<ref name="Petrescu 1996"/>	Premier League	24	2	7	1	0	0	–		–		31	3
	1996–97<ref>Template:Soccerbase season</ref>	Premier League	34	3	5	0	2	1	–		–		41	4
	1997–98<ref>Template:Soccerbase season</ref>	Premier League	31	5	1	0	3	1	7	2	1	0	43	8
	1998–99<ref>Template:Soccerbase season</ref>	Premier League	32	4	4	0	3	0	6	0	–		45	4
	1999–2000<ref>Template:Soccerbase season</ref>	Premier League	29	4	3	0	0	0	15	1	–		47	5
	Total		150	18	20	1	8	2	28	3	1	0	207	24
Bradford City	2000–01<ref name = "Petrescu 2001"/>	Premier League	17	1	1	0	2	0	–		–		20	1
Southampton	2000–01<ref name = "Petrescu 2001">Template:Soccerbase season</ref>	Premier League	9	2	0	0	0	0	–		–		9	2
	2001–02<ref>Template:Soccerbase season</ref>	Premier League	2	0	0	0	0	0	–		–		2	0
	Total		11	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	2
National București	2002–03	Divizia A	20	0	5	0	–		6	0	–		31	0
Career total			433	60	45	4	12	2	50	7	1	0	541	73

InternationalEdit

Appearances and goals by national team and year<ref name="RSSSF-International">"Dan Vasile Petrescu – Century of International Appearances"Template:Dead link Template:Cbignore. RSSSF. Retrieved 13 September 2021.</ref>
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Romania	1989	5	0
	1990	8	1
	1991	5	0
	1992	6	1
	1993	4	0
	1994	15	3
	1995	6	0
	1996	8	3
	1997	8	2
	1998	13	2
	1999	8	0
	2000	9	0
Total		95	12

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Petrescu goal.

List of international goals scored by Dan Petrescu
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	5 December 1990	Stadionul Naţional, Bucharest, Romania	Template:Fb	6–0	6–0	UEFA Euro 1992 Qualifying
2	4 August 1992	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Template:Fb	2–0	2–0	Friendly
3	25 May 1994	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Template:Fb	2–0	2–0	Friendly
4	26 June 1994	Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States	Template:Fb	1–0	1–0	World Cup 1994 Group A
5	7 September 1994	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Template:Fb	2–0	3–0	Euro 1996 Qualifying
6	1 June 1996	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Template:Fb	1–0	3–1	Friendly
7	31 August 1996	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Template:Fb	2–0	3–0	World Cup 1998 Qualifying
8	9 October 1996	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland	Template:Fb	4–0	4–0	World Cup 1998 Qualifying
9	29 March 1997	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Template:Fb	5–0	8–0	World Cup 1998 Qualifying
10	10 September 1997	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Template:Fb	2–0	4–0	World Cup 1998 Qualifying
11	6 June 1998	Stadionul Ilie Oană, Ploiești, Romania	Template:Fb	2–0	5–1	Friendly
12	22 June 1998	Stadium Municipal, Toulouse, France	Template:Fb	2–1	2–1	World Cup 1998 Group G

Managerial recordEdit

Template:Updated

Team	Nat	From	To	Record					Template:Tooltip
Team	Nat	From	To	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Abbr	Template:Tooltip
Sportul Studențesc	Template:Flagicon	20 July 2003	3 December 2003 Template:WDL	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Rapid București	Template:Flagicon	8 December 2003	14 April 2004 Template:WDL	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Sportul Studențesc	Template:Flagicon	17 June 2004	5 December 2005 Template:WDL	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Wisła Kraków	Template:Flagicon	7 December 2005	18 September 2006 Template:WDL	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Unirea Urziceni	Template:Flagicon	25 September 2006	26 December 2009 Template:WDL	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Kuban Krasnodar	Template:Flagicon	28 December 2009	14 August 2012 Template:WDL	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Dynamo Moscow	Template:Flagicon	17 August 2012	8 April 2014 Template:WDL	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Al-Arabi	Template:Flagicon	5 June 2014	1 December 2014 Template:WDL	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ASA Târgu Mureș	Template:Flagicon	10 June 2015	9 July 2015 Template:WDL	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Jiangsu Suning	Template:Flagicon	12 July 2015	3 June 2016 Template:WDL	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Kuban Krasnodar	Template:Flagicon	14 June 2016	4 October 2016 Template:WDL	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Al Nasr	Template:Flagicon	29 October 2016	26 May 2017 Template:WDL	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
CFR Cluj	Template:Flagicon	10 June 2017	4 June 2018 Template:WDL	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Guizhou Hengfeng	Template:Flagicon	7 June 2018	21 March 2019 Template:WDL
CFR Cluj	Template:Flagicon	22 March 2019	30 November 2020 Template:WDL
Kayserispor	Template:Flagicon	11 January 2021	23 February 2021 Template:WDL
CFR Cluj	Template:Flagicon	31 August 2021	8 June 2023 Template:WDL
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	Template:Flagicon	9 June 2023	5 April 2024 Template:WDL
CFR Cluj	Template:Flagicon	30 April 2024	present Template:WDL
Total Template:WDLtot				—