Edward Iordănescu

Edward "Edi" Marius Iordănescu (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈedu.ard jordəˈnesku]; born 16 June 1978), sometimes known as Iordănescu Jr., is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who recently coached the Romania national team.

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Edward Iordănescu
Personal information
Iordănescu in 2024
Full name	Edward Marius Iordănescu
Date of birth	(1978-06-16) 16 June 1978 (age 46)
Place of birth	Bucharest, Romania
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
1984–1996	Steaua București
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1996	Steaua București	1	(0)
1997–1998	Sportul Studențesc	0	(0)
1998–1999	Panionios	2	(0)
1999–2000	Diplomatic Focșani	18	(1)
2000–2001	Rapid București	0	(0)
2001	→ Rocar București (loan)	1	(0)
2001–2002	Alki Larnaca	5	(0)
2002–2003	Petrolul Ploiești	8	(0)
2003–2004	Vaslui	8	(0)
2004–2005	Rapid II București	6	(0)
Total		49	(1)
Managerial career
2010	Steaua București (assistant)
2010	Steaua București (caretaker)
2011–2012	Steaua București (assistant)
2012	Vaslui (assistant)
2012	Vaslui (caretaker)
2013	Fortuna Brazi
2013	ASA Târgu Mureș
2014–2016	Pandurii Târgu Jiu
2016	CSKA Sofia
2017–2018	Astra Giurgiu
2018	CFR Cluj
2019–2020	Gaz Metan Mediaș
2020–2021	CFR Cluj
2021	FCSB
2022–2024	Romania
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

A midfielder, Iordănescu represented nine teams during a rather uneventful playing career, including stints abroad with Panionios and Alki Larnaca. He started both his playing and coaching career at Steaua București, emulating his father Anghel.^[1]^[2]

Following his retirement as a player, Iordănescu emerged as a notable figure in the Romanian managerial sphere, earning praise for his meticulous approach to match preparation.^[3] He guided CFR Cluj to three domestic trophies during his two stints, and in 2022 was appointed at the helm of the Romania national team, subsequently leading them to qualification for the UEFA Euro 2024.

Playing career

Iordănescu's link with Steaua București began in early 1984, aged six, when his father Anghel, who was an assistant coach at the time, would take him along to attend games at the Ghencea Stadium. He frequently sat alongside Alin Stoica, also the son of a club legend, and began playing together during warm-ups and halftime breaks. After progressing through Steaua's youth ranks, Iordănescu made his debut for the first team in 1996, alongside Stoica.

In 1997, after failing to impose himself at the Roș-albaștrii, Iordănescu left for Sportul Studențesc. Throughout his career, he played for various clubs in Romania—Unirea Focșani, Rapid București, Rocar București, Petrolul Ploiești, and Vaslui. He also had spells abroad in Greece and Cyprus with Panionios and Alki Larnaca, respectively.

Managerial career

Summarize

Perspective

Iordănescu ended his playing career in 2004 to pursue managerial studies, undertaking courses in Italy, Spain, and England. In 2010, following Ilie Dumitrescu's resignation as manager of Steaua București, he assumed the role of interim coach. Iordănescu served in minor assistant or caretaker roles at Steaua and Vaslui, before securing his first contract as a head coach at Fortuna Brazi in 2013.

On 20 June 2013, Iordănescu signed a contract with second division team ASA Târgu Mureș, with the explicit objective of promoting to the Liga I; he resigned from the position in October 2013. In December 2014, he was named the head coach of top flight club Pandurii Târgu Jiu. Under his guidance, the team reached the final of the 2014–15 Cupa Ligii. On 24 August 2016, Iordănescu was announced as the new head coach of Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia,^[4] after also attracting the interest of Lech Poznań.^[5] On 27 November 2016, after a 1–1 home draw against Vereya, he resigned from his position.^[6]

On 8 June 2017, Iordănescu signed a deal with Liga I club Astra Giurgiu.^[7] On 2 April 2018, his contract with the club was terminated through a mutual agreement.^[8] On 13 June 2018, Iordănescu signed a three-year contract with CFR Cluj, taking over from Dan Petrescu, who left for Guizhou Hengfeng.^[9] He won his first managerial trophy on July 15 that year, as his new side defeated Universitatea Craiova 1–0 in the 2018 Supercupa României.^[10] He departed CFR Cluj in less than two months, following disagreements with owner Ioan Varga, who attempted to interfere in managerial decisions during matches.

Between January 2019 and June 2020, Iordănescu had a stint at Gaz Metan Mediaș, before making a return to CFR Cluj in December 2020. He guided the latter to another Supercupa României and the 2020–21 Liga I title, but refused to stay beyond the expiration of his contract at the end of the campaign. In August 2021, he made a comeback to Steaua București—now known as FCSB—but this time as a head coach for the first time. On 12 September, his team thrashed Dinamo București 6–0 in the league, representing the largest goal difference in the eternal derby. Iordănescu departed in November 2021 after falling out with owner Gigi Becali.

On 25 January 2022, Iordănescu was appointed as the manager of the Romania national team,^[11] which his father Anghel had also coached during three stints. On 18 November 2023, after a 2–1 win against Israel, his country secured qualification for the UEFA Euro 2024.^[12] For this achievement, the Gazeta Sporturilor sports website named him the 2023 Romania Coach of the Year.

Personal life

Iordănescu dated Romanian singer-songwriter Delia Matache from 2005 to 2006.^[13] He is now married to a woman with whom he has three children.^[14]

His father, Anghel, also managed the Romania national team over three spells.

Career statistics

Managerial

As of match played 22 July 2024

More information Team, From ...

Managerial record by team and tenure
Team	From	To	Record								Ref.
Team	From	To	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %	Ref.
Steaua București (caretaker)	20 September 2010	27 September 2010	2	1	0	1	1	1	+0	050.00
Vaslui (caretaker)	24 September 2012	27 September 2012	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Fortuna Brazi	11 January 2013	13 May 2013	10	8	2	0	25	6	+19	080.00
ASA Târgu Mureș	20 June 2013	9 October 2013	6	2	2	2	8	8	+0	033.33
Pandurii Târgu Jiu	16 December 2014	20 June 2016	59	27	17	15	83	62	+21	045.76
CSKA Sofia	25 August 2016	29 November 2016	12	5	3	4	14	9	+5	041.67	^{[citation needed]}
Astra Giurgiu	8 June 2017	2 April 2018	35	15	10	10	46	33	+13	042.86	^{[citation needed]}
CFR Cluj	13 June 2018	26 July 2018	3	1	1	1	2	2	+0	033.33	^{[citation needed]}
Gaz Metan Mediaș	7 January 2019	1 June 2020	42	18	12	12	54	43	+11	042.86	^[15]
CFR Cluj	4 December 2020	2 June 2021	30	21	5	4	49	15	+34	070.00	^{[citation needed]}
FCSB	18 August 2021	15 November 2021	11	8	2	1	24	11	+13	072.73	^{[citation needed]}
Romania	25 January 2022	22 July 2024	28	10	10	8	37	28	+9	035.71	^{[citation needed]}
Total			239	116	64	59	343	219	+124	048.54	—