Gheorghe Mulțescu

Gheorghe Mulțescu (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈɡe̯orɡe mulˈt͡sesku]; 13 November 1951 – 15 September 2024) was a Romanian professional football manager and player.

Gheorghe Mulțescu

Personal information
Date of birth	(1951-11-13)13 November 1951
Place of birth	Botoroaga, Romania
Date of death	15 September 2024(2024-09-15) (aged 72)
Place of death	Bucharest, Romania
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
1963–1971	Steaua București
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1971–1979	Jiul Petroșani	239	(74)
1979–1985	Dinamo București	132	(29)
1985–1987	Jiul Petroșani	57	(17)
1987	CSM Suceava	9	(2)
1988	Autobuzul București	20	(2)
1988–1989	UTA Arad	18	(10)
1989	Rapid București
1991–1992	Poiana Câmpina
Total		475	(134)
International career
1974–1983	Romania[a]	16	(3)
Managerial career
1984–1985	Dinamo București (player/assistant coach)
1985–1986	Jiul Petroșani (player-coach)
1986–1987	Jiul Petroșani (player-coach)
1988	Autobuzul București (player-coach)
1988–1989	UTA Arad (player-coach)
1989	Rapid București (player-coach)
1990	UTA Arad
1990–1991	Dinamo București
1991–1992	Poiana Câmpina (player-coach)
1992–1993	Dacia Unirea Brăila
1993	Romania B
1993–1997	Samsunspor
1997–1998	Kayserispor
1998–1999	Adanaspor
1999–2000	Ankaragücü
2001	Sportul Studențesc
2001–2002	Astra Ploiești
2002–2003	Gaziantepspor
2003	Politehnica Timișoara
2003	Samsunspor
2003–2004	Petrolul Ploiești
2004	Politehnica Timișoara
2005	Jiul Petroșani
2005	FC Brașov
2006–2007	Sportul Studențesc
2006	Vaslui
2007	Kahramanmaraşspor
2007	Universitatea Cluj
2008	Dinamo București
2009	Progresul București
2009–2010	Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț
2010	Al Taawon
2011	Sportul Studențesc
2012	Delta Tulcea
2012	Petrolul Ploiești
2012	Astra Giurgiu
2013	Gaz Metan Mediaș
2013	Dinamo București
2014	Petrolul Ploiești
2015	Al Ettifaq
2015–2016	Voluntari
2016–2017	Universitatea Craiova
2018	Astra Giurgiu
2018	Astra Giurgiu
2019	Petrolul Ploiești
2020	Dinamo București
2021	Dinamo București
2021–2022	Ağrıspor (assistant)
Medal record Representing  Romania Universiade 1974 Nice Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Gheorghe Mulțescu was born on 13 November 1951 in Botoroaga, Romania, starting to play junior level football in 1963 at Steaua București.^[3][4] When it was the time for him to start his senior career, Steaua's coach Ștefan Kovács was considering to promote him to the first team but as Kovács left to coach Ajax Amsterdam in 1971, his replacement Gheorghe Constantin chose not to bring Mulțescu to the senior squad.^[4]

Eventually he went to play for Jiul Petroșani where on 22 August 1971 he made his Divizia A debut in a 0–0 with Crișul Oradea.^[3][5] His first performance with The Miners was reaching the 1972 Cupa României final where coach Eugen Iordache used him all the minutes in the eventual 2–0 loss in front of Rapid București.^[6][7] In the 1973–74 season he scored a personal record of 15 goals in the league, also he scored two goals in the 4–2 victory against Politehnica Timișoara from the 1974 Cupa României final in which coach Traian Ivănescu used him the whole match, helping Jiul win the first trophy in the club's history.^[3][6][8][9] He then participated with the club in the 1974–75 European Cup Winners' Cup, playing in both legs of the 3–2 aggregate loss against Dundee United from the first round.^[3][10] Starting from 1976, for three seasons he made a successful couple in Jiul's offence with Romanian football star, Florea Dumitrache.^[3][11]

Mulțescu was transferred at Dinamo București in 1979 where for several years he would form a successful offensive trio with Ionel Augustin and Costel Orac, together being called "AMO" by the fans, a nickname inspired by their initials from the first letters of their family name.^[8][12] He won three consecutive Divizia A titles from 1982 until 1984, at the first he contributed under the guidance of coach Valentin Stănescu with nine goals scored in 26 matches, in the second he played 31 games and scored six goals and in the third he made 23 appearances and scored eight goals, at both working with coach Nicolae Dumitru.^{[3][5][8][13][14]} Mulțescu also won two Cupa României with Dinamo, being used all the minutes by Stănescu in the 3–2 victory over FC Baia Mare from the 1982 final but did not play in the win with Steaua from the 1984 final.^[3][8][15] Over the years he would score two goals in the derby with Steaua in a draw and a victory from the league.^[16] He played 20 games in which he scored nine goals in European competitions for The Red Dogs, helping the team eliminate Inter Milan in the 1981–82 UEFA Cup edition and he appeared in seven matches in the 1983–84 European Cup season, scoring one goal against Kuusysi Lahti and two in both legs of the 5–3 victory on aggregate against title holders, Hamburger SV, the first one being a spectacular shot from about 40 meters, reaching the semi-finals where the campaign ended in front of Liverpool.^{[3][5][8][14][17]}

In 1985 Mulțescu returned to Jiul Petroșani, this time as a player-coach, managing to promote the team from Divizia B to Divizia A.^{[3][5][4][18][19]} He spent his last season as a player in Divizia A at CSM Suceava, making his last appearance on 17 December 1987 in a 0–0 with Petrolul Ploiești, earning a total of 407 matches played with 111 goals scored in the competition.^[3][5][8] In the final years of his career he worked as a player-coach at Autobuzul București, UTA Arad, Rapid București and Poiana Câmpina in the Romanian lower leagues.^{[3][4][5][8][14][19][20]}

Mulțescu won the Universiade gold medal with Romania's students football team in the 1974 edition that was held in France, playing alongside László Bölöni, Dan Păltinișanu, Romulus Chihaia and Paul Cazan.^[8][21]

International career

Gheorghe Mulțescu played 12 matches and scored two goals for Romania (16/3 including Romania's Olympic team games), making his debut on 25 September 1974 under coach Valentin Stănescu in a friendly which ended 0–0 with Bulgaria.^[1][2][22]

He played another two games against Bulgaria, a 1–0 away loss and a 3–2 home victory in the 1973–76 Balkan Cup lost final in which he scored a goal.^[1][8] He played two games and scored one goal in a 2–0 victory against Cyprus at the Euro 1980 qualifiers.^[1][8] Mulțescu's last game for the national team was a 1–0 away victory against Cyprus at the successful Euro 1984 qualifiers.^[1]

Managerial career

Gheorghe Mulțescu managed several clubs, most of them being from Romania, where he was nicknamed Smurdul (English: The SMURD) after the Romanian emergency rescue service, because of his capacity of taking charge of teams who are going through a difficult time in mid-season and taking them on a points-winning path, especially those who were fighting to avoid relegation.^{[5][8][14][18][23]} In 1993 he led Romania's B squad at the Nehru Cup, reaching the final where they lost with 2–0 in front of North Korea.^[24] Mulțescu coached 13 teams in Divizia A, at some of them having several terms, at Dinamo he was coach on six periods, having a total of 313 Divizia A matches (112 victories, 74 draws, 127 losses).^{[5][14][18][25]} He also coached outside of Romania, in Turkey and Saudi Arabia, his most successful period being in his first term at Samsunspor from 1993 until 1997, a period in which he finished one championship in the fifth place and won his only trophy from his managerial career, the 1993–94 Balkans Cup.^{[5][8][14][18][26][27]}

Personal life and death

His son, Cătălin Mulțescu, was a goalkeeper, playing at various Liga I and Liga II clubs through his career. After he retired from the professional football career, he became a goalkeeping coach.^[28]

Mulțescu died on 15 September 2024 in the Floreasca Hospital from Bucharest, at the age of 72.^[8][29] Over 200 people participated at his funeral, being buried with military honors in the "Reînvierea" Cemetery from the Colentina neighborhood of Bucharest.^[30]

Career statistics

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mulțescu goal.^[1][8]

List of international goals scored by Gheorghe Mulțescu

#	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	28 November 1976	Stadionul 23 August, Bucharest, Romania	5	Bulgaria	3–2	3–2	1973–76 Balkan Cup
2	18 November 1979	Stadionul Dinamo, Bucharest, Romania	7	Cyprus	1–0	2–0	Euro 1980 qualifiers

Honours

Player

Jiul Petroșani

• Divizia B: 1985–86^[3]
• Cupa României: 1973–74^[3]

Dinamo București

• Divizia A: 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84^[3]
• Cupa României: 1981–82, 1983–84^[3]

Manager

Jiul Petroșani

• Divizia B: 1985–86^[14]

Romania B

• Nehru Cup runner-up: 1993^[24]

Samsunspor

• Balkans Cup: 1993–94^[26]

Notes

1. Including four appearances and one goal for Romania's Olympic team.^[1][2]

References

1. "Gheorghe Mulțescu". European Football. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
2. Gheorghe Mulțescu at National-Football-Teams.com
3. Gheorghe Mulțescu at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
4. "Două detalii uitate din cariera lui Gigi Mulțescu. De ce nu a fost păstrat de Steaua + a revenit pe teren la 41 de ani" [Two forgotten details from Gigi Mulțescu's career. Why he was not kept by Steaua + he returned to the field at 41 years old] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 15 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
5. ""Smurdul" Gigi Mulţescu, la 69 de ani! Amintiri dulci, dar amare din vremuri (g)rele, dar bune… Video de colecție" ["Smurdul" Gigi Mulţescu, at 69 years old! Sweet but bitter memories from bad times, but good… Collection video] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
6. "Gigi Mulțescu și coloana dinamovistă din Valea Jiului" [Gigi Mulțescu and the Dinamo column from Valea Jiului] (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 28 September 2024. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
7. "Romanian Cup – Season 1971–1972". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
8. "A murit Gigi Mulțescu, legenda lui Dinamo. Cine a fost "Smurdul": a marcat de la 40 metri cu "regina" Europei, a ucis catenaccio și a făcut istorie în Ștefan cel Mare" [Gigi Mulțescu, the legend of Dinamo, died. Who was "Smurdul": he scored from 40 meters with the "queen" of Europe, killed the catenaccio and made history in Stephen the Great] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 15 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
9. "Romanian Cup – Season 1973–1974". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
10. "Gheorghe Mulţescu. Cup Winners Cup 1974/1975". WorldFootball. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
11. "Azi, Dumitrache ar fi împlinit 74 de ani. Povestea uimitorului transfer al "Mopsului" de la Dinamo la Jiul" [Today, Dumitrache would have turned 74 years old. The story of the amazing transfer of "The Pug" from Dinamo to Jiul] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 22 May 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
12. "Fosta legendă din Ștefan cel Mare avertizează înainte de returul barajului cu Csikszereda: "Va fi un meci greu, trebuie să se mobilizeze"" [The former legend from Ștefan cel Mare warns before the second leg of the tie with Csikszereda: "It will be a difficult match, they must mobilize"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
    "Colegii lui Gigi Mulțescu, reacții cu lacrimi în ochi despre fostul jucător și antrenor al lui Dinamo. "Rămânem din ce în ce mai puțini". Cornel Dinu povestește momentul care i-a schimbat cariera regretatului tehnician. "Un mare miliardar mi-a cerut să-i fac cunoștință"" [Gigi Mulțescu's colleagues, reactions with tears in their eyes about the former player and coach of Dinamo. "We remain fewer and fewer". Cornel Dinu tells the story of the moment that changed the late technician's career. "A big billionaire asked me to meet him"] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 15 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
13. "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
14. "Gigi Mulțescu, poreclit SMURD. Care sunt toate echipele pe care le-a antrenat în 35 de ani de activitate și pe câte le-a salvat de la retrogradare" [Gigi Mulțescu, nicknamed SMURD. Who are all the teams he coached in 35 years of activity and how many he saved from relegation] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
15. "Romanian Cup – Season 1981–1982". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
    "Romanian Cup – Season 1983–1984". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
16. "Dinamo Bucuresti in 1981–82". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
    "Dinamo Bucuresti in 1982–83". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
17. "Când Dinamo elimina marele Inter – Cupa UEFA, turul II, 4 noiembrie 1981" [When Dinamo eliminated the great Inter – UEFA Cup, round II, 4 November 1981] (in Romanian). Tikitaka.ro. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
    "Dinamo marchează 30 de ani de la semifinala cu Liverpool din Cupa Campionilor" [Dinamo marks 30 years since the semi-final with Liverpool in the Champions Cup] (in Romanian). Digisport.ro. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
    "Gheorghe Mulţescu. Champions League 1983/1984". WorldFootball. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
18. "SPECIAL GSP 8 borne esențiale din cariera lui Gigi Mulțescu, la aniversarea a 300 de meciuri pe bancă în L1. A dat gol la debutul ca antrenor și a pus temelia ultimei trupe invincibile!" ["SPECIAL GSP 8 essential milestones in Gigi Mulțescu's career, on the anniversary of 300 bench matches in L1. He scored his debut as a coach and laid the foundation of the last invincible team!] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
19. "Mulțescu, la primul sezon complet intern. Totul despre o carieră de antrenor începută în 1986, la Jiul Petroșani" [Mulțescu, in the first full domestic season. Everything about a coaching career that began in 1986, at Jiul Petroșani] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
20. "Rapid şi toate meciurile pe care le-a jucat în istoria sa" [Rapid and all the matches it had played in its history] (in Romanian). 1923.ro. 23 December 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
    "Mulțescu, despre echipa la care și-a început cariera de antrenor:"UTA, O formație bine articulată"" [Mulțescu, about the team where he started his coaching career:"UTA, a well-articulated formation"] (in Romanian). Sportarad.ro. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
    "Povestea celor trei fotbaliști rapidiști rămași în Suedia în 1989: Aprodu, Ilie și Ciolponea. Cu ce se ocupă ei azi și cum l-au păcălit pe securistul lotului vișiniu" [The story of the three footballers of Rapid who remained in Sweden in 1989: Aprodu, Ilie and Ciolponea. What are they doing today and how they tricked the Securitate officer who was with Rapid' squad] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
    "Gigi Multescu, despre inceputurile in cariera de antrenor. Vezi ce spune fostul tehnician al lui Dinamo despre meciul de baraj cu Grecia!" [Gigi Multescu, about the beginnings of his coaching career. See what Dinamo's former technician says about the play-off match with Greece!] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 21 October 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
    "Pagini memorabile din istoria fotbalului prahovean/ Primul marcator din "Derby de România" și Mulțescu au jucat la Poiana!" [Memorable pages from the history of the Prahova football/ The first scorer in the "Derby of Romania" and Mulțescu played at Poiana!] (in Romanian). Ziarulprahova.ro. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
    ""Ce a fost necurat acolo?" Meciul crucial suspectat de Gigi Mulțescu: "Coincidențe destul de ciudate"" ["What was unclean there?" The crucial match suspected by Gigi Mulțescu: "Quite strange coincidences"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 15 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
21. "Au fost odată campioni mondiali" [Once they were world champions] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 20 July 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
22. "Bulgaria 0-0 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
23. "In memoriam Gigi Mulțescu. Până când niciun SMURD nu mai poate vindeca "SMURD-ul". Pilda unui doctor în fotbal și pentru fotbal, din Valea Jiului spre cer. SPECIAL" [In memory of Gigi Mulțescu. Until no SMURD can cure the "SMURD". The parable of a doctor in football and for football, from the Jiului Valley to the sky. SPECIAL] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 15 September 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
24. "Gigi Mulțescu și manualul de limba engleză. Cum s-a decis căpitanul pentru turneul naționalei B în India, acum 31 de ani, unde Gică Craioveanu a fost golgheter" [Gigi Mulțescu and the English textbook. How the captain was decided for the national B tournament in India, 31 years ago, where Gică Craioveanu was the top scorer] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 22 September 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
25. "Gheorghe Mulțescu a explicat ce a condus la despărțirea de Dinamo: "Jucătorii atâta pot, săracii". Mesajul pentru Dusan Uhrin" [Gheorghe Mulțescu explained what led to his separation from Dinamo: "The players are limited." The message for Dusan Uhrin] (in Romanian). Digisport.ro. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
    "2024 și decedații săi din fotbalul intern" [2024 and its domestic football deceased] (in Romanian). 100sport.ro. 1 January 2025. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
    Gheorghe Mulțescu at Soccerway
26. "Gigi Mulțescu, carieră de traseist. În 24 de ani de antrenorat, fostul dinamovist a luat un singur trofeu: Cupă Balcanică" [Gigi Mulțescu, track career. In 24 years of coaching, the former Dinamo player won only one trophy: the Balkan Cup] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
27. "Colonia românilor din Turcia, condusă de Gigi Mulțescu. 5 români transferați la Samsunspor din Belgia și Germania" [The colony of Romanians in Turkey, led by Gigi Mulțescu. 5 Romanians transferred to Samsunspor from Belgium and Germany] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 27 October 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Revin în elită cluburile europene unde jucau eroii fotbalului nostru! Cum reacționează Giani Kiriță, Tony, Cătălin Liță, Vali Badea și Iulian Tameș: "Spre rușinea mea, am fugit! Greșeala carierei!"" [The European clubs where the heroes of our football played are returning to the elite! How Giani Kiriță, Tony, Cătălin Liță, Vali Badea and Iulian Tameș react: "To my shame, I ran away! Career mistake!"] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 23 April 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Destinație incredibilă pentru Gigi Mulțescu! A semnat cu un club din Liga a 3-a, dintr-o țară unde este legendă, dar ca secund!" [Incredible destination for Gigi Mulțescu! He signed with a club in the 3rd League, from a country where he is a legend, but as an assistant!] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
    "Gigi Mulțescu a plecat din Turcia și anunță că vrea să antreneze din nou:"Cam asta s-a întâmplat, așa pe scurt"" [Gigi Mulțescu has left Turkey and announces that he wants to train again: "This is what happened, in short"] (in Romanian). Digisport.ro. 13 June 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
28. "Condiţia lui Mulţescu: fiul, antrenor cu portarii!" [Multescu's condition: his son to be the goalkeepers coach!] (in Romanian). Click.ro. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
    "Aşchia nu sare departe de trunchi! TOP 10 perechi tată-fiu care au scris istorie pentru fotbalul românesc" [The splinter does not fall far from the tree! TOP 10 father-son pairs who have written history for Romanian football] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 24 June 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
29. "Gigi Mulțescu a murit" [Gigi Mulțescu has died] (in Romanian). Digisport.ro. 15 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
    "Dezvăluiri tulburătoare! Cum au arătat ultimele 3 zile din viața lui Gigi Mulțescu. Stătea într-o rezervă la Floreasca din care vedea stadionul Dinamo" [Disturbing revelations! How the last 3 days of Gigi Mulțescu's life looked. He was staying in a reservation in Floreasca from where he could see the Dinamo stadium] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 15 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
30. "Gigi Mulțescu a fost înmormântat cu onoruri militare în Cimitirul "Reînvierea". Peste 200 de oameni au venit să-și ia rămas-bun de la legenda lui Dinamo" [Gigi Mulțescu was buried with military honors in the "Revival" Cemetery. More than 200 people came to say goodbye to the legend of Dinamo] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 26 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.

External links

• Gheorghe Mulțescu at WorldFootball.net