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Serghei Cleșcenco (pronounced [kleʃˈtʃeŋko]; born 20 May 1972) is a Moldovan football coach and a former player. He is the head coach of the Moldova national team, for which he held the records for most goals and most appearances as a player.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 20 May 1972 | ||
| Place of birth | Criuleni, Moldavian SSR, Soviet Union | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Moldova (head coach) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1990 | Spartak Oryol | 14 | (1) |
| 1990–1992 | Nistru Chișinău | 23 | (1) |
| 1992–1996 | Zimbru Chișinău | 131 | (40) |
| 1996–1997 | Go Ahead Eagles | 62 | (9) |
| 1997–1998 | Zimbru Chișinău | 20 | (25) |
| 1998 | Zenit St. Petersburg | 6 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | Zimbru Chișinău | 8 | (0) |
| 1999–2001 | Maccabi Haifa | 102 | (42) |
| 2001–2003 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 62 | (22) |
| 2003 | Chernomorets Novorossiysk | 6 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv | 14 | (1) |
| 2004–2005 | Zimbru Chișinău | 18 | (1) |
| 2005–2006 | Sibir Novosibirsk | 44 | (8) |
| 2007–2008 | Metallurg-Kuzbass Novokuznetsk | 33 | (1) |
| Total | 543 | (151) | |
| International career | |||
| 1991–2006[1] | Moldova | 69 | (11) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2008–2010 | Moldova U17 | ||
| 2010–2011 | Moldova U19 | ||
| 2011–2012 | Milsami Orhei | ||
| 2012 | Milsami Orhei (assistant) | ||
| 2013 | Zimbru Chișinău (executive assistant) | ||
| 2013 | Zimbru Chișinău | ||
| 2013–2015 | Zimbru Chișinău (executive assistant) | ||
| 2015–2017 | União Leiria (assistant) | ||
| 2017 | União Leiria (caretaker) | ||
| 2017 | Rostov (assistant) | ||
| 2019–2020 | Moldova U21 | ||
| 2019–2021 | Moldova (assistant) | ||
| 2021 | Moldova U21 (caretaker) | ||
| 2021– | Moldova | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
He holds the record for the most goals scored in a single season by a foreigner in Israel. He is a former manager of Zimbru Chișinău, where he also spent large parts of his playing career.
After a successful period with Zimbru Chișinău, Cleșcenco was taken on trial by English club Watford in early 1998. He impressed, but work permit issues, along with Zimbru Chișinău asking for too much money prevented the deal from going through.[2]
In 1999, Cleșcenco joined Maccabi Haifa. It was one of the most successful starts ever for a foreigner in Israel as he bagged 22 goals in his first season topping the record set by Polish striker Andrzej Kubica for most goals scored by a foreigner in Israel in a single season. After another strong season in Haifa, he moved to Hapoel Tel Aviv, where he was part of the squad that reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup. He scored one of the goals as they memorably knocked out Chelsea.[3]
Aged 19, Cleșcenco made his international debut as a substitution in Moldova's first official match, a 2–4 loss against Georgia in 1991. In a 2006 friendly against Lithuania he scored his 11th and last goal for the national team, remaining Moldova's top goalscorer until 2023. In the same year, he made his 69th and last appearance for Moldova against Bosnia and Herzegovina in UEFA Euro 2008 qualification, which was another record at the time.[1]
Cleșcenco started his managerial career in 2008 at Moldova under-16 and under-17 teams. He led the Moldova under-19 team to 2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship elite qualification.[4]
Between 2019 and 2021, Cleșcenco was an assistant coach to Engin Fırat and Roberto Bordin at Moldova's national team. He became the head coach on 3 December 2021. He debuted in a match against Kazakhstan in 2020–21 UEFA Nations League relegation play-outs. The Moldovans lost at penalties and were relegated to 2022–23 UEFA Nations League D. Moldova placed second in its group, being tied to points with Latvia, but had a lower goal difference, failing to achieve promotion.
In UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Moldova obtained a historic shock 3–2 comeback win over Poland. Moldova acquired ten points in a group of five, and also were undefeated at home throughout the qualification. However, the Moldovans did not achieve qualification.
Cleșcenco's son, Nicky Cleșcenco, is also a footballer who has appeared for the Moldova national team.[5]
- Scores and results list Moldova's goal tally first.[6]
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
1 September 1994 | Stadionul Republican, Chișinău |  Azerbaijan | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
2 |
2–0 | |||||
3 |
16 November 1994 | Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia |  Bulgaria | 1–1 | 1–4 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifier |
4 |
7 June 1995 | Stadionul Republican, Chișinău |  Albania | 2–1 | 2–3 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifier |
5 |
10 November 1996 | Stadion GKS, Katowice |  Poland | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
6 |
20 August 1998 | Spordikeskuse Staadion, Kohtla-Järve |  Estonia | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
7 |
18 August 1999 | Népstadion, Budapest |  Hungary | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
8 |
26 April 2000 | Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle |  San Marino | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
9 |
1 September 2001 | Stadionul Republican, Chișinău | Azerbaijan | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
10 |
5 September 2001 | Štadión na Sihoti, Trenčín |  Slovakia | 1–0 | 2–4 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
11 |
16 August 2006 | Stadionul Zimbru, Chișinău |  Lithuania | 3–2 | 3–2 | Friendly |
Player
Zimbru Chișinău
Maccabi Haifa
Hapoel Tel Aviv
Individual
- Moldovan Footballer of the Year: 1994, 2000
Manager
Milsami
- As of match played on 13 October 2024
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Moldova | 2021 | present | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 36.67 |
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