Silviu Ploeșteanu


Silviu Ploeșteanu was a Romanian footballer and manager.

Club career

Ploeșteanu, nicknamed Ploaie, was born on 28 January 1913 in Craiova, Romania and began playing football in 1930 at UD Reșița, winning the Divizia A title in his first season as a footballer. In the following season he was a runner-up in the league with Reșița. After this, he transferred to Universitatea Cluj, where he again secured a runner-up position in his first year with the team. In the next season, he reached the 1934 Cupa României final with "U", where he scored a goal in the first game as they lost the trophy to Ripensia Timișoara.
In 1937, Ploeșteanu switched teams again, joining Venus București. He won with them two consecutive Divizia A titles under coach Béla Jánosy. He contributed with three goals scored in 22 matches during the 1938–39 season, and four goals in 21 games during the 1939–40 season. They also reached the 1940 Cupa României final with Venus, a four-game series in which Ploeșteanu played in all matches, scoring a goal in the first before they eventually lost the last game to Rapid București. Ploeșteanu ended his career by spending one year as a player-coach in the regional championship at UA Brașov.

International career

Ploeșteanu played 11 games and scored one goal for Romania, making his debut on 8 July 1937 under coach Constantin Rădulescu in a 2–0 friendly away win over Lithuania. He scored a goal in a game against Germany and was captain in a 2–1 victory against Yugoslavia. His last appearance for the national team took place on 12 October 1941 in a 3–2 success over Slovakia.

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
114 July 1940Riederwaldstadion, Frankfurt am Main, Nazi Germany2–73–9Friendly

Managerial career

Ploeșteanu started his managerial career at Steagul Roșu Brașov in 1948, while also being a player in the first year. He helped Steagul get promoted from the regional championship to Divizia B in 1950. Subsequently, in 1956 they earned promotion to Divizia A. There, he earned a runner-up position in the 1959–60 season. During his tenure, the team made some European performances such as winning the 1960–61 Balkans Cup. The club also reached the 1965–66 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup round of 16 where they were eliminated by Espanyol Barcelona, despite earning a 4–2 victory against them.
In 1962, Ploeșteanu also started coaching Romania's national team, while simultaneously coaching Steagul. He led the national team in four friendly games which consisted of one victory, two draws and one loss. Afterwards he coached Romania's Olympic team, qualifying for the 1964 Summer Olympics where the team finished in fifth place. In January 1967, Ploeșteanu decided to change Steagul's colors from white and blue to black and yellow. He believed that the team would be seen better on the field in the new colors. His player, Csaba Györffy, inspired this decision. Györffy had participated with Romania's Olympic team in a tournament in Uruguay and, after a match against Peñarol, received the shirt worn by captain Alberto Spencer. Subsequently, Györffy wore this shirt during his training sessions with the team. After 20 years with Steagul, Ploeșteanu was dismissed when the team finished last in the 1967–68 season, leading to their relegation to Divizia B.
His last coaching experience took place at Tractorul Brașov from 1968 until 1969. Ploeșteanu has a total of 249 Divizia A games as a manager, consisting of 104 victories, 49 draws and 96 losses. Former Steagul player, Emanoil Hașoti said about Ploeșteanu:"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"

Personal life and death

Ploeșteanu was known as an anti-communist, telling everyone with whom he interacted: "Never call me comrade! I was born a sir and I will always be a sir". He died of a heart attack on 13 April 1969 at age 56. People who were close to him claim that one of the reasons for his death was the sadness following being dismissed by Steagul Roșu Brașov after coaching it for 20 years. The Stadionul Silviu Ploeșteanu in Brașov is named in his honor.

Honours

Player

UD Reșița
Universitatea Cluj
Venus București

Manager

Steagul Roșu Brașov