Constantin Gâlcă

Constantin Gâlcă
Gâlcă in 2018
Personal information
Full name Constantin Gâlcă[1]
Date of birth (1972-03-08) 8 March 1972 (age 52)
Place of birth Bucharest, Romania
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Universitatea Craiova
(head coach)
Youth career
0000–1988 Progresul București
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1989 Progresul București
1989–1991 Argeș Pitești 35 (2)
1991–1996 Steaua București 148 (24)
1996–1997 Mallorca 36 (13)
1997–2001 Espanyol 123 (15)
2001–2003 Villarreal 39 (1)
2003 → Zaragoza (loan) 24 (0)
2003–2006 Almería 98 (4)
Total 502 (59)
International career
1992–1993 Romania U21 3 (2)
1993–2005 Romania 68 (4)
Managerial career
2009–2010 Almería B
2013–2014 Romania U17
2014–2015 Steaua București
2015–2016 Espanyol
2016–2017 Al-Taawoun
2017 Al-Fayha
2019–2021 Vejle
2021–2022 Al-Hazem
2023 Radomiak Radom
2024– Universitatea Craiova
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Constantin "Costel" Gâlcă (born 8 March 1972) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player who is currently in charge of Liga I club Universitatea Craiova.

Equally at ease as a defensive or central midfielder and possessing an accurate long-range shot, he first made a name for himself at Steaua București. He then spent a full decade in Spain, playing in 318 matches in both major levels combined and representing five clubs, most notably Espanyol.

Additionally, Gâlcă appeared for Romania in two World Cups and as many European Championships, winning 68 caps.[2] As a manager, he led teams including both Steaua and Espanyol.

Playing career

Club

Born in Bucharest, Gâlcă's senior career began at age 16 in the third division, with FC Progresul București. Only one year after he switched to the Divizia A with lowly FC Argeș Pitești, for whom he played four times towards the end of the season, soon breaking into the Romanian national under-21 team.

After one more season with solid displays (31 games, two goals), Gâlcă signed with country giants Steaua București, immediately beginning to produce: in his debut campaign, he scored five times in 26 matches.

Gâlcă stayed at Steaua two more years, netting 13 goals combined. After winning the domestic cup and having appeared in nearly 200 official matches, he left for Spain where he would remain the next 11 years. First stop was RCD Mallorca in the Balearic Islands,[3] for which he scored 13 times to help to a promotion to La Liga (that total was tied for squad best). He then experienced a steady period with Barcelona-based RCD Espanyol, scoring five goals in his third season, which also ended with conquest of the Copa del Rey.

In July 2001, Gâlcă signed for Villarreal CF on a three-year deal with the option of one more.[4] Midway through his his second year he was loaned to Segunda División club Real Zaragoza; the team had an option to sign him if they won promotion, but did not transfer him despite the achievement.[5]

Gâlcă still had three more solid seasons in the country with second-tier club UD Almería, playing 40 matches in his last season, one year before the Andalusians first reached the top division. He eventually returned to the national team with this team in 2005 – after a three-year absence – and retired in June 2006 at the age of 34.

International

Galca made his full debut for Romania on 22 September 1993, against Israel in a friendly. Called up for the 1994 FIFA World Cup he played three times during the tournament, against the United States in the group stage, in the famous 3–2 round-of-16 success against Argentina and in the penalty shootout defeat to Sweden in the last-eight.[2]

From 1996 to 2000, Gâlcă featured in over forty more international games for Romania, often pairing with Dorinel Munteanu in central midfield. During the qualifying phase for the 1998 World Cup the national side were undefeated in their ten group fixtures, drawing only once and netting 37 goals, with him scoring two. In those finals and UEFA Euro 2000 the country was beaten, respectively, in the last-16 and last-eight, as he started in every match.

International stats

Appearances and goals by national team and year[6]
National team Year Apps Goals
Romania 1993 1 0
1994 9 0
1995 3 0
1996 9 2
1997 7 2
1998 14 0
1999 10 0
2000 8 0
2001 4 0
2002 1 0
2003 0 0
2004 0 0
2005 2 0
Total 68 4

International goals

(Romania score listed first, score column indicates score after each Gâlcă goal)[2]

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 24 April 1996 Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania  Georgia 5–0 5–0 Friendly
2. 31 August 1996 Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania  Lithuania 3–0 3–0 1998 World Cup qualification
3. 20 August 1997 Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania  North Macedonia 2–0 4–2 1998 World Cup qualification
4. 10 September 1997 Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania  Iceland 3–0 4–0 1998 World Cup qualification

Coaching career

Established in Almería after his playing days, Gâlcă took up coaching in 2009–10, starting with Almería's B-team in the fourth tier. He was sacked on 19 January 2010, after a string of poor results.[7]

On 20 August 2013, Gâlcă was named head coach of Romania under-17s. He ended his contract in June 2014 and, also in that month, was appointed at league champions Steaua București on a two-year deal, replacing outgoing Laurențiu Reghecampf[8] and leading the team to the double in his first and only season.[9]

On 14 December 2015, Gâlcă replaced former club teammate Sergio at the helm of Espanyol.[10] His first game in charge took place the following day, a 2–1 home win against Levante UD for the Copa del Rey (3–2 on aggregate).[11] The following 27 May, having led the Periquitos to 13th, his contract was not renewed.[12]

Gâlcă was hired by Saudi Professional League club Al-Taawoun on 19 October 2016.[13] For the following season, he moved to Al-Fayha in the same league.[14] Having won once in nine games and with the club in the relegation zone, he was dismissed on 7 November 2017.[15]

On 6 March 2019, Gâlcă returned to European football with Vejle Boldklub, last-placed in the Danish Superliga.[16] His team won the second tier in the 2019–20 season, and survived on return to the top flight; he resigned in May 2021 due to disagreements with the board.[17]

Gâlcă returned to the Saudi top league on 10 December 2021, joining Al-Hazem after the dismissal of Hélder.[18] He left the club by mutual consent on 21 February 2022.[19]

On 16 April 2023, Gâlcă was appointed manager of Polish Ekstraklasa side Radomiak Radom, replacing Mariusz Lewandowski.[20] His stint started off well, with three wins and one draw in five league games. However, as the 2023–24 season started and progressed, he became vocal about his disappointment in the board's decisions regarding transfer activity and lack of youth players to fulfill their mandatory playing time quota.[21] On 27 November 2023, 86 minutes before Radomiak's home game against Śląsk Wrocław, it was announced Gâlcă left the club by mutual consent.[22]

On 17 April 2024, he was revealed as the new manager of Romanian top tier side Universitatea Craiova, signing on until the end of the 2024–25 season, with an extension option.[23]

Honours

Player

Progresul București

Steaua București

Espanyol

Manager

Steaua București

Vejle

Managerial statistics

As of 29 April 2024[24]
Team From To Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Romania Romania U17 20 August 2013 1 June 2014 13 5 5 3 17 10 +7 038.46
Romania Steaua București 1 June 2014 1 June 2015 58 37 8 13 110 53 +57 063.79
Spain Espanyol 14 December 2015 1 June 2016 26 8 5 13 28 55 −27 030.77
Saudi Arabia Al-Taawoun 16 October 2016 20 March 2017 21 10 3 8 23 24 −1 047.62
Saudi Arabia Al-Fayha 20 May 2017 7 November 2017 18 3 7 8 3 7 −4 016.67
Denmark Vejle Boldklub 6 March 2019 30 June 2021 82 36 23 23 139 107 +32 043.90
Saudi Arabia Al-Hazem 6 December 2021 21 February 2022 9 1 0 8 6 11 −5 011.11
Poland Radomiak Radom 16 April 2023 27 November 2023 22 8 5 9 26 29 −3 036.36
Romania Universitatea Craiova 17 April 2024 present 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 066.67
Total 252 110 56 86 357 299 +58 043.65

References

  1. ^ "Acta del Partido celebrado el 17 de junio de 2006, en Castellón de la Plana" [Minutes of the Match held on 17 June 2006, in Castellón de la Plana] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Archived from the original on 31 December 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Constantin Galca – International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  3. ^ "Alud de presentaciones" [Presentations galore] (PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 20 July 1996. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  4. ^ "El Villarreal ficha a Sergio Ballesteros y Galca" [Villarreal sign Sergio Ballesteros and Gâlcă]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 16 July 2001. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Galca renovará por dos añossi [sic] se asciende" [Gâlcă will renew for two years if they are promoted]. El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). 18 April 2003. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Cosntantin Gâlcă". European Football. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Galca, destituido como técnico del Almería B" [Galca, fired as Almería B manager]. Marca (in Spanish). 19 January 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  8. ^ "Gâlcă returning to Steaua as coach". UEFA. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  9. ^ "Classy Steaua win Romanian Cup to complete treble". Yahoo Sports. 31 May 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  10. ^ "Constantin Galca, new coach of RCD Espanyol". RCD Espanyol. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  11. ^ "Caicedo resuelve la eliminatoria" [Caicedo decides tie]. Marca (in Spanish). 15 December 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  12. ^ Molero, Iván (27 May 2016). "Constantin Galca's time as Espanyol manager is cut short". Diario AS. Archived from the original on 27 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  13. ^ Youssef, Ram (19 October 2016). "Al Taawon appoint Constantin Galca as head coach". Goal. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  14. ^ "Emilio Izaguirre 'very sad' at Celtic exit for Al-Fayha in Saudi Arabia". BBC Sport. 25 July 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  15. ^ "ULTIMA ORĂ Costel Gâlcă a fost demis de la Al Fayha. Cine a fost adus în locul său" [LATEST Costel Gâlcă was dismissed from Al Fayha. Who was brought in his place] (in Romanian). Telekom Sport. 7 November 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  16. ^ "Costantin Galca entrenará al Vejle de la Liga Danesa" [Constantin Gâlcă will manage Vejle of the Danish League] (in Spanish). Be Soccer. 6 March 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  17. ^ "Costel Gâlcă le-a spus danezilor de ce pleacă de la Vejle" [Costel Gâlcă told the Danes why he was leaving Vejle] (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 23 May 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  18. ^ Nazare, Daniel (10 December 2021). "Costel Gâlcă, primit cu flori la sosirea în Arabia Saudită! A condus deja primul antrenament la Al Hazem" [Costel Gâlcă, received with flowers on arrival in Saudi Arabia! He has already led his first training session at Al Hazem]. ProSport (in Romanian). Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  19. ^ "الحزم يُنهي علاقته مع الرُوماني "جالكا"".
  20. ^ "Constantin Gâlcă trenerem Radomiaka" (in Polish). 90minut.pl. 16 April 2023.
  21. ^ "Constantin Galca atakuje pracodawcę". sportdziennik.com (in Polish). 27 November 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  22. ^ "PKO BP Ekstraklasa. Constantin Galca odchodzi z Radomiaka Radom". sport.tvp.pl (in Polish). 27 November 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  23. ^ "OFICIAL Costel Gâlcă a semnat cu Universitatea Craiova!". digisport.ro (in Romanian). 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  24. ^ Constantin Gâlcă coach profile at Soccerway

External links