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Anghel Iordănescu
Personal information
Iordănescu in 2008
Date of birth	(1950-05-04) 4 May 1950 (age 75)
Place of birth	Bucharest, Romania
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Forward
Youth career
1962–1968	Steaua București
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1968–1982	Steaua București	317	(156)
1982–1984	OFI	54	(7)
1986	Steaua București	0	(0)
Total		371	(163)
National team
1971–1981	Romania	57	(21)
Teams managed
1984–1986	Steaua București (assistant)
1986–1990	Steaua București
1990–1992	Anorthosis Famagusta
1992–1993	Steaua București
1993–1998	Romania
1998–1999	Greece
1999–2000	Al Hilal
2000	Rapid București
2001–2002	Al Ain
2002–2004	Romania
2005–2006	Al-Ittihad
2006	Al Ain
2014–2016	Romania
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Anghel Iordănescu

Member of the Senate of Romania
In office 6 February 2008 – 2012
Constituency	Ilfov County

Anghel Iordănescu (born 4 May 1950) is a famous Romanian former footballer and manager. He played as a forward, scoring many goals.

In 2007, Iordănescu stopped working in football. The next year, he became a member of the Romanian Senate, which is like a part of the country's government. He was part of the Social Democratic Party. Later, in 2011, he became an independent senator.

His son, Edward Iordănescu, also played football. Today, Edward is the head coach of the Romania national team.

Playing Career: A Star Forward
- Early Days at Steaua București
- Playing Abroad and European Glory
International Football for Romania
- International Stats Summary
Coaching Career: Leading Teams to Success
Achievements and Awards
- As a Player
- As a Coach
See also

Playing Career: A Star Forward

Anghel Iordănescu is known as one of the greatest players for Steaua București. He played as a forward or an attacking midfielder. He was very good at scoring goals and dribbling the ball. He also had great vision and was skilled at set-pieces, like free kicks.

Early Days at Steaua București

Iordănescu joined Steaua București as a young player in 1962 when he was 12. Six years later, he played his first game for the main team. In 1971, he also played for the Romania national team for the first time. During his time at Steaua, he scored 155 goals, becoming the team's top goal scorer ever.

He helped Steaua win the league championship twice, in 1976 and 1978. He also won the Cupa Romaniei (Romania's main cup competition) four times. In the 1981–82 season, he was the top goalscorer in the Romanian league.

Playing Abroad and European Glory

In 1982, when he was 32, Iordănescu left Romania. He went to play for OFI Crete in Greece. After two years, he returned to Steaua București in 1984. This time, he became the club's assistant manager.

He worked with the head coach, Emerich Jenei. Together, they won the league championship in 1985. They also led the team to win the European Cup in 1986. This was a huge win for the club. Iordănescu even played as a substitute in the final game against Barcelona.

International Football for Romania

Iordănescu first played for the Romanian national team on 22 September 1971. He scored the first goal in a 4-0 win against Finland.

A big moment in his international career was in the 1977-80 Balkan Cup. He scored three goals in the final game against Yugoslavia. This helped Romania win the cup 4-3 overall. Romania won this tournament four times, which was a record. Iordănescu was also the top scorer in that tournament with 6 goals.

International Stats Summary

Iordănescu played 57 games for the Romanian national team. He scored 21 goals in total.

Romania
Year	Games	Goals
1971	3	1
1972	6	1
1973	2	0
1974	7	2
1975	7	2
1976	4	0
1977	7	4
1978	9	4
1979	1	0
1980	4	6
1981	7	1
Total	57	21

Coaching Career: Leading Teams to Success

After his playing career, Anghel Iordănescu became a very successful football coach.

First Stint at Steaua București

In 1986, Emerich Jenei became Romania's national team manager. This made Iordănescu the new head coach for Steaua București. He led his team to win three league championships in a row (1987, 1988, and 1989). They also won the Cupa Romaniei three times in those same years.

On the international stage, Steaua and Iordănescu reached the European Cup semi-final in 1988. The next year, they made it to the final.

Coaching Abroad and Return to Steaua

In 1990, he left Steaua again. He signed a two-year contract with a Cypriot club called Anorthosis Famagusta. After his time there, he came back to Steaua in 1992. He led the club to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1993. He also helped them win another league championship.

Leading the Romanian National Team

In the summer of 1993, Iordănescu was asked to become the coach of the Romanian national team. He successfully led the team to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. At this World Cup, Romania reached the quarter-finals. This was the best performance ever for the Romanian national team at a World Cup.

He continued as Romania's coach after the World Cup. He led the team to qualify for UEFA Euro 1996 and the 1998 World Cup. In the 1998 World Cup, Romania won their group and moved to the knockout stage.

Even though he led the team to another World Cup, some people in the media criticized him. They felt the team's performance was not strong enough. After Romania lost to Croatia in the second round of the 1998 World Cup, he resigned. He then became the manager of the Greece. However, he was let go in 1999 after Greece did not qualify for Euro 2000.

Adventures in the Middle East

In the 1999–2000 season, Iordănescu became the head coach of a Saudi club called Al-Hilal. There, he won the Saudi Crown Prince Cup and the Asian Club Championship. This championship is now known as the AFC Champions League.

Despite these wins, he left Al-Hilal to coach Rapid București in Romania. He led Rapid to the first round of the 2000–01 UEFA Cup. They lost to Liverpool, who later won the cup. However, he was fired after just three months. After that, he signed with an Emirati club, Al Ain, and guided them to win the UAE President's Cup.

Second and Third Times as Romania Coach

After Romania failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, Iordănescu was asked to coach the national team for a second time. His main goal was to qualify for UEFA Euro 2004, but they did not succeed. The Romanian Football Federation kept him on for the 2006 World Cup qualifying stage. But after a poor game against Armenia, he was finally sacked.

After his second time coaching Romania, Iordănescu went back to Saudi Arabia. He managed Al-Ittihad. With them, he won his second AFC Champions League in 2005. He also won the Arab Champions League. But a year later, he was fired after a draw with Al-Ettifaq.

At the start of the 2006–07 UAE League season, Iordănescu returned to coach Al Ain for a few months. Then, he announced he was retiring from professional football.

In October 2014, Iordănescu came out of retirement. He took charge of the Romanian national team for a third time. On 27 June 2016, he resigned as Romania coach. This was after a difficult Euro 2016 tournament. The team finished last in their group with only one point from a draw with Switzerland.

Achievements and Awards

As a Player

Steaua București

Divizia A (League Champion): 1975–76, 1977–78
Cupa României (Romanian Cup): 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1975–76, 1978–79
European Cup: 1985–86

Romania National Team

Balkan Cup: 1977–80

Individual Awards

Gazeta Sporturilor Romanian Footballer of the Year runner-up: 1980
Divizia A top scorer: 1981–82

As a Coach