Cosmin Contra facts for kids
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Contra as manager of Romania in 2018
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cosmin Marius Contra | ||
| Date of birth | 15 December 1975 | ||
| Place of birth | Timișoara, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.80 m | ||
| Playing position | Right-back, midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1982–1988 | CSȘ Timișoara | ||
| 1988–1993 | Politehnica Timișoara | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1994–1995 | Politehnica Timișoara | 51 | (1) |
| 1996–1999 | Dinamo București | 101 | (8) |
| 1999–2001 | Alavés | 66 | (5) |
| 2001–2002 | AC Milan | 29 | (3) |
| 2002–2006 | Atlético Madrid | 34 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | → West Bromwich Albion (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2005 | → Politehnica Timișoara (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | → Getafe (loan) | 24 | (0) |
| 2006–2010 | Getafe | 64 | (3) |
| 2010 | → Politehnica Timișoara (loan) | 13 | (3) |
| 2010 | Politehnica Timișoara | 9 | (1) |
| Total | 410 | (24) | |
| National team | |||
| 1995–1998 | Romania U21 | 11 | (2) |
| 1996–2010 | Romania | 73 | (7) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2010 | Politehnica Timișoara (player/coach) | ||
| 2011–2012 | Getafe C | ||
| 2012 | Fuenlabrada | ||
| 2012–2014 | Petrolul Ploiești | ||
| 2014–2015 | Getafe | ||
| 2015 | Guangzhou R&F | ||
| 2016 | Alcorcón | ||
| 2017 | Dinamo București | ||
| 2017–2019 | Romania | ||
| 2020 | Dinamo București | ||
| 2021–2022 | Al-Ittihad | ||
| 2023–2024 | Damac | ||
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Cosmin Marius Contra is a Romanian football manager and former player. He was born on December 15, 1975.
He mainly played as an attacking right-back but could also play as a midfielder. He played professionally in three different countries, mostly in Spain. There, he played for teams like Alavés, Atlético Madrid, and Getafe. He played 188 games in La Liga and scored eight goals.
Cosmin Contra also played for the Romanian national team for almost 15 years. He represented his country in two European Championships.
As a coach, Contra won the Cupa României (Romanian Cup) with Petrolul Ploiești in 2013. He also won the Cupa Ligii (League Cup) with Dinamo București in 2017. In September 2017, he became the manager of the Romania national team.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Starting in Romania
Cosmin Contra began his professional football journey in his hometown of Timișoara, Romania. He joined the local club Politehnica Timișoara. He made his first appearance in Romania's top league, called Divizia A, when he was just 18 years old. This happened on February 27, 1994.
After one season, his team was moved down to the second league, Divizia B. But he stayed with them and helped them get back to the top league the next year. In 1996, he moved to Dinamo București. He played for Dinamo for three and a half seasons.
Success with Alavés
In 1999, Contra moved to Spain to play for Alavés in La Liga. This was a big step in his career. He became a very important player for the team.
He helped Alavés reach the final of the UEFA Cup in 2001. This was a huge achievement for the club. Because of his great performances, he was even chosen for the UEFA Team of the Year. This means he was considered one of the best players in Europe that year.
Playing for Big Clubs
In the summer of 2001, Contra joined the famous Italian club AC Milan. He played there for one season. He then returned to Spain in 2002 to play for Atlético Madrid.
He also spent some time on loan at other clubs. In 2004, he played for West Bromwich Albion in England's Premier League. Later, he returned to his home club, Politehnica Timișoara, on loan. His good play there helped him get called back to the Romanian national team.
Return to Spain with Getafe
In 2005, Contra went back to Spain and joined Getafe. He first joined on a loan, but then his move became permanent. He played regularly for Getafe and was a key part of their team.
During the 2007–08 UEFA Cup, he scored important goals. He even scored in both games against Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals. He showed great dedication, playing in one match even after a very difficult personal event.
Later Playing Years
In 2010, Cosmin Contra left Getafe and returned to his hometown club, Politehnica Timișoara. He scored some impressive goals, including free kicks. During this time, he often played as a central midfielder.
Later in 2010, he took on a new role: player-coach. This meant he was both playing for the team and helping to manage it. His last game as a player was in November 2010.
Playing for Romania
Cosmin Contra played 73 games for the Romanian national team and scored seven goals. He made his debut in 1996 when he was 20 years old.
He played in the Euro 2000 tournament, helping Romania get past the group stage. He also played in the qualifiers for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He scored two goals in those qualifiers, including one in a play-off game.
In the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2004, he scored three goals in one game against Luxembourg. He also played in the qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2008. He played in all of Romania's matches at the Euro 2008 tournament. He announced his retirement from international football in 2009 but returned briefly in 2010 for more Euro qualifiers.
Coaching Career
First Coaching Steps
Cosmin Contra started his coaching career at Politehnica Timișoara in September 2010. Even though his team never lost a game under his leadership, he left after 11 matches due to a disagreement.
In 2012, he moved back to Spain to coach Fuenlabrada. The team started well, but he soon received an offer from a club in Romania.
Winning with Petrolul
In October 2012, Contra became the coach of Petrolul Ploiești in Romania. In his first season, he led the team to win the Romanian Cup in 2013. This was a great achievement. The club also finished third in the league, which meant they qualified for the UEFA Europa League.
In the Europa League, Petrolul did well, knocking out two teams. However, they were eventually eliminated by Swansea City.
Back to Getafe as Coach
On March 10, 2014, Contra returned to Getafe, this time as their manager. The team was struggling and close to being moved down a league. His job was to help them avoid relegation.
He managed to turn things around. On May 19, 2014, Getafe secured their place in the top league after a win against Rayo Vallecano.
Coaching Abroad and at Home
After Getafe, Contra coached Guangzhou R&F in China in 2015. He then had a short time coaching Alcorcón in Spain in 2016.
In February 2017, he became the coach of Dinamo București in Romania. He led them to win the Romanian League Cup, their first trophy in five years.
Leading the National Team
In September 2017, Cosmin Contra was chosen to be the new manager of the Romania national team. His main goal was to help the team qualify for UEFA Euro 2020.
His first game in charge was a 3–1 win against Kazakhstan. However, in November 2019, after the team didn't qualify for Euro 2020, it was announced that he would no longer continue as coach.
Recent Coaching Roles
Contra returned to Dinamo Bucharest for a second time in August 2020 but left a few months later due to financial issues at the club.
In August 2021, he became the manager of Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Professional League. His team was leading the league by a large margin at one point, but they finished second. He left the club in July 2022.
In March 2023, Cosmin Contra joined Damac, another team in the same Saudi league.
Career statistics
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | 1996 | 3 | 0 |
| 1997 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2002 | 7 | 3 | |
| 2003 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2008 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 73 | 7 | |
- Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Contra goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 March 2001 | Boris Paichadze, Tbilisi, Georgia |  Georgia |
2–0 | 2–0 | 2002 World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 14 November 2001 | Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania |  Slovenia |
1–1 | 1–1 | 2002 World Cup qualification – Playoffs |
| 3 | 16 October 2002 | Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg |  Luxembourg |
4–0 | 7–0 | Euro 2004 qualifying |
| 4 | 5–0 | |||||
| 5 | 7–0 | |||||
| 6 | 28 March 2007 | Stadionul Ceahlăul, Piatra Neamț, Romania | Luxembourg |
2–0 | 3–0 | Euro 2008 qualifying |
| 7 | 6 June 2007 | Dan Păltinișanu, Timișoara, Romania | Slovenia |
2–0 | 2–0 | Euro 2008 qualifying |
Managerial statistics
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Politehnica Timișoara |  |
15 September 2010 | 5 December 2010 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 22 | 14 | +8 | 50.00 |
| Fuenlabrada |  |
21 July 2012 | 29 October 2012 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 16 | +2 | 45.45 |
| Petrolul Ploiești | |
29 October 2012 | 10 March 2014 | 58 | 33 | 20 | 5 | 99 | 48 | +51 | 56.90 |
| Getafe | |
10 March 2014 | 4 January 2015 | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 30 | 35 | −5 | 33.33 |
| Guangzhou R&F |  |
4 January 2015 | 22 July 2015 | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 37 | 45 | −8 | 30.00 |
| Alcorcón | |
15 June 2016 | 12 October 2016 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 36.36 |
| Dinamo București | |
16 February 2017 | 18 September 2017 | 28 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 41 | 24 | +17 | 53.57 |
| Romania | |
22 September 2017 | 18 November 2019 | 24 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 39 | 26 | +13 | 54.17 |
| Dinamo București | |
26 August 2020 | 3 December 2020 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 13 | +1 | 27.27 |
| Al-Ittihad |  |
29 August 2021 | 4 July 2022 | 30 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 62 | 31 | +31 | 66.67 |
| Damac | |
6 March 2023 | 6 December 2024 | 64 | 21 | 17 | 26 | 82 | 95 | −13 | 32.81 |
| Total | 311 | 140 | 84 | 87 | 450 | 356 | +94 | 45.02 | |||
Honours
Player
Politehnica Timișoara
- Divizia B: 1994–95
Alavés
- UEFA Cup runner-up: 2000–01
Getafe
- Copa del Rey runner-up: 2006–07, 2007–08
Individual
- Romanian Footballer of the Year (Gazeta Sporturilor): 2001
- UEFA Team of the Year: 2001
Manager
Petrolul Ploiești
- Cupa României: 2012–13
- Supercupa României runner-up: 2013
Dinamo București
- Cupa Ligii: 2016–17
Individual
- Saudi Professional League Manager of the Month: February 2022
See also
In Spanish: Cosmin Contra para niños
