Silviu Ploeșteanu Explained

Silviu Ploeșteanu (28 January 1913 – 13 April 1969) was a Romanian footballer and manager.

Club career

Silviu Ploeșteanu, nicknamed Ploaie (Rain) was born on 28 January 1913 in Craiova, Romania and he started to play football in 1930 at UD Reșița, winning the Divizia A title in his first season as a footballer.^{[1] [2] [3]} In the following season he was a runner-up in Divizia A with UD Reșița, afterwards moving at Universitatea Cluj where he earned another runner-up position with the team in his first season spent at the club.^{[1] [2] [3]} In the following season, he reached with "U" Cluj in the 1934 Cupa României final where he scored a goal in the first game as the club lost the trophy in front of Ripensia Timișoara.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} In 1937, Ploeșteanu switched teams again moving at Venus București with whom he won two Divizia A titles in the 1938–39 and 1939–40 seasons, being used by coach Béla Jánosy in 22 matches in which he scored three goals in the first one and in 21 games in which he scored four goals in the second.^{[1] [2] [3] [5]} He also reached the 1940 Cupa României final with Venus, which was composed of four games, Ploeșteanu playing in all of them, scoring a goal in the first as the team eventually lost in the last game against Rapid București.^[6] Silviu Ploeșteanu ended his career by spending one year as a player-coach in the regional championship at UA Brașov.^{[1] [2] [3]}

International career

Silviu Ploeșteanu played 11 games and scored one goal at international level for Romania, making his debut on 8 July 1937 under coach Constantin Rădulescu in a friendly which ended with a 2–0 away victory against Lithuania.^{[7] [8]} He scored a goal in a game against Germany and was captain in a 2–1 victory against Yugoslavia.^[7] His last appearance took place on 12 October 1941 in a 3–2 victory against Slovakia.^[7]

International goals

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first. "Score" column indicates the score after the player's goal.

Managerial career

Silviu Ploeșteanu started his managerial career at Steagul Roșu Brașov in 1948, being also a player in the first year.^{[1] [2] [3]} He helped Steagul earn the promotion from the regional championship to Divizia B in 1950, afterwards in 1956 promoting to Divizia A where he earned a runner-up position in the 1959–60 season, also managing to do some performances in the European competitions such as winning the 1960–61 Balkans Cup and reaching the 1965–66 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup sixteenths-finals as the club was eliminated by Espanyol Barcelona against whom he earned a 4–2 victory.^{[1] [2]} In 1962 he also started coaching Romania's national team simultaneously while still coaching Steagul, leading the national team in four friendly games which consist of one victory, two draws and one loss, afterwards coaching Romania's Olympic team which he helped qualify to the 1964 Summer Olympics where the team finished on the fifth place.^{[1] [2] [9] [10]} In January 1967, Ploeșteanu took the decision to change the colors of Steagul from white and blue to black and yellow, considering that in the new colors the team will be seen better on the field, being inspired to take this decision by his player, Csaba Györffy who participated with Romania's Olympic team in a tournament in Uruguay where after a match with Peñarol, Györffy received from captain Alberto Spencer the shirt with which he played and at the return in the country, he wore the shirt during his training sessions with the team.^{[1] [11]} After 20 years spent at Steagul he was dismissed after the team finished on the last place of the 1967–68 season, relegating to Divizia B.^{[1] [2]} His last coaching experience took part at Tractorul Brașov from 1968 until 1969.^[1] Silviu Ploeșteanu has a total of 249 Divizia A games as a manager, consisting of 104 victories, 49 draws and 96 losses.^[12]

Personal life

Silviu Ploeșteanu was known as an anti-communist, telling everyone whom he would interact:"Never call me comrade! I was born a sir and I will always be a sir".^[1] After dying of a heart attack on 13 April 1969, people who were close to him claim that one of the reasons of his death was because of the sadness he felt after being dismissed by Steagul Roșu Brașov after coaching it for 20 years.^{[1] [2]} The Stadionul Silviu Ploeșteanu from Brașov is named in his honor.^{[1] [2]}

Honours

Player

UD Reșița

• Divizia A

1930–31, runner-up 1931–32Universitatea Cluj

• Divizia A runner-up: 1932–33
• Cupa României runner-up: 1933–34^[4]

Venus București

• Divizia A

1938–39, 1939–40

• Cupa României runner-up: 1939–40^[6]

Manager

Steagul Roșu Brașov

• Divizia A runner-up: 1959–60^[1]
• Divizia B

1956^[1]

• Balkans Cup

1960–61^[1]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 109 ani de la naşterea lui Silviu Ploeșteanu, omul care a ridicat "Steagul Roșu" şi care a obţinut cel mai mare rezultat al României la Jocurile Olimpice. Era un anti-comunist convins: "Mie să nu-mi spuneți niciodată tovarăș!". Gsp.ro. Romanian . 109 years since the birth of Silviu Ploeșteanu, the man who raised the "Red Flag" and who obtained Romania's highest result at the Olympic Games. He was a staunch anti-communist: "Never call me comrade!". 28 January 2022 . 30 October 2022.
2. Web site: SPORT108 ani de la naşterea lui Silviu Ploeșteanu. Marele antrenor încă trăieşte prin inimile "stegarilor". Brasov.net. Romanian . SPORT 108 years since the birth of Silviu Ploeșteanu. The great coach still lives on in the hearts of the "flagbearers". 28 January 2021 . 30 October 2022.
3. Web site: Silviu Ploeșteanu profile. 4everucluj.ro. Romanian.
4. Web site: Romanian Cup – Season 1933–1934. RomanianSoccer. 30 October 2022.
5. Web site: Romania National Champions . RomanianSoccer. 30 October 2022.
6. Web site: Romanian Cup – Season 1939–1940. RomanianSoccer. 30 October 2022.
7. Web site: Silviu Ploeșteanu player profile. European Football. 30 October 2022.
8. Web site: Lithuania 0-2 Romania. European Football. 30 October 2022.
9. Web site: Silviu Ploeșteanu manager profile. European Football. 30 October 2022.
10. Web site: Cum a fost ultima participare a României la Olimpiadă, în 1964, când "tricolorii" au pierdut dramatic sfertul cu Ungaria. Theplaymaker.ro. Romanian . How was Romania's last participation in the Olympics, in 1964, when "The Tricolors" dramatically lost the quarter to Hungary. 27 June 2019 . 27 September 2024.
11. Web site: Galben-negrii au fost alb-albaştri! Povestea culorilor lui FC Braşov relatată de fosta glorie a "stegarilor", Csaba Gyorffy. Gsp.ro. Romanian . The yellow-blacks were white-blue! The story of FC Braşov's colors told by the former glory of "The Flag-bearers", Csaba Gyorffy . 21 October 2012 . 30 October 2022.
12. Web site: Top 60 antrenori. RomanianSoccer.ro. Romanian . Top 60 coaches. 30 October 2022.