Constantin Rădulescu

Playing career Rădulescu, nicknamed "Jumate" (Half) because he was speaking with a stutter, was born on 30 May 1924 in Bucharest, Romania. He began playing senior-level football in 1938 at local club Olympia, aged 14.

In 1943, Rădulescu signed with Universitatea Cluj, a team that played at Sibiu in that period as a consequence of the territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, by which Northern Transylvania became part of the Kingdom of Hungary as a result of World War II events. His best season was the 1947–48 Divizia A in which he scored seven goals in 28 appearances that helped "U" Cluj finish in fifth place. In the following season they reached the 1949 Cupa României final, which was lost to CSCA București, but he did not play in it. In 1949, after totaling 72 Divizia A appearances with 10 goals, he left "U" because of some misunderstandings and would declare later in his autobiographical book:"Honestly, I split hard and regretfully from this wonderful team, which deserves all superlatives." In the 1962–63 season he was head coach as the team finished in fourth place. In the summer of 1963 he went back to CFR, known at the time as CSM Cluj, and in 1969 he succeeded in promoting them to Divizia A. Afterwards he coached in the Romanian lower leagues, initially returning to Universitatea for the 1976–77 Divizia B season, where the team finished in 12th place. Then, in 1979 he went back to CFR, staying until 1982 before moving to CUG Cluj and subsequently working at Sticla Arieșul Turda.

Managing style As a manager he is considered a real Alex Ferguson of CFR Cluj by former player Marius Bretan. Another former player Romică Petrescu said:"Ajax and CFR used the same training methods. The training cycle was taken from Ajax, with two training sessions on Tuesday, two on Thursday, free on Wednesday. Everything was done counter-clockwise, after pulse, after tension." Augustin Țegean, a CFR legend described him:"A distinct character from all points of view: tough, severe, does not give up his principles. He always told us that he was the only one allowed to make jokes because he was from Bucharest. He was a strong personality, we all respected him. We were afraid of him. [..] I can say he was using new methods for those times. He explained the game schemes on the board. The marks were made man-to-man. Everyone knew exactly what area to cover on the pitch. His methods were the most modern." In 1972, the Minister of Transport asked him to take over Rapid București, but he refused by demanding, unreasonably, that Rică Răducanu, a star of the team, be kicked out.

Writing Rădulescu wrote an autobiographical volume titled O viață închinată fotbalului (A life dedicated to football).

Personal life and death Rădulescu grew up with three brothers, and his father worked at a cigarette factory while his mother was a housewife. As a child, he started playing football with friends in the Regie neighborhood where he was born. In 1935, he went to the Gheorghe Șincai high school. He also worked as a doctor, managing to become the head of the ENT Department at CFR Cluj Hospital. During his time spent with Universitatea Cluj in Sibiu, he met a woman who he married in 1950, and they had a daughter together named Stanca Ioana Gidro. Rădulescu died in October 2001 in Cluj-Napoca. Since 2008, CFR's stadium was named Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu in his honor.

Honours Player Sportul Studențesc Cupa României runner-up: 1942–43 Universitatea Cluj Cupa României runner-up: 1948–49

Manager CFR Cluj Divizia B: 1968–69