Gabriel Paraschiv

Gabriel Ioan Paraschiv (born 27 March 1978) is a Romanian former football player and manager.

Club career Paraschiv was born on 27 March 1978 in Moreni, Romania and began playing senior-level football during the 1998–99 Divizia C season at local club Flacăra. Midway through that season, he joined Divizia B club Chindia Târgoviște. He scored his first goal in the competition on 25 May in a 2–1 loss to Dinamo București. Paraschiv could not avoid Petrolul's relegation at the end of the season, but he stayed with the club, helping it gain promotion back to the first league after one year. In his first match for his new club, a 3–0 league win over Dinamo, he scored a goal which was wrongfully disallowed by the referee. Two matches later, he scored his first legitimate goal in a 4–0 victory against FCM Bacău. Under coach Petre Grigoraș, Paraschiv made his debut in European competitions and helped The Steelworkers win the 2007 Intertoto Cup by scoring a goal against Slavija Istočno Sarajevo and another against Trabzonspor to eliminate them. Subsequently, Oțelul qualified for the UEFA Cup second round, where they were defeated 3–1 on aggregate by Lokomotiv Sofia. Paraschiv started the 2008–09 season strongly by netting seven goals in the first four rounds, including three doubles in the first three games against Gaz Metan Mediaș, CS Otopeni and Gloria Buzău. In June 2010, he asked for a 30% reduction of his salary, claiming he had been underperforming recently and the team had some financial difficulties. In the 2010–11 season, under coach Dorinel Munteanu, Paraschiv made 25 league appearances and scored six goals, including two doubles in wins over Gaz Metan Mediaș and Universitatea Craiova, to help Oțelul win its first title. He started the following season by winning the Supercupa României, playing as a starter before Munteanu substituted him in the 64th minute with Marius Pena in Oțelul's 1–0 victory against Steaua București. Afterwards he made four appearances in the 2011–12 Champions League group stage, playing in losses to Basel, Benfica and Manchester United. He made his last Liga I appearance on 4 November 2013 in a 2–1 home victory against FC Botoșani, totaling 212 matches with 41 goals in the competition. For the second half of that season, he was player-coach at Flacăra in Liga III.

International career Paraschiv earned his sole cap for Romania as a starter on 20 August 2008, before coach Victor Pițurcă substituted him at half time with Costin Lazăr during a 1–0 friendly win against Latvia.

Managerial career Paraschiv was appointed head coach of Liga IV side Flacăra Moreni in January 2014, leading them to promotion to Liga III at the end of the 2015–16 season. His tenure lasted until the summer of 2025.

Personal life The local authorities of Galați awarded the "Galați Municipality Prize 2013" to Paraschiv for his entire sporting career.

Career statistics Club

International

Honours Player Petrolul Ploiești Divizia B: 2002–03 Oțelul Galați Liga I: 2010–11 Supercupa României: 2011 Intertoto Cup: 2007 Manager Flacăra Moreni Liga IV: 2015–16