Gheorghe Mulțescu

Gheorghe Mulțescu (; 13 November 1951 – 15 September 2024) was a Romanian professional football manager and player.

Club career Mulțescu was born on 13 November 1951 in Botoroaga, Romania and began playing junior-level football in 1963 at Steaua București. When it was time for him to start his senior career, Steaua's coach Ștefan Kovács was considering promoting him to the first team. His first performance with The Miners was reaching the 1972 Cupa României final where Iordache used him the full 90 minutes in the 2–0 loss to Rapid București. In the 1973–74 season Mulțescu scored a personal record of 15 goals in the league, and he netted a double in the 4–2 victory against Politehnica Timișoara in the 1974 Cupa României final, as coach Traian Ivănescu used him the entire match, helping Jiul win their first trophy. He then participated with the club in the 1974–75 European Cup Winners' Cup, playing in both legs of the 3–2 aggregate loss to Dundee United in the first round. Starting from 1976, for three seasons he made a successful partnership in Jiul's offence with Romanian football star Florea Dumitrache.

Mulțescu was transferred to Dinamo București in 1979 where for several years he would form a successful offensive trio with Ionel Augustin and Costel Orac, together being called "AMO" by the fans, a nickname inspired by the initials of their family names. From 1982 to 1984, he earned three consecutive Divizia A titles. In the first one, he played 26 matches under coach Valentin Stănescu, scoring nine goals. Over the years he would score two goals in the derby against Steaua in a draw and a victory in the league. Mulțescu played 20 games in which he scored nine goals in European competitions for The Red Dogs, helping the team eliminate Inter Milan in the 1981–82 UEFA Cup edition. He also appeared in seven matches in the 1983–84 European Cup campaign, scoring one goal against Kuusysi Lahti and two in the 5–3 aggregate victory against title holders Hamburg—the first a spectacular 40-meter shot—before the team reached the semi-finals, where they were defeated by Liverpool.

In 1985, Mulțescu returned to Jiul Petroșani, this time as a player-coach, managing to gain promotion from Divizia B to Divizia A. He spent his last season as a player in Divizia A at CSM Suceava, making his last appearance on 17 December 1987 in a 0–0 draw against Petrolul Ploiești, totaling 407 matches with 111 goals in the competition.

Mulțescu won the Universiade gold medal with Romania's students football team in the 1974 edition that was held in France, playing alongside László Bölöni, Dan Păltinișanu, Romulus Chihaia and Paul Cazan.

International career Mulțescu played 12 matches and scored two goals for Romania (16/3 including Romania's Olympic team games), making his debut on 25 September 1974 under coach Valentin Stănescu in a 0–0 friendly draw against Bulgaria.

He played another two games and scored once against Bulgaria, as they lost the 1973–76 Balkan Cup final on the away goals rule after 3–3 on aggregate. In 1993 he led Romania's B squad in the Nehru Cup, reaching the final where they lost with 2–0 to North Korea. Mulțescu coached 13 teams in Divizia A, at some, he had several terms, including six periods at Dinamo, totaling 313 matches in the competition (112 victories, 74 draws, 127 losses). He also coached outside of Romania, in Turkey and Saudi Arabia, where his most successful period was his first term at Samsunspor from 1993 until 1997. There, he finished one season in fifth place and won the only trophy of his managerial career, the 1993–94 Balkans Cup.

Personal life and death His son, Cătălin, was a goalkeeper, playing at various Liga I and Liga II clubs throughout his career. After he retired from professional football, he became a goalkeeping coach. In 2009, Mulțescu was awarded the Honorary Citizen of Petroșani title.

Mulțescu died on 15 September 2024 in the Floreasca Hospital in Bucharest, at the age of 72. Over 200 people attended his funeral and he was buried with military honors in the "Reînvierea" Cemetery in the Colentina neighborhood of Bucharest.

Career statistics Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mulțescu goal.

+ List of international goals scored by Gheorghe Mulțescu # Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition 1 28 November 1976 Stadionul 23 August, Bucharest, Romania 5 3–2 3–2 1973–76 Balkan Cup 2 18 November 1979 Stadionul Dinamo, Bucharest, Romania 7 1–0 2–0 Euro 1980 qualifiers

Honours Player Jiul Petroșani Divizia B: 1985–86 Cupa României: 1973–74 Dinamo București Divizia A: 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84 Cupa României: 1981–82, 1983–84

Manager Jiul Petroșani Divizia B: 1985–86 Romania B Nehru Cup runner-up: 1993 Samsunspor Balkans Cup: 1993–94