Ilie Oană

International career Oană made two appearances for Romania, making his debut on 22 October 1939 under coach Virgil Economu in a 2–2 friendly draw against Hungary. He also played in a 0–0 draw against Poland in the 1948 Balkan Cup.

Managerial career

"His greatest quality was that he knew how to build a team. He never selected players by chance. He didn't have nine stars out of eleven. He always had the courage to promote footballers. He rarely brought in players of great quality. He was always looking to develop and promote young players." — Mircea Dridea, ex-Petrolul Ploiești player, on his former coach. In the 1962–63 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup they reached the quarter-finals, a premiere for a Romanian team in European competitions, where they were eliminated by Ferencváros.

Oană left Petrolul after 12 years to coach Romania's national team for which he previously worked as an assistant of Gheorghe Popescu and Silviu Ploeșteanu from 1962 until 1963. During his two-year spell, Romania managed to earn victories against Czechoslovakia, Portugal, Switzerland and France, but was dismissed after the "Zürich disaster" where he was defeated with 7–1 by Switzerland in the Euro 1968 qualifiers. Subsequently, he returned for a third and final spell at Petrolul, leaving the team after two seasons in which it earned mediocre results. He ended his coaching career in Divizia B with two unsuccessful spells at Farul Constanța and Gloria Buzău, being unable to help them get promoted to the first league.

Death He died on 27 April 1993 in Bucharest, Romania at age 74. The Ilie Oană Stadium in Ploiești was named in his honor, and a statue of Oană was displayed in front of it.

Honours Player Juventus București Divizia B: 1940–41

Manager Petrolul Ploiești Divizia A: 1957–58, 1958–59 Divizia B: 1954 Cupa României: 1962–63 Universitatea Craiova Cupa României: 1977–78