Viorel Turcu

Viorel Turcu (9 August 1960 – 29 November 2020) was a Romanian footballer who played as a forward.

Club career Turcu was born on 9 August 1960 in Slobozia, Argeș, Romania and began playing junior-level football at Argeș Pitești. He made his Divizia A debut on 11 June 1978 when coach Florin Halagian sent him in the 60th minute and two minutes later he scored his side's goal after an assist from Nicolae Dobrin in a 2–1 away loss to Bihor Oradea. In the 1978–79 season he helped Argeș win the title, coach Halagian using him in only seven games as he had to compete in the offence with players such as Dobrin, Marin Radu and Doru Nicolae. In the following season they got past AEK Athens in the first round of the 1979–80 European Cup, the team being eliminated in the following one by title holders and eventual winners, Nottingham Forest. He scored his only goal in European competitions in a 4–0 win over APOEL Nicosia in the 1981–82 UEFA Cup season.

In the middle of the 1982–83 season, Turcu left Argeș to play for one year at Steaua București. He also played with The Red Dogs during their 1983–84 European Cup campaign, in which they eliminated Dinamo Minsk in the quarter-finals before being defeated by Liverpool in the semi-finals. Afterwards, Turcu went for two years to Olt Scornicești, then returned for a second spell at Steaua. Turcu made his last Divizia A appearance on 20 June 1989 in a 2–1 home loss to Victoria București, totaling 252 matches with 42 goals in the competition and 11 games with one goal in European competitions. From 1992 until 1996 he came back for a third spell at Olt Scornicești, being a player-coach in the Romanian lower leagues. He scored his only goal in a 4–0 victory against Japan, a team against which he also played his last game for the national team, a 3–1 victory.

International goals Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first. "Score" column indicates the score after each Viorel Turcu goal.

Death In his later life, Turcu suffered from diabetes, which necessitated the amputation of his legs.

Honours Argeș Pitești Divizia A: 1978–79 Dinamo București Divizia A: 1983–84 Cupa României: 1983–84 Steaua București Divizia A: 1986–87 Cupa României: 1986–87