Constantin Olteanu (6 January 1946 â 17 April 2021) was a Romanian football defender who spent his entire professional career at ArgeàPiteÃÂti, winning one league title.
Olteanu was born on 6 January 1946 in Bucharest, Romania and began playing junior-level football at local club FlacÃÂra RoÃÂie where he was teammates with RicàRÃÂducanu. Subsequently, he moved to Dinamo BucureÃÂti. In 1964 he went to play senior level football for ArgeàPiteÃÂti, a club at which he would spend the rest of his career, making his Divizia A debut on 27 September under coach Virgil MÃÂrdÃÂrescu in a 2âÂÂ2 draw against ÃÂtiinÃÂa Craiova. At the end of his first season, the team reached the 1965 Cupa României final, but MÃÂrdÃÂrescu did not use him in the eventual 2âÂÂ1 loss to ÃÂtiinÃÂa Cluj. He started playing in European competitions during the 1966âÂÂ67 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, appearing the entire match in a 2âÂÂ0 win over Sevilla. That would be his only appearance in the campaign as after they eliminated the Spaniards, they also got past Toulouse, being defeated in the third round with 1âÂÂ0 on aggregate by Dinamo Zagreb who eventually won the competition. Olteanu helped Argeàwin its first Divizia A title in the 1971âÂÂ72 season, being used by coaches Titus Ozon and Florin Halagian in 20 games in which he scored once. Afterwards he played four games in the 1972âÂÂ73 European Cup, eliminating Aris Bonnevoie in the first round, then in the following one they won a home game with 2âÂÂ1 against Real Madrid, but lost the second leg with 3âÂÂ1. On 15 June 1978, Olteanu made his last Divizia A appearance in a 5âÂÂ0 home win over UTA Arad in which he scored a goal, totaling 295 matches with eight goals scored in the competition and 10 games in European competitions (including five in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup).
Olteanu played three games for Romania's Olympic team in the 1972 Summer Olympics qualifiers, which were two victories over Albania and one loss to Denmark.
Olteanu was a player known for being a defender with a spectacular, almost acrobatic style of play. He used to perform scissors kicks in his own box to repel opposing attacks.
After he ended his playing career, Olteanu talked about his achievements:"My best friend from FC ArgeÃÂ was Gicu Dobrin, ever since I came to PiteÃÂti. (...) The greatest performance was in 1972, when we took the title of champions. And the fact that, for 14 years, I contributed to the image of this wonderful team that is FC ArgeÃÂ and that I loved with all my heart is something unforgettable for me."
He was the father-in-law of Florin Motroc and grandfather of Vlad Motroc who were also footballers.
Olteanu died on 17 April 2021 at age 75.
ArgeÃÂ PiteÃÂti