Ion Motroc (born 14 February 1937) is a Romanian former professional football defender and manager. He spent the majority of his playing career with Rapid BucureÃÂti, and was part of the squad that won the Divizia A title in 1967.
Motroc was born on 14 February 1937 in Bucharest, Romania, growing up in the GiuleÃÂti neighborhood, and began playing junior-level football in 1950 at local club Locomotiva BucureÃÂti. He made his Divizia A debut at age 16 under coach Iosif Lengheriu on 17 May 1953 in Locomotiva's 0âÂÂ0 draw against ÃÂtiinÃÂa Cluj. Motroc then played for one season at Progresul CPCS BucureÃÂti in Divizia B before joining Dinamo BucureÃÂti, where he won the 1958âÂÂ59 Cupa României over the course of three seasons. He returned to Rapid, the club from his GiuleÃÂti neighborhood, accepting a lower salary because he wanted to come back to the place he grew up.
Motroc spent nine seasons with The Railwaymen. In April 1961, he scored a goal with a scissors kick in a 2âÂÂ1 win over Dinamo BucureÃÂti. He helped the club win the 1966âÂÂ67 Divizia A, their first title, playing in 25 matches under coach Valentin StÃÂnescu and serving as team captain. He also won two Balkans Cups in 1964 and 1966. Motroc reached three Cupa României finals, playing in all. The first two in 1961 and 1962 under the guidance of coach Ion MihÃÂilescu were lost to ArieÃÂul Turda and Steaua BucureÃÂti respectively. During the 1968 final he was coached by StÃÂnescu in the loss against Dinamo BucureÃÂti. Motroc played five games in European competitions (including one appearance in the Inter-cities Fairs Cup), taking part in the 1967âÂÂ68 European Cup campaign in which Rapid got past Trakia Plovdiv, being eliminated by Juventus in the following round. He made his last Divizia A appearance on 15 June 1969 in a 3âÂÂ0 victory against Jiul PetroÃÂani, totaling 265 matches in the competition with one goal scored and 34 appearances with one goal in the Cupa României. In 1969, alongside his Rapid teammate Viorel Kraus, Motroc went to play in the Turkish First Football League for Altay Izmir under coach Ted Dumitru. The club finished in third place in the league during the 1969âÂÂ70 season, with Motroc appearing in eight league matches. He returned to Romania, where he ended his career by playing two matches in Divizia B for Sportul StudenÃÂesc BucureÃÂti.
Motroc made two appearances for Romania, making his debut on 14 May 1961 under coach Gheorghe Popescu in a friendly which ended with a 1âÂÂ0 away victory against Turkey. His second game was also an away match against Turkey, this time the result being a 2âÂÂ1 loss in the 1966 World Cup qualifiers.
Motroc started his managerial career in 1970 at Sportul StudenÃÂesc BucureÃÂti, a team he helped get promoted to Divizia A, after which he coached Turkish club Mersin ðdmanyurdu.
In 1974, he coached Rapid BucureÃÂti, helping the club win the 1974âÂÂ75 Cupa României while playing in Divizia B after eliminating Dinamo BucureÃÂti, Jiul PetroÃÂani, CeahlÃÂul Piatra NeamÃÂ, Steaua BucureÃÂti and defeating with 2âÂÂ1 Universitatea Craiova in the final. The team also earned the promotion to the first league at the end of that season. In the following season, Motroc coached Rapid in the 1975âÂÂ76 European Cup Winners' Cup, where they were eliminated in the first round with 2âÂÂ1 on aggregate by Anderlecht who eventually won the competition.
He went on to coach FCM ReÃÂiÃÂa, Politehnica IaÃÂi and Chindia TârgoviÃÂte in Divizia A, totaling 124 games managed in the competition and 111 in Divizia B. He also had two more spells at Rapid, the first in the 1980âÂÂ81 Divizia B season and the second as an assistant coach in the 1988âÂÂ89 Divizia A season.
Motroc also had some spells in Africa at MC Oujda and Raja Casablanca in Morocco and Al-Merrikh in Sudan.
He is the father of Florin Motroc, who was also a footballer and a manager, and the grandfather of Vlad Motroc, who played football in the Romanian lower leagues.
Dinamo BucureÃÂti
Rapid BucureÃÂti
Sportul StudenÃÂesc BucureÃÂti
Rapid BucureÃÂti