Mircea Irimescu (born 13 May 1959) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played for Universitatea Craiova. He earned nine caps for Romania and participated in UEFA Euro 1984.
Irimescu spent most of his playing career with Universitatea, but also played for Electroputere Craiova and German side Sportfreunde Siegen before becoming a coach in his home country.
Irimescu was born on 13 May 1959 in Craiova, Romania. He began playing junior-level football at local club Universitatea, winning a national junior championship in 1974. He made his Divizia A debut on 11 September 1976 when coach Constantin TeaÃÂcàsent him in the 67th minute to replace Sorin CârÃÂu in a 1âÂÂ0 home win over Politehnica IaÃÂi. In the next round he scored in a 1âÂÂ1 draw against Sportul StudenÃÂesc BucureÃÂti. Subsequently, on 2 April 1977 he scored a brace in a 2âÂÂ1 away victory against Politehnica IaÃÂi.
Irimescu went on to play 14 seasons for "U" Craiova, being part of the "Craiova Maxima" generation, helping them win two consecutive league titles in 1980 and 1981. At the first one he contributed with seven goals scored in the 26 appearances given to him by coach Valentin StÃÂnescu and in the second he netted four goals in the 21 matches coach Ion Oblemenco used him. He also won the Cupa României four times, but played only in the 1981 and 1983 finals which were victories against Politehnica TimiÃÂoara.
Irimescu played 35 games and scored five goals for "U" Craiova in European competitions. In the second round of the 1979âÂÂ80 UEFA Cup he netted a goal in the 4âÂÂ0 aggregate win over Leeds United, as Universitatea became the first Romanian club that eliminated a team from England in European competitions. Subsequently, in the following round he scored a goal in the 2âÂÂ1 aggregate loss to Borussia Mönchengladbach. Afterwards, they reached the quarter-finals in the 1981âÂÂ82 European Cup by eliminating Olympiacos and Kjøbenhavns Boldklub, with Irimescu scoring once against the first, being eliminated with 3âÂÂ1 on aggregate by Bayern Munich. He made nine appearances in the 1982âÂÂ83 UEFA Cup campaign when they reached the semi-finals, scoring once against Shamrock Rovers, being eliminated by Benfica on the away goal rule after 1âÂÂ1 on aggregate. He made his last Divizia A appearance on 5 June 1990 under coach Sorin CârÃÂu in a 2âÂÂ0 away loss to Corvinul Hunedoara, totaling 318 matches with 62 goals in the competition.
In 1990, Irimescu joined for one season Divizia B side Electroputere Craiova, helping them earn promotion to the first league. Then he went to play in the fourth league of Germany at Sportfreunde Siegen where he ended his career in 1992.
Irimescu played nine matches and scored two goals for Romania, making his debut on 7 September 1983 under coach Mircea Lucescu in a 2âÂÂ2 friendly draw against Poland in which he scored once. He played two games in the Euro 1980 qualifiers, then scored one goal in the 4âÂÂ1 victory against Yugoslavia in the second leg of the 1977âÂÂ80 Balkan Cup final. He was used by coach Lucescu as a starter in the 1âÂÂ0 loss to Portugal in the Euro 1984 final tournament, as his side failed to progress from their group. Subsequently, he scored his second goal in a 2âÂÂ1 friendly loss to East Germany. Irimescu's last two appearances for the national team were during the 1986 World Cup qualifiers in a loss to Northern Ireland and a win over Turkey.
After he ended his playing career, Irimescu worked for over 15 years as Sorin CârÃÂu's assistant coach. He also had some short spells as head coach at Universitatea Craiova during the 1996âÂÂ97 Divizia A season, and in 2012 at second league side ALRO Slatina.
He married former long-distance runner athlete Maria Radu. Together, they had a boy named Paul, who played football in the Romanian lower leagues. In 2003, Irimescu received the Honorary Citizen of Craiova title.
Universitatea Craiova
Electroputere Craiova
Romania