Nicolae Ungureanu (born 11 October 1956) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a defender.
Ungureanu, nicknamed "RoÃÂu" (Red) because his face was turning red from physical effort, was born on 11 October 1956 in Craiova, Romania. He began playing junior-level football in 1973 at CSÃÂ Craiova. He started playing senior-level football in 1975 at Divizia B club Electroputere Craiova.
In 1977 he went to play for Universitatea Craiova, making his Divizia A debut on 21 August under coach Constantin Deliu in 3âÂÂ0 home win over Sportul StudenÃÂesc BucureÃÂti. Ungureanu spent 10 seasons with Universitatea, being part of the "Craiova Maxima" generation that won two consecutive league titles in 1980 and 1981. In each season he played 34 matches and scored one goal under coaches Valentin StÃÂnescu and Ion Oblemenco respectively. He also won the Cupa României three times, playing in all the finals, which were a victory against Olimpia Satu Mare and two wins over Politehnica TimiÃÂoara.
Ungureanu played 43 games and scored one goal for "U" Craiova in European competitions. In the second round of the 1979âÂÂ80 UEFA Cup he played in both legs of the 4âÂÂ0 aggregate win over Leeds United, as Universitatea became the first Romanian club that eliminated a team from England in European competitions. Afterwards, they reached the quarter-finals of the 1981âÂÂ82 European Cup after eliminating Olympiacos and Kjøbenhavns Boldklub, being eliminated with 3âÂÂ1 on aggregate by Bayern Munich. He made nine appearances in the 1982âÂÂ83 UEFA Cup campaign, with Ungureanu scoring once in a 3âÂÂ1 win over Fiorentina, which helped them reach the semi-finals where they were eliminated by Benfica on the away goal rule after 1âÂÂ1 on aggregate. Ungureanu played in a 3âÂÂ0 win over AS Monaco in the second leg of the first round of the 1985âÂÂ86 European Cup Winners' Cup, after losing the first leg 2âÂÂ0. However, they were eliminated in the following round by the eventual winners of the competition, Dynamo Kyiv.
In 1987, he joined Steaua BucureÃÂti and won the title in his first season with coach Anghel IordÃÂnescu, appearing in 24 league matches in which he scored four goals. The team also reached the semi-finals of the European Cup where they lost to Benfica. In the following season, they won The Double, Ungureanu playing 31 league matches and scoring once under IordÃÂnescu, but he did not play in the 1âÂÂ0 win over Dinamo BucureÃÂti in the Cupa României final. In the same season he helped the club reach the 1988âÂÂ89 European Cup final, playing nine games in the campaign, including the final which was lost 4âÂÂ0 to AC Milan. His last trophy won with Steaua was the 1991âÂÂ92 Cupa României, as coach Victor PiÃÂurcàused him as a starter in the penalty shoot-out victory against Politehnica TimiÃÂoara in the final.
In 1992, Ungureanu went to play for Rapid BucureÃÂti. There, he made his last Divizia A appearance on 21 March 1993 in a 5âÂÂ0 loss to Universitatea Cluj, totaling 437 matches with 29 goals in the competition and 71 games with one goal in European competitions. Subsequently, he was a player-coach during the 1993âÂÂ94 Divizia C season at Pandurii Târgu Jiu.
Ungureanu played 56 matches and scored one goal for Romania, making his debut on 8 April 1981 under coach Valentin StÃÂnescu in a 2âÂÂ1 friendly loss to Israel. He played seven games in the successful Euro 1984 qualifiers, including a 1âÂÂ0 victory against World Cup holders Italy. Coach Mircea Lucescu used him for the entirety of all three games in the final tournament which were a draw against Spain and losses to West Germany and Portugal, as his side failed to progress from their group. Subsequently, he played seven games in the 1986 World Cup qualifiers and five matches with one goal scored in a 3âÂÂ1 victory against Spain during the Euro 1988 qualifiers. Ungureanu's last appearance took place on 15 November 1989 in a 3âÂÂ1 home win over Denmark in the 1990 World Cup qualifiers.
For representing his country at the Euro 1984 final tournament, Ungureanu was decorated by President of Romania Traian BÃÂsescu on 25 March 2008 with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" â (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III.
Ungureanu started coaching during the 1993âÂÂ94 Divizia C season, being a player-coach at Pandurii Târgu Jiu. In 1994 he had his first Divizia A experience, being head coach at Electroputere Craiova. He would go on to have two more spells in the Romanian first league, with the first being in 2001 at FC Universitatea Craiova and the second in 2006 at Pandurii, totaling 32 matches in the competition. However, he spent most of his coaching career in the Romanian lower leagues for teams such as Drobeta-Turnu Severin, InternaÃÂional PiteÃÂti, Oltul Slatina, FC Caracal, Minerul MÃÂtÃÂsari and FC Podari. He also worked as an assistant coach at "U" Craiova and InternaÃÂional Curtea de ArgeÃÂ.
In 2003, Ungureanu received the Honorary Citizen of Craiova title.
Universitatea Craiova
Steaua BucureÃÂti