Cristian Dumitru Pustai (born 12 October 1967) is a

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

football

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and former

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who played as a striker, currently in charge of

Liga II The Liga 2, most commonly spelled as Liga II, is the second level of the Romanian football league system. The league changed its name from Divizia B just before the start of the 2006–07 Liga II, 2006–07 football season. It is currently Sponso ...

club Gloria Bistrița-Năsăud.

Club career

Cristian Pustai played as a striker for Gaz Metan Mediaş, Unirea Alba Iulia and Chimica Târnăveni. He is credited for scoring 170 goals for these teams.

Coaching career

Chimica Târnăveni

He began his coaching career at Chimica Târnăveni, towards the end of the 1999–2000 edition of Division B, when he led the team as a playing-coach. He quit his job there after the team was relegated from the

Liga III The Liga 3, most often spelled as Liga III, is the third level of the Romanian football league system. It was founded in 1936 and was called Divizia C until 2006. An exception was the seasons 1992–93 to 1996–97, in which the league was call ...

. Afterwards he became a math teacher.

Gaz Metan Mediaş

In 2003, he became a part of Gaz Metan Mediaş's staff, coaching the youth teams. In 2007 Pustai was appointed head coach of then

club Gaz Metan Mediaş. He managed to win the

2007–08 Liga II The 2007–08 Liga II was the 68th season of the second tier of the Romanian football league system. The season began on 25 August 2007 and lasted until 24 May 2008. The format has been maintained to two series, each of them consisting of 18 team ...

in the first season with the team, gaining promotion to the Liga I. In the first division, the team under his guidance had a constant progress. In the 2011–12 season Gaz Metan Mediaş played in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

under his command. They managed to knock out

Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sport-Verein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05 or simply Mainz 05 (), is a German professional sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top tie ...

, but were subsequently knocked out by

Austria Wien Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (), known in English as Austria Vienna, and Austria Wien in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian professional association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the most trophies of any Aust ...

Pandurii Târgu Jiu

In January 2013, Pustai took over

Pandurii Târgu Jiu The uprising of 1821 was a social and political rebellion in Wallachia, which was at the time a tributary state of the Ottoman Empire. It originated as a movement against the Phanariote administration, with backing from the more conservative b ...

. At the end of 2012–13 season, Pandurii finished as Liga I runner-up for the first time in the history, becoming the vice-champion of Romania, and qualified for the first time in

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. Starting its European adventure from the second qualifying round, Pandurii qualified in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

after surprisingly eliminating

Sporting Braga Sporting Clube de Braga (), commonly known as Sporting de Braga or just Braga, is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Braga. Best known for the men's professional association football, football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top fl ...

with 2–0, after the pandurs were defeated with 0–1. In the group stage, Pandurii failed to win any match, drawing twice with Paços de Ferreira and losing against

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

and

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Football Club Dnipro (, ) was a Ukrainian football club based in Dnipro. The club played its last season in the 2018–19 Ukrainian Amateur League. The club was owned by Ukrainian businessman Ihor Kolomoyskyi. In 2018, FC Dnipro was forced i ...

. In the championship, Pandurii failed to maintain its position between the first squads, and after a poor series of results which led the team to fall to the sixth place, Pustai resigned from his duties on 23 April 2014.

ASA Târgu Mureș

On 30 September 2014, he signed a contract with ASA Târgu Mureș. He was sacked on 29 December 2014.

Rapid București

On 8 January 2015, he was announced as the new head coach of

Rapid București Rapid(s) or RAPID may refer to: Hydrological features * Rapids, sections of a river with turbulent water flow * Rapid Creek (Iowa River tributary), Iowa, United States * Rapid Creek (South Dakota), United States, namesake of Rapid City Sport ...

. His objective was to save the team from its precarious position, the 18th in Liga I. He was however sacked on 14 April 2015 due to poor results. He was replaced by

Cristiano Bergodi Cristiano Bergodi (born 14 October 1964) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. Club career Born in Bracciano, Lazio, Bergodi started to play at Pescara Calcio in the country's first division (Serie A) in 1987, for Pesca ...

. On 16 July 2024, agent Bogdan Apostu announced that Cristian Pustai will become the new coach of

CS Gloria Bistrița-Năsăud Clubul Sportiv Gloria Bistrița, commonly known as Gloria Bistrița or simply as Gloria, is a Romanian Football (soccer), football club based in Bistrița, Bistrița-Năsăud County, competing in Liga II, the second tier of Romanian football. F ...

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Gaz Metan Mediaș *

: 1992–93

Coach

Gaz Metan Mediaș *

: 2015–16 Gloria Bistrița *

: 2024–25

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pustai, Cristian 1965 births Living people Romanian men's footballers CS Gaz Metan Mediaș players CSM Unirea Alba Iulia players Liga II players Liga III players Romanian football managers Liga I managers Liga II managers CS Gaz Metan Mediaș managers CS Pandurii Târgu Jiu managers FC Rapid București managers ASA 2013 Târgu Mureș managers FC Botoșani managers FC Dunărea Călărași managers FC Gloria Buzău managers CSM Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț managers CS Gloria Bistrița-Năsăud football managers Men's association football forwards Footballers from Mediaș 20th-century Romanian sportsmen