Constantin Frățilă (1 October 1942 – 21 October 2016) was a Romanian football striker and coach.

Club career

Constantin Frățilă was born on 1 October 1942 in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, Romania and he started to play football in 1957 at local club, Recolta, after one year moving to Uzinele Vasile Roaită. He started his senior career playing for

Dinamo București A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterin ...

, making his

Divizia A Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...

debut on 16 April 1961 in a 6–0 victory against

Minerul Lupeni Clubul Sportiv Viitorul Minerul Lupeni, commonly referred to as Minerul Lupeni, is a Romanian football club based in Lupeni, Hunedoara County, which competes in Liga III , the third tier of the Romanian football league system. Established in 192 ...

in which he scored a hat-trick, having a total of seven goals in seven appearances until the end of his first season spent at the club. In the following four seasons he helped the club win four consecutive Divizia A titles from 1962 until 1965, in the first he worked with three coaches

Traian Ionescu Traian Ionescu (17 July 1923 – 4 October 2006) was a Romanian football goalkeeper and coach. Club career Ionescu was born on 17 July 1923 in Văleni, Argeș County, Romania and started to play junior level football at age 13 at TC Târgoviș ...

Constantin Teașcă Constantin Teașcă also known as Titi Teașcă (25 September 1922 – 30 July 1996) was a Romanian football player and manager. Nicknamed "Little Napoleon", Teașcă was known for his controversial training methods for which he would get in con ...

and

Nicolae Dumitru Nicolae Dumitru (born 21 September 1949) is a Romanian former wrestler who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were ...

who gave him 19 appearances in which he scored five goals, in the following two Dumitru and Ionescu used him in 15 matches in which he netted nine times in the first and in 26 with 19 goals scored in the second which made him the top-scorer of the league alongside

Cornel Pavlovici Cornel Pavlovici (2 April 1942 – 8 January 2013) was a Romanian association football, footballer who played as a striker. Death Pavlovici died on 8 January 2013. Career statistics *Total matches played in Romanian First League: 134 matches ...

and in the last one he played 23 games, scoring 11 times under the guidance of

Angelo Niculescu Angelo Niculescu (1 October 1921 – 20 June 2015) was a Romanian football player and manager. He is best remembered in Romania for being the national team's coach at the 1970 World Cup and for inventing the "temporizare" ("delaying") tactics ...

. Frățilă also won two

Cupa României The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...

trophies with '' The Red Dogs'', coach Ionescu using him all the minutes in the 5–3 victory in which he scored a goal against

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

Steaua București from the 1964 final but in the one from

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

Frățilă was not used by coach

Bazil Marian Bazil Marian (7 November 1922 – 19 January 2008) was a Romanian professional footballer and coach. Club career Bazil Marian nicknamed "Bombardierul" (The Bomber) because of his powerful shots was born on 7 November 1922 in Uioara de Sus, Rom ...

in the 3–1 over

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 ...

. He played in 11

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

matches in which he scored seven goals and one game in the

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

, in the

1963–64 European Cup The 1963–64 European Cup was the ninth season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Inter Milan, who beat Real Madrid 3–1 in the final at Praterstadion, Vienna, on 27 May 1964. Inter's tr ...

campaign, he helped Dinamo get past

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

champion, Motor Jena, being eliminated in the next phase by

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

against whom he scored a goal in a 5–3 loss and also in the 1965–66 edition he scored two goals against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

's champion,

Boldklubben 1909 Boldklubben 1909, known as B1909, is a Danish association football club currently playing in the Denmark Series. They play at Gillested Park in Odense on Funen, which has a capacity of 6,000. Founded in 1909, the club spent a total 38 seasons ...

which helped the team advance to the next phase where they were eliminated by the winners of the previous two seasons of the competition,

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

but he scored a goal in the historical 2–1 victory from the first leg, after which he said:"I scored a goal against Inter, can you believe it? I scored against the best defense in the world. It is the biggest satisfaction of my life". During his 10 seasons spent at Dinamo, Frățilă scored in the league six goals in the derby with Steaua, including a brace in a 3–2 victory but in a 1967 Bucharest Cup match against them he suffered an injury which kept him off the field for one year and a half. In 1970 he went to play for

Argeș Pitești Arges or Argeș may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Romania * Argeș County, a county in Muntenia, with its capital at Pitești * Argeș Region, an administrative division from 1950 to 1952 * Argeș River, which flows through the Southern ...

where in his second season he helped the team win the

title, contributing with seven goals scored in the 17 matches coaches

Titus Ozon Titus Ozon (13 May 1927 – 24 November 1996) was a Romanian international football striker and manager. He was considered one of the greatest talents in postwar Romanian football, famous for his extraordinary ability to dribble. Career Ozon wa ...

and

Florin Halagian Florin Vașken Halagian (7 March 1939 – 12 August 2019) was a Romanian football player and manager of Armenian descent, hence the nickname ''Armeanul'' (The Armenian). With 878 games, he is the manager who has the most matches in the Liga I, R ...

used him. After a season spent at Sportul Studențesc București, he went to play in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

in the 1973–74 season alongside fellow Romanian Mihai Mocanu, winning the title and the cup. Frățilă returned to Romania at

Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea was a Football (soccer), football club based in Râmnicu Vâlcea, Vâlcea County, Vâlcea County, Romania. It was founded in 1946 and dissolved in 2004. It won one Romanian Cup, in 1972–73 Cupa României, 1973. History ...

where he made his last

appearance on 20 November 1974 in a 1–0 victory against Sportul Studențesc, ending his career in 1975 at

Divizia C 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 ...

team, Sirena București.

International career

Constantin Frățilă played seven games in which he scored seven goals at international level for

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, making his debut under coach

Ilie Oană Ilie Oană (16 August 1918 – 27 April 1993) was a football player and manager. Club career Ilie Oană was born on 16 August 1918, being nicknamed "Americanul" ''(The American)'' because his place of birth was in Indiana Harbor to Romanian pa ...

on 2 November 1966 in a 4–2 victory against

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in which he scored a hat-trick at the Euro 1968 qualifiers. He played two more games at the Euro 1968 qualifiers in which he scored a double in a 5–1 win over

. Frățilă made his last appearance for the national team on 22 March 1967 in a friendly which ended with a 2–1 victory against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in which he scored a goal.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first. "Score" column indicates the score after each Constantin Frățilă goal.''

Managerial career

Constantin Frățilă started coaching in 1976 at

's center of children and juniors, afterwards coaching senior teams Dinamo Victoria București which he helped earn promotion to

Divizia B 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 football season. It is currently sponsored by Casa Pariu ...

and

FC Baia Mare Minaur Baia Mare, known also as ''Minerul Baia Mare'', is a Romanian football club, based in Baia Mare, Maramureș County, northern Romania, founded in 1947. It currently plays in Romania's third division, Liga III. It played for seven seasons ...

which he coached in the 1984–85 Divizia A season.

Death

Constantin Frățilă died on 21 October 2016 at age 74.

Honours

Player

Dinamo București *

: 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65 *

: 1963–64, 1967–68 Argeș Pitești *

: 1971–72 Omonia Nicosia *

Cypriot League The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

: 1973–74 *

Cypriot Cup The Cypriot Cup, formally known as the Cypriot Coca-Cola Cup of First and Second Division () for sponsorship purposes, is a Cypriot knockout football club competition, hosted annually by the Cyprus Football Association. First held in 1934, it i ...

: 1973–74 Individual *

top scorer: 1963–64

Manager

Dinamo Victoria București *

: 1981–82

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fratila, Constantin 1942 births 2016 deaths Footballers from Bucharest Romanian men's footballers Romanian expatriate men's footballers Romania men's international footballers Liga I players Cypriot First Division players FC Dinamo București players FC Argeș Pitești players FC Sportul Studențesc București players AC Omonia players Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Men's association football forwards Romanian football managers Victoria București managers CS Minaur Baia Mare (football) managers 20th-century Romanian sportsmen