Cosmin Marius Contra (; born 15 December 1975) is a Romanian football

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

and former player. Primarily an attacking-minded

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, he was also deployed as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He played professionally in three countries his own notwithstanding, mainly Spain where he appeared for Alavés,

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in ...

and

Getafe Getafe () is a municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city centre, within a fla ...

, amassing

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

totals of 188 games and eight goals. A Romania international for nearly 15 years, he represented the nation in two

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

. As a coach, Contra won the Cupa României with Petrolul Ploiești in 2013 and the

Cupa Ligii The Cupa Ligii ( en, League Cup) was Romania's secondary club football tournament. Like the Cupa României, it was played on a knockout (single elimination) basis. History It is unclear when the competition was first created, as there are no ...

with

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 Yekaterinb ...

four years later. In September 2017, he was appointed at the helm of the Romania national team.

Playing career

Club

Politehnica and Dinamo

Born in

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

, Cosmin Contra started his professional career at local club Politehnica Timișoara, making his

Divizia A The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It is the country's top ...

debut under coach

Costică Ștefănescu Costică Ștefănescu (26 March 1951 – 20 August 2013) was a Romanian football player and coach who last managed Qatari side Al Shamal. He spent the majority of his career at CS Universitatea Craiova, where he made a club record 378 appear ...

on 27 February 1994 at age 18 in a 1–0 victory in the

West derby West Derby ( ) is an affluent suburb of Liverpool, England. It is located East of the city and is also a Liverpool City Council ward. At the 2011 Census, the population was 14,382. History West Derby Mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'', Wes ...

against

UTA Arad Uta or UTA may refer to: Universities *University of Texas at Arlington, in the United States * University of Tarapacá, in Chile *University of Tampere, in Finland Sports * FC UTA Arad, a Romanian football club based in the town of Arad * A ...

. At the end of his first season they were relegated to

Divizia B The Liga 2, most often 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. It is currently sponsored by Casa Pariurilor, a betting ...

, but he stayed with the side, promoting back after one year. Midway through 1995–96, he signed for

at the request of coach

Cornel Dinu Cornel Dinu (born 2 August 1948) is a Romanian retired professional footballer and manager who played as a sweeper or a defensive midfielder. He started out his playing career at hometown club Metalul Târgoviște in 1965, and went on to spend ...

. During his period with the ''Red Dogs'' he failed to win any trophy, the team's best performance during his stay being a runner-up finish in 1998–99; he also made his debut in European competitions, appearing in four matches in the

1996 UEFA Intertoto Cup The 1996 UEFA Intertoto Cup finals were won by Silkeborg, En Avant Guingamp, and Karlsruher SC. All three teams advanced to the UEFA Cup. No English team took part in support of Tottenham Hotspur and Wimbledon initially getting banned by UEFA ...

and two in the

1997–98 UEFA Cup The 1997–98 UEFA Cup was won by Internazionale in an all-Italian final against Lazio. It was their third title in eight years in the competition. It was the first instance of the UEFA Cup final being a one-game contest at a neutral stadium, ha ...

Alavés

After three and a half campaigns with Dinamo, Contra was transferred for $800,000 to

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Founded on 1 July 1920 as Sport Friends Club, it ...

in the Spanish

. He was an important part in the

Basques The Basques ( or ; eu, euskaldunak ; es, vascos ; french: basques ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Bas ...

' runner-up run in the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cla ...

, his performances earning him in a place in the

UEFA Team of the Year The UEFA Fan's Team of the Year is a football award given by UEFA through a poll on its official website. This award started in 2001 and allows users of the organization's website to choose their own eleven players and a coach based on their ove ...

. Contra scored eight goals in all competitions during his spell at the

Mendizorrotza Stadium Mendizorrotza or Mendizorroza is a football stadium in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The stadium is the home ground of Deportivo Alavés. History Opened on 27 April 1924, it is currently the third oldest football stadium in the Spanish Professional ...

. In December 2021, as the club celebrated its 100th birthday, he was voted its best-ever right-back by newspaper ''Noticias de Álava''.

Milan and Atlético

In the summer of 2001, Contra moved to Italian club

A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 season ...

, but his spell there lasted only one season. In September 2002 he returned to Spain and joined

, appearing very rarely in the 2003–04 campaign due to a serious

ankle The ankle, or the talocrural region, or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular ...

condition; while still with Milan, he was suspended after a scuffle with

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...

's Edgar Davids. Contra signed for

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...

on loan in August 2004, making his debut in a 2–1 defeat at

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

in the second round of the

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by th ...

on 21 September. His maiden

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

appearance occurred almost two months later, when they lost 2–1 at home against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. Overall, the loan was not particularly successful, with Contra playing just six games and receiving a

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or dia ...

in his last match, a 0–5 home loss to

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

. He then returned to his country and

Liga I The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It is the country's top ...

, at the club which brought him up as a player, Politehnica Timișoara, where he managed to be recalled to the national side due to his good performances.

Getafe

Contra returned to Spain in August 2005, agreeing to a

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

-long loan with

which was subsequently made permanent (he was supposed to have arrived at the

Coliseum Alfonso Pérez Estadio Coliseum Alfonso Pérez () is a municipally-owned football stadium in Getafe, Spain. It is the home ground of Getafe CF. Stadium The stadium was built in 1998 and currently, after several extensions, it has a capacity of 17,393 people, ...

before, but the move was blocked because the squad had too many non- EU players, and his compatriot Gheorghe Craioveanu only ceased to be considered a foreigner the same year). He was used regularly by the

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

outskirts side, battling for a first-team slot with David Cortés. In the

2007–08 UEFA Cup The 2007–08 UEFA Cup was the 37th edition of the UEFA Cup, UEFA's second-tier club football tournament. The final was played at the City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, England on 14 May 2008 between Rangers of Scotland and Zenit Saint Pet ...

, Contra netted in both legs of the quarter-final tie against Bayern Munich, which ended in a 4–4 aggregate elimination after

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only ...

. Earlier in the competition, he scored a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

against

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelf ...

, appearing in that match even though his father had died just hours before.

Later career

In late January 2010, after being ousted from the starting XI by manager Míchel, Contra left Getafe and returned to his country, rejoining hometown's Politehnica Timișoara initially until June. On 26 February he made his debut in his second spell for the club, scoring from a 30-yard

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an off ...

in the

last minute Last Minute may refer to: *''The Last Minute'', a film from Stephen Norrington *"Last Minute", a song from Marcin Rozynek's album ''Ubieranie do snu'' * Last Minute (band), a band formed by Ryan Primack * "Last Minute" (''Continuum''), the third-s ...

of the 2–1 victory over Politehnica Iași. Two months later, at

Steaua București Steaua or Steaua București may refer to: * CSA Steaua București, a Romanian multi-sports club * CSA Steaua București (football), the football team of the multi-sports club * Fotbal Club FCSB, a football team that used this name between 2003 ...

, he again found the net from two

set pieces "Set Pieces" is the first EP release by Canadian indie band Braids. The EP was released in 2008 under the band's original name, The Neighbourhood Council. Recording The EP was recorded at CJSW CJSW-FM is a campus radio station, broadcasting ...

, one from a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalt ...

(3–3 draw); during his second stint, he played mainly as a

central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. On 29 August 2010, Contra scored again from a free kick and again against Steaua, in a late 1–1 equaliser. His contract expired the following day, and on 9 September he agreed to a new deal, being announced as new

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

six days later. His last game as a player took place on 13 November 2010, in a 1–1 home draw with

Unirea Urziceni Asociația Sportivă Fotbal Club Urziceni, commonly known as FC Urziceni (), is a Romanian professional football club based in Urziceni, Ialomița County which currently plays in fourth division, Ialomița County. Unirea became national champio ...

International

Contra earned 73

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for

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

and scored seven goals, making his debut on 24 April 1996 at the age of 20 when coach

Anghel Iordănescu Anghel Iordănescu (; born 4 May 1950), also known as "Tata Puiu", is a Romanian former footballer and former manager of the Romania national team, who played as a forward. In 2007, Iordănescu retired from football, and the following Februa ...

sent him on the field in the 65th minute in order to replace captain

Gheorghe Hagi Gheorghe "Gică" Hagi (; born 5 February 1965) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the owner and manager of Liga I club Farul Constanța. Deployed as an attacking midfielder, Hagi was considered one o ...

in a friendly against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

which ended with a 5–0 victory. He played three games in the Euro 2000 qualifiers, being selected by

Emerich Jenei Emerich Jenei or Imre Jenei (also known as Emeric Jenei or Ienei; 22 March 1937) is a Romanian former football player and coach of Hungarian ethnicity. He is considered one of Romania's best Managers, alongside Ştefan Kovács, Mircea Lucesc ...

to be part of the

final tournament Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

squad, where he was used as a starter the first three matches, helping the team pass the group stage, but did not play in the 2–0 loss to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in the quarter-finals, being suspended after receiving two

yellow cards Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...

in the previous fixtures. He made nine appearances and netted twice in the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea ...

qualifying phase Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional expe ...

, one in a 2–0 away victory over

and one in the second leg of the play-off against

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

which was lost 3–2 on aggregate. Contra made six appearances in the Euro 2004 qualifiers, scoring a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wi ...

in the 7–0 away rout of

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...

, playing six times in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. He contributed six matches and two goals, one in a 3–0 victory against

and one in the 2–0 defeat of Slovenia in qualification for Euro 2008, being used in the

by manager

Victor Pițurcă Victor Pițurcă (; born 8 May 1956) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player. Club career Pițurcă was born in Orodel, Dolj County. He joined Universitatea Craiova as a youth in 1970, aged 14, and four years later he was ...

in all the minutes as his side failed to progress from their group. Contra played four games in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers and, on 1 April 2009, after a match with

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, he announced his retirement from international football; however, on 30 August 2010, the 34-year-old was recalled by manager

Răzvan Lucescu Răzvan Lucescu (; born 17 February 1969) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Greek Super League club PAOK. As a player, he operated as a goalkeeper and spent most years of his career at ...

for the Euro 2012 qualifiers, making his last appearance in a 1–1 against

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

Coaching career

Early career

Contra made his Timișoara debut as a manager in September 2010, with a win against Sportul Studențesc București. Even though the team never lost a game under his guidance, he was sacked after 11 matches – six wins, five draws – because of a conflict with the club's owner. Contra returned to Spain in July 2012, being appointed at

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Fo ...

side

Fuenlabrada Fuenlabrada () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 193,586, making it the region's fourth most populated municipality. Placename The etymology of ''Fuenlabrada'' comes from the contra ...

. He started

the campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme *Bli ...

well and, after ten rounds, the team found themselves in a play-off position; however, after an offer from

FC Petrolul Ploiești Asociația Clubul Sportiv Petrolul 52, commonly known as Petrolul Ploiești () or simply as Petrolul, is a Romanian professional football club based in Ploiești, Prahova County, which competes in the Liga I. Founded in 1924 in capital Buchar ...

in his homeland arrived, he asked to be released from his contract.

Petrolul

Contra took over at Petrolul in October 2012, replacing

Mircea Rednic Mircea Rednic (born 9 April 1962) is a Romanian football coach and former player who played as a defender. Club career Mircea Rednic, nicknamed "Puriul" was born on 9 April 1962 in Hunedoara and until he was 14 years old he played table ten ...

. In his first season he reached

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

of the

Romanian Cup 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 ...

, defeating

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ), is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, which competes in the Liga I. It was founded in 1907 as ''Kolozsvári Vasutas Sport Club'', wh ...

1–0; additionally, the club finished third in the domestic league, thus securing qualification to the Europa League after an 18-year-absence. Petrolul managed to knock out

Víkingur Gøta Víkingur is a semi-professional football club in the Faroe Islands. The club was founded in 2008 after the merger of GÍ Gøta and Leirvík ÍF. The club is based in Leirvík, while the stadium is in Norðragøta. Both villages are part of the ...

in the Europa League second qualifying round and

Vitesse Arnhem Vitesse may refer to: * Vitesse Models, a diecast model car company * Vitesse (band), Dutch rock band * Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, a car * Rover 216 Vitesse, a car * Rover 3500 Vitesse, a car * Rover 800 Vitesse, a car * Triumph Vit ...

in the third, but were eliminated in the play-offs by

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ...

after being bested 5–1 in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and winning 2–1 at home.

Getafe

On 10 March 2014, Contra returned to Getafe and the Spanish top flight after four years, replacing Luis García who was fired after a long run of bad results which led the team to only a point above the relegation zone, and without a league win since November. His first match in charge came four days later, a 3–3 home draw against

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

. They finally won a game on the penultimate day of the month, emerging victorious at

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

3–1. On 19 May 2014, Contra confirmed survival for the side after a 2–1 win away win over

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La ...

Guangzhou R&F

On 18 December 2014, Contra was named as the new manager of

Guangzhou R&F Guangzhou City Football Club (广州城) is a Chinese professional football club that competes in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Guangzhou, Guangdong, and their home ven ...

, replacing

Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; born 5 February 1948) is a Swedish football manager and former player. After an unassuming playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management between 1977 and 2001, winning ...

. He began working officially for the club on 4 January of the following year.

Alcorcón and Dinamo Bucharest

On 15 June 2016, Contra was appointed at

Alcorcón Alcorcón () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. as of 2020, it had a population of 172,384. Geography The municipality, largely flat, lies at an average altitude of 711 metres above sea level, with the h ...

. He was relieved of his duties on 12 October. In February 2017, Contra became Dinamo Bucharest's new coach. He led the team to their first trophy in five years by winning the

but, after advances from the

Romanian Football Federation Romanian Football Federation (), also known by its acronym FRF, is the governing body of football in Romania. They are headquartered in the capital city of Bucharest and affiliated to FIFA and UEFA since 1923 and 1955 respectively. The Federati ...

, he resigned from his post on 16 September.

Romania national team

On 17 September 2017, following

Christoph Daum Christoph Paul Daum (born 24 October 1953) is a German professional football manager and former player. Daum played as a midfielder and was a junior for several clubs from the region of Duisburg. He began his senior career with Hamborn 07 and ...

's dismissal, Contra was revealed as the new manager of Romania with the objective of qualifying for

Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europ ...

. His first game in charge was on 5 October, a 3–1 win in

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Blejoi commun ...

against

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...

in the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...

qualifiers. In November 2019, after the team could only finish in fourth place in the Euro 2020 qualifying phase behind

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, Sweden and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, the

announced Contra would no longer continue on the bench.

Return to Dinamo

Contra returned to Dinamo Bucharest in August 2020, signing a two-year contract. He left on 3 December due to the club's financial problems.

Al-Ittihad

On 29 August 2021, Contra was appointed as manager of

Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad (Arabic: الاتحاد "The Union"), sometimes transliterated as Al-Etihad or Al-Ettihad may refer to: Sports Football Libya *Al-Ittihad Club (Tripoli), a football club based in Bab Ben Gashier * Al Ittihad Gheryan, a football club bas ...

in the

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...

. His team led the league by 16 points over Al Hilal in February but ended the season two points behind that team, who he lost to twice. Contra was dismissed by the Jeddah-based club in early July 2022, and replaced by

Nuno Espírito Santo Nuno Herlander Simões Espírito Santo (born 25 January 1974), often referred to as simply Nuno, is a Portuguese football manager and former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently the manager of Saudi Professional League club Al ...

Career statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Contra goal.''

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Politehnica Timișoara *

: 1994–95 Alavés *

runner-up: 2000–01 Getafe *

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

runner-up: 2006–07, 2007–08 Individual *

Romanian Footballer of the Year (Gazeta Sporturilor) The Romanian Footballer of the Year ( ro, Fotbalistul român al anului), also known as the Nicolae Dobrin Trophy ( ro, Trofeul Nicolae Dobrin), is an annual association football award given by the ''Gazeta Sporturilor'' newspaper to the Romanian ...

: 2001 *

: 2001

Manager

Petrolul Ploiești * Cupa României:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

Dinamo București *

: 2016–17

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Contra, Cosmin 1975 births Living people Romanian emigrants to Spain Naturalised citizens of Spain Sportspeople from Timișoara Romanian footballers Association football defenders Association football midfielders Liga I players Liga II players FC Dinamo București players FC Politehnica Timișoara players La Liga players Deportivo Alavés players Atlético Madrid footballers Getafe CF footballers Serie A players A.C. Milan players Premier League players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Romania under-21 international footballers Romania international footballers UEFA Euro 2000 players UEFA Euro 2008 players Romanian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in England Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Romanian expatriate sportspeople in England Romanian football managers Liga I managers FC Politehnica Timișoara managers FC Petrolul Ploiești managers FC Dinamo București managers La Liga managers Segunda División managers Segunda División B managers CF Fuenlabrada managers Getafe CF managers AD Alcorcón managers Chinese Super League managers Guangzhou City F.C. managers Saudi Professional League managers Ittihad FC managers Romania national football team managers Romanian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Spain Expatriate football managers in China Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia Romanian expatriate sportspeople in China Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia