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

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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 player. Primarily an attacking-minded right-back, he was also deployed as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. 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"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

and

Getafe Getafe () is a municipalities in Spain, 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 c ...

, amassing

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

totals of 188 games and eight goals. A Romania international for nearly 15 years, he represented the nation in two European Championships. As a coach, Contra won the Cupa României with Petrolul Ploiești in 2013 and the Cupa Ligii with Dinamo București four years later. In September 2017, he was appointed at the helm of the Romania national team.

Club career

Politehnica and Dinamo

Born in

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

, Cosmin Contra started his professional career at local club Politehnica Timișoara, 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 under coach Costică Ștefănescu on 27 February 1994 at age 18 in a 1–0 win in the

West derby West Derby ( ) is an area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, in the east of the city. At the 2011 Census, the population was 14,382. History West Derby Mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'', West Derby achieved significance far earlier tha ...

against UTA Arad. At the end of his first season they were relegated to Divizia B, but he stayed with the side, promoting back after one year. Midway through 1995–96, he signed for Dinamo București at the request of coach Cornel Dinu. 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 and two in the 1997–98 UEFA Cup.

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 known as Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Basque ...

in the Spanish

. He was an important part in the

Basques The Basques ( or ; ; ; ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a Basque culture, common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous peoples, ...

' runner-up run in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

, his performances earning him in a place in the UEFA Team of the Year. Contra scored eight goals in all competitions during his spell at the Mendizorrotza Stadium. In December 2021, as the club celebrated its 100th birthday, he was voted its best-ever right-back by newspaper ''Noticias de Álava''.

AC Milan and Atlético

In the summer of 2001, Contra moved to Italian club

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

, but his spell there lasted only one season. On 21 October, in the Derby della Madonnina against

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 ...

and as his team trailed 1–0, he was brought on as a 46th-minute substitute and scored once and provided one assist in the 4–2 victory. In August 2002, he was suspended after a scuffle with

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

's Edgar Davids. Contra returned to Spain in September 2002, joining

. He appeared very rarely in the 2003–04 campaign, due to a serious

ankle The ankle, 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 joint. The ...

condition. Contra signed for West Bromwich Albion on loan in August 2004, making his debut in a 2–1 defeat at Colchester United in the

second round The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

of the

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

on 21 September. His maiden

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

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

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

. 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 di ...

in his last match, a 0–5 home loss to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. He then returned to his country and

Liga I 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 ...

, 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 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 axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

-long loan with

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

Coliseum Alfonso Pérez Estadio Coliseum () is a municipally-owned football (soccer), 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 List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

outskirts side, battling for a first-team slot with David Cortés. In the 2007–08 UEFA Cup, 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 (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play 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 if the game is required t ...

. Earlier in the competition, he scored a penalty kick against AEK Athens, appearing in that match even though his father had died just hours before.

Return to Politehnica

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 in the last minute of the 2–1 victory over Politehnica Iași. Two months later, at Steaua București, he again found the net from two set pieces, one from a penalty (3–3 draw); during his second stint, he played mainly as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. 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. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

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

International career

Contra earned 73 caps 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 ...

and scored seven goals, making his debut on 24 April 1996 at the age of 20 when coach Anghel Iordănescu sent him on the field in the 65th minute in order to replace captain Gheorghe Hagi in a friendly against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

which ended with a 5–0 victory. He played three games in the Euro 2000 qualifiers, being selected by Emerich Jenei to be part of the final tournament 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, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in the quarter-finals, being suspended after receiving two yellow cards 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 Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

qualifying phase, one in a 2–0 away victory over

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

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

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 Wick ...

in the 7–0 away rout of

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, 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 final tournament by manager Victor Pițurcă 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, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, he announced his retirement from international football; however, on 30 August 2010, the 34-year-old was recalled by manager Răzvan Lucescu for the Euro 2012 qualifiers, making his last appearance in a 1–1 against

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

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 (English: 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 ...

side Fuenlabrada. He started the campaign well and, after ten rounds, the team found themselves in a play-off position; however, after an offer from Petrolul Ploiești in his homeland arrived, he asked to be released from his contract.

Petrolul

Contra took over at Petrolul in October 2012, replacing Mircea Rednic. In his first season he reached the final of the Romanian Cup, defeating

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ) or simply CFR, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I. Founded as ''Kolozsvári Vasut ...

1–0; additionally, the club finished third in the domestic league, thus securing qualification for the Europa League after an 18-year-absence. Petrolul managed to knock out Víkingur Gøta in the Europa League second qualifying round and Vitesse Arnhem in the third, but were eliminated in the play-offs by Swansea City after being bested 5–1 in

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

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 ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

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

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

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

Guangzhou R&F

On 18 December 2014, Contra was named as the new manager of Guangzhou R&F, replacing

Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; 5 February 1948 – 26 August 2024) was a Swedish association football, football player and Coach (sport), manager. After a playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management ...

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

Alcorcón and Dinamo București

On 15 June 2016, Contra was appointed at Alcorcón. 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 Winning may refer to: * Victory Film * Winning (film), ''Winning'' (film), a 1969 movie starring Paul Newman * ''Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman'', a 2015 documentary by Adam Carolla and Nate Adams Music * ''Winning'', an album by Ten Fo ...

the Cupa Ligii but, after advances from the

Romanian Football Federation The Romanian Football Federation (; FRF) is the governing body of football in Romania. They are headquartered in the capital city of Bucharest and affiliated with FIFA and UEFA since 1923 and 1955 respectively. The Federation organizes the men's ...

, he resigned from his post on 16 September.

Romania national team

On 17 September 2017, following Christoph Daum's dismissal, Contra was revealed as the new manager of Romania with the objective of qualifying for Euro 2020. His first game in charge was on 5 October, a 3–1 win in

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a Municipiu, 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 Ble ...

against

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

in the

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

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

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, 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 in the

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

. 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 Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

-based club in early July 2022, and replaced by

Nuno Espírito Santo Nuno Herlander Simões Espírito Santo (born 25 January 1974), known as Nuno Espírito Santo or simply Nuno, is a Portuguese-São Toméan Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a Goalkee ...

Damac

On 6 March 2023, Contra joined Damac of the same country and league.

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 * Divizia B: 1994–95 Alavés *

runner-up: 2000–01 Getafe *

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

runner-up: 2006–07, 2007–08 Individual * Romanian Footballer of the Year (Gazeta Sporturilor): 2001 * UEFA Team of the Year: 2001

Manager

Petrolul Ploiești * Cupa României: 2012–13 *

Supercupa României The Supercupa României () is a Romanian football (soccer), football championship contested by the winners of the Liga I and the Cupa României. It is usually played at the Arena Națională in Bucharest. The competition started off in 1994 Supe ...

runner-up:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Dinamo București * Cupa Ligii: 2016–17 Individual *

Manager of the Month: February 2022

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Contra, Cosmin 1975 births Living people People from Timișoara Romanian emigrants to Spain Naturalised citizens of Spain Romanian men's footballers Footballers from Timișoara Men's association football fullbacks Men's 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 AC Milan players Premier League players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Romania men's under-21 international footballers Romania men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2000 players UEFA Euro 2008 players Romanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's 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 Pro League managers Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah) managers Damac 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