Dorinel Munteanu

Dorinel Ionel Munteanu (; born 25 June 1968) is a Romanian football manager and former player.

A former midfielder, Munteanu is the most capped Romanian player of all time, with a total of 134 appearances and 16 goals. He played in two editions of the World Cup, those held in the United States in 1994 and France in 1998, as well as two European Championships, in 1996 and 2000.

Club career

Early career

Munteanu, nicknamed "Neamțul" (The German) was born on 25 June 1968 in Grădinari, Caraș-Severin County, Romania. He started playing senior level football at age 13, in the Romanian lower leagues at the local club from his native Grădinari. About one year later he played in a friendly against Minerul Oravița who then decided to transfer him. At Oravița, Munteanu made his Divizia C debut under the guidance of coach Eugen Pojoni. Four years later he went to play at Divizia B level for Metalul Bocșa. In 1987 he was close to a move to Politehnica Timișoara but eventually stayed in Divizia B, going at CSM Reșița.

Olt Scornicești and Inter Sibiu

In 1988, Munteanu went at Olt Scornicești where on 21 August he made his Divizia A debut in a 0–0 away draw against Victoria București.

Afterwards he signed with Inter Sibiu with whom he won the 1990–91 Balkans Cup under the guidance of coach Viorel Hizo. Also he scored seven goals during the 1990–91 domestic league to help his side earn a fourth place.

Dinamo București

Munteanu's childhood favorite team, Dinamo București bought him from Inter Sibiu in 1991, managing in his first season to score 12 goals in the 33 league games coach Florin Halagian used him as the capital side won the national championship undefeated. In the same season he helped Dinamo eliminate with a 2–1 victory on aggregate Luis Figo's Sporting Lisbon in the first round of the UEFA Cup, the campaign ending in the following one as they lost to Genoa against whom he scored once.

In the next season, Munteanu netted a personal record of 15 league goals as the team finished on the second place. He also helped ''The Red Dogs'' get past Kuusysi Lahti in the first round of the 1992–93 Champions League, meeting Olympique Marseille in the second against whom they earned a 0–0 in the first leg but lost the second game with 2–0, the French eventually going on to win the competition.

Cercle Brugge

In 1993, Munteanu went alongside teammates Tibor Selymes, Marius Cheregi and Ovidiu Hanganu from Dinamo to Cercle Brugge who paid 2.7 million deutschmarks for his transfer. He made his Belgian First Division debut on 7 August under coach Georges Leekens in a 2–0 away loss to Gent. On 17 October he netted his first goal in a 4–2 defeat in a Bruges derby to Club Brugge. At the end of his first season he was named the Man of the Season of the Belgian league. On 20 May 1995 he made his last appearance in the Belgian First Division in a 1–1 against Eendracht Aalst, gaining a total of 65 matches with 12 goals netted in the competition.

1. FC Köln

After two years in Belgium, he was transferred for a fee of 1.1 million€ to German side 1. FC Köln where he was teammate with compatriot Ion Vlădoiu. Munteanu made his Bundesliga debut on 12 August 1995 under coach Morten Olsen in a 1–0 home loss to Schalke 04. He scored his first goal on 15 October in a 2–2 draw against Bayer Leverkusen, until the end of the season also managing a brace in a 3–0 home win over Eintracht Frankfurt. At the end of his third season, Köln relegated but Munteanu stayed with the club for one more year in 2. Bundesliga.

During his years spent with ''The Billy Goats'', he also played in the Intertoto Cup, netting a brace in 1995 against Tottenham during a 8–0 victory which helped them reach the round of 16. Then in the 1997 edition, the team reached the semi-finals, Munteanu scoring two goals in two wins from the group stage against Maccabi Petah Tikva and Cork City.

VfL Wolfsburg

In 1999 he went to play for VfL Wolfsburg who paid to Köln 850.000€ for him. He made his Bundesliga debut for them on 13 August under coach Wolfgang Wolf in a 2–1 home victory against TSV 1860 Munich. On 20 February he netted his first goal for ''The Wolves'' when he opened the score in a 2–0 home win over Arminia Bielefeld. In the 2003 Intertoto Cup he scored twice, in wins against Marek Dupnitsa and Cibalia from the group stage and semi-finals respectively as the team reached the final where he did not play in the aggregate loss to Perugia.

On 5 October 2003, Munteanu made his last Bundesliga appearance in Wolfsburg's 5–3 away loss to Werder Bremen, having a total of 198 matches with 22 goals scored in the competition.

Steaua București

In 2003, aged 35, he was released from his contract by VfL Wolfsburg and was convinced by coach Victor Pițurcă to sign with Steaua București where shortly he got injured in a game with Național București. In the 2004–05 season, Munteanu worked with coaches Walter Zenga and Dumitru Dumitriu who used him in 28 matches in which he netted one goal in a 1–0 win over Brașov as the team won the title. In the same season he played 11 games in the UEFA Cup as Steaua managed to eliminate title holders Valencia in the campaign, reaching the round of 16 where the journey ended in favor of Villarreal.

Late career

In 2005, Munteanu went as a player-coach at CFR Cluj. He played seven games in the 2005 Intertoto Cup campaign as CFR got past Athletic Bilbao, Saint-Étienne and Žalgiris, reaching the final where they were defeated 4–2 on aggregate by Lens in which he scored once.
In October 2006 he left CFR and went at Argeș Pitești where made three league appearances. For the 2007–08 season, Munteanu worked at Vaslui where on 1 December 2007 he made his last Liga I appearance in a 1–0 away loss to Rapid București, having a total of 225 matches with 38 goals scored in the competition.

He played his last three games as a professional footballer while he was at Universitatea Cluj during the 2008–09 Liga II season. Afterwards, even though he was registered as a player-coach at Steaua București and during his second spell at "U" Cluj, he eventually did not make any appearances.

International career

Early years

Munteanu played three games for Romania's under-21 side between 1988 and 1990.

He made his debut for Romania's main team on 23 May 1991 at the age of 22, under coach Mircea Rădulescu who used him the full 90 minutes of a friendly which ended with a 1–0 away loss to Norway, played on the Ullevaal stadium from Oslo. He netted his first goal on 21 December 1991 in a friendly which ended with a 3–1 loss to Egypt.

1994 World Cup

Munteanu played 10 games at the successful 1994 World Cup qualifiers. At the final tournament coach Anghel Iordănescu used him as a starter in all five games as Romania's "Golden Generation" got past the group stage, then eliminated with a 3–2 victory Argentina in the round of 16, being defeated after the penalty shoot-out by Sweden in the quarter-finals.

Euro 1996

At the Euro 1996 qualifiers he played eight games and scored two goals in two victories against Israel and Slovakia. At the final tournament, Iordănescu used him in all the games from the group stage but Romania lost all of them in favor of France, Bulgaria and Spain. In the game with the Bulgarians, Munteanu defeated goalkeeper Borislav Mihaylov with a powerful shot from 25 meters that hit the crossbar and fell about 20 centimeters beyond the goal line but referee Peter Mikkelsen wrongfully cancelled the goal.

1998 World Cup

At the 1998 World Cup qualifiers he made eight appearances, scoring a hat-trick in a 8–1 victory against Liechtenstein. Munteanu was used all the minutes by Iordănescu in all four games at the final tournament as in the group stage they earned victories in the first two games with Colombia and England, thus mathematically being qualified before the last group match with Tunisia where in order to celebrate, they all dyed their hair blonde and presented themselves like that at the game. They were defeated with 1–0 by Croatia in the round of 16 after a goal scored from a penalty by Davor Šuker.

Euro 2000

Munteanu played nine games and scored three goals at the Euro 2000 qualifiers, the first one being in the 90th minute of a 1–0 over Portugal as Ionuț Lupescu moved the ball towards him at a free kick and he netted the goal with a powerful 25-meters shot. The next one was in a 2–0 victory against rivals Hungary and the third was from a penalty in a 4–0 win over Azerbaijan.

At the final tournament, coach Emerich Jenei used him all the minutes in all four matches, scoring once in the 3–2 victory against England that helped them qualify to the quarter-finals where they lost 2–0 to Italy.

Final years

At the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, Munteanu helped the team reach a play-off where they faced Slovenia, losing 3–2 on aggregate.

Afterwards he scored his last goal for ''The Tricolours'' in a 5–2 home loss to Denmark at the Euro 2004 qualifiers. At the second leg with the Danes, while Romania was leading in the final minutes of the game with 2–1, Munteanu executed a corner kick which was recovered by the opponents who eventually equalized, thus qualifying instead of Romania to the final tournament. After the game he was criticized for the way he executed the corner.

In the following years, Munteanu played at the 2006 World Cup qualifiers and Euro 2008 qualifiers. His last appearance for the national team was in a friendly which took place on 12 September 2007 when coach Victor Pițurcă sent him on the field to replace Paul Codrea in the 62nd minute of a 3–1 loss to Germany that was played on RheinEnergieStadion from Cologne.

He has a total of 134 matches and 16 goals for Romania, his number of caps being the national record.

For representing his country at four final tournaments, Munteanu was decorated by then President of Romania, Traian Băsescu on 25 March 2008, with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" – (The Medal of "Sportive Merit") Class III.

Managerial career

Player-coach period

In 2005, Munteanu went as a player-coach at CFR Cluj, helping them get past Athletic Bilbao, Saint-Étienne and Žalgiris in the 2005 Intertoto Cup, reaching the final where they were defeated 4–2 on aggregate by Lens. Also the team finished fifth in the 2005–06 Divizia A season. During the first half of the 2006–07 season, despite a good start with CFR Cluj, Munteanu announced he resigns his position at the club, due to interference with his decisions and lack of support from the club management. Munteanu had a pending offer from Argeș Pitești and he decided to accept it, despite the team being bottom of the first league after 10 games. Towards the end of the season, due to impossibility of avoiding the relegation of Argeș Pitești, he was sacked, only to be confirmed in short time as the new manager of fellow first league team FC Vaslui. He was pressed by the owner to leave Vaslui in March 2008, following a 1–0 loss to Steaua București. He became head coach of Universitatea Cluj in September 2008, but only after seven games he quit to go to Steaua. He led Steaua in five league games in which the team was undefeated but he lost all three games from the Champions League group stage to Lyon, Bayern Munich and Fiorentina, being dismissed by the club's president, Gigi Becali. Shortly afterwards he returned to "U" Cluj in the second league, helping it avoid relegation to the third.

Oțelul Galați

On 1 July 2009, Oțelul Galați club official, Marius Stan confirmed that Munteanu signed with the club. In the first season under his command, the team finished eighth.

In the next season, Oțelul managed to produce one of the biggest surprises in the Romanian football by becoming champion for the first time in its history. Munteanu was seen as the primary factor for this success. He started the following season by winning the Supercupa României after a 1–0 victory against Steaua București. Afterwards, under Munteanu's guidance, ''The Steelworkers'' took part in the 2011–12 Champions League group stage, but failed to gain a single point as they lost all six games to Basel, Benfica and Manchester United.

In the championship, Oțelul finished sixth and didn't qualify for the European competitions. The 2012–13 season started badly for Oțelul, earing only five points in the first six rounds, as a consequence, Munteanu resigned.

Dinamo București and abroad spells

In November 2012, he was installed as a head coach at Dinamo București. After only one month and four games in charge at Dinamo, Munteanu resigned at the end of 2012, citing the wish to follow his dream to coach abroad. Just a day later, on 28 December 2012, Munteanu signed a contract for one year and a half with Russian Premier League team, Mordovia Saransk. He brought Romanian forward Daniel Oprița to the team, however the spell was unsuccessful as Mordovia relegated at the end of the season.

On 1 August 2013, he took charge of Russian side Kuban Krasnodar where amongst his players were compatriot Gigel Bucur and French international Djibril Cissé. He helped the team eliminate Motherwell and Feyenoord in the 2013–14 Europa League campaign, reaching the group stage where they lost the first two games against St. Gallen and Valencia. He was sacked on 12 October 2013 while the team was on the 10th place, the team's officials not being satisfied with the results.

On 14 June 2014, Munteanu was appointed as manager of Gabala, bringing fellow Romanians Andrei Cristea, Adrian Ropotan and Alexandru Benga to the club. Munteanu was relieved of his duties as manager on 8 December 2014, following four wins in sixteen matches.

Astra Giurgiu and Zakho

On 4 March 2015, Munteanu was presented as the head coach of Astra Giurgiu, however late in April he left the team after having poor results.

In late December 2016, he signed with Iraqi side, Zakho but he had again a short spell, leaving the team about two months later.

CSMȘ Reșița and Concordia Chiajna

In April 2017 he went to work at third league team, CSMȘ Reșița as a technical director, head coach being Leontin Doană.

In September 2018 he returned to first league football, going at Concordia Chiajna, being dismissed in January 2019 as the club's officials were not satisfied with the results.

In November 2019 he made a comeback at Reșița, this time in the second league and as head coach, helping the team avoid relegation at the end of the season.

Return to Oțelul Galați

In July 2021, Munteanu returned to Oțelul Galați which was in the third league, helping it earn promotion to the second at the end of his first season at the club. In the following season he managed another promotion, helping the club return to the first league after eight years. His next performance was reaching the 2024 Cupa României final which was lost at the penalty shoot-out to Corvinul Hunedoara.

Munteanu left Oțelul in December 2024, citing as a reason the club's financial problems.

Sepsi OSK

On 18 March 2025, Munteanu was presented as the head coach of Sepsi OSK.

Career statistics

International

International goals

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

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Inter Sibiu
*Balkans Cup: 1990–91
Dinamo București
*Divizia A: 1991–92
VfL Wolfsburg
*Intertoto Cup runner-up: 2003
Steaua București
*Divizia A: 2004–05
CFR Cluj
*Intertoto Cup runner-up: 2005

Individual

* Man of the Season (Belgian First Division): 1993–94

Manager

CFR Cluj
*Intertoto Cup runner-up: 2005
Oțelul Galați
*Liga I: 2010–11
*Cupa României runner-up: 2023–24
*Supercupa României: 2011
*Liga III: 2021–22
Individual
*''Gazeta Sporturilor'' Romania Coach of the Month: September 2023

See also

*List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munteanu, Dorinel
1968 births
Footballers from Caraș-Severin County
Living people
Romanian men's footballers
Men's association football midfielders
CSM Reșița players
FC Olt Scornicești players
FC Inter Sibiu players
FC Dinamo București players
Cercle Brugge K.S.V. players
1. FC Köln players
VfL Wolfsburg players
FCSB players
CFR Cluj players
FC Argeș Pitești players
FC Vaslui players
FC Universitatea Cluj players
Liga I players
Liga II players
Liga III players
Belgian Pro League players
Bundesliga players
2. Bundesliga players
Romanian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium
Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Romania men's under-21 international footballers
Romania men's international footballers
UEFA Euro 1996 players
UEFA Euro 2000 players
1994 FIFA World Cup players
1998 FIFA World Cup players
FIFA Men's Century Club
Player-coaches
Romanian football managers
Romanian expatriate football managers
FC Argeș Pitești managers
FC Universitatea Cluj managers
CFR Cluj managers
FC Vaslui managers
FCSB managers
ASC Oțelul Galați managers
FC Dinamo București managers
FC Mordovia Saransk managers
FC Kuban Krasnodar managers
Gabala SC managers
Zakho FC managers
FC Astra Giurgiu managers
CS Concordia Chiajna managers
CSM Reșița managers
Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe managers
Russian Premier League managers
Liga I managers
Liga II managers
Expatriate football managers in Russia
Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Russia
Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan
Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Iraq
Expatriate football managers in Iraq
People's Movement Party politicians
20th-century Romanian sportsmen