Traian Ionescu (17 July 1923 – 4 October 2006) was a

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 ...

n football

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

and coach.

Club career

Traian Ionescu was born on 17 July 1923 in Văleni,

Argeș County Argeș County () is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Pitești. Demographics On 20 October 2011, it had a population of 612,431 and the population density was 89/km2. * Romanians – 97% * Roma (Gypsie ...

, Romania and started to play junior level football at age 13 at TC Târgoviște where he stayed until 1939. Afterwards he went to play for Sporting Club Pitești, Vulturii Textila Lugoj and Sportul Muncitoresc Găvana before arriving at Juventus București where he made 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 on 6 April 1947, being used by coach

Emerich Vogl Emerich (Imre) Vogl (born 12 August 1905 in Temesvár, Austria-Hungary (now Romania) – died 29 October 1971 in Bucharest, Romania) was a Romanian football player and coach of Banat Swabian ethnicity who was a member of Romanian team which p ...

in a 4–1 victory against Libertatea Oradea. In 1949 he was transferred by

CCA București CCA may refer to: Organisations * Canadian Cat Association * Canadian Cattlemen's Association, an advocacy group for the Canadian beef industry * Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal, Quebec *Canadian Council on Africa *Center for Contempora ...

where he won the

1951 Divizia A The 1951 Divizia A was the thirty-fourth season of Divizia A, the top-level football league of Romania. Teams League table Results Top goalscorers Champion squad See also * 1951 Divizia B References {{1951–52 in European ...

, being used by coach Gheorghe Popescu I in 5 games, he also helped the team win three Cupa României but played in only one final in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – ...

when coach

Francisc Ronnay Francisc is the Romanian-language form of Francis. In other cases Francisc is the Romanianized form of the Hungarian name Ferenc. Notable people with the name include: *Francisc Hossu-Longin *Francisc Rainer *Francisc Șirato, Romanian painter ...

used him in the 2–1 victory against CSU Cluj. Ionescu went to play for

CA Câmpulung Moldovenesc CA Câmpulung Moldovenesc was a football club based in Câmpulung Moldovenesc, Suceava County, Romania. It was founded in 1948 and dissolved in 1953. History The club was founded in the summer of 1948 with initial headquarters at Iaşi under t ...

where he made his last

appearance on 27 November 1952 in a 3–0 home victory against Flacăra Petroșani, having a total of 98 games played in the competition.

International career

Traian Ionescu played five games at international level for

, making his debut on 20 June 1948 under coach

Iuliu Baratky Gyula Barátky ( ro, Iuliu Baratky; 14 May 1910 – 14 April 1962) was an ethnic Hungarian football player who represented both Hungary and Romania internationally. His preferred position was the half right. He played a total of 155 games in ...

in a 3–2 home victory against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

at the

1948 Balkan Cup The 1948 Balkan Cup, officially called the Balkan and Central European Championship, was played between April and November 1948 between Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia. It was Poland and Czechoslovakia's ...

. His following two games were also at the

, a 2–1 victory against

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and a 0–0 against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

. Ionescu's last appearance for the national team took place on 22 May 1949 in a friendly which ended with a 3–2 loss against

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Managerial career

Traian Ionescu started working as a youth coach in 1952 at Flacăra Ploiești where he discovered talents like

Mircea Dridea Mircea Dridea (born 7 April 1937) is a Romanian former football player and manager, who is the current honorary president of Liga I club Petrolul Ploiești. Club career Mircea Dridea was born on 7 April 1937 in Ploiești and at age 15 he was ...

, Vasile Sfetcu and Constantin Tabarcea, reaching the 1957 national junior championship final which was lost in front of

Universitatea Cluj Fotbal Club Universitatea Cluj (), commonly known as Universitatea Cluj or simply as U Cluj, is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I, the first tier of the Romanian ...

. He went to coach the senior squad of

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 ...

where he showed his availability of discovering and promoting young players like

Ion Pârcălab Ion Pârcălab (born 5 November 1941) is a Romanian former football player and manager. Club career Ion Pârcălab, nicknamed "The Carpathian Arrow" by foreign experts, started his senior career at UTA Arad, making his Divizia A debut on 24 May ...

whom after transferring him from

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 ...

turned into one of the best forwards in Europe,

Mircea Lucescu Mircea Lucescu (; born 29 July 1945) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently head coach of Ukrainian Premier League club Dynamo Kyiv. He is one of the most decorated managers of all time. Lucescu is also ...

whom he saw playing football on a field covered with gravel,

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 ...

whom he noticed while playing for Metalul Târgoviște in the quarter-finals of the

1964–65 Cupa României The 1964–65 Cupa României was the 27th edition of Romania's most prestigious football cup competition. The title was won by Ştiinţa Cluj against Dinamo Piteşti. Format The competition is an annual knockout tournament. In the first ro ...

against Dinamo, 16 year-old

Florea Dumitrache Florea Dumitrache (22 May 1948 – 26 April 2007) was a Romanian professional footballer who played as a striker. Dumitrache spent most of his senior career at Dinamo București, appearing in over 200 league matches and winning three national t ...

whom he saw only 10 minutes playing junior level football at TUG București after which he decided to transfer him, Constantin Frățilă,

Ilie Datcu Ilie Datcu (born 20 July 1937), also known as İlyas Datça is a Romanian former football goalkeeper and coach. Club career Ilie Datcu was born on 20 July 1937 in Bucharest, Romania. He started his career playing at the junior squads of Con ...

, Gabriel Sandu,

Florin Cheran Florin Cheran (born 5 April 1947) is a Romanian former footballer who played as a defender. Club career Florin Cheran was born on 5 April 1947 in Bucharest but spent his childhood in Râmnicu Vâlcea where he played football at junior level at ...

and Alexandru Sătmăreanu, all of them together with other players he coached at Dinamo like

Ion Nunweiller Ion Nunweiller (9 January 1936 – 3 February 2015) was a Romanian football defender and manager. Club career Ion Nunweiller was born in Piatra Neamț on 9 January 1936. He had an Austrian father named Johann Nunweiller, who settled in Piat ...

, Lică Nunweiller and

Gheorghe Ene Gheorghe Ene (also known as Gheorghe Ene II; 27 January 1937 – 6 April 2009) was a Romanian football striker and coach. Club career Gheorghe Ene was born on 27 January 1937 in București, Romania and started to play football in 1952, aged 14 ...

were important players for Romania's national team in the 1960s and 1970s. In his spells with '' The Red Dogs'', Ionescu helped the team win four

titles and one Cupa României after a 5–3 victory in 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 con ...

against

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or 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 participant ...

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 had his first coaching experience outside Romania in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

at Fenerbahçe with whom he won the Turkish First Football League 1969–70 and a

TSYD Cup The TSYD Cup ( tr, Türk Spor Yazarları Derneği Kupası, Turkish Sports Writers Association Cup) was a friendly football competition in Turkey. The tournament started in 1963. It was played throughout six regions in Turkey: Adana, Ankara, Istanb ...

together with his former

Dinamo 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 Yekaterinbu ...

players,

and

. Traian Ionescu also worked at Sportul Studențesc București, Olimpia Satu Mare,

Jiul Petroșani Jiul may refer to these places in Romania: * the River Jiu ( + ) ** Jiul de Vest ** Jiul de Est The Jiul de Est ("Eastern Jiu", previously also known as ) is a headwater of the river Jiu in Romania. Its source is in the Șureanu Mountains. At ...

with whom he reached the

1977–78 Balkans Cup The 1978 Balkans Cup was an edition of the Balkans Cup, a football competition for representative clubs from the Balkan states. It was contested by 6 teams and Rijeka won the trophy. Group A ---- Group B ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- F ...

final, SC Bacău, Petrolul Ploiești,

Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea was a football club based in Râmnicu Vâlcea, Vâlcea County, Romania. It was founded in 1946 and dissolved in 2004. It won one Romanian Cup, in 1973. History In 1946 ''Vâlceana'' appeared in the Third Division. I ...

, Olt Scornicești,

CSM Reșița Clubul Sportiv Muncitoresc Reșița (), commonly known as CSM Reșița or simply as Reșița, is a professional football club based in Reșița, Romania, currently playing in the Liga III. The club was founded on 25 May 1926 as ''UD (Uzinele ...

, having a total of 287 matches as manager in

, consisting of 128 victories, 70 draws and 89 losses, also having a second coaching experience outside Romania at Morocco's Olympic team. Ionescu died on 4 October 2006 at age 83 in

București Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Honours

Player

CCA București *

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

* Cupa României: 1948–49,

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

Manager

Dinamo București *

: 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1970–71 * Cupa României: 1963–64 Fenerbahçe *

Turkish League Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities ...

: 1969–70 *

: 1969–70 Jiul Petroșani *

Balkans Cup The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators), being ...

runner-up: 1977–78

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ionescu, Traian 1923 births 2006 deaths People from Argeș County Romanian footballers Association football goalkeepers FC Petrolul Ploiești players FC Steaua București players Liga I players Romania international footballers Romanian football managers FC Steaua București managers FC Steaua București assistant managers FC Dinamo București managers FC Sportul Studențesc București managers FC Olimpia Satu Mare managers FCM Bacău managers Fenerbahçe football managers CSM Reșița managers FC Petrolul Ploiești managers CSM Jiul Petroșani managers Liga I managers Süper Lig managers Romanian expatriate football managers Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Morocco Expatriate football managers in Turkey Expatriate football managers in Morocco