Viorel Moldovan

Viorel Moldovan
Personal information
Full name	Viorel Dinu Moldovan
Date of birth	8 July 1972 (age 52)
Place of birth	Bistrița, Romania
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Rapid București (president)
Youth career
1984–1989	Gloria Bistrița
Senior career*
Years	Team
1989–1993	Gloria Bistrița
1993–1995	Dinamo București
1995–1996	Neuchâtel Xamax
1996–1997	Grasshoppers
1998	Coventry City
1998–2000	Fenerbahçe
2000–2004	Nantes
2003	→ Al-Wahda (loan)
2004	Servette
2005	Politehnica Timișoara
2006–2007	Rapid București
Total
International career
1991–1993	Romania U21
1993–2005	Romania
Managerial career
2007	Rapid București (sporting director)
2007–2008	Unirea Urziceni (sporting director)
2008–2009	Vaslui
2009–2010	FC Brașov
2010	Sportul Studențesc
2013–2014	Rapid București
2014	Romania U21
2014–2016	Romania (assistant)
2016	Auxerre
2018–2020	Chindia Târgoviște
2020–2021	Petrolul Ploiești
2024–	Rapid București (president)
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Viorel Dinu Moldovan (born 8 July 1972) is a Romanian football manager and former player, currently the president of Liga I club Rapid București.

A former striker, Moldovan most successful years of his career were playing for Neuchâtel Xamax and Grasshoppers between 1996 and 1998 in Switzerland (he was the Nationalliga A top scorer in 1996 and 1997), for Fenerbahçe between 1998 and 2000 and for Nantes between 2000 and 2004. He was a key player when Nantes won the French French Division 1 in 2001. He represented Romania 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

Moldovan was born in Bistrița.

At club level, Moldovan played for Gloria Bistrița (1990–93), Dinamo București (1993–95), Neuchâtel Xamax (1995–96), Grasshoppers (1996–97), Coventry City (1998), Fenerbahçe (1998–2000), Nantes (2000–04), Servette (2004), FCU Politehnica Timișoara (2005), and Rapid București (2006–2007).

The most successful years of his career were playing for Neuchâtel Xamax and Grasshoppers between 1996 and 1998 in Switzerland (he was the Swiss Super League top scorer in 1996 and 1997), for Fenerbahçe between 1998 and 2000 and for Nantes between 2000 and 2004. He was a key player when Nantes won the French French Division 1 in 2001. During his brief spell in England with Coventry City he scored twice, once in the FA Cup, scoring the winner against local rivals Aston Villa,^[3] and once in the league against Crystal Palace, also having a goal disallowed in the same game ^[4]

International career

Moldovan was capped 70 times for Romania, scoring 25 goals. He represented his country at Euro 96, the 1998 FIFA World Cup, during which he scored goals against England and Tunisia in the first round, and Euro 2000.^[5]

Coaching career

Moldovan worked as the sporting director of Unirea Urziceni and after that started his coaching career at FC Vaslui. On 26 May 2009, the coach quit FC Vaslui after just seven months for failing to guide the team to European qualification. The squad was then managed by coaching assistant Cristian Dulca on a temporary basis until a new coach was hired.^[6] On 28 July 2009, the Italian coach Nicolò Napoli quit FC Brașov and was replaced by Moldovan, who signed a two-year deal.^[7]

Career statistics

International stats

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Romania^[5]	1993	1	0
	1994	3	0
	1995	1	0
	1996	9	4
	1997	7	5
	1998	13	8
	1999	10	2
	2000	11	2
	2001	8	2
	2002	4	2
	2003	1	0
	2004	0	0
	2005	2	0
Total		70	25

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

List of international goals scored by Viorel Moldovan^[5]
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	24 April 1996	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Georgia	1–0	5–0	Friendly
2				2–0	5–0
3				3–0	5–0
4	31 August 1996	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Lithuania	1–0	3–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	29 March 1997	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Liechtenstein	1–0	8–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	2 April 1997	Žalgiris Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania	Lithuania	1–0	1–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
7	20 August 1997	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	North Macedonia	1–0	4–2	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
8	20 August 1997	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	North Macedonia	3–1	4–2	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
9	6 September 1997	Sportplatz, Eschen, Liechtenstein	Liechtenstein	1–0	8–1	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
10	8 April 1998	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Greece	1–0	2–1	Friendly
11	22 April 1998	King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium	Belgium	1–0	1–1	Friendly
12	6 June 1998	Stadionul Ilie Oană, Ploiești, Romania	Moldova	4–0	5–1	Friendly
13	22 June 1998	Stadium Municipal, Toulouse, France	England	1–0	2–1	World Cup 1998 Group G
14	26 June 1998	Stade de France, Saint Denis, France	Tunisia	1–1	1–1	World Cup 1998 Group G
15	2 September 1998	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Liechtenstein	6–0	7–0	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
16	5 September 1998	Ta' Qali Stadium, Attard, Malta	Germany	1–0	1–1	Friendly
17	14 October 1998	Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	1–0	1–1	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
18	4 September 1999	Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia	Slovakia	4–1	5–1	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
19	4 September 1999	Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia	Slovakia	5–1	5–1	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
20	27 May 2000	Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Netherlands	1–2	1–2	Friendly
21	12 June 2000	Stade de Sclessin, Liège, Belgium	Germany	1–0	1–1	UEFA Euro 2000
22	6 June 2001	S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium, Kaunas, Lithuania	Lithuania	2–0	2–1	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
23	15 August 2001	Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia	Slovenia	2–1	2–2	Friendly
24	16 October 2002	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	1–0	7–0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
25	16 October 2002	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	2–0	7–0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying