 Drăgușin in 1968 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1926-03-26)26 March 1926 | ||
| Place of birth | Bucharest, Romania | ||
| Date of death | 10 October 2021(2021-10-10) (aged 95) | ||
| Place of death | Bucharest, Romania | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1936– | Industria Iutei București | ||
| –1948 | Sindicatul Textil București | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1949–1950 | Steaua București | 0 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1950–1953 | Steaua București (youth) | ||
| 1953–1956 | Progresul București (youth) | ||
| 1956–1959 | Progresul București | ||
| 1959–1960 | Progresul București (assistant) | ||
| 1960 | Progresul București | ||
| 1960–1962 | Progresul București (assistant) | ||
| 1962–1963 | Iraq | ||
| 1963–1964 | Progresul București | ||
| 1965–1966 | Syria | ||
| 1966–1967 | Romania U23 | ||
| 1968 | Progresul București | ||
| 1969–1970 | Steaua București (assistant) | ||
| 1970–1975 | Romania U23 | ||
| 1975–1976 | Romania | ||
| 1976–1978 | Romania (assistant) | ||
| 1978–1983 | Romania U21 | ||
| 1983–1985 | Romania Olympic | ||
| 1986–1990 | Romania (assistant) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Cornel Drăgușin (26 March 1926 – 10 October 2021) was a Romanianfootball manager who coached the national teams of Iraq, Syria and Romania. He was director of theRomanian FA coaching school from 1990 to 2002, before being replaced byMircea Rădulescu.[1][2][3]
Drăgușin was born on 26 March 1926 in Bucharest, Romania and began playing football in 1936 at local club Industria Iutei.[1][4][5] Afterwards he went to Sindicatul Textil București where he stayed until 1948.[1][4][5] In 1949 he arrived atSteaua București where he met coachFerenc Rónay who encouraged him to start coaching at age 25.[1][4][5]
Drăgușin's first coaching spell was at the youth ofSteaua București from 1950 until 1953.[4][5] He then managed the youth team ofProgresul București, where he won the national youth championship in 1954.[4][5] Afterwards he moved up to the reserves and finally the A team, alongsideIoan Lupaș, managing to reach the1958 Cupa României final which was lost with 1–0 toȘtiința Timișoara.[4][6] In the following two years he continued to work at Progresul, being an assistant, as the team won the1959–60 Cupa României, also having a short spell as head coach.[7][8]
In 1962, theIraq Football Association opted for a foreign coach from theEastern Bloc, and appointed the Romanian manager as head coach of theIraq national team.[4][7][9] Drăgușin was the first foreign coach of Iraq and at the beginning of his tenure, he was supervised bycolonelAbdul Salam Arif who later became the country's president.[4][9]
After his return from Iraq in 1963, Drăgușin joined Progresul again with coachDincă Schileru for the1963–64 season, before taking charge of theSyrian national team in 1965.[4][9] He led Syria at the1965 Arab Games, earning a 13–0 win againstMuscat and Oman and a 4–0 victory overLahej but lost toLibya andSudan, failing to progress from the group stage.[4][10] Afterwards he reached the1966 Arab Cup final, losing it with 2–1 to Iraq.
Upon his return, the Romanian FA appointed Drăgușin as manager of the Romania under–23 side for a tournament inCentral Africa.[4] In 1968, he returned to Progresul, before moving to Steaua București as assistant manager.[4][8]
In November 1970, Drăgușin was recruited by theRomanian Football Federation, for whom he worked until 2002.[4][11] During that time, he coached the Under–23,Under–21 sides and theOlympic team.[7][4][5][11] He also ledRomania's main team for one game, a 1–1 draw againstScotland in theEuro 1976 qualifiers.[12]
Between 1986 and 1990, he wasEmerich Jenei's assistant coach at the Romania national team, which qualified for the1990 FIFA World Cup inItaly.[1][2][3][11][13]
Drăgușin was director of the Romanian FA coaching school from 1990 until 2002, a period during which some of the best players in Romania obtained their coaching licenses, includingDan Petrescu,Gheorghe Hagi,Ilie Dumitrescu,Ioan Andone,Ioan Sabău,Mircea Rednic,Gavril Balint andDorinel Munteanu.[7]
In 1969, he spent nearly two months visiting some of the top English clubs includingManchester United,Chelsea, andArsenal.[5] On his return, he wrote a book,În patria fotbalului (In Football's Homeland) which was released in 1970.[5][7]
Drăgușin died on 10 October 2021 at age 95 in his native Bucharest.[1][2][3]
Progresul București
Syria
