 Coloman Braun-Bogdan in 1968 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1905-10-13)13 October 1905 | ||
| Place of birth | Arad,Austria-Hungary | ||
| Date of death | 15 March 1983(1983-03-15) (aged 77) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1920–1932 | AMEF Arad | ||
| 1932–1934 | Racing Club Calais | ||
| 1934–1938 | Juventus București | 42 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1936–1937 | Sportul Studențesc București | ||
| 1937–1938 | Juventus București | ||
| 1940 | Juventus București | ||
| 1940–1945 | Jiul Petroșani | ||
| 1945 | Romania | ||
| 1946–1947 | CFR București | ||
| 1947 | ASA București | ||
| 1948 | Dinamo București | ||
| 1949 | Romania | ||
| 1953–1954 | Flamura Roșie Arad | ||
| 1958–1960 | UTA Arad | ||
| 1962–1963 | Știința Timișoara | ||
| 1963–1964 | UTA Arad | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Coloman Braun-Bogdan (13 October 1905[1] – 15 March 1983) was aRomanianfootballmidfielder andfootball manager.
Braun-Bogdan was born on 13 October 1905 inArad,Arad County (then part ofAustria-Hungary), and began playing football in 1920 when he was 14 years old at local clubAMEF, making a name for himself as one of the best Romanian midfielders of theinterwar period.[2][3][4][5] In 1932 he went to play for two seasons inFrance atRacing Club Calais.[2][3][4][5] Afterwards he joinedJuventus București where he played with an interruption in the1935–36 season until he ended his career.[2][3][5][6][7] His final appearance as a footballer took place on 15 May 1938 in a 4–1 league victory againstUniversitatea Cluj.[8] One of Braun-Bogdan's most important achievements as a player was being part ofRomania's squad in the1938 World Cup.[3][5]
In 1933, Braun-Bogdan took the coaching courses of the British football school fromFolkestone, later studying in Romania at the O.N.E.F. School of Football.[2][3][4][5][6] His coaching career began in 1936 atSportul Studențesc București which he helped gain promotion fromDivizia B toDivizia A while he was still an active player atJuventus București in Divizia A.[2][3][4][6] In the1937–38 Divizia A season he worked at Juventus as a player-coach, and finished the championship in 4th place, also earning a historical 5–1 victory that eliminatedRipensia Timișoara in theCupa României, a team that eventually won the championship that season.[2][3][8][6] In thefollowing season, Braun-Bogdan worked only as a coach, earning another notable victory against Ripensia, this time a 7–2 in the league, but after finishing the first half in 8th place he was dismissed.[9] Subsequently, in 1939 he was one of the founding members of the Romanian National School of Coaches.[2] He came back to Juventus in the second half of the1939–40 season, replacing Gyula Dobo who finished the first half in last place.[6][10] Braun-Bogdan was unable to significantly improve the team's performance, managing to bring them just above the last place, which ultimately led to their relegation to Divizia B.[6][10]
In 1940, he went to coachJiul Petroșani, helping the team win promotion to Divizia A.[3][4][6] However, they did not get to play there as the championship was interrupted byWorld War II, but he continued to work for the club until 1945.[2][3][4][6] In 1945 he had a short spell asRomania's national team coach, leading them in a friendly which ended in a 7–2 away loss toHungary.[2][3][4][11][12] In the1946–47 season Braun-Bogdan worked atCFR București where he helped the club finish in 5th place in the league, being appreciated by the fans.[2][4][5][6][13] However, he moved in 1947 to a newly founded club,ASA București where he was dismissed after 15 rounds because of poor results.[2][4][5][6][13] In 1948 he became the first coach ofDinamo București where he also had a short spell, staying only a few rounds, including the firstderby against his former team, ASA, that ended in a 1–0 victory for his side.[2][4][6][13][14] In 1949, Braun-Bogdan had his second experience at Romania's national team, this time leading them together withEmerich Vogl in a 1–1 home friendly draw againstAlbania.[11][15][16] Braun-Bogdan had the most successful spell of his career from 1953 until 1954, when he coached a team from his nativeArad,Flamura Roșie, winning the only trophies of his career which are the1953 Cupa României after a 1–0 victory inextra-time againstCCA București and the1954 Divizia A.[2][3][5][17][18] He then worked for theRomanian Football Federation as an advisor and also was president of the Central College of Coaches until 1958.[2] Subsequently, he had a second experience at Flamura Roșie which this time was namedUTA Arad.[2][3][4][5][6] Then he went for the1962–63 season atȘtiința Timișoara with whom he finished the championship in 3rd place.[2][4][5][19][20] Braun-Bogdan left Știința after a conflict with some of the team's players, going for a third spell at UTA.[2][3][6][19][20] There, after a 3–3 draw against Știința on their field, the fans of the home team who felt disadvantaged by the referee attacked the locker rooms of the referees and UTA's players, eventually getting into a big fight with themiliția officers.[2][6][19][20] This event marked the beginning of the rivalry between the two teams, which would later be known as theWest derby.[2][6][19][20] Afterwards, he retired from coaching and went to work again for theRomanian Football Federation.[2][3][5][6] During his managerial career in the Romanian top-division, Divizia A, he totaled 230 matches, consisting of 89 victories, 51 draws, and 90 losses.[21]
Braun-Bogdan wrote two books about moments from his playing and managerial football career:[2][5]
Braun-Bogdan died on 15 March 1983 at age 77, being remembered as the first coach that worked at all threeBucharest rivals:CFR,ASA andDinamo.[2][3][4][6][13]
Sportul Studențesc București
Jiul Petroşani
UTA Arad
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