 Ionescu in 1963 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Trăian Ionescu | ||
| Date of birth | (1923-07-17)17 July 1923 | ||
| Place of birth | Văleni,Argeș County, Romania | ||
| Date of death | 4 October 2006(2006-10-04) (aged 83) | ||
| Place of death | București, Romania | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1936–1939 | TC Târgoviște | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1939–1941 | Sporting Club Pitești | ||
| 1943–1945 | Vulturii Textila Lugoj | ||
| 1945–1946 | Sportul Muncitoresc Găvana | ||
| 1946–1949 | Juventus București | 42 | (0) |
| 1949–1951 | CCA București | 36 | (0) |
| 1952 | CA Câmpulung Moldovenesc | 11 | (0) |
| Total | 89 | (0) | |
| International career | |||
| 1948–1949 | Romania | 5 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1952 | Casa Armatei Craiova | ||
| 1952–1957 | Flacăra Ploiești (youth) | ||
| 1959–1962 | Dinamo București | ||
| 1963–1964 | Dinamo București | ||
| 1965–1967 | Dinamo București | ||
| 1969–1970 | Fenerbahçe | ||
| 1971 | Dinamo București | ||
| 1971–1972 | Dinamo București (technical director) | ||
| 1973–1975 | Sportul Studențesc București | ||
| 1975–1976 | Olimpia Satu Mare | ||
| 1977–1978 | Jiul Petroșani | ||
| 1978–1980 | SC Bacău | ||
| 1980–1981 | Petrolul Ploiești | ||
| 1981 | Steaua București | ||
| 1982 | Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea | ||
| 1983–1984 | Morocco Olympic team | ||
| 1984–1985 | Olt Scornicești | ||
| 1987–1989 | CSM Reșița | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Traian Ionescu (17 July 1923 – 4 October 2006) was aRomanianfootballgoalkeeper and coach.
Ionescu was born on 17 July 1923 inVăleni,Argeș County, Romania and began playing junior-level football at age 13 at TC Târgoviște where he stayed until 1939.[1][2][3] In the following years he went to play for Sporting Club Pitești,Vulturii Textila Lugoj and Sportul Muncitoresc Găvana.[1][2][3] He arrived atJuventus București where coachEmerich Vogl gave him hisDivizia A debut on 6 April 1947 in a 4–1 victory againstLibertatea Oradea.[1][2][3][4] In 1949, Ionescu was transferred byCCA București where he helped the team win its first title in the1951 season, being used by coachGheorghe Popescu in five games.[1][2][3][5] He also contributed to threeCupa României victories, but played in only one final in1949 when coachFrancisc Ronnay used him the entire match in the 2–1 victory againstCSU Cluj.[1][2][3][6][7] Ionescu went to play forCA Câmpulung Moldovenesc where he made his last Divizia A appearance on 27 November 1952 in a 3–0 home victory againstFlacăra Petroșani, totaling 98 games played in the competition.[1][2][3]
Ionescu played five games forRomania, making his debut on 20 June 1948 under coachIuliu Baratky in a 3–2 home victory againstBulgaria in the1948 Balkan Cup.[8][9] His following two games were in the same tournament, a 2–1 win overCzechoslovakia and a 0–0 draw againstPoland.[8] Ionescu's last appearance for the national team took place on 22 May 1949 in a 3–2 friendly loss toCzechoslovakia.[8]
"Traian Ionescu was unique, one of the greatest Romanian football coaches."
Ionescu started his coaching career atDivizia C team, Casa Armatei Craiovei, which shortly after his appointment had dissolved.[2][3] Subsequently, he worked as a youth coach atFlacăra Ploiești, where he discovered talents such asMircea Dridea,Vasile Sfetcu andConstantin Tabarcea, reaching the 1957 national junior championship final which was lost toUniversitatea Cluj.[2][3][10]
Ionescu went on to coach the senior squad ofDinamo București, where he demonstrated a remarkable ability to discover and promote young talent.[2][3] Among the notable players he developed wasIon Pârcălab, who, after being transferred fromUTA Arad, evolved into one of Europe's premier forwards.[2][3] He also recognizedMircea Lucescu playing football on a gravel field and noticedCornel Dinu during aMetalul Târgoviște match against Dinamo in the quarter-finals of the1964–65 Cupa României.[2][3][11] Furthermore, he decided to transfer 16-year-oldFlorea Dumitrache after observing him for only ten minutes in a junior-level football game at TUG București.[2][3][12] Other significant players he coached at Dinamo includedConstantin Frățilă,Ilie Datcu,Gabriel Sandu,Florin Cheran, andAlexandru Sătmăreanu.[2][3] These individuals, along with others he coached such asIon Nunweiller,Lică Nunweiller, andGheorghe Ene, became important members ofRomania's national team throughout the 1960s and 1970s.[2][3] In his spells withThe Red Dogs, Ionescu helped the team win fourDivizia A titles and oneCupa României after a 5–3 victory in thefinal againstrivalsSteaua București.[2][3][5][13]
He had his first coaching experience outside Romania inTurkey atFenerbahçe with whom he won the1969–70 Turkish League and aTSYD Cup together with his former Dinamo players,Ion Nunweiller andIlie Datcu.[2][3][14] Ionescu also worked atSportul Studențesc București,Olimpia Satu Mare,Jiul Petroșani with which he reached the1977–78 Balkans Cup final,SC Bacău,Petrolul Ploiești,Steaua București,Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea,Olt Scornicești,CSM Reșița.[2][3][15] He also had a second coaching experience outside Romania atMorocco's Olympic team from 1983 until 1984.[2][3] Ionescu had a total of 287 matches as manager in Divizia A, consisting of 128 victories, 70 draws and 89 losses.[16]
Ionescu died on 4 October 2006 at age 83 inBucurești.[3][7]
CCA București
Dinamo București
Fenerbahçe
Jiul Petroșani