Narcis Coman

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Narcis Coman
Narcis Coman.jpg
Personal information
Full name Narcis Răduț Coman
Date of birth (1946-11-05) 5 November 1946 (age 78)
Place of birth Giurgiu, Romania
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1961 Olimpia Giurgiu
1961–1964 Victoria Giurgiu
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1964–1965 ȘN Oltenița [a] 2 (0)
1965–1966 UTA Arad 13 (0)
1966–1968 Argeș Pitești 46 (0)
1968–1970 Dinamo București 30 (0)
1970 Dunărea Giurgiu 5 (0)
1971–1974 Steaua București 34 (0)
1974–1976 SC Bacău 36 (0)
1976–1980 CS Târgoviște [b] 69 (0)
1980–1981 FCM Giurgiu
Total233(0)
International career
1967–1978 Romania [c] 12 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Narcis Coman (born 5 November 1946 in Giurgiu) is a retired Romanian footballer who played as a goalkeeper and was selected Romanian Footballer of the Year in 1978.

Contents

Club career

"I wasn't a striker, a midfielder or a defender, I was a goalkeeper from the beginning. The first love always remained to be a goalkeeper. A love that has lasted for 63 years and that I have never cheated on"

– Narcis Coman talking about himself in 2022 [4]

Coman was born on 5 November 1946 in Giurgiu, Romania. [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] He grew up as a fan of CCA București (for whom he would get to play when the team was named Steaua) and of goalkeeping after seeing a game of the team on TV, being impressed by how Ion Voinescu defended the goal post. [4] [9] He began playing football as a goalkeeper around the age of 12 with his cousin. [4] [9] Three years later, he joined local club Olimpia, where he was coached by Marin Anastasovici, afterwards moving to neighboring team, Victoria. [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Coman started playing senior level football at ȘN Oltenița in the regional championship, helping it promote to Divizia C where after playing only two games he was transferred by UTA Arad. [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] He made his Divizia A debut on 26 September 1965 under coach Nicolae Dumitrescu, managing to keep a clean sheet in UTA's 2–0 victory against Universitatea Craiova. [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

After one season, he was transferred by Dinamo București, who then, two weeks later used him as an exchange player for fellow goalkeeper Spiridon Niculescu from Argeș Pitești. [1] [4] [5] [9] [10] In his first season at Argeș, Coman made his debut in European competitions, playing all six games in the 1966–67 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, as the team eliminated Sevilla and Toulouse in the first two rounds, being defeated in the third round with 1–0 on aggregate by Dinamo Zagreb, who eventually won the competition. [1] [4] [5] [6] [9] [11] [12] Following a notable performance in Argeș's away game in the second leg of the confrontation against Sevilla that ended in a 2–2 draw, the Marca newspaper praised him, stating:"Coman managed some phenomenal saves and blocked Sevilla. Even though he conceded two goals, the Romanian closed the gate in some difficult phases". [4] [11] Sevilla's coach wanted to transfer him but Coman and the team's officials did not accept, as transfers outside the country were not allowed by Romania's communist regime and if he had accepted the offer he would have risked never seeing his family again. [4] [11] [9] In his second season, he helped the team earn a runner-up position in the domestic league. [1]

Afterwards, he went to play for two seasons at Dinamo București. [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] In the first one, the team earned a runner-up position in the league and reached the Cupa României final where in the 2–1 loss to rivals Steaua București, coach Bazil Marian used Coman in the first half, replacing him with Ilie Datcu for the second. [1] [13] He then spent a short period in his native Giurgiu at Divizia B club, Dunărea but returned to Divizia A football when he went to Steaua. [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] With them, he won the only trophy of his career, the 1970–71 Cupa României, though he did not play in the final as coach Ștefan Kovács chose Carol Haidu for the 3–2 victory against Dinamo. [1] [7] [14] Coman also played four games in the 1971–72 European Cup Winners' Cup campaign, as The Military Men reached the quarter-finals by eliminating Hibernians and Barcelona, being eliminated after 1–1 on aggregate on the away goal rule by Bayern Munich. [1] [5] [7] [15] After the 0–0 in the second leg, he was congratulated for the way he defended his goal post by the Germans goalkeeper Sepp Maier. [7]

In 1974 he went to SC Bacău in Divizia B, where in the first season he helped the team get promoted to the first league. [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] After one more season spent with Bacău, he went back to Divizia B, signing with CS Târgoviște. [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Coman helped the team from Târgoviște gain promotion to Divizia A after one season. [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] This spell was the best period of his career, managing to become the first goalkeeper to earn the Romanian Footballer of the Year award in 1978. [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [16] [17] An important match that helped him achieve this performance was keeping a clean sheet in Târgoviște's 0–0 draw against Universitatea Craiova for which he received a grade 10 in the Sportul newspaper. [7] After making his last Divizia A appearance on 12 March 1980, playing for CS Târgoviște in a 2–2 draw against Jiul Petroșani, Coman went back to his native Giurgiu to play for FCM where he retired after playing only a few games. [1] [4] [5] [6] [9] [16] He has a total of 214 Divizia A appearances and 12 matches in European competitions (including eight in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup). [1] [4] [5] [6] [16]

International career

Coman played eight games at international level for Romania (12 including Romania's Olympic team games), making his debut on 29 October 1967 under coach Constantin Teașcă in a friendly against Poland in which he managed to keep a clean sheet in the 0–0 draw. [2] [6] [18] He played injured in a 3–0 away loss to Portugal in the 1970 World Cup qualifiers. [2] [5] [7] [9] As he conceded three goals, coach Angelo Niculescu blamed him for the loss, but Coman claims he had informed Niculescu about his injury prior to the game. [5] [7] [9] This controversy ultimately led to Coman's 10-year absence from the national team's squad. [5] [7] [9] In 1978 he was called up by Ștefan Kovács, playing in a 1–0 away loss to Spain in the Euro 1980 qualifiers. [2] [5] [7] [9] [19] His last appearance for the national team took place on 11 December 1978 in a friendly which ended in a 1–1 draw against Israel. [2]

Personal life

Coman who was nicknamed "Campionul reflexelor" (The Champion of Reflexes) by the press for his spectacular saves, claimed that he disliked his spells at Dinamo and Steaua due to their very strict rules, but he enjoyed his time at Argeș Pitești and CS Târgoviște. [4] [5] [6] [9] He was known for playing most of his career without gloves because he felt that he had a better grip that way, consequently ending up with three broken fingers. [4] [5] [6] [9] Outside the field, he was known for his bohemian lifestyle. [4] [5] [6] [7] [9] [10] He was considered a ladies' man and enjoyed partying and drinking in pubs, particularly with his friend and Argeș Pitești colleague Nicolae Dobrin. [4] [5] [6] [7] [9] [10] Coman claimed these activities never affected his performance on the football field. [4] [5] [6] [7] [9] [10] In 2009 Coman was decorated with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" – (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") and in 2013 he received the Honorary Citizen of Giurgiu title. [4] [7] [8] A book about him was written by Gelu Brebenel, called Narcis Coman - prin viață fără mănuși(Narcis Coman - through life without gloves) which was published in 2017. [8] [20] [21]

Honours

Club

Steaua București

SC Bacău

CS Târgoviște

Individual

Notes

  1. ↑ The statistics for the 1964–65 regional championship season are unavailable. [1]
  2. ↑ The statistics for the 1976–77 Divizia B season are unavailable. [1]
  3. ↑ Including 4 appearances for Romania's Olympic team. [2] [3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Narcis Coman at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Narcis Coman". European Football. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  3. ↑ Narcis Coman at National-Football-Teams.com
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 "Șprițuri de poveste. Narcis Coman le-a "luat fața" lui Gicu Dobrin și Cornel Dinu. Nu la șpriț, la "Cel mai bun fotbalist român" în 1978!" [Spritzes of story. Narcis Coman "took the face" of Gicu Dobrin and Cornel Dinu. Not at the spritz, at the "Best Romanian Footballer" in 1978!] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 "Narcis Coman, poveşti din fotbalul românesc al anilor '70: "Eram stelist şi mă rugam să bată ei, dar să nu iau eu gol! La Dinamo am făcut arest ca să plec!"" [Narcis Coman, stories from the Romanian football of the 70s: "I was a Steaua fan and I prayed that they would win, but that I without scoring against me! At Dinamo, I was arrested so that I could leave!"] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 26 February 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 "Povestea lui Narcis Coman: "Am băut și nopți, am băut și zile!"" [Narcis Coman's story: "I drank some nights, I drank some days!"] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 3 February 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 "Povestea lui Narcis Coman, primul portar care a ieșit "Fotbalistul anului"" [The story of Narcis Coman, the first goalkeeper to be named "Footballer of the Year"] (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 30 December 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "S-a lansat biografia lui Narcis Coman, fostul portar al naționalei de fotbal" [The biography of Narcis Coman, the former goalkeeper of the national football team, was launched] (in Romanian). Ziaruldesport.ro. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 "Narciz Coman- Dincolo de sport, de fotbal, de carieră, am ales libertatea. Nu am lăsat capul jos niciodată!" [Narciz Coman- Beyond sports, football, career, I chose freedom. I never put my head down!] (in Romanian). Giurgiu-tribune.ro. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Narcis Coman: "Nu te supăra, Gicule!"" [Narcis Coman: "Don't be upset, Gicu!"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 18 December 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 "Cum a fost eliminată Sevilla de FC Argeş! Interviu cu Narcis Coman, eroul dublei de coşmar pentru spanioli: "Au vrut să mă transfere" + portretul lui Arlauskis: "E sonat!"" [How Sevilla was eliminated by FC Argeş! Interview with Narcis Coman, the hero of the nightmare double for the Spaniards: "They wanted to transfer me" + the portrait of Arlauskis: "He's great!"] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  12. ↑ "FC Argeș 70 - Povestea unei incredibile răsturnări de scor" [FC Argeș 70 - The story of an incredible score reversal] (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
    "Narcis Coman. Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1966/1967". WorldFootball. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  13. ↑ "Romanian Cup – Season 1968–1969". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  14. ↑ "Romanian Cup – Season 1970–1971". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  15. ↑ "În 1972, Steaua a fost la un pas să o elimine pe Bayern" [In 1972, Steaua was one step away from eliminating Bayern] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
    "Narcis Coman. UEFA Cup Winners Cup 1971/1972". WorldFootball. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  16. 1 2 3 "Coman, primul portar" [Coman, the first goalkeeper] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 22 December 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  17. 1 2 "Romania - Player of the Year Awards". Rsssf.org. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  18. ↑ "Poland 0-0 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  19. ↑ "Spain 1-0 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  20. ↑ "Narcis Coman: Nu mă aşteptam vreodată că se va scrie o carte despre mine" [Narcis Coman: I never expected that a book would be written about me] (in Romanian). Agerpres.ro. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  21. ↑ "A apărut cartea "Narcis Coman – prin viață fără mănuși", dedicată fostului portar al naționalei" [The book "Narcis Coman - through life without gloves" was published, dedicated to the former goalkeeper of the national team] (in Romanian). Libertatea.ro. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
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