![]() Niculescu with Dinamo București in 1968 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | [1] | 8 April 1943||
Place of birth | Vidra, Romania [1] | ||
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) [1] | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper [1] | ||
Youth career | |||
1961–1962 | Dinamo București | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1962–1966 | Dinamo Pitești [a] | 48 | (0) |
1966–1968 | Dinamo București | 15 | (0) |
1968–1974 | Argeș Pitești | 80 | (0) |
1972–1973 | → Rapid București (loan) | 2 | (0) |
1975–1976 | FC Brăila | ||
Total | 145 | (0) | |
Managerial career | |||
1976–1977 | Celuloza Călărași | ||
1984–1985 | Corvinul Hunedoara (assistant) | ||
1985–1986 | Dunărea Galați | ||
1990 | Flacăra Moreni | ||
1994 | Dunărea Galați | ||
2007–2008 | Dunărea Galați | ||
* Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Spiridon Niculescu (born 8 April 1943) is a Romanian former football goalkeeper and manager. [1] [2] [3]
Niculescu was born on 8 April 1943 in Vidra, Romania, and began playing junior-level football in 1961 at Dinamo București. [1] [3] One year later, he joined Divizia B club Dinamo Pitești, helping them earn promotion to the first league after one season. [1] [3] He made his Divizia A debut on 25 August 1963 in a 2–1 home victory against Știința Cluj. [1] The team reached the 1965 Cupa României final where coach Virgil Mărdărescu started him, but after conceding an 11th-minute goal from Remus Câmpeanu, he was replaced in the 17th minute by Constantin Matache in the eventual 2–1 loss to Știința Cluj. [1] [4]
In 1966, Niculescu was transferred from Dinamo Pitești to Dinamo București in exchange for fellow goalkeeper Narcis Coman. [3] There, he played in another Cupa României final in 1968, with coach Bazil Marian using him the entire match in the 3–1 win over Rapid București. [1] [3] [5] [6] [7] Afterwards Niculescu returned to Pitești, and the team was now named Argeș. [1] He started playing in European competitions during the 1968–69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup second round, appearing in both legs of the 5–3 aggregate loss to Göztepe. [1] [8] In the 1971–72 season he won the league title with Argeș, but played just one game as coaches Titus Ozon and Florin Halagian preferred Vasile Stan as first-choice goalkeeper. [1] [3] [9]
In 1972, Niculescu was loaned to Rapid București for half a season, playing only two league games. [1] He then returned to Argeș where he made one appearance in a 1–1 draw against Fenerbahçe in the first round of the 1973–74 UEFA Cup edition, but they failed to qualify, having lost the first leg with 5–1. [1] [10] [11]
On 29 September 1975, Niculescu made his last Divizia A appearance in a 2–0 away loss to Politehnica Iași, having a total of 145 games in the competition with 216 goals conceded. [1] He ended his career in 1976 after one and a half seasons spent in Divizia B at FC Brăila. [1] [3]
After he ended his playing career, Niculescu worked as a coach in the Romania lower leagues for clubs such as Celuloza Călărași and Dunărea Galați. [3] He was also Ion Nunweiller's assistant at Corvinul Hunedoara. [12] Niculescu had a short spell in the first league at Flacăra Moreni during the 1989–90 Divizia A season, leading them in nine games, winning only two, which resulted in the team's relegation. [13] [14]
Argeș Pitești
Dinamo București