| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dr Constantin Rădulescu | ||
| Date of birth | 5 October 1896 | ||
| Date of death | 31 December 1981 (aged 85) | ||
Constantin 'Costel' Rădulescu (October 5, 1896 – December 31, 1981) was a footballer and manager from Romania who rose to prominence in the 1920s and 1930s. At one time or another Rădulescu had been associated with the Romania national team as either coach, manager or administrator within the Romanian Football Federation between 1923 and 1938.[1][2]
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Rădulescu had served as an officer for the Romanian army during the First World War at the front in the Battle of Mărăşti between 1916 and 1918 in which he had received injuries to his right arm and in 1919 he featured as a goalkeeper for the Romanian combination at the Inter-Allied Games held at the Pershing Stadium, in Paris.[3]
After the end of the War Rădulescu played football for SC Olympia Bucureşti and Tricolor Bucureşti until 1923 [1]. After 1923 Rădulescu switched to refereeing, coaching and administration and was involved in the development of the Romanian football federation in 1930, a development which put an end to the practice of the game being run in his country by a commission. He was manager of the national team on 18 occasions and coach on a further 24 occasions between 1923 and 1940. In the second World Cup he acted as a selector and at the third World Cup he was employed as the trainer of the side. He was a referee for 20 years, directing 200 first-division matches as well as 102 international matches between clubs and 11 between countries. He assisted as a linesman on other occasions when Romania were playing in the 1930s.[4][5][6]
His position of coach of the Romania national football team when they played in the first three FIFA World Cups in Uruguay, Italy and France was assured when he assumed the post (for the second time) in 1929 taking charge of the team after Teofil Morariu's side lost heavily in Yugoslavia in May 1928, and lead the Romanians from the start of the 1929-31 Balkan Cup campaign, which Romania eventually won, losing only in Sofia but scoring healthily in all matches and defeating fellow World Cup entrants Yugoslavia in October 1929. [7] For the World Cup Rădulescu was assisted by Octav Luchide.[8] Prior to the tournament, following defeat to Yugoslavia in May, 1930, he dropped Emerich Vogl as his captain and replaced him with Rudolf Wetzer, the Juventus Bucureşti forward.
The reasons for Romania's entry into the first World Cup are not known; however, during the competition, Rădulescu twice officiated as a linesman in matches featuring Argentina and Uruguay on those match days when the Romanians were not playing.[9] (Ulises Saucedo, the Bolivian coach, also acted as a match referee during the Finals). He assisted as a linesman on other occasions when Romania were playing in the 1930s.[4][5]
The apocryphal influence of King Carol on the selection of the first team is disputed. FIFA accept that "a decree from King Carol gave the players three months off from their jobs and a guarantee that they [would] be re-employed on their return. The king himself [was] also active as coach ..." [10] But there is nothing to substantiate such claims and the King, absent from the nation since 1925 only returned to Romania on June 8, 1930.
Rădulescu competed in bobsleigh at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, finishing 15th in the two-man event and not finishing in the four-man event.
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