Serghei Cleșcenco

Serghei Cleșcenco
Personal information
Full nameSerghei Cleșcenco
Date of birth20 May 1972
Place of birthCriuleni, Moldovan SSR
Height1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing positionStriker
Club information
Current team
Zimbru Chişinău (manager)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1990Spartak Oryol14(1)
1990–1992Nistru Chişinău23(1)
1992–1996Zimbru Chişinău99(39)
1996–1997Go Ahead Eagles60(8)
1997–1998Zimbru Chişinău20(25)
1998Zenit St. Petersburg6(0)
1998–1999Zimbru Chişinău8(0)
1999–2001Maccabi Haifa71(29)
2001–2003Hapoel Tel Aviv62(22)
2003Chernomorets Novorossiysk6(0)
2003–2004Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv14(1)
2004–2005Zimbru Chişinău18(1)
2005–2006Sibir Novosibirsk44(8)
2007–2008Metallurg-Kuzbass Novokuznetsk33(1)
National team
1991–2006[1]Moldova69(11)
Teams managed
2011–2012Milsami
2013Zimbru Chişinău
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Serghei Cleșcenco (/klɛʃtʃɛnkoʊ/; born 20 May 1972 in Criuleni, Moldovan SSR) is a retired Moldovan footballer, who holds the record for the most goals scored in a single season by a foreigner in Israel. He is currently the manager of FC Zimbru Chişinău.

Early career

After a successful period with Zimbru Chişinău, Cleşcenco was taken on trial by English club Watford in early 1998. He impressed, but work permit issues, along with Zimbru Chişinău asking for too much money prevented the deal from going through.[2]

In 1999, Cleşcenco joined Maccabi Haifa from Moldovan club Zimbru Chişinău. It was one of the most successful starts ever for a foreigner in Israel as he bagged 22 goals in his first season topping the record set by Polish striker Andrzej Kubica for most goals scored by a foreigner in Israel in a single season. After another strong season in Haifa, he moved to Hapoel Tel Aviv, where he was part of the squad that reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup. He scored one of the goals as they memorably knocked out Chelsea.[3]

International goals

Scores and results list Moldova's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 1 September 1994 Sheriff Stadium, Tiraspol  Azerbaijan 1–0 2–1 Friendly
2. 2–0
3. 16 November 1994 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia  Bulgaria 1–1 1–4 Euro 1996 qualifier
4. 7 June 1995 Stadionul Republican, Chișinău  Albania 2–1 2–3 Euro 1996 qualifier
5. 10 November 1996 Stadion GKS, Katowice  Poland 1–2 1–2 1998 World Cup qualifier
6. 20 August 1998 Spordikeskuse Staadion, Kohtla-Järve  Estonia 1–0 1–0 Friendly
7. 18 August 1999 Népstadion, Budapest  Hungary 1–1 1–1 Friendly
8. 26 April 2000 Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle  San Marino 1–0 1–0 Friendly
9. 1 September 2001 Stadionul Republican, Chișinău  Azerbaijan 1–0 2–0 2002 World Cup qualifier
10. 5 September 2001 Štadión na Sihoti, Trenčín  Slovakia 1–0 2–4 2002 World Cup qualifier
11. 16 August 2006 Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău  Lithuania 3–2 3–2 Friendly

Honours

Club

Zimbru Chişinău
Maccabi Haifa
Hapoel Tel Aviv

Manager

FC Milsami

References

  1. ↑ Serghei Clescenco - International Matches at RSSSF
  2. ↑ Watford Observer Archive
  3. ↑ "Hapoel stun subdued Chelsea". BBC. 18 October 2001. Retrieved 2 February 2014.

External links