Costel Orac

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Wikipedia

Costel Orac
Orac in 1984
Personal information
Full name Constantin Orac
Date of birth (1959-01-22) 22 January 1959 (age 66)
Place of birth Galați, Romania
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position Striker
Team information
Current team
 Concordia Chiajna (youth center director)
Youth career
1970–1971 Politehnica Galați
1971–1976 FCM Galați
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1976–1981 FCM Galați 90 (11)
1981–1989 Dinamo București 217 (41)
1989–1990 Victoria București 2 (1)
1990 Étoile Carouge 25 (14)
1991 Dinamo București 6 (1)
1991–1992 Unirea Focșani 22 (13)
Total 372 (91)
International career‡
Romania U21 3 (0)
Romania Olympic team 5 (0)
1984–1986 Romania 3 (1)
Managerial career
1991–1992 Unirea Focșani (player/assistant)
1992–1994 Unirea Focșani
1994–1995 Selena Bacău
1996–1997 Alki Larnaca
1997–1998 FC Brașov
1999–2000 Bihor Oradea
2000–2001 FCM Poiana Câmpina
2001–2002 FC Baia Mare
2002–2003 Oțelul Galați
2004–2005 Botoșani
2005–2006 Unirea Urziceni
2006–2007 Otopeni
2007–2008 FCM Bacău
2009 Dinamo București (assistant)
2009–2010 Dinamo II București
2010–2011 Concordia Chiajna
2011–2012 Botoșani
2014– Concordia Chiajna (Youth Center director)
2020–2021 Concordia Chiajna (caretaker)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16 March 2010
‡ National team caps and goals as of 16 March 2010

Costel Orac (born 22 January 1959) is a Romanian retired footballer and current coach.

Club career

Orac was born on 22 January 1959 in Galați, Romania and began playing junior-level football in 1970 at local club Politehnica, moving one year later to neighboring club FCM.[1][2] He made his Divizia A debut on 22 August 1976, playing for FCM Galați under coach Gheorghe Nuțescu in a 1–0 loss to Jiul Petroșani.[1][3] The team was relegated after his first season, but he stayed with the club, helping it get promoted back to the first league after two years.[1]

After playing five seasons in the first two leagues for FCM Galați, Orac was transferred to Dinamo București together with teammate Nicușor Vlad.[1][2][4] There, for several years he would form a successful offensive trio with Ionel Augustin and Gheorghe Mulțescu, together being called "AMO" by the fans, a nickname inspired by the initials of their family names.[5] In his first three seasons spent at Dinamo, he won the league title in all of them.[1][2][6] In the first one, he played 32 matches under coach Valentin Stănescu, scoring a personal record of nine goals.[1][6] In the following two seasons, he worked with coach Nicolae Dumitru who gave him 30 appearances in which he scored four goals in the first, and then 23 games with five goals netted in the second.[1][6] Orac also won three Cupa României with The Red Dogs, playing in all the finals.[1][2] In the 1982 final, he played the entire match in the 3–2 win over FC Baia Mare and in the one from 1984 he scored the decisive goal in the 2–1 victory against rivals Steaua București.[7] In the 1986 final, under the guidance of coach Mircea Lucescu he played the whole match in the 1–0 win over Steaua who had recently won the European Cup.[8] Orac appeared in 26 matches in which he scored five goals for Dinamo in European competitions, making notable performances, such as helping to eliminate Inter Milan by scoring the decisive goal of the 3–2 victory in the second leg in the 1981–82 UEFA Cup.[1][2][9][10][11] He also played seven games in the 1983–84 European Cup campaign, scoring one goal in a 3–0 victory in the first leg that helped them eliminate title holders Hamburg and his side's only goal in the 3–1 aggregate loss in the semi-finals where they were defeated by Liverpool.[1][2][9][10][12]

In 1989, Orac alongside teammates Dumitru Moraru and Alexandru Nicolae were transferred from Dinamo to Victoria București.[1][2][4][9][10] There, because of a conflict he had with coach Florin Halagian, he played only two league games in which he scored once and made one appearance in the 1989–90 UEFA Cup, where he gave an assist in a 1–1 draw against Valencia.[1][2][4][10] After the 1989 Romanian Revolution, Orac went to play in the Nationalliga B where he was recommended by coach Mircea Lucescu to Étoile Carouge's coach Radu Nunweiller.[1][2][9][10][13] In Switzerland, following an injury, a medical examination revealed he had back problems.[10] Subsequently, he returned to Dinamo for a short while, making his last appearance in Divizia A on 11 May 1991 in a 1–1 draw against Universitatea Craiova, totaling 308 matches with 54 goals in the competition.[1][2][9][10] Orac ended his career in 1992, after playing one season in Divizia B for Unirea Focșani.[1][2][10]

International career

Orac played three friendly games for Romania, making his debut on 29 July 1984 under coach Mircea Lucescu in a 4–2 win over China in which he scored one goal.[14][15] His following two games were draws: a 1–1 and a 0–0 against Iraq.[14]

International stats

Romania national team[14]
YearAppsGoals
198411
198500
198620
Total31

International goals

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Orac goal.[15]
List of international goals scored by Costel Orac
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.29 July 1984Stadionul 23 August, Iași, Romania China3–04–2Friendly

Managerial career

Orac started his coaching career while he was still an active player, being an assistant at Unirea Focșani in the 1991–92 Divizia B season.[10] He transitioned to a head coach role at Focșani starting with the following season.[10] In 1996, he had his only coaching experience outside Romania, for one and a half seasons in the Cypriot First Division at Alki Larnaca.[10] He spent most of his career coaching in Divizia B, having a total of 356 games, managing to win four promotions to the first league with Selena Bacău, Baia Mare, Unirea Urziceni and Concordia Chiajna.[2][9][10] Orac has a total of 73 matches managed in Divizia A and in 2009 he was Dario Bonetti's assistant at Dinamo București for a few months.[2][9][10]

Personal life

His nephew, Daniel Orac, was also a footballer.[16]

Honours

Player

FCM Galați

Dinamo București

Manager

Selena Bacău

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Costel Orac at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "EXCLUSIV Costel Orac iese la atac, într-un interviu-eveniment: "Lucescu mi-a răpit pe nedrept participarea la Euro 84"" [EXCLUSIVE Costel Orac goes on the attack, in an event-interview: "Lucescu unjustly kidnapped my participation at Euro 84"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  3. ↑ "FCM Galați vs Jiul Petrosani 0-1". Labtof. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 "Costel Orac, dialog deschis cu Ioanițoaia despre Dinamo, blaturi și problemele de sănătate: "Am făcut infarct cu complicații! Medicii m-au salvat, doar 5% mai supraviețuiesc"" [Costel Orac, open dialogue with Ioanițoaia about Dinamo, fixed games and health problems: "I had a heart attack with complications! The doctors saved me, only 5% survive "] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  5. ↑ "A murit Gigi Mulțescu, legenda lui Dinamo. Cine a fost "Smurdul": a marcat de la 40 metri cu "regina" Europei, a ucis catenaccio și a făcut istorie în Ștefan cel Mare" [Gigi Mulțescu, the legend of Dinamo, died. Who was "Smurdul": he scored from 40 meters with the "queen" of Europe, killed the catenaccio and made history in Stephen the Great] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 15 September 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
    "Fosta legendă din Ștefan cel Mare avertizează înainte de returul barajului cu Csikszereda: "Va fi un meci greu, trebuie să se mobilizeze"" [The former legend from Ștefan cel Mare warns before the second leg of the tie with Csikszereda: "It will be a difficult match, they must mobilize"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
    "Colegii lui Gigi Mulțescu, reacții cu lacrimi în ochi despre fostul jucător și antrenor al lui Dinamo. "Rămânem din ce în ce mai puțini". Cornel Dinu povestește momentul care i-a schimbat cariera regretatului tehnician. "Un mare miliardar mi-a cerut să-i fac cunoștință"" [Gigi Mulțescu's colleagues, reactions with tears in their eyes about the former player and coach of Dinamo. "We remain fewer and fewer". Cornel Dinu tells the story of the moment that changed the late technician's career. "A big billionaire asked me to meet him"] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 15 September 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  7. ↑ "Romanian Cup – Season 1981–1982". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
    "Romanian Cup – Season 1983–1984". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  8. ↑ "Romanian Cup – Season 1985–1986". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
    "Finale de nota 10 Dinamo – Steaua, 1986. Au băut dintr-o cupă găurită" [Grade 10 Finals Dinamo – Steaua, 1986. They drank from a cup with holes] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 14 May 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Costel Orac - o extremă de legendă" [Costel Orac - a legendary winger] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Interviu cu Orac, omul care a bătut Inter Milano și Hamburg: Lumea mă ia peste picior pe stradă din cauza situației de la Dinamo. Au greșit cu Bratu, iar politica de transferuri a fost dezastruoasă!" [Interview with Orac, the man who beat Inter Milan and Hamburg: People take me by surprise on the street because of the situation at Dinamo. They were wrong with Bratu, and the transfer policy was disastrous!] (in Romanian). Pariurix.ro. 26 December 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  11. ↑ "29 de ani de la retragerea lui Orac. "Dădeam gol cu Inter, gol cu Hamburg, gol cu Liverpool, dar la națională n-aveam loc!"" [29 years since Orac's retirement. "I scored with Inter, with Hamburg, with Liverpool, but I didn't have a place in the national team!"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 11 May 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
    "Când Dinamo elimina marele Inter – Cupa UEFA, turul II, 4 noiembrie 1981" [When Dinamo eliminated the great Inter – UEFA Cup, round II, 4 November 1981] (in Romanian). Tikitaka.ro. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  12. ↑ "Dinamo marchează 30 de ani de la semifinala cu Liverpool din Cupa Campionilor" [Dinamo marks 30 years since the semi-final with Liverpool in the Champions Cup] (in Romanian). Digisport.ro. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
    "Costel Orac. Champions League 1983/1984". WorldFootball. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  13. ↑ "Trei decenii de la Marele Exod" [Three decades since the Great Exodus] (in Romanian). Wesport.ro. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  14. 1 2 3 "Costel Orac". European Football. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  15. 1 2 "Romania 4-2 China". European Football. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  16. ↑ "Becali negociaza Grozav cu Walter!" [Becali negotiates for Grozav with Walter] (in Romanian). National.ro. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
    "Atacantul Daniel Orac nu mai dă Universitatea Craiova pe Steaua București" [The striker Daniel Orac no longer gives Universitatea Craiova for Steaua Bucharest] (in Romanian). Amosnews.ro. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
    "Nepotu' ORAC in razboi cu CSMS Iasi, I-a reclamat pe ieseni la FRF" [The nephew ORAC is in war with CSMS Iasi, he made a claim against them at FRF] (in Romanian). Botosaneni.ro. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.