Spiridon Niculescu

Spiridon Niculescu
Niculescu with Dinamo București in 1968
Personal information
Date of birth (1943-04-08) 8 April 1943[1]
Place of birth Vidra, Romania[1]
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position 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)
International career
1966 Romania U23 3 (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]

Club career

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 under coach Ștefan Vasile in a 2–1 home victory against Știința Cluj.[1][4] 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][5]

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][6][7][8] 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][9] 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][10]

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][11][12]

On 29 September 1975, Niculescu made his last Divizia A appearance in a 2–0 away loss to Politehnica Iași, totaling 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]

International career

In 1966, Niculescu played three games for Romania's under-23 team.[13]

Managerial career

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.[14] 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.[15][16]

Honours

Argeș Pitești

Dinamo București

Notes

  1. ↑ The statistics for the 1962–63 Divizia B are unavailable.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Spiridon Niculescu at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  2. ↑ Spiridon Niculescu at WorldFootball.net
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Un portar din anii 60, Spiridon Niculescu" [A goalkeeper from the 60s, Spiridon Niculescu] (in Romanian). RomanianSoccer.ro. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  4. ↑ "FC Arges vs Universitatea Cluj 2-1". Labtof. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Romanian Cup - 1964-1965". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Romanian Cup - 1967-1968". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  7. ↑ "Povestea unei fabuloase finale de Cupă" [The story of a fabulous cup final] (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 16 June 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  8. ↑ "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 27 August 2024.
  9. ↑ "Spiridon Niculescu. Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1968/1969". WorldFootball. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  10. ↑ "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  11. ↑ "FC Argeș – Fenerbahce 1-1 (Cupa UEFA – 3 octombrie 1973)" [FC Argeș – Fenerbahce 1-1 (Cupa UEFA – 3 October 1973)] (in Romanian). Tikitaka.ro. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  12. ↑ "Spiridon Niculescu. UEFA Cup 1973/1974". WorldFootball. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  13. ↑ "Spiridon Niculescu profile". 11v11. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "Cronica sentimentală. Legendele Hunedaorei: Primul fotbalist campion național!" [The sentimental story. Legends of Hunedoara: The first footballer national champion!] (in Romanian). Zhd.ro. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  15. ↑ "Spiridon Niculescu". Labtof.ro. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  16. ↑ "Divizia A - 1989-1990". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
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