# Viorel Turcu

Viorel Turcu (9 August 1960 – 29 November 2020) was a Romanian footballer who played as a forward.

## Club career

Viorel Turcu was born on 9 August 1960 in Slobozia, Argeș, Romania, starting to play junior level football for Argeș Pitești. He started to play senior level football at Argeș in 1978, making his Divizia A debut on 11 June in a 2–1 away loss with Bihor Oradea in which he entered the field in the 60th minute and scored his side's goal two minutes later after an assist from Nicolae Dobrin. In the 1978–79 season he helped the club win the title, coach Florin Halagian using him in only seven games as he had to compete in the offence with players like Dobrin, Marin Radu and Doru Nicolae. In the following season they passed AEK Athens in the first round of the 1979–80 European Cup, the team being eliminated in the following one by title holders and eventual winners, Nottingham Forest. He scored his only goal in European competitions in a 4–0 win over APOEL Nicosia from the 1981–82 UEFA Cup season.
In the middle of the 1982–83 season, Turcu left Argeș to go play for one year at Steaua București. In the middle of the following season he arrived at Dinamo București, helping the team win The Double at the end of it, scoring two goals in the 11 league matches coach Nicolae Dumitru used him, however he did play in the 2–1 win from the Cupa României final over his former team, Steaua. He also played with The Red Dogs in the 1983–84 European Cup campaign, eliminating Dinamo Minsk in the quarter-finals, reaching the semi-finals where they were defeated by Liverpool. Afterwards, Turcu went for two years at Olt Scornicești, then returned for a second spell at Steaua but after playing only five games in the first half of the 1986–87 season he returned to Scornicești, however Steaua managed to win The Double without him. Turcu made his last Divizia A appearance on 20 June 1989 in a 2–1 home loss in front of Victoria București, having a total of 252 matches with 42 goals scored in the competition, also playing a total of 11 games with one goal in European competitions.
In the following years he played for several clubs, firstly in Divizia B at UTA Arad, then moving to Nistrul Chișinău for the 1991 Soviet First League, afterwards spending one season at Nemzeti Bajnokság II side, Szarvasi Vasas. From 1992 until 1996 he came back for a third spell at Olt Scornicești, being a player-coach in the Romanian lower leagues.
After he ended his playing career, Turcu talked about his achievements, praising former Argeș teammate, Nicolae Dobrin:"I've always said it and I'm happy to say it now. I'm proud to have carried his boots and bag. Nowadays, that doesn't happen anymore, to recognize a player by value. I carried his bag out of respect and never bothered to do so. I am also proud to have played alongside Dobrin but also with Balaci at FC Olt and Hagi at Steaua!"

## International career

In 1982, Viorel Turcu played in seven friendly matches at international level for Romania, making his debut on 24 March under coach Mircea Lucescu in a 4–1 loss against Belgium. He scored his only goal in a 4–0 victory against Japan, a team against which he also played his last game for the national team, a 3–1 victory.

### International goals

    Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first. "Score" column indicates the score after each Viorel Turcu goal.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1. | 15 July 1982 | Stadionul Areni, Suceava, Romania | Japan | 2–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |

## Managerial career

In 1992, Viorel Turcu started coaching at Olt Scornicești, the spell lasting until 1996, working only for teams in the Romanian lower leagues like Cimentul Fieni, Fulgerul Bragadiru or Argeșul Mihăilești.

## Death

In his later life Turcu had his legs amputated because he suffered from diabetes, dying on 29 November 2020 at age 60 after suffering a heart attack in his sleep.

## Honours

Argeș Pitești
* Divizia A: 1978–79
Dinamo București
* Divizia A: 1983–84
* Cupa României: 1983–84
Steaua București
* Divizia A: 1986–87
* Cupa României: 1986–87