# Viorel Moldovan

Viorel Dinu Moldovan (born 8 July 1972) is a Romanian football manager and former player, currently the president of Liga I club Rapid București.
A former striker, Moldovan most successful years of his career were playing for Neuchâtel Xamax and Grasshoppers between 1996 and 1998 in Switzerland (he was the Nationalliga A top scorer in 1996 and 1997), for Fenerbahçe between 1998 and 2000 and for Nantes between 2000 and 2004. He was a key player when Nantes won the French French Division 1 in 2001. He represented Romania in two editions of the World Cup, those held in the United States in 1994 and France in 1998, as well as two European Championships, in 1996 and 2000.

## Club career

Moldovan was born in Bistrița.
At club level, Moldovan played for Gloria Bistrița (1990–93), Dinamo București (1993–95), Neuchâtel Xamax (1995–96), Grasshoppers (1996–97), Coventry City (1998), Fenerbahçe (1998–2000), Nantes (2000–04), Servette (2004), FCU Politehnica Timișoara (2005), and Rapid București (2006–2007).
The most successful years of his career were playing for Neuchâtel Xamax and Grasshoppers between 1996 and 1998 in Switzerland (he was the Swiss Super League top scorer in 1996 and 1997), for Fenerbahçe between 1998 and 2000 and for Nantes between 2000 and 2004. He was a key player when Nantes won the French French Division 1 in 2001. During his brief spell in England with Coventry City he scored twice, once in the FA Cup, scoring the winner against local rivals Aston Villa, and once in the league against Crystal Palace, also having a goal disallowed in the same game

## International career

Moldovan was capped 70 times for Romania, scoring 25 goals. He represented his country at Euro 96, the 1998 FIFA World Cup, during which he scored goals against England and Tunisia in the first round, and Euro 2000.

## Coaching career

Moldovan worked as the sporting director of Unirea Urziceni and after that started his coaching career at FC Vaslui. On 26 May 2009, the coach quit FC Vaslui after just seven months for failing to guide the team to European qualification. The squad was then managed by coaching assistant Cristian Dulca on a temporary basis until a new coach was hired. On 28 July 2009, the Italian coach Nicolò Napoli quit FC Brașov and was replaced by Moldovan, who signed a two-year deal.

## Career statistics
### International stats

Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Romania | 1993 | 1 | 0 |
| Romania | 1994 | 3 | 0 |
| Romania | 1995 | 1 | 0 |
| Romania | 1996 | 9 | 4 |
| Romania | 1997 | 7 | 5 |
| Romania | 1998 | 13 | 8 |
| Romania | 1999 | 10 | 2 |
| Romania | 2000 | 11 | 2 |
| Romania | 2001 | 8 | 2 |
| Romania | 2002 | 4 | 2 |
| Romania | 2003 | 1 | 0 |
| Romania | 2004 | 0 | 0 |
| Romania | 2005 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 70 | 25 |
    Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Moldovan goal.
List of international goals scored by Viorel Moldovan :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 24 April 1996 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania | Georgia | 1–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 24 April 1996 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania | Georgia | 2–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 24 April 1996 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania | Georgia | 3–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 31 August 1996 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania | Lithuania | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5 | 29 March 1997 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania | Liechtenstein | 1–0 | 8–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 2 April 1997 | Žalgiris Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania | Lithuania | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7 | 20 August 1997 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania | North Macedonia | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 8 | 20 August 1997 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania | North Macedonia | 3–1 | 4–2 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 9 | 6 September 1997 | Sportplatz, Eschen, Liechtenstein | Liechtenstein | 1–0 | 8–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 10 | 8 April 1998 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania | Greece | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 11 | 22 April 1998 | King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium | Belgium | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 12 | 6 June 1998 | Stadionul Ilie Oană, Ploiești, Romania | Moldova | 4–0 | 5–1 | Friendly |
| 13 | 22 June 1998 | Stadium Municipal, Toulouse, France | England | 1–0 | 2–1 | World Cup 1998 Group G |
| 14 | 26 June 1998 | Stade de France, Saint Denis, France | Tunisia | 1–1 | 1–1 | World Cup 1998 Group G |
| 15 | 2 September 1998 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania | Liechtenstein | 6–0 | 7–0 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 16 | 5 September 1998 | Ta' Qali Stadium, Attard, Malta | Germany | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 17 | 14 October 1998 | Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary | Hungary | 1–0 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 18 | 4 September 1999 | Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia | Slovakia | 4–1 | 5–1 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 19 | 4 September 1999 | Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia | Slovakia | 5–1 | 5–1 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 20 | 27 May 2000 | Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands | Netherlands | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 21 | 12 June 2000 | Stade de Sclessin, Liège, Belgium | Germany | 1–0 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 2000 |
| 22 | 6 June 2001 | S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium, Kaunas, Lithuania | Lithuania | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 23 | 15 August 2001 | Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia | Slovenia | 2–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 24 | 16 October 2002 | Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg | Luxembourg | 1–0 | 7–0 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |
| 25 | 16 October 2002 | Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg | Luxembourg | 2–0 | 7–0 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |

## Honours
### Player

Gloria Bistrița
* Divizia B: 1989–90
Grasshoppers
* Nationalliga A: 1997–98
Nantes
* French Division 1: 2000–01
* Coupe de la Ligue runner-up: 2003–04
* Trophée des Champions: 2001
Rapid București
* Cupa României: 2005–06, 2006–07
* Supercupa României runner-up: 2006
Individual
* Nationalliga A top scorer: 1995–96 (joint with Petar Aleksandrov), 1996–97
* Swiss Foreign Footballer of the Year: 1995–96, 1996–97

### Coach

Chindia Târgoviște
* Liga II: 2018–19