# Constantin Radu (footballer)

Constantin Radu (5 January 1945 – 16 May 2020) was a Romanian football forward.

## Club career

Constantin Radu also known as "Tache" or "Burtilă" was born on 5 January 1945 in Pitești, Romania and he started to play junior level football at local club, Argeș, after his talent was noticed by coach Leonte Ianovschi. He started playing senior level football for Argeș in 1964, aged 18 when he made his Divizia A debut on 15 November in a 1–1 with Petrolul Ploiești. At the end of his first season, the team reached the 1965 Cupa României final, however coach Virgil Mărdărescu did not use him in the eventual 2–1 loss in front of Știința Cluj. He started playing in European competitions during the 1966–67 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, appearing in six matches as they eliminated Sevilla and Toulouse, Radu scoring once against the first and twice against the second, the campaign ending in the third round as they were defeated with 1–0 on aggregate by Dinamo Zagreb who eventually won the competition. In the 1971–72 season he formed a successful offensive trio with Nicolae Dobrin and Radu Jercan which helped Argeș win the first title in its history, Radu scoring nine goals in the 27 appearances given to him by coaches Titus Ozon and Florin Halagian. He would say about this performance:"I will never forget the championship in which I won the first championship title with FC Argeș. Out of 30 matches, I played 27 and scored nine goals." Afterwards he played four games in the 1972–73 European Cup, eliminating Aris Bonnevoie in the first round against whom he scored two goals, then in the following one they won a home game with 2–1 against Real Madrid but lost the second leg with 3–1 in which he scored his side's goal. Radu's last Divizia A appearance took place on 9 April 1975 in a 1–0 away loss in front of Jiul Petroșani, having a total of 246 matches with 63 goals scored in the competition, also playing a total of 16 games with six goals scored in European competitions, including 10 games with three goals in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. He was forced to retire at age 32 because he suffered a hard injury in a friendly with Steagul Roșu Brașov.
Radu tried a comeback, playing for Muscelul Câmpulung where coach was his former Argeș teammate, Ion Barbu and he was colleague with other former Argeș teammates like Radu Jercan, Vasile Stan and Marian Popescu, managing to promote the team from the third league to the second where he ended his career in 1978.

## International career

Radu played three friendly games at international level for Romania, making his debut on 7 December 1966 when coach Ilie Oană sent him on the field in the 62nd minute in order to replace Mircea Lucescu in a 2–1 away victory against Israel. His following game was a 2–1 away victory against Greece and his last game played for the national team was a 4–2 away win against Morocco in which he scored one goal.

### International goals

    Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first. "Score" column indicates the score after each Constantin Radu goal.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1. | 30 January 1972 | Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca, Morocco | Morocco | 2–0 | 4–2 | Friendly |

## Coaching career

After he ended his playing career, Radu coached teams in the Romanian lower leagues such as Unirea Drăgășani and also worked at the youth center of Argeș Pitești.

## Death

Radu died on 16 May 2020 at age 75.

## Honours

Argeș Pitești
* Divizia A: 1971–72
* Cupa României runner-up: 1964–65
Muscelul Câmpulung
* Divizia C: 1976–77