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Ilie Balaci (; 13 September 1956 – 21 October 2018) was a Romanian football player and manager.
A midfielder, he spent 12 of his 15 years as a professional with Universitatea Craiova, appearing in more than 300 official games with the club and winning seven major titles. Nicknamed Minunea blondă ("the Blonde Wonder"), Balaci is considered one of the greatest Romanian footballers of all time.
Balaci played 35 games and scored seven goals for "U" Craiova in European competitions. In the second round of the 1979–80 UEFA Cup he netted a goal in the 4–0 aggregate win over Leeds United, thus Universitatea became the first Romanian club that eliminated a team from England in European competitions.
In December 1982, he signed a pre-contract with Italian side AC Milan, but the transfer did not materialize because Romania's communist regime did not allow it. On 21 February 1984 in a FC Baia Mare – "U" Craiova league match, Baia Mare's defender Grigore Arezanov gave a hard tackle with both feet on Balaci's leg which caused him an injury from which he never completely recovered.
In the middle of the 1984–85 season, Balaci transferred from Universitatea Craiova to Olt Scornicești, where he spent one and a half seasons with 30 Divizia A appearances in which he scored seven goals. Then, he switched teams again, moving in the 1986–87 season to Dinamo București. He spent two seasons at Dinamo, under the leadership of Mircea Lucescu, appearing in 32 Divizia A games in which he scored one goal, and also making three appearances in European competitions. However, Balaci did not win any major trophies whilst he was playing for Dinamo. He eventually ended his career, after spending two years as a player-coach in the Liga II at Pandurii Târgu Jiu and Drobeta Turnu-Severin respectively. During his whole career, Balaci played 347 Divizia A matches in which he scored 84 goals and he was the Romanian Footballer of the Year in 1981 and 1982.
For helping his country qualify to Euro 1984, Balaci was decorated by President of Romania Traian Băsescu on 25 March 2008 with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" – (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III.
He took charge of Tunisia's Club Africain and Moroccan club Olympique Casablanca in the early 1990s guiding them to their first African Champions League, the league title and the Tunis Cup. He then managed UAE, Qatari and Saudi Arabian clubs Al Shabab, Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ain and Al Sadd winning the championship and domestic cup with each side. At the beginning of the 1998–99 Divizia A season, Balaci was put in charge of Universitatea Craiova but after a 1–0 loss against Oțelul Galați in the 7th round, he lost his temper and threw a pair of football shoes in referees Aron Huzu's head for which he received a one year suspension, after which he decided to resign. In the second half of the 2000–01 Divizia A season, Balaci returned to Universitatea Craiova but his second spell lasted only a month. In June 2003, he was appointed manager of Al Ahli until January 2005, where he won the UAE President's Cup. He then went on to join Qatari side Al-Arabi in the 2005–06 season, before moving to the United Arab Emirates club Al Shabab for a second spell, but without success. In August 2007, Balaci was hired as general manager of Universitatea Craiova whom he also coached in two periods, and remained there for two seasons. On 22 July 2009, Balaci was named head coach of Kuwait club Kazma. He had an impressive start with the Kuwaiti side at the 2010 AFC Cup.
On 11 July 2011, he returned to Morocco signing for Raja Casablanca but was sacked following a financial dispute with the club in September after just two months. Raja appointed Bertrand Marchand as his replacement.
On 4 June 2013, Balaci signed a contract with newly promoted Saudi Premier League side Al-Nahda saving the club from relegation. In September 2013, he was sacked as coach due to a poor start to the season with only one point from the first four matches.
In April 2016, he took over the head coach position at Omdurman-based club Al-Hilal. Balaci was sacked in September 2016 after the team clinched the title with three games left to play. Balaci thought that the club's owners did not want the title win associated with his name.
In July 2017, Balaci was unveiled as the new manager of Omani side Suwaiq Club. Although the team was assured of top of the championship with 38 points from 15 games Balaci decided to terminate his contract in March 2018 with 12 games left on the season.
Balaci died on 21 October 2018, aged 62, while at home in Craiova with his mother. The cause of death was myocardial infarction.
Afterwards, they reached the quarter-finals in the 1981–82 European Cup by eliminating Olympiacos and Kjøbenhavns Boldklub, Balaci scored once against the latter, being eliminated with 3–1 on aggregate by Bayern Munich. He was an integral part of the team that reached the 1982–83 UEFA Cup semi-finals, appearing in seven matches in the campaign, scoring three goals against Shamrock Rovers, ACF Fiorentina and one from a free kick in the second leg of the semi-final against Benfica, as the team got eliminated after 1–1 on aggregate on the away goal rule.
International career
Balaci had a total of 65 matches and eight goals scored at international level for Romania, making his debut on 23 March 1974 at the age of 17 under coach Valentin Stănescu in a friendly against France that ended in a 1–0 loss.
He played three games in the Euro 1976 qualifiers and scored his first goal for the national team at age 20 in a friendly that ended with a 3–2 loss to Czechoslovakia. He played one game in the 1973–76 Balkan Cup, five games in which he scored one goal in the 1977–80 Balkan Cup, three in the 1978 World Cup qualifiers, two in the Euro 1980 qualifiers and seven games with one goal netted in the 1982 World Cup qualifiers.
He also became captain of the national team during the successful Euro 1984 qualifiers where he played six matches, including a praised performance in Romania's 1–0 victory against World Cup holders, Italy in which he gave the assist to László Bölöni's goal, exposed his dribbling abilities and had a good performance against his direct opponent, Claudio Gentile.
However, coach Mircea Lucescu could not select him in the squad for the final tournament due to the injury he suffered in a Liga I match from Grigore Arezanov. He played one match in the 1986 World Cup qualifiers and made his last appearance for the national team on 10 September 1986 in a 4–0 victory against Austria in the Euro 1988 qualifiers.
Managerial career
After retiring as a footballer, Balaci went on to coach lower league sides Pandurii Târgu Jiu and Drobeta-Turnu Severin. In 1991, he coached clubs in North Africa and the Arab world, he became one of the most successful managers there having won over 22 major trophies domestic and international.
Personal life and death
Balaci said that he was born on 8 September 1956 but his birth date was declared by his relatives to the People's Council only on 13 September 1956. He had two daughters; the older one Lorena was married to footballer Eugen Trică and is divorced since 2015, Eugen Trică, sprijinul Lorenei, la înmormântarea lui Ilie Balaci. Cei doi au divorţat de trei ani!, spynews.ro, 23 October 2018 and the younger one, Liana Ungur is a professional tennis player and she is married to Adrian Ungur.
Playing statistics
+ List of international goals scored by Ilie Balaci Friendly 1977–80 Balkan Cup Friendly Friendly 1982 World Cup qualifiers Friendly Friendly Friendly
Managerial overview
CAF Champions League, Afro-Asian Club Championship, Tunisian League, Tunisia Cup Arab Cup Winners' Cup, Moroccan Cup Arab Cup Winners' Cup, Botola UAE Pro-League UAE President's Cup Gulf Club Champions Cup Gulf Club Champions Cup, Saudi Premier League UAE President's Cup UAE Pro-League Arab Cup Winners' Cup, Asian Super Cup Arab Champions League, Emir of Qatar Cup Saudi Crown Prince Cup UAE President's Cup Sudan Premier League
Honours
Player
Universitatea Craiova
Romania
Individual
External links
Categories: 1956 Births, 2018 Deaths, Footballers From Dolj County, Romanian Men's Footballers, Men's Association Football Midfielders, Romania Men's International Footballers, Liga I Players, Liga Ii Players, Cs Universitatea Craiova Players, Fc Olt Scornicești Players, Fc Dinamo București Players, Cs Pandurii Târgu Jiu Players, Fc Drobeta-turnu Severin Players, Romanian Football Managers, Cs Pandurii Târgu Jiu Managers, Club Africain Football Managers, Al Shabab Al Arabi Club Managers, Al-nassr Fc Managers, Al Hilal Sfc Managers, Fc U Craiova 1948 Managers, Al Ain Fc Managers, Al Sadd Sc Managers, Al-arabi Sc Managers, Kazma Sc Managers, Raja Ca Managers, Al-nahda Club Managers, Al Hilal Club Managers, Saudi Pro League Managers, Uae Pro League Managers, Qatar Stars League Managers, Kuwait Premier League Managers, Oman Professional League Managers, Romanian Expatriate Football Managers, Romanian Expatriate Sportspeople In Kuwait, Expatriate Football Managers In Kuwait, Romanian Expatriate Sportspeople In Morocco, Expatriate Football Managers In Morocco, Romanian Expatriate Sportspeople In Oman, Expatriate Football Managers In Oman, Romanian Expatriate Sportspeople In Qatar, Expatriate Football Managers In Qatar, Romanian Expatriate Sportspeople In Saudi Arabia, Expatriate Football Managers In Saudi Arabia, Romanian Expatriate Sportspeople In Sudan, Expatriate Football Managers In Sudan, Romanian Expatriate Sportspeople In Tunisia, Expatriate Football Managers In Tunisia, Romanian Expatriate Sportspeople In The United Arab Emirates, Expatriate Football Managers In The United Arab Emirates, Botola Managers, 20th-century Romanian Sportsmen
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