László Bölöni

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The native form of this personal name is Bölöni László. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

László Bölöni
Laszlo Boloni.jpg
Bölöni with PAOK in 2011
Personal information
Full name László Bölöni
Date of birth (1953-03-11) 11 March 1953 (age 68)
Place of birth Târgu Mureș, Romania
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1967–1970 Chimica Târnăveni
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1970–1984 ASA Târgu Mureș 406 (64)
1984–1987 Steaua București 97 (24)
1987–1988 Racing Jet Wavre 16 (0)
1988–1989 Créteil 11 (2)
1989–1992 Orléans 77 (4)
Total 607 (94)
National team
1975–1988[1] Romania 102 (23)
Teams managed
1994–2000 Nancy
2000–2001 Romania
2001–2003 Sporting CP
2003–2006 Rennes
2006–2007 Monaco
2007–2008 Al-Jazeera
2008–2010 Standard Liège
2010–2011 Al-Wahda
2011 Lens
2011–2012 PAOK
2012–2015 Al Khor
2015 Al-Ittihad
2017–2020 Antwerp
2020 Gent
2020–2021 Panathinaikos
Honours
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

László Bölöni (Romanian: Ladislau Bölöni; born 11 March 1953) is a Romanian former footballer and current manager. He was last in charge of Greek side Panathinaikos.

Bölöni was an integral part of the Steaua București team that won the European Cup in 1986, the only Romanian team—and along with Red Star Belgrade one of two Eastern European sides—to have achieved the honour. He was twice named Romanian Footballer of the Year and took part in 484 Divizia A games, the fourth-most appearances in the history of the competition. Internationally, Bölöni earned 102 caps with the national team, which ranks him fifth in the nation's all-time list, and scored 23 goals (sixth highest all-time mark). He is thus considered one of the best Romanian footballers in history.

Following his retirement as a player he went on to coach clubs in France, Portugal, the Arabian Peninsula, Belgium and Greece. Bölöni was also at the helm of the Romania national team between 2000 and 2001. In terms of trophies won, his most successful stints were at Sporting CP and Standard Liège with three domestic honours each.

Playing career[]

Club[]

Bölöni was born in Târgu Mureș, Romania, and is the son of parents of Hungarian heritage from Târnăveni. His first team was Chimica Târnăveni, and in 1970 he moved to ASA Târgu Mureș. He stayed there until 1984, when he joined Steaua București, where he was part of the team which won the European Champions Cup in 1986 (where he missed his penalty in the shootout in the final) and the European Super Cup the following year.[2]

Bölöni remained at Steaua until 1987. In 1988, aged 35, Bölöni left the country to play in Belgium at Racing Jet Bruxelles and then in France at US Créteil. He retired from professional football in 1992. On 25 March 2008 he was decorated by the president of Romania, Traian Băsescu with Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" — (The Order "The Sportive Merit") class II for his part in winning the 1986 European Cup Final.[3][4]

International[]

Bölöni won the Universiade gold medal with Romania's students football team in the 1974 edition that was held in France, playing alongside Gheorghe Mulțescu, Dan Păltinișanu, Romulus Chihaia and Paul Cazan.[5]

Playing for the Romanian national team in 1983, Bölöni scored one of his most vital goals ever, in the 1–0 win against Italy in a Euro 84 qualification match which eventually proved invaluable to the country's qualification for the tournament. At the finals themselves in France, he played in all three of Romania's games, and scored the equaliser in the 1–1 draw with Spain in Saint-Etienne. In total, Bölöni won 102 caps for Romania and scored 23 goals[1] (108/25 including Olympic games qualification).[6]

Managerial career[]

Bölöni at the Stadionul Steaua in 1986, the year he won the European Cup.

As a football coach, Bölöni started with French club AS Nancy-Lorraine, where he was head coach for several years. He promoted with the team in Ligue 1. In 2000, he was appointed as national team coach, but in the summer of 2001 decided to leave the job.

Then he joined Portugal's club Sporting Clube de Portugal, where he won both the Portuguese championship and cup in his first year. He was fired at the end of the next season due to mediocre results. His legacy at Sporting was the introduction of youth team players such as Ricardo Quaresma, Hugo Viana and Cristiano Ronaldo into the senior's team starting lineup.

In 2003, he returned to France as manager of Stade Rennais; in 2005, he managed the team to their best position in history (4th in Ligue 1), and a subsequent UEFA Cup qualification.

In May 2006, Bölöni signed a two-year contract with AS Monaco but was fired on 23 October for lack of results (Monaco being 19th out of 20 in the league by that date).

On 9 June 2008, Belgian team Standard Liège appointed Bölöni as their new manager, as he succeeded Michel Preud'homme, who led the club to their first Belgian First Division title in 25 years (season 2007–2008). On 24 May 2009, he won the Belgian First Division title in his first season at Standard (season 2008–2009) after playing the championship play-off against Anderlecht. On 10 February 2010, Bölöni resigned from his coaching position at Standard Liege.[7]

On 29 May 2010, it was officially announced that Bölöni signed a contract with United Arab Emirates side Al-Wahda.[8] On 2 September 2010, Al-Wahda sacked Bölöni, despite the team's 3–1 win over Ittihad Kalba.[9]

On 2 January 2011, he was hired by RC Lens, on a one-year contract, but he couldn't save the team from relegation.[10] Bölöni was immediately released in June, and signed a two-year contract with PAOK on 8 June 2011, following a short negotiation period.[11]

PAOK[]

Bölöni's tenure at PAOK started with two wins against Vålerenga Fotball for the Third Qualifying Round of 2011–12 UEFA Europa League, that brought them against Karpaty Lviv for the Play-off round. PAOK won the first leg at home and drew the second leg, qualifying for the group stage. In a tough group that consisted of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., FC Rubin Kazan and Shamrock Rovers F.C., Bölöni's PAOK managed to qualify undefeated at the first place, winning the game at White Hart Lane on the process, a remarkable feat considering that no Greek team had won at English soil since 1999 when PAOK defeated Arsenal at Highbury. For the round of 32, PAOK faced Udinese Calcio, and although a 0–0 draw at the first game in Italy spread optimism, a weakened PAOK side was eliminated off the competition when the home leg ended with a 0–3 defeat. All and all, the European presence was positive despite the abrupt end, as PAOK managed 6 wins out of 12 games, with impressive performances and a milestone win against Tottenham.

At the home front, PAOK had a turbulent season, as the team managed to finish 3rd in regular season, with 5th being its final position after Play-off. During the season, PAOK won the away games against AEK Athens F.C. and Panathinaikos F.C., marking the end of a winless, 10-year-old tradition against those teams when playing away from home. Team's form was inconsistent though, and the departure – due to the club's financial difficulties – of two of the most significant players of the team, Vieirinha and Pablo Contreras didn't help matters. Bölöni had to improvise to cover for the roster's lack of depth, with mixed results. Although the season was not deemed successful, fans didn't put the blame on Bölöni, who had won their hearts with his personality, his results against some major opponents and the team's style of play when on good form.

On 25 May 2012 PAOK released Bölöni after a one-year cooperation.

Coaching in the Middle East[]

Bölöni was hired by Qatari club Al Khor on 21 June 2012.[12] On 26 January 2013, in a league match against Qatar SC, he was involved in a controversial incident. He threw a water bottle at a ball boy behind the goal after the boy took the ball, which went out of play, off the pitch. The bottle did not hit the boy, however, it was spotted by the match observer, Ali Al-Naimi, who relayed the information to a referee's assistant who eventually informed the referee, Fahad Jaber, who decided to send him off. Instead of going directly to the stands, he chose to illegally stay within the checkpoint. Security officers attempted to guide him off, but he retorted by using foul language and pushing the police officers. As a result, a police report was filed against him. He was later fined 75,000 Qatari riyals by the QFA and banned for 5 matches.[13]

In August 2013, Croatian media speculated that Bölöni might be named the new head coach of Dinamo Zagreb, following the sacking of team's former head coach, Krunoslav Jurčić. Bölöni has previously been linked with Hajduk Split, Dinamo Zagreb's fierce rival, as well.[14]

On 21 July 2015, Saudi club Al-Ittihad announced Bölöni as their new coach.

Royal Antwerp[]

On 16 June 2017, Bölöni was announced as the new manager of Belgian club Royal Antwerp.[15] In his first season at the club, he finished 8th place in the regular season, and 3rd place in the Europa League play-off group to keep the team safe from relegation.

In his second season, Antwerp was the surprise package of the championship, finishing the regular season on 6th place, and qualifying for the championship play-offs for the first time. Antwerp recorded important victories over Genk (1–0), Anderlecht (2–1), Gent (2–1), Standard Liège (2–1), as well as a blank draw with Club Brugge in the first half of the play-off, and climbed on the 3rd place, but later losses to these teams meant Antwerp finished 4th, thus going for the Europa League play-offs final. In the final, Antwerp beat Charleroi 3–2 after coming back from 0 to 2 down in the first minutes. Thus, Antwerp secured qualification in the third qualifying round of UEFA Europa League after 26 years of absence from Europe.

After surprisingly knocking out Viktoria Plzeň on away goals in the third round, Antwerp stopped short of the group stages as they were subsequently knocked out by AZ in the play-offs. Internally, Bölöni led the team to another 4th-place finish in the league, as well as the Belgian cup final in the 2019–20 season, their first since 1992. However, the competition was postponed to 1 August due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Bölöni's contract subsequently expired on 20 May, leading his successor Ivan Leko to manage the team for the final.

Gent[]

On 20 August 2020, Belgian League runners-up K.A.A. Gent announced Bölöni as their new head coach.[16] In September, he was sacked after only three games in charge.[17]

Panathinaikos[]

On 19 October 2020, Bölöni was announced as the new head coach for Greek club Panathinaikos.[18] He drew his first game 1–1 against Volos in the Super League.[19] On May 10, 2021, Boloni was, for the second time this season, sacked, this time by the Greens after failing to guide them to a European qualification spot;[20] he was replaced by Ivan Jovanović on 24 May.[21]

Personal life[]

When Bölöni was fifteen, his father died of a stroke while watching him play from the stands. The death of the parent strongly affected him, but Bölöni was persuaded by his mother in continuing to practise football. She moved from their native city Târnăveni to Budapest sometime later in her life. During his time at Steaua București, Bölöni also professed as a dentist for six years; his daughter followed in his footsteps and studied implantology in France.

Regarding his ethnicity, Bölöni stated it is not a matter of preference, but feels more like a Hungarian person in spite of being born in, playing for and coaching Romania.[22] In 2021, he was hired by the Nemzeti Sport daily to analyze Hungary's matches at the UEFA Euro 2020,[23] and in the same year revealed his support of the Székely Land football team.[24]

Career statistics[]

Club[]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[25]
Club Season League Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
ASA Târgu Mureș 1970–71 Divizia B 19 2 0 0 0 0 19 2
1971–72 Divizia A 27 1 0 0 0 0 27 1
1972–73 26 0 0 0 0 0 26 0
1973–74 31 3 0 0 0 0 31 3
1974–75 24 1 0 0 0 0 24 1
1975–76 33 4 2[a] 0 0 0 35 4
1976–77 33 11 2[b] 0 0 0 35 11
1977–78 31 3 2[c] 0 0 0 33 3
1978–79 32 3 0 0 0 0 32 3
1979–80 26 6 0 0 0 0 26 6
1980–81 31 6 0 0 0 0 31 6
1981–82 31 10 0 0 0 0 31 10
1982–83 32 7 0 0 0 0 32 7
1983–84 30 7 0 0 0 0 30 7
Total 406 64 6 0 0 0 412 64
Steaua București 1984–85 Divizia A 24 3 1[d] 0 0 0 25 3
1985–86 31 9 9[e] 1 0 0 40 10
1986–87 28 10 1[f] 1 1[g] 0 30 10
1987–88 14 2 4[h] 1 0 0 18 3
Total 97 24 15 3 1 0 113 27
Racing Jet Brussels 1987–88 Belgian Pro League 16 0 0 0 0 0 16 0
Créteil 1988–89 Ligue 2 11 2 0 0 0 0 11 2
Orléans 1989–90 Ligue 2 32 4 0 0 0 0 32 4
1990–91 27 0 0 0 0 0 27 0
1991–92 18 0 0 0 0 0 18 0
Total 77 4 0 0 0 0 77 4
Career total 607 94 21 3 1 0 628 97
  1. ^ Two appearances in 1975–76 UEFA Cup
  2. ^ Two appearances in 1976–77 UEFA Cup
  3. ^ Two appearances in 1977–78 UEFA Cup
  4. ^ One appearance in the 1984–85 European Cup Winners' Cup
  5. ^ Nine appearances and one goal in the 1985–86 European Cup
  6. ^ One appearance and one goal in the 1986–87 European Cup
  7. ^ One appearance in 1986 European Super Cup
  8. ^ Four appearances and one goal in the 1987–88 European Cup

International goals[]

Bölöni playing for Romania in 1984.
Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bölöni goal.
List of international goals scored by László Bölöni
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 2 July 1976 Aryamehr Stadium, Tehran, Iran  Iran 1–1 2–2 Friendly
2 29 November 1976 23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania  Bulgaria 2–1 3–2 Balkan Cup
3 21 September 1977 Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania  Greece 2–0 6–1 Friendly
4 21 September 1977 Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania  Greece 4–1 6–1 Friendly
5 15 November 1977 Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania  Yugoslavia 3–2 4–6 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 16 February 1980 Stadio San Paolo, Napoli, Italy  Italy 1–0 1–2 Friendly
7 14 April 1982 Lokomotiv Stadium, Rousse, Bulgaria  Bulgaria 2–1 2–1 Friendly
8 1 May 1982 Corvinul Stadium, Hunedoara, Romania  Cyprus 3–1 3–1 UEFA Euro 1984 qualification
9 15 August 1982 Areni Stadium, Suceava, Romania  Japan 3–0 4–0 Friendly
10 18 August 1982 23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania  Japan 1–1 3–1 Friendly
11 2 February 1983 Alkazar Stadium, Larissa, Greece  Greece 1–0 3–1 Friendly
12 9 March 1983 Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania  Turkey 3–1 3–1 Friendly
13 16 April 1983 23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania  Italy 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 1984 qualification
14 12 November 1983 Tsirion Stadium, Limassol, Cyprus  Cyprus 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 1984 qualification
15 22 January 1984 Estadio Modelo, Guayaquil, Ecuador  Ecuador 1–0 3–1 Friendly
16 14 June 1984 Stade Geoffroy-Guichard Saint-Étienne, France  Spain 1–1 1–1 UEFA Euro 1984
17 8 October 1986 Ramat Gan Stadium, Israel  Israel 2–1 4–2 Friendly
18 4 March 1987 19 Mayıs Stadium, Ankara, Turkey  Turkey 2–1 3–1 Friendly
19 25 March 1987 23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania  Albania 2–1 5–1 UEFA Euro 1988 qualification
20 2 September 1987 Stadion Zawiszy, Bydgoszcz, Poland  Poland 1–3 1–3 Friendly
21 7 October 1987 Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania  Greece 2–2 2–2 Friendly
22 3 February 1988 Kiryat Eliezer Stadium, Haifa, Israel  Israel 1–0 2–0 Friendly
23 30 March 1988 Kurt-Wabbel Stadion, Halle, Germany  East Germany 1–1 3–3 Friendly

Managerial[]

As of match played 9 May 2021
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
P W D L Win %
Nancy-Lorraine July 1994 June 2000 251 92 81 78 036.65
Romania July 2000 June 2001 10 6 1 3 060.00
Sporting CP July 2001 June 2003 89 52 21 16 058.43
Rennes July 2003 June 2006 135 55 29 51 040.74
Monaco July 2006 October 2006 11 2 2 7 018.18
Al-Jazeera June 2007 June 2008 29 16 7 6 055.17
Standard Liège 9 June 2008 10 February 2010 82 42 20 20 051.22
Al-Wahda 29 May 2010 2 September 2010 1 1 0 0 100.00
Lens January 2011 May 2011 21 4 7 10 019.05
PAOK 8 June 2011 25 May 2012 51 24 14 13 047.06
Al Khor July 2012 June 2015 74 19 32 23 025.68
Al-Ittihad July 2015 November 2015 9 6 1 2 066.67
Royal Antwerp 16 June 2017 15 May 2020 118 51 33 34 043.22
KAA Gent 20 August 2020 14 September 2020 3 1 0 2 33.33
Panathinaikos 19 October 2020 10 May 2021 32 14 6 10 43.75
Total 916 385 256 275 042.03

Honours[]

Player[]

Steaua București[26]

Individual

Manager[]

Nancy-Lorraine[28]

Sporting CP[28]

Al-Jazira[28]

  • Gulf Club Champions Cup: 2007

Standard Liège[28]

  • Belgian First Division: 2008–09
  • Belgian Super Cup: 2008, 2009

Individual

  • Belgian Manager of the Year: 2009[29]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Ladislau Boloni – Century of International Appearances". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
  2. ^ Apostol, Eduard (29 January 2019). "Boloni îl contrazice pe Lucescu". Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  3. ^ "DECRET privind conferirea Ordinului și Medaliei Meritul Sportiv" (PDF). Monitorul Oficial al României Nr. 241. 28 March 2008. p. 3. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  4. ^ "Decorarea unor personalități ale fotbalului românesc". Administrația Prezidențială. 25 March 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  5. ^ Nicoleta, Medrea (20 July 2009). "Au fost odată campioni mondiali" [Once they were world champions]. ProSport (in Romanian). Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  6. ^ http://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=2233
  7. ^ "Bölöni steps down as Standard coach". UEFA.com. 10 February 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  8. ^ Bölöni appointed as head coach of Al-Wahda Archived 6 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Al-Wahda sack Boloni". FIFA.com. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  10. ^ "Garcia appointed new coach of Lens, replacing Boloni". FIFA.com. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  11. ^ Συμφώνησε και υπογράφει ο Μπόλονι Archived 11 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine (in Greek)
  12. ^ "New Al Khor coach László Bölöni arrives in Doha". QSL. 21 June 2012. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013.
  13. ^ مقلد : لجنة الانضباط جانبها التوفيق في ايقاف بولوني (in Arabic). Al Kass. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  14. ^ http://www.24sata.hr/nogomet/trener-koji-je-otkrio-cristiana-u-dinamu-boloni-je-kanidat-329918
  15. ^ "Laszlo Bölöni est le nouvel entraîneur de l'Antwerp" (in French). RTBF. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  16. ^ Lancelot Meulewaeter (20 August 2020). "Laszlo Bölöni est le nouvel entraîneur de La Gantoise, il a signé pour deux ans". RTBF (in French). Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  17. ^ "Gent coach fired ahead of Champions League match". USA Today. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  18. ^ "Νέος προπονητής της ομάδας ο Λάζλο Μπόλονι". ΠΑΕ ΠΑΝΑΘΗΝΑΪΚΟΣ (in Greek). 19 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  19. ^ "ΠΑΝΑΘΗΝΑΪΚΟΣ – ΝΠΣ ΒΟΛΟΣ 1-1". pao.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  20. ^ newsroom, sport-fm. "Τέλος ο Μπόλονι από τον Παναθηναϊκό!". sport-fm.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  21. ^ sportime.gr (24 May 2021). "Παναθηναϊκός: Τελείωσε του προπονητή και παίρνουν άλλοι σειρά". sportime.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Ladislau Boloni: "Sînt ungur!"" [Ladislau Boloni: "I am Hungarian!"]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 30 December 2008. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  23. ^ "Boloni va lucra la Budapesta pe durata Euro 2020! Anunțul făcut în Ungaria" [Boloni will work in Budapest during the Euro 2020! The announcement made in Hungary] (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  24. ^ "Naționala Ținutului Secuiesc, susținută de un nume uriaș din fotbalul nostru FOTO" [Szeklerland national team, supported by a huge name of our football PHOTO] (in Romanian). Ziare.com. 19 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  25. ^ "Ladislau Bölöni career statistics". RomanianSoccer.ro. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  26. ^ "Ladislau Boloni" (in Romanian). SteauaFC.com. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  27. ^ "Romania – Player of the Year Awards". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  28. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "L. Bölöni". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  29. ^ "Waarom Bölöni een toptrainer is" (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 9 December 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
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