Daniel Timofte

Daniel Timofte
Personal information
Date of birth (1967-10-01) 1 October 1967 (age 59)
Place of birth Lonea, Romania
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1976–1979 Corvinul Hunedoara
1979–1986 Jiul Petroșani
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1986–1989 Jiul Petroșani 69 (11)
1989–1990 Dinamo București 35 (10)
1991–1992 Bayer Uerdingen 28 (1)
1992–1993 Dinamo București 26 (0)
1993–1999 Samsunspor 127 (18)
1999–2000 Dinamo București 6 (0)
Total 291 (40)
International career
1990–1995 Romania 22 (2)
Managerial career
2005 Jiul Petroșani (assistant)
2006 Sportul Studențesc (assistant)
2006 Sportul Studențesc (caretaker)
2006 Vaslui (assistant)
2008–2009 Jiul Petroșani
2010 CF Brăila
2010–2011 CF Brăila
2011 Sportul Studențesc (caretaker)
2012 Astra Ploiești (assistant)
2013 Sportul Studențesc
2013 Dinamo București (assistant)
2014 Petrolul Ploiești (assistant)
2015–2016 Voluntari (assistant)
2016–2017 Universitatea Craiova (assistant)
2018 Astra Giurgiu (assistant)
2018 Astra Giurgiu (assistant)
2019 Petrolul Ploiești (assistant)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Daniel Timofte (born 1 October 1967) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder.

Club career

Jiul Petroșani

Timofte was born on 1 October 1967 in Lonea, Hunedoara County, Romania and began playing junior-level football in 1976 at Corvinul Hunedoara, moving three years later to Jiul Petroșani. On 31 August 1986 he made his Divizia A debut, playing for Jiul under coach Gheorghe Mulțescu in a 3–1 home victory against Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea. The team was relegated at the end of his first season, but Timofte stayed with the club, helping it get promoted back to the first league after two years.

Dinamo București

In the summer of 1989, Timofte had offers from Dinamo București and Steaua București. He chose to play for the former, because they were building a team composed of mainly young players like himself, and also the coach that promoted him to the senior squad at Jiul, Mulțescu, advised him to do so. In his first season at Dinamo, the club won The Double, with Timofte being used by coach Mircea Lucescu in 20 league matches in which he scored eight goals, including one in a 3–0 derby win over Steaua. He was also introduced in the 57th minute to replace Anton Doboș in the 6–4 victory in the Cupa României final against Steaua. In the same season, he played eight games in the 1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup campaign as the club reached the semi-finals where they were eliminated after a 2–0 aggregate loss to Anderlecht.

Bayer Uerdingen

In the middle of the following season, Timofte left Dinamo and joined Bayer Uerdingen, making his Bundesliga debut on 23 February 1991 when coach Friedhelm Konietzka played him for the entire match in a 0–0 draw against Nürnberg. The team was relegated at the end of his first season, but he stayed with the club, helping it gain promotion back after one year. During his period spent in Germany he was teammates with fellow Romanian Michael Klein.

Dinamo and Samsunspor

Timofte returned to Dinamo for the 1992–93 season, finishing runner-up in the league. Afterwards, he went to play in Turkey at Samsunspor alongside compatriots Bogdan Stelea, Marius Cheregi, Ovidiu Hanganu, Silvian Dobre and Luca Constantin, being coached by Gheorghe Mulțescu. His debut in the Turkish league took place on 29 August 1993 in a 3–0 away win over Karabükspor. He scored his first goal in the competition on 10 October in a 3–2 away victory against Altay Izmir. Timofte netted six goals until the end of the 1993–94 season, including a brace in a 4–0 win against Bursaspor. In his six-season spell with Samsunspor, he made a total of 127 league appearances with 18 goals scored, and won the 1993–94 Balkans Cup.

Subsequently, Timofte returned for a third and final spell at Dinamo, with whom he managed to win The Double in the 1999–2000 season, being used by coach Cornel Dinu in six league games. Timofte played a total of 98 matches with 15 goals in Divizia A and 24 games in European competitions (including seven matches in the Intertoto Cup).

International career

Timofte has 22 appearances with two goals scored for Romania, making his debut on 28 March 1990 under coach Emerich Jenei in a friendly that ended with a 3–1 away victory against Egypt in which he scored once.

Jenei used him in three games in the 1990 World Cup final tournament, as the team reached the round of 16 where the campaign ended after a 0–0 (5–4, after penalty kicks) loss to Ireland in which at the penalty shootout his strike was the only one defended by goalkeeper Packie Bonner. That penalty miss followed him when he went with Dinamo to play against Irish club St Patrick's Athletic in the 1990–91 European Cup, the Irish fans gave him mocking cheers for his shootout miss. After he ended his career, Timofte opened a number of bars in Petroșani, the first being named "Penalty", and also Packie Bonner named his boat "Timofte".

In the following years he played four games in the Euro 1992 qualifiers in which he scored once in a 3–1 away win over San Marino. He also played in a 1–1 draw against Czechoslovakia during the 1994 World Cup qualifiers. Subsequently, he made four appearances in the Euro 1996 qualifiers, including his last one for The Tricolours on 26 April 1995 in a 4–1 away win over Azerbaijan.

For representing his country at the 1990 World Cup, Timofte was decorated by President of Romania Traian Băsescu on 25 March 2008 with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" – (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III.

Managerial career

Timofte spent most of his coaching career as an assistant of Gheorghe Mulțescu at various teams from Romanian football, including giants Dinamo București. In the 2007–08 season he was Dorinel Munteanu's assistant at Vaslui.

He had spells as head coach at Sportul Studențesc, Jiul Petroșani and CF Brăila. With Sportul he worked in the first league, while with Jiul he activated in the second one and with Brăila he managed to earn promotion from the third to the second league in the 2009–10 season.

Personal life

In 2016, Timofte received the Honorary Citizen of Petroșani title.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Romania 199071
199141
199220
199340
199440
199510
Total222
Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Timofte goal.
List of international goals scored by Daniel Timofte
#DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
128 March 1990Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt1 Egypt1–13–1Friendly
227 March 1991Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino8 San Marino3–13–1Euro 1992 qualifiers

Honours

Player

Jiul Petroșani

Dinamo București

Bayer Uerdingen

Samsunspor

Coach

CF Brăila

Notes

  1. ↑ The statistics for the 1987–88 and 1988–89 Divizia B seasons are not available.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Daniel Timofte at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Cum au fost create marile echipe ale anilor '80?. Episodul 3: Dinamo - Show cu doar 14 "câini". Dar de rasă" [How were the great teams of the '80s created? Episode 3: Dinamo - Show with only 14 "dogs". But dogs of race] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  3. ↑ "Jiul Petrosani vs Chimia Rm Valcea 3-1". Labtof. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  5. ↑ "Dinamo Bucuresti in 1989–90". Romaniansoccer.ro. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  6. ↑ "Romanian Cup – Season 1989–1990". Romaniansoccer.ro. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  7. ↑ "Daniel Timofte. Cup Winners Cup 1989/1990". WorldFootball. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  8. ↑ "Daniel Timofte. Bundesliga 1990/1991". WorldFootball. Retrieved 3 January 2026.
    "Bayer 05 Uerdingen vs. FC Nürnberg 0 – 0". WorldFootball. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  9. ↑ "A refuzat Steaua" [He refused Steaua] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 27 March 2008. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  10. ↑ "Colonia românilor din Turcia, condusă de Gigi Mulțescu. 5 români transferați la Samsunspor din Belgia și Germania" [The colony of Romanians in Turkey, led by Gigi Mulțescu. 5 Romanians transferred to Samsunspor from Belgium and Germany] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 27 October 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Revin în elită cluburile europene unde jucau eroii fotbalului nostru! Cum reacționează Giani Kiriță, Tony, Cătălin Liță, Vali Badea și Iulian Tameș: "Spre rușinea mea, am fugit! Greșeala carierei!"" [The European clubs where the heroes of our football played are returning to the elite! How Giani Kiriță, Tony, Cătălin Liță, Vali Badea and Iulian Tameș react: "To my shame, I ran away! Career mistake!"] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 23 April 2023. Archived from the original on 12 March 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Daniel Timofte profile" (in Turkish). Tff.org. Retrieved 13 October 2026.
    "Daniel Timofte profile" (in Turkish). Arsiv.mackolik.com. Retrieved 13 October 2026.
  12. ↑ "Karabükspor 0–3 Samsunspor" (in Turkish). Arsiv.mackolik.com. Retrieved 13 October 2026.
  13. ↑ "Altay Izmir 2–3 Samsunspor" (in Turkish). Arsiv.mackolik.com. Retrieved 13 October 2026.
  14. ↑ "Samsunspor 4–0 Bursaspor" (in Turkish). Arsiv.mackolik.com. Retrieved 13 October 2026.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Daniel Timofte". European Football. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  16. 1 2 "Egypt 1-3 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  17. 1 2 3 Howard, Paul (31 March 2002). "Timofte still paying penalty". Sunday Tribune. Archived from the original on 10 May 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
  18. 1 2 "Coșmarul României de la Mondialul din '90, Packie Bonner, a povestit cum l-a ghicit pe Daniel Timofte la 11 metri. "Mergea foarte încet către minge"" [Romania's nightmare from the 1990 World Cup, Packie Bonner, told how he guessed Daniel Timofte at 11 meters. "He was walking very slowly towards the ball"] (in Romanian). Orangesport.ro. 19 May 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  19. 1 2 "EXCLUSIV Daniel Timofte a refuzat azi întâlnirea cu Patrick Bonner. Cum a reacționat fostul portar al Irlandei" [EXCLUSIVE Daniel Timofte refused the meeting with Patrick Bonner today. How the former Ireland goalkeeper reacted] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  20. ↑ "Măi, băiete..." [Hey, boy...] (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  21. 1 2 "EURO Qualifiers 1990/1991. Group 2. San Marino - Romania 1:3". WorldFootball. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  22. ↑ "DECRET privind conferirea Ordinului și Medaliei Meritul Sportiv" (PDF). Monitorul Oficial al României Nr. 241. 28 March 2008. p. 3. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Decorarea unor personalități ale fotbalului românesc". Administrația Prezidențială. 25 March 2008. Archived from the original on 12 September 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  23. 1 2 3 4 "Daniel Timofte a preluat functia de antrenor principal la Jiul" [Daniel Timofte took over the position of head coach at Jiul] (in Romanian). Romaniansoccer.ro. 11 September 2008. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  24. ↑ "A sosit Multescu; urmeaza Casierra!" [Multescu arrived; next one is Casierra!] (in Romanian). Ziarulprahova.ro. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Dinamo face reconstrucție cu Mulțescu: "Am obiectiv primele patru locuri"" [Dinamo is rebuilding with Mulțescu: "I aim for the top four places"] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Flash din lumea sportului" [Flash from the sports world] (in Romanian). Ziaruldeiasi.ro. 14 August 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Răzvan Lucescu, out de la Petrolul. A venit Gigi Mulțescu" [Răzvan Lucescu, out from Petrolul. Gigi Mulțescu came] (in Romanian). Monitorulsv.ro. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Gigi Mulțescu noul antrenor la FC Voluntari" [Gigi Mulțescu the new coach at FC Voluntari] (in Romanian). Sportexclusiv.ro. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Marin Dună vine în ajutorul lui Gigi Mulțescu la CS Universitatea Craiova" [Marin Dună comes to the aid of Gigi Mulțescu at CS Universitatea Craiova] (in Romanian). Gds.ro. 10 January 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Gheorghe Mulțescu, noul antrenor al Astrei" [Gheorghe Mulțescu, Astra's new coach] (in Romanian). Cancan.ro. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Gigi Mulțescu a condus primul antrenament după ce a preluat Petrolul! Singurul jucător care a absentat din lot" [Gigi Mulțescu led the first training session after taking over Petrolul! The only player absent from the squad] (in Romanian). Liga2.prosport.ro.ro. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  25. ↑ "Timofte, secundul lui "Munti"" [Timofte "Munti's" assistant] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 29 June 2007. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "FC Vaslui are suporter de lux" [FC Vaslui has a luxury supporter] (in Romanian). Libertatea.ro. 25 August 2007. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  26. 1 2 3 "Timofte, confirmat la Brăila" [Timofte, confirmed la Brăila] (in Romanian). Liga2.prosport.ro. 23 September 2009. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  27. 1 2 3 "Dacia Unirea Brăila istoric" [Dacia Unirea Brăila history] (in Romanian). Cfbraila.ro. Archived from the original on 16 August 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  28. 1 2 "Daniel Timofte a testat in aceasta vara peste 70 de jucatori" [Daniel Timofte tested over 70 players this summer] (in Romanian). Romaniansoccer.ro. 23 September 2009. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Daniel Timofte: "Luțu și Pârvu ne pot ajuta să rămânem în fruntea clasamentului"" [Daniel Timofte: "Luțu and Pârvu can help us stay at the top of the ranking"] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 23 September 2009. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Daniel Timofte, la final de contract cu Jiul" [Daniel Timofte, at the end of his contract with Jiul] (in Romanian). Liga2.prosport.ro. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Daniel Timofte, pe țeavă?" [Daniel Timofte, on the pipe?] (in Romanian). Liga2.prosport.ro. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Daniel Timofte a fost demis de la Jiul" [Daniel Timofte was dismissed from Jiul] (in Romanian). Click.ro. 7 November 2009. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Daniel Timofte, antrenor principal la CF Brăila" [Daniel Timofte, head coach at CF Brăila] (in Romanian). Obiectivbr.ro. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Timofte "reloaded"" (in Romanian). Liga2.prosport.ro. 3 November 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Daniel Timofte a revenit pe banca tehnică a echipei CF Brăila" [Daniel Timofte returned to the technical bench of the CF Brăila team] (in Romanian). Obiectivbraila.ro. 4 November 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Falimentul fotbalului brăilean" [The bankruptcy of Brăila football] (in Romanian). Liga2.prosport.ro. 11 November 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Timofte: "Mai e mult pînă la salvarea de la retrogradare"" [Timofte: "There is still a long way to go to save from relegation"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Sportul Studențesc - Pandurii Târgu Jiu, scor 0-0 in Liga I" [Sportul Studențesc - Pandurii Târgu Jiu, score 0-0 in Liga I] (in Romanian). Mediafax.ro. 30 October 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Isăilă va semna un contract valabil patru ani și jumătate cu Sportul Studențesc" [Isăilă will sign a contract valid for four and a half years with Sportul Studențesc] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 4 November 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Liga I geme de tehnicieni" [Liga I full of coaches] (in Romanian). Ziaruldeiasi.ro. 28 December 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
    "Surpriză în Regie! Mulțescu jr. a ținut antrenamentul Sportului de ieri!" [Surprise in the Regie! Mulțescu jr. held yesterday's Sports training!] (in Romanian). Liga2.prosport.ro.ro. 5 April 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  29. ↑ "Pe ruinele bazei sportive. Foste glorii ale fotbalului, Cetățeni de onoare ai Petroșaniului" [On the ruins of the sports base. Former glory of football, Honorary Citizens of Petroșani] (in Romanian). Gddhd.ro. 18 December 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
    "Sportivi – Cetățeni de Onoare ai Petroșaniului" [Sportsmen – Citizens of Honor of Petroșani] (in Romanian). Gddhd.ro. 20 December 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
    "Cetățenii de onoare ai Petroșaniului, premiați într-un cadru festiv" [The honorary citizens of Petroșani were awarded in a festive setting] (in Romanian). Avantuliber.ro. 20 December 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2025.