László Bölöni

László Bölöni
	Bölöni with PAOK in 2011
Personal information
Date of birth	11 March 1953
Place of birth	Târgu Mureș, Romania
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Metz (manager)
Youth career
1967–1970	Chimica Târnăveni
Senior career*
Years	Team
1970–1984	ASA Târgu Mureș
1984–1987	Steaua București
1987–1988	Racing Jet Wavre
1988–1989	Créteil
1989–1992	Orléans
Total
International career
1975–1988[1]	Romania
Managerial career
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
2022–	Metz
Medal record
Representing Romania
Universiade
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

László Bölöni (Romanian: Ladislau Bölöni; born 11 March 1953) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Ligue 1 club Metz.

After starting out at ASA Târgu Mureș, Bölöni became an integral part of the Steaua București team that won the European Cup in 1986, making it the only Romanian team—and 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, the 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.

Club career

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

Bölöni was born in Târgu Mureș, Romania, into an ethnic Hungarian family from Târnăveni.[2] 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 1986 European Cup Final (where he missed his penalty in the shootout) and the European Super Cup the following year.[3]

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 Romanian president Traian Băsescu with Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" — (The Order "The Sportive Merit") class II, for his part in winning the European Cup in 1986.[4][5]

International career

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.[6]

Playing for the Romania national team in 1983, Bölöni scored one of his most notable goals, 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 at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. In total, Bölöni won 102 caps for Romania and scored 23 goals[1]—or 108 caps and 25 goals if the Olympic games qualification is included.[7]

Managerial career

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.[8]

On 29 May 2010, it was officially announced that Bölöni signed a contract with United Arab Emirates side Al-Wahda.[9] On 2 September 2010, Al-Wahda sacked Bölöni, despite the team's 3–1 win over Ittihad Kalba.[10]

On 2 January 2011, he was hired by RC Lens, on a one-year contract, but he couldn't save the team from relegation.[11] Bölöni was immediately released in June, and signed a two-year contract with PAOK on 8 June 2011, following a short negotiation period.[12]

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.[13] 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.[14]

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.[15]

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.[16] 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.[17] In September, he was sacked after only three games in charge.[18]

Panathinaikos

On 19 October 2020, Bölöni was announced as the new head coach for Greek club Panathinaikos.[19] He drew his first game 1–1 against Volos in the Super League.[20] 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;[21] he was replaced by Ivan Jovanović on 24 May.[22]

Throughout January 2022, Bölöni was in talks with Romanian Football Federation president Răzvan Burleanu to return as manager of the Romania national team, more than twenty years after leaving the job. The failed negotiations led to the appointing of Edward Iordănescu instead.[23]

Personal life

When Bölöni was 15, 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 to continue playing 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.

When asked why he prefers to be called Hungarian rather than Romanian, Bölöni said: "It's not a matter of preference, I am a Hungarian, period." He also added: "That doesn't prevent me from living in Romania, where I played, including in the national team. Even if I belong to the Hungarian minority, I scored against Hungary, I trained the Romanian team to beat Hungary in the World Cup preliminaries. But I received Hungarian education and culture. Thanks to my parents."[24] In 2019, after anti-Hungarian chants were heard from the stands during the Romanian national team's matches against Spain and Malta, he once again stated: "I am Hungarian", then asked: "what is our fault?"[25] He was both disgusted and disappointed by the actions of the perpetrators.[25]

In 2021, he was hired by the Nemzeti Sport daily to analyze Hungary's matches at the UEFA Euro 2020,[26] and in the same year revealed his support of the Székely Land football team.[27] Nevertheless, after failed negotiations to take charge of the Romania national team in 2022, Bölöni expressed his regret for not being able to represent his country again.[23]

Bölöni holds Romanian, Hungarian and French nationalities.[28][29][30]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[31]
Club	Season	League			Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	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[lower-alpha 1]	0	0	0	35	4
	1976–77		33	11	2[lower-alpha 2]	0	0	0	35	11
	1977–78		31	3	2[lower-alpha 3]	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[lower-alpha 4]	0	0	0	25	3
	1985–86		31	9	9[lower-alpha 5]	1	0	0	40	10
	1986–87		28	10	1[lower-alpha 6]	1	1[lower-alpha 7]	0	30	10
	1987–88		14	2	4[lower-alpha 8]	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		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

Two appearances in 1975–76 UEFA Cup
Two appearances in 1976–77 UEFA Cup
Two appearances in 1977–78 UEFA Cup
One appearance in the 1984–85 European Cup Winners' Cup
Nine appearances and one goal in the 1985–86 European Cup
One appearance and one goal in the 1986–87 European Cup
One appearance in 1986 European Super Cup
Four appearances and one goal in the 1987–88 European Cup

International

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 statistics

As of match played 22 October 2023

Managerial record by team and tenure
Team	From	To	Record
Team	From	To	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	1 January 2011	26 May 2011	21	4	7	10	019.05
PAOK	8 June 2011	25 May 2012	51	24	14	13	047.06
Al Khor	1 July 2012	30 June 2015	74	19	32	23	025.68
Al Ittihad	1 July 2015	17 November 2015	9	6	1	2	066.67
Antwerp	16 June 2017	15 May 2020	118	51	33	34	043.22
Gent	20 August 2020	14 September 2020	3	1	0	2	033.33
Panathinaikos	19 October 2020	10 May 2021	30	14	6	10	046.67
Metz	1 June 2022		49	23	14	12	046.94
Total			965	408	270	287	042.28

Honours

Player

Steaua București[32]

Individual

Romanian Footballer of the Year: 1977, 1983[33]

Manager

Nancy-Lorraine[34]

Ligue 2: 1997–98

Sporting CP[34]

Al-Jazira[34]

Gulf Club Champions Cup: 2007

Standard Liège[34]