Introduction
Viorel Dinu Moldovan (born 8 July 1972 in Bistrița) is a retired Romanian football forward. He was an important player for the Romanian national team in the 1990s. He was recently the manager of AJ Auxerre in the French Ligue 2.
Career
At club level, Moldovan played for Gloria Bistrița (1990–93), Dinamo București (1993–95), Neuchâtel Xamax (1995–96), Grasshoppers (1996–98), Coventry City (1998), Fenerbahçe (1998–2000), Nantes (2000–04), Servette (2004–05), FCU Politehnica Timișoara (2005), and Rapid București (2005–2007).
The most successful years of his career were playing for Neuchâtel Xamax and Grasshoppers between 1996 and 1998 in Switzerland (he was the Swiss Super League top scorer in 1996 and 1997), for Fenerbahçe between 1998 and 2000 and for Nantes between 2000 and 2004. He was a key player when Nantes won the French Ligue 1 in 2001. During his brief spell in England with Coventry City he scored twice, once in the FA Cup, scoring the winner against local rivals Aston Villa, and once in the league against Crystal Palace.
International career
Moldovan was capped 70 times for Romania, scoring 25 goals. He represented his country at Euro 96, the 1998 FIFA World Cup, during which he scored goals against England and Tunisia in the first round, and Euro 2000.
International goals
Scores and results table. Romania's goal tally first:
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 April 1996 | Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania |  Georgia | 1-0 | 5-0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 24 April 1996 | Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania | Georgia | 2-0 | 5-0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 24 April 1996 | Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania | Georgia | 3-0 | 5-0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 31 August 1996 | Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania |  Lithuania | 1-0 | 3-0 | World Cup 1998 Qual. |
| 5 | 29 March 1997 | Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania |  Liechtenstein | 1-0 | 8-0 | World Cup 1998 Qual. |
| 6 | 2 April 1997 | Žalgiris Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania | Lithuania | 1-0 | 1-0 | World Cup 1998 Qual. |
| 7 | 20 August 1997 | Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania |  Macedonia | 1-0 | 4-2 | World Cup 1998 Qual. |
| 8 | 20 August 1997 | Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania |  Hungary | 3-1 | 4-2 | World Cup 1998 Qual. |
| 9 | 6 September 1997 | Sportplatz, Eschen, Liechtenstein | Liechtenstein | 1-0 | 8-1 | World Cup 1998 Qual. |
| 10 | 8 April 1998 | Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania |  Greece | 1-0 | 2-1 | Friendly |
| 11 | 22 April 1998 | King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium |  Belgium | 1-0 | 1-1 | Friendly |
| 12 | 6 June 1998 | Stadionul Ilie Oană, Ploiești, Romania |  Moldova | 4-0 | 5-1 | Friendly |
| 13 | 22 June 1998 | Stadium Municipal, Toulouse, France |  England | 1-0 | 2-1 | World Cup 1998 Group G |
| 14 | 26 June 1998 | Stade de France, Saint Denis, France |  Tunisia | 1-1 | 1-1 | World Cup 1998 Group G |
| 15 | 2 September 1998 | Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania | Liechtenstein | 6-0 | 7-0 | UEFA Euro 2000 Qual. |
| 16 | 5 September 1998 | Ta' Qali Stadium, Attard, Malta |  Germany | 1-0 | 1-1 | Friendly |
| 17 | 14 October 1998 | Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary | Hungary | 1-0 | 1-1 | UEFA Euro 2000 Qual. |
| 18 | 4 September 1999 | Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia |  Slovakia | 4-1 | 5-1 | UEFA Euro 2000 Qual. |
| 19 | 4 September 1999 | Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia | Slovakia | 5-1 | 5-1 | UEFA Euro 2000 Qual. |
| 20 | 27 May 2000 | Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands |  Netherlands | 1-2 | 1-2 | Friendly |
| 21 | 12 June 2000 | Stade de Sclessin, Liège, Belgium | Germany | 1-0 | 1-1 | UEFA EURO 2000 Group A |
| 22 | 6 June 2001 | S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium, Kaunas, Lithuania | Lithuania | 2-0 | 2-1 | World Cup 2002 Qual. |
| 23 | 15 August 2001 | Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia |  Slovenia | 2-1 | 2-2 | Friendly |
| 24 | 16 October 2002 | Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg |  Luxembourg | 1-0 | 7-0 | UEFA Euro 2004 Qual. |
| 25 | 16 October 2002 | Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg | Luxembourg | 2-0 | 7-0 | UEFA Euro 2004 Qual. |
Coaching career
Moldovan worked as the sporting director of FC Unirea Valahorum Urziceni and was the coach of FC Vaslui. On 26 May 2009 the coach quit FC Vaslui after just seven months for failing to guide the team to European qualification. The squad was then managed by coaching assistant Cristian Dulca on a temporary basis until a new coach was hired. On 28 July 2009 the Italian coach Nicolò Napoli quit FC Brașov and was replaced by Moldovan, who signed a two-year deal; he previously coached SC Vaslui.
Honours
Club
- Grasshoppers
- Swiss League: 1997–98
- Nantes
- Ligue 1: 2000–01
- Trophée des champions: 2001
- Rapid București
- Romanian Cup: 2005–06, 2006–07
Individual
- Swiss League: Top scorer 1995–96, 1996–97
- Swiss Foreign Footballer of the Year: 1995–96, 1996–97