Mihai Mocanu

Mihai Mocanu
Personnel
Surname	Mihai Mocanu
birthday	February 24, 1942
place of birth	Constanța ,  Romania
date of death	June 18, 2009
Place of death	Constanța ,  Romania
position	Defender
Juniors
Years	station
1952-1956	Locomotiva Constanța
1956-1958	Rafinăria Câmpina
1959-1960	Electrica Constanța
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1960–1962	SNM Constanța	?
1962-1963	Chimia Fagaras	?
1963-1972	Petrolul Ploiesti	201 (6)
1972-1974	Omonia Nicosia	?
1974-1976	Petrolul Ploiesti	?
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1966-1971	Romania	33 (0)
Stations as a trainer
Years	station
?	Petrolul Ploiesti
1991-2005	Conpet Ploieşti
1 Only league games are given.

Mihai Mocanu (born February 24, 1942 in Constanța ; † June 18, 2009 ibid) was a Romanian football player and coach . He played 201 games in the highest Romanian football league, Divizia A , and took part in the 1970 World Cup.

Career as a player

Mihai Mocanu started his career in his hometown Constanța with SNM Constanța , which played in Divizia B in 1960 . After relegation from Divizia B in 1962, he moved to league rivals Chimia Făgăraş , before a year later the opportunity opened up for him to move to a Romanian top team, namely Petrolul Ploieşti from Divizia A. On August 25, 1963 he had his first appearance in the highest Romanian football league in the defeat against UTA Arad . At Petrolul Mocanu was a regular player in the 1965/66 season, won the Romanian championship at the end of the season and became a national player. However, Petrolul could not confirm the performance in the following years and fell back into midfield or the relegation zone. After relegation could only just be averted in 1972, Mocanu was allowed to move abroad and joined Omonia Nicosia , which at the time played in the highest Greek football league, the Alpha Ethniki . In 1973 the team returned after relegation to the Cypriot First Division and Mocanu won the championship and cup. Despite this success, he returned to Romania and played again for Petrolul, which had since been relegated to Divizia B. There he ended his career in 1976.

National team

Mocanu played 33 games for the Romanian national soccer team . He made his debut on June 1, 1966 against Germany as part of Germany's preparation for the 1966 World Cup . He himself took part in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, where he was used in all three games from the start.

Career as a coach

After his active career, Mocanu coached various clubs in Prahova County , including Petrolul Ploieşti . At times he also worked as a youth coach. In 1991 he took over the third division team Conpet Ploieşti, which he looked after until his retirement in 2005.

Achievements and Awards

• World Cup participant: 1970
• Romanian champion: 1966
• Cypriot champion: 1974
• Cypriot Cup Winner: 1974
• Honored Master of Sports
• Best Romanian left-back of all time in the 2000 athlete poll
• Honorary citizen of the city of Ploieşti

Health problems

Due to an arterial occlusive disease , Mocanu was amputated part of his right leg on July 12, 2006. He was also diagnosed with esophageal cancer a few years before his death . Mocanu died on June 18, 2009 in his native Constan Consta , where his daughter had taken him a few weeks earlier in order to be able to provide for him better. He also left a son, Ionuț Mihai Mocanu, who was a soccer player at Conpet Ploieşti and currently lives in Canada.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Obituary with photos (Romanian)
2. ↑ Obituary in Ziarul Prahova (Romanian)  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

Web links

• Mihai Mocanu on romaniansoccer.ro (English)