Viorel Dinu Moldovan (born 8 July 1972) is a Romanian football manager and former player.

A former striker, Moldovan's most successful career years were playing for Neuchâtel Xamax and Grasshoppers from 1996 to 1998 in Switzerland (he was the Nationalliga A top scorer in 1996 and 1997), for Fenerbahçe between 1998 and 2000 and for Nantes from 2000 until 2004. He was a key player when Nantes won the French Division 1 in 2001. He represented Romania in two editions of the World Cup, those held in the United States in 1994 and France in 1998, as well as two European Championships in 1996 and 2000.

Club career

Gloria Bistrița and Dinamo București

Moldovan was born on 8 July 1972 in Bistrița, Romania and began playing junior-level football at local club Gloria. He started his senior career by playing for Gloria during the 1988–89 Divizia B season. In the following season he helped the team earn promotion to Divizia A.

In 1993 he went to play for Dinamo București.

Neuchâtel Xamax and Grasshoppers

In 1995, Moldovan went to play for Neuchâtel Xamax, making his Nationalliga A debut on 29 July under coach Gilbert Gress in a 1–0 home win over Basel. In the next round he netted his first goals in the competition, managing a brace in a 3–0 victory against Lugano.

In the following season he played for Grasshoppers, scoring a goal on his debut in a 1–1 draw against Sion. Until the end of the season, he netted a personal record of 27 goals, including two hat-tricks in victories against Young Boys and Lausanne-Sport, being again the top-scorer of the season and the Foreigner of the Year. For the way he played in 1996, Moldovan was placed third in the ranking for the Romanian Footballer of the Year award. In the next season he netted two hat-tricks in two wins against his former club, Neuchâtel Xamax and Servette respectively. He scored 17 league goals until the end of the first half of the season, and though he left afterwards, the team managed to win the title without him. During his brief spell in England he scored twice, first the winner against local rivals Aston Villa in the FA Cup and then another in a 3–0 league win against Crystal Palace, also having a goal disallowed in that same game. He had a hard time earning his place in the team, as the first options for the offence were Dion Dublin and Darren Huckerby. In the following round he netted his first goals, managing a double in a 3–0 victory against Gençlerbirliği. He started the 1999–2000 season by scoring a goal in a 4–1 away win over İstanbulspor, netting a total of 18 goals in that season, including another hat-trick in another victory against Adanaspor.

Nantes and Al-Wahda

Afterwards he joined Nantes which paid €5 million to Fenerbahçe for his transfer, and Moldovan earned there the nickname Moldo-but thanks to his goalscoring ability. He made his debut in the French Division 1 on 19 August 2000 when coach Raynald Denoueix sent him in the 71st minute to replace Olivier Monterrubio, managing to score the victory goal in the 90th minute of the 3–2 win over Marseille. Until the end of the season, he netted 11 goals in 23 matches which helped the club win the championship. In the same season, The Canaries participated in the UEFA Cup, Moldovan helping the club eliminate Kryvbas and Lausanne-Sport, netting a hat-trick against the first and scoring two goals against the latter, reaching the round of 16 where they were defeated by Porto. He started the following season by winning the Trophée des Champions, coach Denoueix using him as a starter in the 4–1 win over Strasbourg. He then played in three games in the 2001–02 Champions League second group stage, scoring two goals in two 1–1 draws against Manchester United and Boavista.

In 2003, coach Rolland Courbis convinced him to sign with Al-Wahda. However, Moldovan made only one appearance in the UAE Football League, claiming he couldn't adapt due to the hot climate.

Servette

He returned to Switzerland when he signed with Servette, making his debut for the team on 20 July 2004 as coach Marco Schällibaum used him the entire match in a 3–0 away loss to FC Thun. Moldovan scored his first goal in a 1–1 draw against Schaffhausen. In the following game, he netted the victory goal from a penalty in the 2–1 win over Național București. On 10 September 2005 he scored a brace in a 4–0 win over his former team Gloria Bistrița.

In early 2006 he was transferred from Politehnica to Rapid București. Moldovan helped the club eliminate Hamburg and reach the quarter-finals of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup where he scored his side's only goal against rivals Steaua București as they were eliminated on the away goal rule after a 1–1 on aggregate. On 12 April 2006 he scored a brace in a 3–0 win in a derby against Dinamo București. At the end of the season, the club won the Cupa României, coach Răzvan Lucescu sending him in the 55th minute to replace Daniel Pancu in the 1–0 victory against Național București in the final.

Afterwards he wanted to retire but Lucescu convinced him to play for one more season. He then netted a goal which helped The Railwaymen eliminate Nacional and reach the group stage of the 2006–07 UEFA Cup. There, Moldovan would make his last four appearances in European competitions in which he accumulated a total of 43 matches and 19 goals scored. On 23 May 2007, Moldovan played his last game in the Romanian top-league which ended with a 4–0 loss to Național București, totaling 196 appearances with 55 goals in the competition.

International career

Early years and 1994 World Cup

Moldovan played 70 matches and scored 25 goals for Romania, making his debut on 22 September 1993 at age 21 under coach Anghel Iordănescu in a 1–0 friendly win over Israel. He was selected by Iordănescu to be part of the 1994 World Cup squad where the team reached the quarter-finals, but he did not play in any games from the campaign. He scored his first goals for the national team on 24 April 1996, managing a hat-trick in a friendly that ended with a 5–0 victory against Georgia.

1998 World Cup

During the 1998 World Cup qualifiers, he made eight appearances, scoring two goals in both victories against Liechtenstein, two goals in both wins over Lithuania and a brace in a 4–2 victory against Macedonia. To celebrate, the team dyed their hair blonde and showed up on the pitch with their new look, Moldovan netting his side's goal in the 1–1 draw against the Tunisians.

Euro 2000

Moldovan played 10 games in the Euro 2000 qualifiers and scored one goal in a 7–0 win over Liechtenstein, his side's goal in the 1–1 draw against rivals Hungary and a double in a 5–1 away victory against Slovakia. Coach Emerich Jenei used him as a starter in all four matches during the final tournament, netting a goal in the 1–1 draw against Germany in the group stage.

Managerial career

After he ended his career, Moldovan started working as a sporting director for Rapid București during the year 2007. Afterwards he went to work for Unirea Urziceni in the same position until 2008.

He started his coaching career when he replaced Viorel Hizo at FC Vaslui in November 2008. However, on 26 May 2009 he resigned from Vaslui after a 4–1 loss to Gloria Buzău which lowered the team's chances of finishing on a place that would grant them participation in a European competition. On 28 July 2009, the Italian coach Nicolò Napoli quit FC Brașov and was replaced by Moldovan, who signed a two-year deal. After a good start, the team eventually finished the season in 9th place and he left the club. In September 2010, Moldovan was named the coach of Sportul Studențesc but left the club in late October after not managing to earn a single victory in the league during this time. From September 2013 until July 2014 he coached Rapid in Liga II, managing to earn promotion to the first league at the end of the season.

In 2014 he was named by the Romanian Football Federation as coach of Romania's under-21 national team. Later in that year he became an assistant of head coach Anghel Iordănescu at Romania's senior squad, helping it qualify to the Euro 2016 final tournament. After the tournament in which The Tricolours did not get past the group stage, he was appointed as the head coach of Ligue 2 team, Auxerre. After nine games in which he earned only one victory, Moldovan was dismissed because after a loss to Le Havre he publicly criticized the club officials for not bringing more players to the club.

About two years later, on 26 June 2018 he was named coach of Liga II team, Chindia Târgoviște, managing to promote them to the first league at the end of the season. Because by the end of the following season, Chindia was on a relegation place, Moldovan was dismissed by the club. In August 2020, he returned to Liga II football, signing with Petrolul Ploiești, having as an objective to achieve promotion to the first league. In March 2021 he resigned from Petrolul as the team was only in 10th place.

In June 2024 Moldovan was appointed as president of Rapid, a position he held for exactly one year, leaving after the team finished the 2024–25 Liga I season in fifth place.

Personal life

His father, Vasile, was also a footballer who played 10 years for Gloria Bistrița. In 2002, he was named Honorary Citizen of Bistrița. On 29 March 2006, he was decorated by the President of Romania, Traian Băsescu, with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" (Order of "Sporting Merit"), Class II, for his contribution to reaching the 2005–06 UEFA Cup quarter-finals with Rapid București.

Career statistics

International stats

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|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year