Place of birth Bucharest, Romania Years Team Name Cosmin Olaroiu Height 1.87 m Spouse Luminita Olaroiu Children Daniel Antonio Olaroiu | Current team Al Ahli (manager) 1989–1990 Gloria Buzau Role Football manager Weight 85 kg | |
 | ||
Full name Aurelian Cosmin Olaroiu Date of birth (1969-06-10) 10 June 1969 (age 46) Team coached Al-Ahli Dubai F.C. (Manager, since 2013) | ||
Interview: Cosmin Olaroiu (Coach, Saudi Arabia)
Aurelian Cosmin Olăroiu (born 10 June 1969 in Bucharest) is a Romanian football manager and former player. He is the head coach of UAE club Al Ahli. He is considered one of the greatest managers in the Arabian Peninsula, having led the most decorated clubs of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates (Al Hilal, Al Sadd, Al Ain and Al Ahli) to new trophies.
Contents
- Interview Cosmin Olaroiu Coach Saudi Arabia
- Club career
- Early years
- Steaua Bucureti European campaigns success
- Al Hilal
- Al Sadd
- Al Ain
- Al Ahli
- Saudi Arabia national team
- Player
- Manager
- Managerial statistics
- References
Olăroiu also managed some other impressive results in his very short coaching career before arriving in the region, in his country Romania. During the 2001–02 season, Naţional Bucureşti under his managership became a challenger for the national championship title. However, they lost the leader position in the last game of the season, against Universitatea Craiova, and the title went to Dinamo Bucharest. He won the Romanian League and the Supercupa României with Steaua Bucureşti, both in 2006, and qualified the team in the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in the same year.
He was chosen Romanian Coach of the Year in 2006.
Club career
As a player, Olăroiu's best-known clubs he played for are Universitatea Craiova and Naţional Bucureşti. However, he also played with success in K-League for Suwon Samsung Bluewings and helped the team to win two league titles (1998, 1999). He also won the Korean League Cup and twice the Korean Supercup.
Early years
He started his coaching career during the 2000–01 season at Naţional Bucureşti, finishing a respectable 7th in his first season. During the following season, 2001–02, he guided the club to a second-place finish above teams like Steaua and Rapid Bucureşti.
In summer 2002, Olăroiu signed for Steaua Bucureşti. He resigned after only seven league games, blaming the decision on a lack of support from the board and players. The club president Viorel Păunescu re-appointed Victor Piţurcă, former manager before 2002 who wanted to return to head-coaching and was still highly regarded by the players.
After leaving Steaua București, Olăroiu returned to Național București, this time as a general manager. In 2003, he was named head coach again, replacing Walter Zenga.
In the winter of 2004, Olăroiu joined Politehnica Timişoara and brought with him the best players from Național București. He led them to a near historical fourth-place finish in Divizia A, but in November 2005 he was sacked by the club's owner Marian Iancu.
Steaua București & European campaigns success
Just some days after, Olăroiu was appointed manager by Gigi Becali, the new president, and this time owner, of Steaua Bucureşti, to replace Oleh Protasov. His first championship title as coach came in June 2006 and then one month later his team also won the Supercupa României. In May 2006, Olăroiu reached the semi-finals of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup. He also helped Steaua to qualify for the UEFA Champions League group stages, where they played against Dinamo Kiev, Real Madrid and Olympique Lyon. Steaua secured a third place and a spot in the UEFA Cup knockout rounds.
Al-Hilal
In June 2007, Olăroiu signed for Al-Hilal, supposedly drawn by the more attractive financial aspects that are typical of Saudi Arabian football. In 2008, he again proved his coaching worth, winning the Crown Prince Cup and the Saudi Premier League title. He also won his second Crown Prince Cup, before leaving the team in February 2009, while leading them to the first position in the national championship.
Al-Sadd
On April 2009, he signed a two-year contract with Al-Sadd. In December 2010, Olăroiu announced his resignation as club boss immediately after leading his side to the Qatari Stars Cup.
On 5 May 2011, Olăroiu was named supervisor for Steaua Bucureşti for the last three matches of Liga I in the 2010–11 season and 2011 Cupa României Final. Steaua's assistant coach, Gabriel Caramarin took charge of the team as caretaker manager, for the last remaining games.
Al Ain
In summer 2011, Cosmin Olăroiu was hired as Al Ain manager on a two-year contract. He steered the club away from the relegation zone, before leading them to the United Arab Emirates Pro-League title in the 2011–12 season. On 18 September 2012, he also won the UAE Super Cup with Al Ain.
He then repeated the performance the following season, winning a consecutive title for Al Ain. In June 2013, Olăroiu signed a contract extension with Al Ain reportedly worth €4 million a season after penning new two-year deal. However, the contract was terminated on 1 July 2013.
Al Ahli
On 6 July 2013, it was announced that Olăroiu signed a three-year contract with Dubai side Al Ahli. On 30 August, Olăroiu won his first match in charge of Al Ahli against his former club Al Ain in the Super Cup final. In April 2014, Cosmin Olăroiu mathematically won his third consecutive league title as Al Ahli won over arch rivals Al Wasl 2–1. During his first season in charge, Olăroiu won three domestic titles and was awarded as Coach of the Year by the Arabian Gulf League in 2014.
He guided the club to their first AFC Champions League final in 2015, losing 1–0 on aggregate to China's Guangzhou Evergrande.
Saudi Arabia national team
On 15 December 2014, it was announced that he will train the Saudi Arabia national football team for 2015 AFC Asian Cup. His first match in charge was a 4–1 loss to Bahrain in a friendly match. Olăroiu's side also lost two next matches, including a 1–0 loss to China in 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia's first match at the tournament. They won their next match 4–1 against North Korea but lost 3–1 their final match against Uzbekistan and were eliminated in the group stages. The results is a consequence of his not knowing his players well. At the end of the tournament, Olăroiu returned to his club position.