Full name Serghei Clescenco Playing position 1990 Spartak Oryol Role Footballer Weight 68 kg | Place of birth Criuleni, Moldovan SSR Years Team Name Serghei Clescenco Height 1.74 m Position Forward | |
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Date of birth (1972-05-20) 20 May 1972 (age 43) | ||
Serghei Cleșcenco (/klɛʃtʃɛnkoʊ/; born 20 May 1972 in Criuleni, Moldovan SSR) is a retired Moldovan footballer, who holds the record for the most goals scored in a single season by a foreigner in Israel. He is former manager of FC Zimbru Chișinău.
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Early career
After a successful period with Zimbru Chișinău, Cleșcenco was taken on trial by English club Watford in early 1998. He impressed, but work permit issues, along with Zimbru Chișinău asking for too much money prevented the deal from going through.
In 1999, Cleșcenco joined Maccabi Haifa from Moldovan club Zimbru Chișinău. It was one of the most successful starts ever for a foreigner in Israel as he bagged 22 goals in his first season topping the record set by Polish striker Andrzej Kubica for most goals scored by a foreigner in Israel in a single season. After another strong season in Haifa, he moved to Hapoel Tel Aviv, where he was part of the squad that reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup. He scored one of the goals as they memorably knocked out Chelsea.