2002–03 FC Oțelul Galați season

In the summer of 2002, coach Marius Lăcătuş refused to extend his contract saying that he is unhappy with the current financial situation at Oțelul and left the team.[1] Soon after, many players whose contracts were expiring also left the team. They were joined by vice-president Mihai Stoica, who signed for Steaua.[2] President Ion Ionică appointed[3] Costel Orac as the new manager. Later in that summer, Igor Pîrvu is named as the new president of the club.[4]

Oțelul Galați

2002–03 season
Chairman	Igor Pîrvu
Manager	Costel Orac
Divizia A	13th
Cupa României	Round of 32
Top goalscorer	League: Guriță (8) All: Guriță (9) Oprea (4) Bucătaru (3) Cornea (3) Iordache (2) Tofan (2)

Competitions

Friendlies

Oltul Sfântu Gheorghe v Oțelul Galați

17 July 2002	Oltul Sfântu Gheorghe	0–3	Oțelul Galați	Sfântu Gheorghe
		(Report)	Guriţă Tofan Murgoci

Gloria Buzău v Oțelul Galați

18 July 2002	Gloria Buzău	1–4	Oțelul Galați	Sfântu Gheorghe
10:00	?	(Report)	Toma , , Guriţă

Oțelul Galați v Farul Constanţa

24 July 2002	Oțelul Galați	1–0	Farul Constanţa	Galați
18:00	Guriţă  76' (pen.)	(Report)		Stadium: Oțelul Referee: Sorin Burloiu

Farul Constanţa v Oțelul Galați

27 July 2002	Farul Constanţa	2–0	Oțelul Galați	Constanţa
11:00	? ,	(Report)		Stadium: Farul

FC Seoul v Oțelul Galați

6 February 2003 Cyprus	FC Seoul	2–1	Oțelul Galați	Larnaca
17:30	? ,	(Report)	Piana

Energiya Khabarovsk v Oțelul Galați

10 February 2003 Cyprus	Energiya Khabarovsk	2–0	Oțelul Galați	Larnaca
	? ,	(Report)

Kuban Krasnodar v Oțelul Galați

12 February 2003 Cyprus	Kuban Krasnodar	2–1	Oțelul Galați	Larnaca
18:00	?  40',  45'	(Report)	Pelin  3'

Fakel Voronezh v Oțelul Galați

14 February 2003 Cyprus	Fakel Voronezh	1–0	Oțelul Galați	Larnaca
11:00	?	(Report)

CF Brăila v Oțelul Galați

26 February 2003	CF Brăila	2–0	Oțelul Galați	Lacu Sărat, Brăila
	? ,	(Report)

Divizia A

Main article: 2002–03 Divizia A

Although at the end of the season they had to compete in a playout match in order to remain in Divizia A, which they lost, Oțelul still managed to keep their place in the first league due to the merger of Divizia A team Astra Ploieşti and the newly promoted Petrolul Ploieşti, which resulted in the creation of FC Petrolul Ploieşti, thus freeing a spot.

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
11	Argeș Pitești	30	11	5	14	37	41	−4	38[lower-alpha 1]
12	Bacău	30	10	8	12	31	31	0	38[lower-alpha 1]
13	Oțelul Galați	30	9	9	12	25	37	−12	36	Qualification to relegation play-offs
14	Politehnica AEK Timișoara	30	11	2	17	37	52	−15	35
15	Sportul Studențesc București (R)	30	9	4	17	44	55	−11	31	Relegation to Divizia B

Source: LT (in Romanian)
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated.
Notes:

1. ARG 3-1 BAC; BAC 2-3 ARG

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Ground	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H
Result	W	L	W	D	W	W	D	L	L	D	L	W	L	W	L	D	D	L	W	L	D	L	D	L	D	L	L	W	W	D
Position	3	9	5	6	5	3	3	4	9	8	8	7	8	7	8	8	8	10	9	10	12	13	13	14	13	13	13	13	13	13

Source: Matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
30	9	9	12	25	37	−12	36	7	6	2	17	11	+6	2	3	10	8	26	−18

Matches

Oțelul Galați v FC Argeş

17 August 2002 Matchday 1	Oțelul Galați	2–0	FC Argeş	Galați
18:00	Oprea  16' Guriţă  25' Cornea  33',  41' Toma  37' Bucătaru  85' Iordache  87'	(Report)	Radu  12' Dică  29' Chiriţă  43'	Stadium: Oțelul Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Tiberiu Lajos

Rapid București v Oțelul Galați

25 August 2002 Matchday 2	Rapid București	5 – 2[5]	Oțelul Galați	Bucharest
17:00	Bădoi  46' Măldărăşanu  48' Ilyeş  62' Bratu  67',  68' Godfroid  74'	(Report)	Pelin  27' Tănase  33' Bar  40' Bucătaru  78',  82'	Stadium: Giuleşti – Valentin Stănescu Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Sorin Altmayer

Oțelul Galați v Gloria Bistriţa

31 August 2002 Matchday 3	Oțelul Galați	1–0	Gloria Bistriţa	Galați
18:00	Badea  26' Pelin  47' Tofan  59'	(Report)	Ceauşu  48'  68' Negrean  74'	Stadium: Oțelul Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Alexandru Deaconu

Naţional București v Oțelul Galați

13 September 2002 Matchday 4	Naţional București	0–0	Oțelul Galați	Bucharest
20:00	Iacob  88'	(Report)	Pelin  51'	Stadium: Cotroceni Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Iosif Biro

Oțelul Galați v UTA Arad

21 September 2002 Matchday 5	Oțelul Galați	2–1	UTA Arad	Galați
17:00	Tofan  50' Iordache  78' Guriţă  79' Cornea  83' Toma  89' Pelin  90+2'	(Report)	Chiţescu  29'  55' Mărginean  48' Baldovin  52',  80' Piţ  68' Botiş  80'	Stadium: Oțelul Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Alexandru Tudor

Farul Constanţa v Oțelul Galați

28 September 2002 Matchday 6	Farul Constanţa	0–1	Oțelul Galați	Constanţa
19:00		(Report)	Bucătaru  28',  64' Bar  55' Toma  84'	Stadium: Farul Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Alexandru Deaconu

Oțelul Galați v Sportul Studenţesc

5 October 2002 Matchday 7	Oțelul Galați	0–0	Sportul Studenţesc	Galați
15:00		(Report)	Chihaia  45' Musteață  56'	Stadium: Oțelul Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Anton Heleşteanu

Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ v Oțelul Galați

19 October 2002 Matchday 8	Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ	4 – 0[6]	Oțelul Galați	Piatra Neamţ
15:00	Purică  8' Botez  35' Botan  57' (pen.) Solomon  73',  76' Burdujan  89'	(Report)	Mărginean  37' Tănase  57'	Stadium: Ceahlăul Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Iosif Biro

FC Braşov v Oțelul Galați

26 October 2002 Matchday 9	FC Braşov	3 – 2[7]	Oțelul Galați	Braşov
15:00	Andraşi  27' Stere  35',  36' Bodea  67' Buga  70'	(Report)	Guriţă  9' Toma  15' Iordache  29' Oprea  39' Cornea  46' Tănase  64' Pelin  84' Badea  84'	Stadium: Silviu Ploieşteanu Attendance: 3,500 Referee: Mugurel Vădan

Oțelul Galați v Poli AEK

2 November 2002 Matchday 10	Oțelul Galați	2–2	Poli AEK	Galați
14:00	Tănase  33',  66' Oprea  53'	(Report)	Pelin  45' (o.g.) Silvăşan  85'	Stadium: Oțelul Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Gheorghe Farcaş

Universitatea Craiova v Oțelul Galați

9 November 2002 Matchday 11	Universitatea Craiova	2–0	Oțelul Galați	Craiova
14:00	Papură  35' Dunăreanu  36' Vochin  43' Luţu  51' Pleşan  79'	(Report)	Iordache  3'	Stadium: Ion Oblemenco Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Sorin Altmayer

Oțelul Galați v Dinamo București

16 November 2002 Matchday 12	Oțelul Galați	2–0	Dinamo București	Galați
12:00	Guriţă  18',  80' Tofan  25' Mărginean  62'	(Report)	Kiriţă  64' Grigorie  72' Preda  80'	Stadium: Oțelul Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Augustus Constantin

Astra Ploieşti v Oțelul Galați

23 November 2002 Matchday 13	Astra Ploieşti	2–0	Oțelul Galați	Ploieşti
17:00	Mihart  28' Todoran  30' Irimescu  83' Tofan  88' (o.g.)	(Report)	Oprea  14' Tănase  53' Borş  76' Pelin  88'	Stadium: Astra Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Aurelian Simion

Oțelul Galați v FCM Bacău

30 November 2002 Matchday 14	Oțelul Galați	1 – 0[8]	FCM Bacău	Galați
14:00	Cornea  83' Tofan  80' Tănase  90+3'	(Report)	Apostol  40' Lovin  64' Nivaldo  75'	Stadium: Oțelul Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Alexandru Deaconu

Steaua București v Oțelul Galați

7 December 2002 Matchday 15	Steaua București	1–0	Oțelul Galați	Bucharest
13:00	Trică  30' Mutică  40'	(Report)	Borş  8' Iordache  66'  67'	Stadium: Steaua Attendance: 250 Referee: Alexandru Băjan

Oțelul Galați v Rapid București

8 March 2003 Matchday 17	Oțelul Galați	0–0	Rapid București	Galați
15:00	Cornea  44' Badea  45' Pelin  50' Tofan  75'	(Report)	Maftei  3' Bisconti  36' Perjă  90'	Stadium: Oțelul Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Tiberiu Lajos

Gloria Bistriţa v Oțelul Galați

15 March 2003 Matchday 18	Gloria Bistriţa	1–0	Oțelul Galați	Bistriţa
15:30	Rus  45' Sânmărtean  75'	(Report)	Toma  12'	Stadium: Gloria Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Sorin Altmayer

FC Argeş v Oțelul Galați

19 March 2003 Matchday 16	FC Argeş	2–2	Oțelul Galați	Piteşti
15:30	Iordache  5'  32' Şomcherechi  6' Bogoi  35' Tofan  38' (o.g.) Dică  82' (pen.)	(Report)	Mărginean  8' Cornea  15' Oprea  16' (pen.),  63' Guriţă  76'	Stadium: Nicolae Dobrin Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Florin Chivulete

Oțelul Galați v Naţional București

22 March 2003 Matchday 19	Oțelul Galați	2–1	Naţional București	Galați
16:00	Coman  1' (o.g.) Mărginean  37' Oprea  58' (pen.),  59' Iliuciuc  90+4'	(Report)	Coman  19' Buta  38' Mitrović  84'	Stadium: Oțelul Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Gheorghe Farcaş

UTA Arad v Oțelul Galați

5 April 2003 Matchday 20	UTA Arad	3–0	Oțelul Galați	Arad
17:00	Popescu  33' Manta  54',  82' Luca  70' Varga  75'	(Report)	Guriţă  68' Bar  78'	Stadium: Francisc von Neumann Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Alexandru Deaconu

Oțelul Galați v Farul Constanţa

12 April 2003 Matchday 21	Oțelul Galați	2–2	Farul Constanţa	Galați
17:00	Guriţă  14' Mărginean  44' Tănase  63' Badea  72' Pelin  89'	(Report)	Uşurelu  34' Zicu  44' (pen.) Senin  56' Chirea  74' Bălan  82' Bălţoi  90+2'	Stadium: Oțelul Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Alexandru Tudor

Sportul Studenţesc v Oțelul Galați

16 April 2003 Matchday 22	Sportul Studenţesc	2–0	Oțelul Galați	Bucharest
17:00	Diniţă  58' Farmache  68' Chihaia  72'	(Report)	Guriţă  44' Badea  48' Mărginean  87'	Stadium: Regie Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Iosif Biro

Oțelul Galați v Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ

19 April 2003 Matchday 23	Oțelul Galați	0–0	Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ	Galați
17:00		(Report)	Ilie  28' Botez  37'	Stadium: Oțelul Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Sorin Corpodean

Oțelul Galați v FC Braşov

25 April 2003 Matchday 24	Oțelul Galați	0–2	FC Braşov	Galați
17:00	Pelin  44' Tofan  49'	(Report)	Stere  14' Sărmăşan  37' Iorga  43' Nicolae  50' Constantin  55' Buga  60' Surdu  77' Stan  82'	Stadium: Oțelul Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Cristian Lucian Dan

Poli AEK v Oțelul Galați

3 May 2003 Matchday 25	Poli AEK	0–0	Oțelul Galați	Timișoara
18:00	Stancu  71' Constantinovici  78' Bătrânu  82'	(Report)	Guriţă  35' Borş  38' Tănase  45'	Stadium: Dan Păltinişanu Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Sorin Corpodean

Oțelul Galați v Universitatea Craiova

7 May 2003 Matchday 26	Oțelul Galați	0–1	Universitatea Craiova	Galați
13:00	Iordache  29' Tănase  30' Tofan  44' Pelin  52' Mărginean  78'	(Report)	Papură  7' Miclea  72' Gušo  83'	Stadium: Oțelul Attendance: 3,500 Referee: Sorin Altmayer

Dinamo București v Oțelul Galați

10 May 2003 Matchday 27	Dinamo București	1–0	Oțelul Galați	Bucharest
20:00	Frăsineanu  18' Kiriţă  58' Grigorie  63'	(Report)		Stadium: Dinamo Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Iosif Biro

Oțelul Galați v Astra Ploieşti

17 May 2003 Matchday 28	Oțelul Galați	2–1	Astra Ploieşti	Galați
18:00	Cornea  22' Crăciun  59' Guriţă  90+2'	(Report)	Todoran  90+1'	Stadium: Oțelul Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Cristian Balaj

FCM Bacău v Oțelul Galați

24 May 2003 Matchday 29	FCM Bacău	0–1	Oțelul Galați	Bacău
18:00		(Report)	Oprea  40' Tănase  59' Mărginean  76' Bar  90+1' Iliuciuc  90+2'	Stadium: Municipal Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Marian Salomir

Oțelul Galați v Steaua București

28 May 2003 Matchday 30	Oțelul Galați	1–1	Steaua București	Galați
18:00	Iordache  43' Minescu  61' Mărginean  69' Guriţă  80' Vieira  90+4'	(Report)	Lung  39' Răducanu  61' Paraschiv  76'	Stadium: Oțelul Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Sorin Corpodean

Oțelul Galați v FC Oradea

14 June 2003 Playout 1st leg	Oțelul Galați	2–1	FC Oradea	Galați
18:00	Cornea  28' Iordache  36' Guriţă  67'	(Report)	Vrăjitoarea  34',  45+1' (pen.) Lazăr  37' Rotaru  44'	Stadium: Oțelul Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Marian Salomir

FC Oradea v Oțelul Galați

18 June 2003 Playout 2nd leg	FC Oradea	3–1	Oțelul Galați	Oradea
17:30	Vrăjitoarea  70',  81',  91'	(Report)	Cornea  19' Tănase  28' Badea  68' Iordache  80'	Stadium: Municipal Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Cristian Balaj

Cupa României

Main article: 2002–03 Cupa României

Industria Sârmii Câmpia Turzii v Oțelul Galați

6 November 2002 Round of 32	Industria Sârmii Câmpia Turzii	3–0	Oțelul Galați	Câmpia Turzii
13:00	Anca  23' Mitiu  71' M. Bratu  72'			Stadium: Mechel Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Orlando Trandu

Players

Squad statistics

				Total			Divizia A		Cupa României		Relegation playoffs
No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Sts	App	Gls	App	Gls	App	Gls	App	Gls
–			Vieira	1	7		7
–			Apostol		1				1
–			Apostu		3		3
–			Badea	26	29	1	27	1			2
–			Bar	22	27		25				2
–	GK		Borş	12	13		12		1
–	FW		Bucătaru	11	21	3	20	3			1
–			Bucur		3		2				1
–			Cernat	9	18		15		1		2
–			Chiriţă	1	3		2		1
–			Cornea	28	30	4	28	3			2	1
–			Costea		1				1
–			Dascălu	1	1				1
–	FW		Guriţă	30	31	9	29	8			2	1
–	GK		Iliuciuc	21	21		19				2
–			Iordache	28	28	2	26	2			2
–			Maleş		6		6
–			Mărginean	20	25		24				1
–			Minescu	14	22		21				1
–			Miron	1	1				1
–			Mogoş	1	1				1
–			Murgoci	1	1				1
–			Onuţa	1	1				1
–	FW		Oprea	22	25	4	23	4			2
–	CB		Pelin	28	28		26				2
–			Piana	7	10		10
–			Popa	1	1				1
–	FB		Sârghi	1	1				1
–			Stan		1				1
–			Tănase	28	28	2	26	1			2	1
–			Tofan	28	28	2	26	2			2
–			Toma	19	26		25				1
–			Velescu	1	1				1

Last updated: 11 March 2010
Source: RomanianSoccer and Viaţa Liberă
Ordered by player name
0 shown as blank

Transfers

In

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving from	Type	Transfer window	Ends	Transfer fee	Source
–	DF		Minescu	31	EU	Foresta Fălticeni	Transfer	Summer		Undisclosed	[9]
–	GK		Iliuciuc		EU	Dinamo București	Transfer	Summer		Undisclosed	[9]
–	LM		Cornea	20	EU	Baia Mare	Transfer	Summer		Undisclosed	[9]
–	CB		Iordache	21	EU	Dinamo București	Transfer	Summer		Undisclosed	[9]
–	RB		Baldovin	30	EU	Universitatea Craiova	Transfer	Summer		Undisclosed	[10]
–			Bar		EU	Baia Mare	Transfer	Summer		Undisclosed	[11]
–	DM		Badea	26	EU	Dinamo București	Transfer	Summer		Undisclosed	[11]
–	DF		Chiriță		EU	Radnički Kragujevac	Transfer	Summer		Undisclosed	[11]
–	CB		Vieira	28	Non-EU	Lugano	Transfer	Winter	2005	Undisclosed	[12]
–	CB		Nițulescu		EU		Transfer				[12]
–	CF		Piana	21	Non-EU	Troyes	Transfer	Winter	2005	Free	[12]

Out

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving to	Type	Transfer window	Transfer fee	Source
–	LM		Boştină	25	EU	Steaua București	Transfer	Summer	Free	[1]
–	GK		Munteanu	27	EU	Dinamo București	Transfer	Summer	$ 100,000	[13]
–	CB		Ghionea	23	EU	Steaua București	Transfer	Summer	$ 150,000	[14]
–	RB		Ogăraru	22	EU	Steaua București	Loan end	Summer	–	[15]
–	DF		Dinu		EU	Zimbru Chișinău	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed	[16]
–	CM		Baştină	29	EU	Zimbru Chișinău	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed	[16]
–	LB		Mozacu	25	EU	Brașov	Contract expired	Summer	–	[16]
–	CF		Andone	27	EU	Ferencváros	Contract expired	Summer	–	[16]

EU = if holds or not a European Union passport; Country: when 2 flags, 1st flag = country that plays for internationally, 2nd flag = country of birth; N = number on jersey; P = Position (for position name, pause mouse pointer on abbreviation); Name = Name on jersey (for more extensive name, pause mouse pointer on name); Age = age on the day of the signing; Moving from = only indicate the club the player was playing before start playing for this club in this season, for the type of the moving see Status column; Moving to = only indicates the club the player is going to play next, for the type of the moving see Status column; Ends = when the player's current contract ends; n/a = Not applicable.

References

1. ""Nu cred ca noi am fi putut sa-i oferim ceva asemanator", considera Mihai Stoica". Viaţa Liberă (in Romanian). Galați. 13 June 2002. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
2. "Otelul va lua totul de la zero!". Viaţa Liberă (in Romanian). Galați. 2 July 2002. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
3. "Costel Orac va fi noul antrenor al Otelului. Problema bugetului ramane, in continuare, nerezolvata". Viaţa Liberă (in Romanian). Galați. 3 July 2002. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
4. "Marinarul care va conduce Otelul". Viaţa Liberă (in Romanian). Galați. 17 July 2002. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
5. Badoi or Bratu for the 70th-minute goal
6. Some sources list Solomon as the 76th minute scorer
7. some sources say that Bundea was the 11th minute scorer
8. Some sources list Cornea's goal 83rd minute
9. "Otelul a plecat la munte". Viaţa Liberă (in Romanian). Galați. 9 July 2002. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
10. "Adrian Baldovin – ultima noutate in "curtea" Otelului!". Viaţa Liberă (in Romanian). Galați. 14 August 2002. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
11. "Insemnari de la confeinta de presa". Viaţa Liberă (in Romanian). Galați. 16 August 2002. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
12. "Marlin Piana si Andre Vieira au semnat pentru Otelul". Viaţa Liberă (in Romanian). Galați. 5 March 2003. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
13. "Portarul Cristi Munteanu a semnat pentru Dinamo!". Viaţa Liberă (in Romanian). Galați. 15 June 2002. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
14. "A plecat si Sorin Ghionea!". Viaţa Liberă (in Romanian). Galați. 19 June 2002. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
15. "In pofida tuturor zvonurilor, Otelul Galati nu este pe marginea prapastiei..." Viaţa Liberă (in Romanian). Galați. 20 June 2002. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
16. "Otelul are nevoie de intariri". Viaţa Liberă (in Romanian). Galați. 4 July 2002. Retrieved 18 March 2010.

External links

• The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation at rsssf.com
• Divizia A at romaniansoccer.ro