Mario Marinica
Encyclopedia
Mario Marinică is a football manager and coach, currently Technical Director at Sportul Studenţesc
.
He holds the UEFA Pro Licence, the highest football coaching qualification. Marinica is a highly qualified, experienced and ambitious coach, with a proven track record of developing young talent. He has coached at Romanian clubs FC Gloria Buzău, Sportul Studenţesc
, Argeş Piteşti, Rocar Bucureşti, and Cimentul Fieni. He has also coached at Black Leopards
in South Africa. In England, he has worked at Crystal Palace FC and Arsenal FC's Academies as well as Leyton Orient FC's School of Excellence. His playing career included spells at Rocar Bucureşti, Dinamo Bucureşti and Steaua Bucureşti.
and Chris Ramsey
.
During the 1998-1999 season he coached Haringey Borough FC. He was both Head of Youth Development and First Team Coach as well as the club's Fitness Trainer. He would later return to the club as first team Manager for a brief spell at the end of the 2005-2006 season. Winning 6 out of the last 7 games, he saved the club from relegation together with his assistant Ged Searson.
From 1999 to 2001, Marinică was a coach at the Arsenal F.C.
Academy, primarily in charge of the under-15 team. During this period, as part of an exchange programme he spent a short time assisting Massimo Pedrazzini
within the technical department of Internazionale
.
In the 2001-2002 season he returned to Rocar Bucureşti as Assistant Manager. Here he helped to develop a number of players including Cristian Neamtu
, Cristian Silvasan
, Ionut Rada, and Silviu Balace
, that have since been capped by their country.
During 2002-2003, he became a development coach at the Crystal Palace FC Academy. He managed the U15 side, and coached from U14 to U19 levels. He worked with a number of players who have since turned professional and received International honours: Wayne Routledge
, Gary Borrowdale
, Ben Watson, Tom Soares
, Sam Togwell
, Lewis Grabban
, Rhoys Wiggins
, Andrew Julius
, David Hunt
, Gavin Heeroo
, Teerathep Winothai, Will Antwi
and Craig Dobson
.
At the start of 2003, he was appointed First Team Coach at Argeş Piteşti, working with players such as Nicolae Dică
, Andrei Prepeliţă
, Raul Marincău
, Marius Bilaşco
, and Adrian Iordache
.
His progress at Argeş Piteşti brought him to the attention of Romanian Serie B club, Cimentul Fieni. He was appointed Caretaker Manager of the Club, towards the end of 2003. In a limited time, and with scarce playing and financial resources, he managed to save Fieni from relegation and help restore pride to the team.
In recent years he has been a member of the Technical Support Staff of the Romanian Football Federation
. His coaching and Coach-Educator expertise have been used to help develop their UEFA-A and UEFA-B licence coaching courses. He has also consulted on player development programmes for the U16 through U21 teams. He co-ordinated the 2006 visit to Romania
of Howard Wilkinson
. The former Technical Director of The Football Association
was brought over by Marinica to conduct a session of the Romanian Football Federation
's UEFA Pro Licence course.
"I have known Mario for a long time. He is an intellectual coach; methodical, a statistician, and an excellent personality."
Mircea Rădulescu
, Technical Director of the Romanian Football Federation
.
He has been employed by Hertha Berlin, Watford FC, Stockport County FC and Notts County FC for scouting and technical analysis of forthcoming adversaries. He has also been employed to assist Romanian clubs Steaua Bucureşti and Dinamo Bucharest in preparation to face English opposition in European competition. His unsurpassed tactial analysis provided the basis for Steaua Bucureşti's defeat of Middlesbrough FC and Dinamo Bucharest's 5-1 defeat of Everton F.C.
in the UEFA Cup
. It was the first time Everton F.C. had conceded five goals in European competition.
During the 2006 FIFA World Cup
, he assisted the Paraguay national football team
, providing technical analysis of their group B rivals: England, Sweden and Trinidad & Tobago.
From 2005 to 2007, he completed the UEFA Pro Licence with the Irish Football Association
, graduating alongside him were Chris Coleman
, Jim Gannon
and Bernard McNally
; amongst others.
In the 2008-9 season, he was the interim manager of Romanian Liga I
(Premier Division) side FC Gloria Buzău. He had been initially employed as Technical Director, and developed young players such as Eric Bicfalvi
, Alexandru Tudose
, and Alin Litu
, all of whom are current members of the Romania national under-21 football team
. He took over the Head Coach role in late 2008, and helped turn around a club that had made the worst ever start to a season in the Romanian League. He secured a notable draw, away to traditional powerhouse Steaua Bucureşti.
In June 2009, he was appointed Manager of South Africa National First Division
side Black Leopards. Fans heralded Marinica as 'the messiah' upon his appointment, but after just over a month in the hotseat he had to return to Bucharest due to family problems. Former South Africa national team and current Mamelodi Sundowns
coach Ted Dumitru
commented at the time; "Mario is a very tactical coach and I’m convinced that he would have turned the team around. He has very strong scientific aspects of hard performance in football."
Since July 2010 he has been employed as Technical Director at Romanian Premier League side Sportul Studenţesc
, following speculation linking him with the Zambia national football team
job.
Sportul Studentesc
Sportul Studenţesc is a Romanian football club that was established in 1916 . The Bucharest club has won the Balkans Cup once and its best result in the Romanian league is a 2nd place in 1986...
.
He holds the UEFA Pro Licence, the highest football coaching qualification. Marinica is a highly qualified, experienced and ambitious coach, with a proven track record of developing young talent. He has coached at Romanian clubs FC Gloria Buzău, Sportul Studenţesc
Sportul Studentesc
Sportul Studenţesc is a Romanian football club that was established in 1916 . The Bucharest club has won the Balkans Cup once and its best result in the Romanian league is a 2nd place in 1986...
, Argeş Piteşti, Rocar Bucureşti, and Cimentul Fieni. He has also coached at Black Leopards
Black Leopards
Black Leopards are a South African football club based in Makhado, Limpopo that plays in the Premier Soccer League.-History:The club was founded in 1983 by business people in Venda. In 1998 the club was taken over by the Thidiela family...
in South Africa. In England, he has worked at Crystal Palace FC and Arsenal FC's Academies as well as Leyton Orient FC's School of Excellence. His playing career included spells at Rocar Bucureşti, Dinamo Bucureşti and Steaua Bucureşti.
Playing career
Mario Marinică featured most notably in the youth and reserve teams at Rocar Bucureşti, Dinamo Bucureşti and Steaua Bucureşti, eventually retiring from playing in 1993.Coaching career
His coaching career commenced in 1993 at Leyton Orient FC. In a varied coaching role, he directed "Football in the Community" courses, and developed players both at the School of Excellence and first team; working closely with Grant Cornwell, John SittonJohn Sitton
John Sitton is an English former professional footballer and former manager of Leyton Orient.-Playing career:...
and Chris Ramsey
Chris Ramsey
Chris Ramsey is a former professional footballer who played as a defender, most often as a right back.-Football career:Ramsey was born in England, nicknamed "Rambo" for his physical and robust style of play....
.
During the 1998-1999 season he coached Haringey Borough FC. He was both Head of Youth Development and First Team Coach as well as the club's Fitness Trainer. He would later return to the club as first team Manager for a brief spell at the end of the 2005-2006 season. Winning 6 out of the last 7 games, he saved the club from relegation together with his assistant Ged Searson.
From 1999 to 2001, Marinică was a coach at the Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
Academy, primarily in charge of the under-15 team. During this period, as part of an exchange programme he spent a short time assisting Massimo Pedrazzini
Massimo Pedrazzini
Massimo Pedrazzini is an Italian football coach and former player, last in charge as Walter Zenga's assistant coach at Serie A club Palermo.- Player :...
within the technical department of Internazionale
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
.
In the 2001-2002 season he returned to Rocar Bucureşti as Assistant Manager. Here he helped to develop a number of players including Cristian Neamtu
Cristian Neamţu
Cristian Neamţu was a Romanian football player.Neamtu was the reserve goalkeeper of the Romanian First Division club FC Universitatea Craiova and was considered one of the country's most promising young keepers....
, Cristian Silvasan
Cristian Silvasan
Cristian Radu Silvăşan is a Romanian football player, who is currently playing for Liga I team Gaz Metan Mediaş...
, Ionut Rada, and Silviu Balace
Silviu Balace
Silviu Constantin Bălace is a Romanian footballer, who currently plays for Liga I club SC Vaslui. Although primarily a left back, Bălace can play as a left winger as well and is known for his overlapping runs on the left side, his pace and his technical ability.-Early years:Born in Caracal, Bălace...
, that have since been capped by their country.
During 2002-2003, he became a development coach at the Crystal Palace FC Academy. He managed the U15 side, and coached from U14 to U19 levels. He worked with a number of players who have since turned professional and received International honours: Wayne Routledge
Wayne Routledge
Wayne Neville Anthony Routledge is an English footballer who plays for Swansea City. He plays as a midfielder predominantly on the right wing but can also play on the left. He has represented England at under-16, under-19 and under-21 level...
, Gary Borrowdale
Gary Borrowdale
Gareth Ian "Gary" Borrowdale is an English footballer who plays for Barnet on loan from Queens Park Rangers. A left-sided player, Borrowdale plays as a Left back. He has also been known to operate as a central defender.-Club career:...
, Ben Watson, Tom Soares
Tom Soares
Thomas James "Tom" Soares is an English footballer who plays for Stoke City as a midfielder.-Crystal Palace:Born in Reading, Berkshire, Soares came up through the Crystal Palace academy, playing in central midfield, but since breaking through has been used more often on the wing for Palace, a...
, Sam Togwell
Sam Togwell
Samuel James "Sam" Togwell is an English football player who currently plays as a defensive midfielder for League One side Scunthorpe United....
, Lewis Grabban
Lewis Grabban
Lewis Grabban is a footballer who currently plays for League Two side Rotherham United as a striker....
, Rhoys Wiggins
Rhoys Wiggins
Rhoys Barrie Wiggins is an English-born Welsh Under-21 international footballer who plays for Charlton Athletic as a defender.-Career:...
, Andrew Julius
Andrew Julius
Andrew Julius is an international footballer from Montserrat who plays as a midfielder.-Club career:After playing youth football with Crystal Palace, Julius moved on loan to Bromley in January 2003, and left Palace without making an appearance in the Football League for them...
, David Hunt
David Hunt (footballer)
David John Hunt is an English footballer who plays for Crawley Town as a midfielder.-Playing career:Born in London, Hunt began as a trainee with Crystal Palace, but made only a few appearances after turning pro. He moved to Leyton Orient in 2003, playing 74 times in all competitions in two seasons...
, Gavin Heeroo
Gavin Heeroo
Gavin Harry Heeroo is a footballer who is currently a free agent.-Career:Born in Haringey, London, Heeroo started his career with Crystal Palace as a trainee, making his first team debut as a substitute in a 1–1 draw with Preston North End in the First Division...
, Teerathep Winothai, Will Antwi
Will Antwi
William Kwabena "Will" Antwi Agyei is an Anglo-Ghanaian footballer who plays for Conference National side Grimsby Town, on loan from Luton Town as a defender.-Crystal Palace:...
and Craig Dobson
Craig Dobson
Craig Gregory Dobson is a footballer who plays for Kettering Town as a midfielder. He is also a noted football freestyler, having appeared in the DVD Urban Freestyler....
.
At the start of 2003, he was appointed First Team Coach at Argeş Piteşti, working with players such as Nicolae Dică
Nicolae Dica
Nicolae Constantin Dică is a Romanian football attacking midfielder. He is a playmaker or forward known for his incisive passing and long balls...
, Andrei Prepeliţă
Andrei Prepelita
Andrei Prepeliţă is a Romanian professional footballer, who plays for Steaua Bucureşti.-Steaua Bucureşti:On 2 August 2011 he signed a four year contract with Steaua Bucureşti.-External links:*...
, Raul Marincău
Raul Marincău
Raul Marincău is a Romanian football player, currently playing at FC Victoria Brăneşti.-Career:Marincău has spent most of his playing career in Romania, but he had a spell with Russian Premier League side CSKA Moscow during 2002 and 2003...
, Marius Bilaşco
Marius Bilasco
Marius Ioan Bilaşco is a Romanian footballer who plays for Tianjin Teda in the Chinese Super League...
, and Adrian Iordache
Adrian Iordache
Adrian Iordache is a Romanian football defender who plays at Khazar Lankaran. His former teams include AEL Limassol, FC Dinamo Bucureşti, Poiana Câmpina, Oţelul Galaţi, Shinnik Yaroslavl, FC Argeş Piteşti, Alki Larnaca and FC Rapid Bucureşti.-External links:*...
.
His progress at Argeş Piteşti brought him to the attention of Romanian Serie B club, Cimentul Fieni. He was appointed Caretaker Manager of the Club, towards the end of 2003. In a limited time, and with scarce playing and financial resources, he managed to save Fieni from relegation and help restore pride to the team.
In recent years he has been a member of the Technical Support Staff of the Romanian Football Federation
Romanian Football Federation
The Romanian Football Federation is the governing body of football in Romania. It organizes the Romania national football team and most of the Romanian football competitions. It is based in the Romanian capital city of Bucharest...
. His coaching and Coach-Educator expertise have been used to help develop their UEFA-A and UEFA-B licence coaching courses. He has also consulted on player development programmes for the U16 through U21 teams. He co-ordinated the 2006 visit to Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
of Howard Wilkinson
Howard Wilkinson
Howard Wilkinson is a former English football player and manager, and has recently stepped down as a Non-Executive Director at Sheffield Wednesday after formerly relinquishing the chairman role to Milan Mandaric...
. The former Technical Director of The Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
was brought over by Marinica to conduct a session of the Romanian Football Federation
Romanian Football Federation
The Romanian Football Federation is the governing body of football in Romania. It organizes the Romania national football team and most of the Romanian football competitions. It is based in the Romanian capital city of Bucharest...
's UEFA Pro Licence course.
"I have known Mario for a long time. He is an intellectual coach; methodical, a statistician, and an excellent personality."
Mircea Rădulescu
Mircea Rădulescu
Mircea Rădulescu is a former Romanian football player and one of the most well trained and qualified Romanian football managers. He is currently the president of FRF's Technical Commission and director of Football Federation's Coaching School.-Life and career:Rădulescu was born in Bucharest and...
, Technical Director of the Romanian Football Federation
Romanian Football Federation
The Romanian Football Federation is the governing body of football in Romania. It organizes the Romania national football team and most of the Romanian football competitions. It is based in the Romanian capital city of Bucharest...
.
He has been employed by Hertha Berlin, Watford FC, Stockport County FC and Notts County FC for scouting and technical analysis of forthcoming adversaries. He has also been employed to assist Romanian clubs Steaua Bucureşti and Dinamo Bucharest in preparation to face English opposition in European competition. His unsurpassed tactial analysis provided the basis for Steaua Bucureşti's defeat of Middlesbrough FC and Dinamo Bucharest's 5-1 defeat of Everton F.C.
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
in the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
. It was the first time Everton F.C. had conceded five goals in European competition.
During the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
, he assisted the Paraguay national football team
Paraguay national football team
The Paraguay national football team is controlled by the Paraguayan Football Association and represents Paraguay in men's international football competitions. The team has reached the second round of the World Cup on four occasions . The 2010 trip also featured their first appearance in the...
, providing technical analysis of their group B rivals: England, Sweden and Trinidad & Tobago.
From 2005 to 2007, he completed the UEFA Pro Licence with the Irish Football Association
Irish Football Association
The Irish Football Association is the organising body for association football in Northern Ireland, and was historically the governing body for Ireland...
, graduating alongside him were Chris Coleman
Chris Coleman (footballer)
Christopher "Chris" Coleman is a Welsh football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of Greek Side Larissa....
, Jim Gannon
Jim Gannon
James Paul "Jim" Gannon is a former footballer and football manager, who is now Director of football and manager of Conference National team Stockport County...
and Bernard McNally
Bernard McNally
Bernard Anthony McNally is a former Northern Ireland international footballer who played in midfield....
; amongst others.
In the 2008-9 season, he was the interim manager of Romanian Liga I
Liga I
Liga I, or in full, due to sponsorship reasons, Liga I Bergenbier, is the top division of the Romanian football league system. Before the 2006/2007 season, it was called Divizia A, but the name had to be changed following the discovery that someone else had registered the trademark "Divizia A"...
(Premier Division) side FC Gloria Buzău. He had been initially employed as Technical Director, and developed young players such as Eric Bicfalvi
Eric Bicfalvi
Erik Cosmin Bicfalvi is a Romanian footballer of Swedish descent, currently playing for Steaua Bucureşti.- Career :...
, Alexandru Tudose
Alexandru Tudose
Alexandru Tudose is a Romanian footballer who currently plays for Gloria Bistriţa in the Liga I as a Centre back.-International career:* Tudose was captain of the Romania Under 17 squad.-External links:* *...
, and Alin Litu
Alin Litu
Alin Liţu is a football striker under contract with Gaz Metan Mediaş on loan from Steaua II Bucureşti.-Debut:...
, all of whom are current members of the Romania national under-21 football team
Romania national under-21 football team
The Romania national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation. The team competes in the European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years....
. He took over the Head Coach role in late 2008, and helped turn around a club that had made the worst ever start to a season in the Romanian League. He secured a notable draw, away to traditional powerhouse Steaua Bucureşti.
In June 2009, he was appointed Manager of South Africa National First Division
National First Division
The National First Division is the second-highest league of South African club football after the Premier Soccer League . Both the NFD and PSL are organised by the National Soccer League.-For seasons in 2007-11:...
side Black Leopards. Fans heralded Marinica as 'the messiah' upon his appointment, but after just over a month in the hotseat he had to return to Bucharest due to family problems. Former South Africa national team and current Mamelodi Sundowns
Mamelodi Sundowns
Mamelodi Sundowns are a South African football club that plays in the Premier Soccer League.Since 2003, Sundowns are owned by rand billionaire Patrice Motsepe....
coach Ted Dumitru
Ted Dumitru
Theodore "Ted" Dumitru is the current Technical Director of Mamelodi Sundowns in the South African Premier Soccer League...
commented at the time; "Mario is a very tactical coach and I’m convinced that he would have turned the team around. He has very strong scientific aspects of hard performance in football."
Since July 2010 he has been employed as Technical Director at Romanian Premier League side Sportul Studenţesc
Sportul Studentesc
Sportul Studenţesc is a Romanian football club that was established in 1916 . The Bucharest club has won the Balkans Cup once and its best result in the Romanian league is a 2nd place in 1986...
, following speculation linking him with the Zambia national football team
Zambia national football team
The Zambia national football team represents the country of Zambia in the sport of association football and is governed by the Football Association of Zambia. Before independence they were known as the Northern Rhodesia national football team. The side is nicknamed Chipolopolo as copper is one of...
job.