Nicolae Tilihoi

Nicolae Tilihoi
Tilihoi with Universitatea Craiova in the 1980s
Personal information
Date of birth (1956-12-09)9 December 1956[1]
Place of birth Brăila, Romania
Date of death 25 March 2018(2018-03-25) (aged 61)
Place of death Craiova, Romania
Position Defender
Youth career
Comerțul Brăila
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1974–1976 FC Brăila
1976–1987 Universitatea Craiova 290 (6)
1987–1988 Metalul Bocșa
Total 290 (6)
International career‡
1976–1977 Romania U21 10 (0)
1980 Romania Olympic 1 (0)
1979–1981 Romania 9 (0)
Managerial career
1990–1991 Jiul Craiova
1991–1992 Electroputere Craiova (assistant)
1993 Electroputere Craiova
1996–1997 Universitatea Craiova (juniors)
1996 Universitatea Craiova (assistant)
2003 Senaco Novaci
Metalul Bocșa
Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea
Callatis Mangalia
Drobeta-Turnu Severin
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10 March 2018
‡ National team caps and goals as of 10 March 2018

Nicolae Tilihoi (9 December 1956[1] – 25 March 2018) was a Romanian professional footballer who played as a defender.

He spent most of his career with Universitatea Craiova, where he was a member of the Craiova Maxima generation, being nicknamed "the Iron Defender of Craiova".[2]

Club career

Tilihoi was born on 9 December 1956 in Brăila, Romania and began playing junior-level football in 1969 at local club Comerțul.[3] He started his senior career in 1974, playing for FC Brăila in Diviza B.[3] Subsequently, he joined Universitatea Craiova where he made his Diviza A debut on 1 September 1976 under coach Constantin Teașcă in a 1–0 away loss to Politehnica Timișoara.[2][3][4]

Tilihoi went on to play 11 seasons for "U" Craiova, forming a successful partnership in the central defense with Costică Ștefănescu.[2][3][5][6] He was part of the "Craiova Maxima" generation, helping them win two consecutive league titles in 1980 and 1981.[3][5][7] At the first one he played 23 matches under coach Valentin Stănescu and in the second he made 27 appearances under coach Ion Oblemenco.[3][7] He also won the Cupa României four times, playing in all the finals.[3][5][8]

Tilihoi played 37 games for "U" Craiova in European competitions.[3] In the second round of the 1979–80 UEFA Cup, he played in one leg of the 4–0 aggregate win over Leeds United, as Universitatea became the first Romanian club that eliminated a team from England in European competitions.[9][10] Afterwards, they reached the quarter-finals in the 1981–82 European Cup by eliminating Olympiacos and Kjøbenhavns Boldklub, being eliminated with 3–1 on aggregate by Bayern Munich.[11] He made nine appearances in the 1982–83 UEFA Cup campaign when they reached the semi-finals, being eliminated by Benfica on the away goal rule after 1–1 on aggregate.[3][12] Tilihoi played in a 3–0 win over AS Monaco in the second leg of the first round of the 1985–86 European Cup Winners' Cup, after losing the first leg 2–0.[3][13] However, they were eliminated in the following round by the eventual winners of the competition, Dynamo Kyiv.[3][13] Tilihoi made his last Divizia A appearance on 3 June 1987 in a 3–2 home win over Victoria București, totaling 290 matches with six goals in the competition.[3]

He ended his career in 1988, having spent one year with Metalul Bocșa.[14]

International career

From 1976 to 1977, Tilihoi was consistently featured for Romania's under-21 side.[3][15] In 1980, he played for Romania's Olympic team in a 2–2 draw against Hungary.[15]

Tilihoi made nine appearances for Romania, making his debut on 21 March 1979 under coach Ștefan Kovács in a 3–0 friendly win over Greece.[16][17] Subsequently, he played in a loss to Yugoslavia and a win over Cyprus during the Euro 1980 qualifiers.[16] He also played in a 2–0 loss to Yugoslavia in the 1977–80 Balkan Cup.[16] Tilihoi made his last appearance for the national team on 13 May 1981 in a 1–0 away loss to rivals Hungary in the 1982 World Cup qualifiers.[16]

Managerial career

After retirement, Tilihoi started coaching in 1990 at Jiul Craiova, helping it gain promotion from Diviza C to Diviza B.[2][14] Subsequently, he was an assistant coach at Electroputere Craiova during the 1991–92 Divizia A season, as the team finished in third place.[2] He then became the head coach of the team in 1993 for three matches.[18] In 1996, Tilihoi went to coach juniors at Universitatea Craiova and with them, he won a national junior championship.[2] In the same year, he worked for a while as the assistant of Emerich Jenei for the senior team.[2] He also coached several other clubs, such as Metalul Bocșa, Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea, Callatis Mangalia, Drobeta-Turnu Severin and Senaco Novaci.[2][14] In 2003, Tilihoi worked as a vice-president for Electro Craiova.[2]

Writing

Tilihoi wrote editorials in the regional newspaper "Gazeta de Sud" from 2005 to 2011.[2] In 2011, he published a book comprising those editorials, titled Cronicar in vremuri tulburi (Chronicler in troubled times).[2]

Personal life and death

In 2003, Tilihoi received the Honorary Citizen of Craiova title.[19]

Tilihoi died early in the morning of 25 March 2018, at the age of 61, after struggling for several years with an incurable disease.[20][21] Around 300 people attended his funeral, which took place in the "Ungureni" Cemetery in Craiova.[22]

Honours

Player

Universitatea Craiova

Manager

Jiul Craiova

References

  1. ^ a b Tilihoi stated that his birth date is sometimes erroneously offered as 9 August 1956:
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Braileanul Nicolae Tilihoi – Fundasul de fier al Craiovei Maxima" (in Romanian). InfoBrăila. 8 April 2014. Archived from the original on 11 April 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Nicolae Tilihoi at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  4. ^ "Politehnica Timișoara vs Universitatea Craiova 1-0". Labtof. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  5. ^ a b c "Nicolae Tilihoi" (in Romanian). CS Universitatea Craiova. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  6. ^ "Deces în sport. Nicolae Tilihoi, unul dintre cei mai mari fundaşi din istoria fotbalului, a murit la vârsta de 61 de ani" [Death in sports. Nicolae Tilihoi, one of the greatest defenders in football history, died at the age of 61] (in Romanian). Mediafax.ro. 25 March 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  8. ^ "Romanian Cup – Season 1976–1977". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
    "Romanian Cup – Season 1977–1978". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
    "Romanian Cup – Season 1980–1981". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
    "Romanian Cup – Season 1982–1983". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  9. ^ "Nicolae Tilihoi. UEFA Cup 1979/1980". WorldFootball. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  10. ^ "38 de ani de la o performanță senzațională! Universitatea Craiova, prima echipă din România care elimina o grupare din Anglia" [38 years since a sensational performance! Universitatea Craiova, the first team in Romania to eliminate a group from England] (in Romanian). Orangesport.ro. 7 November 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
    "Au trecut 43 de ani de la Leeds United – Universitatea Craiova 0-2. Amintirile lui Aurel Beldeanu: "M-au aplaudat și englezii". Exclusiv" [43 years have passed since Leeds United – Universitatea Craiova 0-2. Aurel Beldeanu's memories: "The English applauded me too." Exclusive] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  11. ^ "Nicolae Tilihoi. Champions League 1981/1982". WorldFootball. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  12. ^ "EXCLUSIV. Dezvăluiri explozive despre cum "i-a luat" naționala calificarea Craiovei Maxima în finala Cupei UEFA : "S-au făcut multe greșeli după România-Italia"" [EXCLUSIVE. Explosive revelations about how the national team "took away" Craiova Maxima's qualification for the UEFA Cup final: "Many mistakes were made after Romania-Italy"] (in Romanian). Playsport.ro. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
    "Nicolae Tilihoi. UEFA Cup 1982/1983". WorldFootball. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  13. ^ a b "După 39 de ani, Universitatea Craiova încearcă o altă remontada europeană de la 0-2. Cine a fost eroul din 1985 al oltenilor" [After 39 years, Universitatea Craiova is trying another European comeback from 0-2. Who was the 1985 hero of the Oltenians] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 30 July 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
    "Francezii nu au uitat că Universitatea Craiova i-a făcut de rușine! France Football şi-a adus aminte de oltenii care o umileau pe AS Monaco! Video" [The French have not forgotten that Universitatea Craiova put them to shame! France Football remembered the Oltenians who humiliated AS Monaco! Video] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 7 November 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
    "Nicolae Tilihoi. Cup Winners Cup 1985/1986". WorldFootball. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  14. ^ a b c "Tragedie în fotbalul românesc. Nicolae Tilihoi, fostul fundaș al Universității Craiova, a murit la 61 de ani" [Tragedy for Romanian football. Nicolae Tilihoi, former defender of Universitatea Craiova, died at age 61.] (in Romanian). Active News. 25 March 2018. Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  15. ^ a b "Nicolae Tilihoi profile". 11v11. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  16. ^ a b c d "Nicolae Tilihoi". European Football. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Romania 3-0 Greece". European Football. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  18. ^ "Nicolae Tilihoi profile". Labtof. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  19. ^ "Cetățeni de onoare ai Craiovei" [Honorary citizens of Craiova] (in Romanian). Primariacraiova.ro. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  20. ^ "S-a stins din viaţă Nicolae Tilihoi, fost mare jucător al Craiovei. Marți va fi înmormântat" [Nicolae Tilihoi, former great player of Craiova, has died. He will be buried on Tuesday] (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 25 March 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  21. ^ "Tragedie în fotbalul românesc! Nicolae Tilihoi, fostul fundaş al Craiovei, a murit la 61 de ani" [Tragedy in Romanian football! Nicolae Tilihoi, former Craiova defender, died at 61] (in Romanian). Orangesport.ro. 25 March 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  22. ^ "Azi a avut loc înmormântarea lui Nicolae Tilihoi. Mulți foști fotbaliști și fani l-au omagiat pe fostul fundaș" [Nicolae Tilihoi's funeral took place today. Many former footballers and fans paid tribute to the former defender] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Tilihoi