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Serghei Cleșcenco

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Serghei Cleșcenco (pronounced [kleʃˈtʃeŋko]; born 20 May 1972) is a Moldovan football coach and a former player. He is the head coach of the Moldova national team, for which he held the records for most goals and most appearances as a player.

Serghei Cleșcenco
Personal information
Date of birth (1972-05-20) 20 May 1972 (age 52)
Place of birth Criuleni, Moldavian SSR, Soviet Union
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Moldova (head coach)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990 Spartak Oryol 14 (1)
1990–1992 Nistru Chișinău 23 (1)
1992–1996 Zimbru Chișinău 131 (40)
1996–1997 Go Ahead Eagles 62 (9)
1997–1998 Zimbru Chișinău 20 (25)
1998 Zenit St. Petersburg 6 (0)
1998–1999 Zimbru Chișinău 8 (0)
1999–2001 Maccabi Haifa 102 (42)
2001–2003 Hapoel Tel Aviv 62 (22)
2003 Chernomorets Novorossiysk 6 (0)
2003–2004 Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv 14 (1)
2004–2005 Zimbru Chișinău 18 (1)
2005–2006 Sibir Novosibirsk 44 (8)
2007–2008 Metallurg-Kuzbass Novokuznetsk 33 (1)
Total 543 (151)
International career
1991–2006[1] Moldova 69 (11)
Managerial career
2008–2010 Moldova U17
2010–2011 Moldova U19
2011–2012 Milsami Orhei
2012 Milsami Orhei (assistant)
2013 Zimbru Chișinău (executive assistant)
2013 Zimbru Chișinău
2013–2015 Zimbru Chișinău (executive assistant)
2015–2017 União Leiria (assistant)
2017 União Leiria (caretaker)
2017 Rostov (assistant)
2019–2020 Moldova U21
2019–2021 Moldova (assistant)
2021 Moldova U21 (caretaker)
2021– Moldova
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He holds the record for the most goals scored in a single season by a foreigner in Israel. He is a former manager of Zimbru Chișinău, where he also spent large parts of his playing career.

Playing career

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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.[2]

In 1999, Cleșcenco joined Maccabi Haifa. 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.[3]

Aged 19, Cleșcenco made his international debut as a substitution in Moldova's first official match, a 2–4 loss against Georgia in 1991. In a 2006 friendly against Lithuania he scored his 11th and last goal for the national team, remaining Moldova's top goalscorer until 2023. In the same year, he made his 69th and last appearance for Moldova against Bosnia and Herzegovina in UEFA Euro 2008 qualification, which was another record at the time.[1]

Managerial career

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Cleșcenco started his managerial career in 2008 at Moldova under-16 and under-17 teams. He led the Moldova under-19 team to 2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship elite qualification.[4]

Between 2019 and 2021, Cleșcenco was an assistant coach to Engin Fırat and Roberto Bordin at Moldova's national team. He became the head coach on 3 December 2021. He debuted in a match against Kazakhstan in 2020–21 UEFA Nations League relegation play-outs. The Moldovans lost at penalties and were relegated to 2022–23 UEFA Nations League D. Moldova placed second in its group, being tied to points with Latvia, but had a lower goal difference, failing to achieve promotion.

In UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Moldova obtained a historic shock 3–2 comeback win over Poland. Moldova acquired ten points in a group of five, and also were undefeated at home throughout the qualification. However, the Moldovans did not achieve qualification.

Personal life

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Cleșcenco's son, Nicky Cleșcenco, is also a footballer who has appeared for the Moldova national team.[5]

International goals

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Scores and results list Moldova's goal tally first.[6]
List of international goals scored by Serghei Cleșcenco
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1
 1 September 1994 Stadionul Republican, Chișinău   Azerbaijan 1–0 2–1 Friendly
2
 2–0
3
 16 November 1994 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia   Bulgaria 1–1 1–4 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifier
4
 7 June 1995 Stadionul Republican, Chișinău   Albania 2–1 2–3 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifier
5
 10 November 1996 Stadion GKS, Katowice   Poland 1–2 1–2 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier
6
 20 August 1998 Spordikeskuse Staadion, Kohtla-Järve   Estonia 1–0 1–0 Friendly
7
 18 August 1999 Népstadion, Budapest   Hungary 1–1 1–1 Friendly
8
 26 April 2000 Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle   San Marino 1–0 1–0 Friendly
9
 1 September 2001 Stadionul Republican, Chișinău   Azerbaijan 1–0 2–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier
10
 5 September 2001 Štadión na Sihoti, Trenčín   Slovakia 1–0 2–4 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier
11
 16 August 2006 Stadionul Zimbru, Chișinău   Lithuania 3–2 3–2 Friendly

Honours

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Player

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Zimbru Chișinău

Maccabi Haifa

Hapoel Tel Aviv

Individual

Manager

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Milsami

Managerial Statistics

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As of match played on 19 November 2024
Team Period Record
G W D L Win %
Moldova 2021–present 32 12 8 12 037.50

References

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  1. ^ a b Serghei Clescenco – International Matches at RSSSF
  2. ^ Watford Observer Archive
  3. ^ "Hapoel stun subdued Chelsea". BBC. 18 October 2001. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  4. ^ "Serghei Cleșcenco, 2 ani la Națională. Statistică impresionantă!". fmf.md (in Romanian). Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  5. ^ Ciolacu, Dumitru (2 February 2021). "Nicky Serghei Cleșcenco, noul jucător al lui FC Sion" [Nicky Serghei Cleșcenco, the new player of FC Sion]. Moldovan Football Federation (in Romanian). Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Football PLAYER: Serghei Cleşcenco". eu-football.info. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
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