Angelo Niculescu
|
Niculescu in Amsterdam (1970) | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Angelo Niculescu | ||
| Date of birth | 1 October 1921 | ||
| Place of birth | Craiova, Romania | ||
| Date of death | 20 June 2015 (aged 93) | ||
| Place of death | Bucharest, Romania | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1937–1939 | Rovine Grivița Craiova | ||
| 1939–1944 | FC Craiova | ||
| 1945–1947 | Carmen București | ||
| 1947–1948 | Ciocanul București | 29 | (1) |
| 1948–1950 | Dinamo București | 17 | (0) |
| Total | 46 | (1) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1952 | Dinamo București (juniors) | ||
| 1953–1957 | Dinamo București | ||
| 1958 | Steaua București | ||
| 1958–1959 | Tractorul Brașov | ||
| 1964–1966 | Dinamo București | ||
| 1967–1972 | Romania | ||
| 1973–1977 | Sportul Studențesc București | ||
| 1977–1979 | Politehnica Timișoara | ||
| 1979–1980 | Dinamo București | ||
| 1980–1981 | SC Bacău | ||
| 1981–1983 | Universitatea Cluj | ||
| 1983–1984 | Oțelul Galați | ||
| 1991–1992 | Club Africain (technical director) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Angelo Niculescu (1 October 1921 – 20 June 2015) was a Romanian football player and manager. He is best remembered in Romania for being the national team's coach during the 1970 World Cup. Niculescu is also credited with inventing the "temporizare" ("delaying") tactics. This strategy involved the team maintaining possession of the ball within its own half, with players exchanging numerous short passes across the field. The goal was to disrupt opponents' patience and force them to press high. This approach is often considered an early form of tiki-taka. Using these tactics, Niculescu qualified Romania for a World Cup after more than 30 years and secured a notable win against Czechoslovakia.