Mihăiță Păunel Pleșan (Romanian: Михэицэ Пэунел Плешан; born 19 February 1983 in Moldova Nouă, Caraș-Severin County, Romania) is a Romanian professional footballer who played as a central midfielder [1][2]. He is known in Romania for a career that took him through the country's major clubs and earned him seven caps for the national side, and in Russia for three seasons with FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod (ФК «Волга» Нижний Новгород), including time in the Russian Premier League [3][2]. Nizhny Novgorod> is a city on the Volga river about 400 km (250 miles) east of Moscow; known as Gorky in Soviet times, it was then closed to foreign visitors.

Pleșan and the world of Romanian football

Pleșan began organised football at the age of nine with Minerul Moldova Nouă, the club of his home town in the Clisura Dunării region of the Banat [3]. He joined the youth academy of Universitatea Craiova and made his debut in Romania's top division, Divizia A (Liga 1), on 14 April 2001, in a match between Universitatea Craiova and Astra Ploiești that ended 0–2 [4]. The coach who gave him his first start was Ilie Balaci [4].

After several solid seasons at Universitatea, a crisis interrupted his career in the autumn of 2001: he was removed from the squad alongside a teammate and trained independently in parks in Craiova until the summer of 2002, when new ownership at Universitatea brought him back to the club [4]. He went on to play more than 60 matches and score more than 10 goals for Universitatea in the top division between the 2000/01 and 2004/05 seasons [5].

In the summer of 2005, Dinamo Bucharest confirmed his purchase from Universitatea Craiova as part of a package deal that also included Adnan Guso, Mariko Daouda, Cosmin Moți and Ilie Iordache [6]. At Dinamo he scored in a 5–2 derby victory over Rapid Bucharest on 26 September 2005, netting in the 38th minute [7], and was part of the squad that reached the UEFA Cup that season [8]. He spent six months at Dinamo, playing 12 league matches and scoring two goals [2].

In January 2006, Dinamo transferred him to Politehnica Timișoara for 750,000 euros at the express request of coach Gheorghe Hagi, who had long admired the player [9]. Hagi had also sought to bring Pleșan to Galatasaray while coaching in Turkey [9]. At Poli Timișoara, Pleșan scored in the opening match of the 2007/08 season against Poli Iași (3–1) [10], and scored twice in a 2–2 draw at CFR Cluj [11]. He reached the final of the Romanian Cup with Poli Timișoara in May 2007, where the club lost 0–2 to Rapid Bucharest [12].

In August 2007, after negotiations between Poli Timișoara and Dinamo, Pleșan instead signed a five-year contract with Steaua București [13]. He said at the signing that he was aware that choosing Steaua two years earlier, when he had also been sought by the club, would have advanced his career [13]. At Steaua he appeared in UEFA Champions League group-stage football, entering as a substitute in the 89th minute of a 0–1 defeat to Fiorentina in December 2008 [14]. Over three seasons at Steaua (2007/08–2009/10) he played 40 league matches and scored three goals [2].

In June 2009, after the last match of the season against Unirea Urziceni, a physical altercation took place in Steaua's dressing room between Pleșan and team captain Sorin Ghionea [15]. Pleșan had criticised the defensive positioning at the equalising goal; Ghionea responded with kicks, and Pleșan replied with a punch [15][16]. Club owner Gigi Becali stated that both players would leave [15]. Pleșan was subsequently assigned to Steaua's reserve side for a period [17]. He reflected on the episode in a 2023 interview: "These are things that happen out of nerves, out of frustration" [18].

For the Romanian national team, Pleșan made seven appearances between 16 November 2003 and 6 June 2007, scoring one goal and providing one assist [1]. His debut came as a substitute in a 0–1 friendly defeat to Italy in Ancona on 16 November 2003 [1][19]. His most celebrated international moment came on 28 April 2004, when Romania defeated Germany 5–1 in a friendly at Giulești stadium in Bucharest; Pleșan scored in that match [1][20]. Following the match, he stated in a 2014 interview that Arsène Wenger had contacted him personally to express Arsenal's interest, though the transfer did not proceed due to a disagreement over the fee [21].

Pleșan at Volga Nizhny Novgorod

In 2010, Pleșan moved to FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod (ФК «Волга» Нижний Новгород), which was then competing in the Russian First Division (Первый дивизион) — the second tier of Russian football [2][5]. He played three league matches in that partial season [2]. Volga finished second in the First Division and earned promotion to the Russian Premier League [5].

In January 2011, Pleșan sustained a groin injury and travelled to Romania for treatment [5]. He recovered in time for Volga's debut campaign in the Premier League, the 2011/12 season, which was the club's first at the top level [22][5]. After the team's opening victory over FC Tom Tomsk (2–0), Pleșan described the atmosphere created by supporters in Nizhny Novgorod> as "colossal" and unlike anything from the previous season [22]. He went on to play 24 league matches that season, scoring one goal, and appeared in two domestic cup ties [2].

On 3 April 2011, Pleșan scored with a chip over the goalkeeper in the 63rd minute as Volga defeated Dinamo Moscow 3–0 at home [23]. Later that season he scored against Anji Makhachkala, opening the scoring in the 4th minute of a match his side eventually lost 1–2; Samuel Eto'o scored twice for Anji in that game [24].

During the 2011/12 season, Pleșan gave an interview to rusfootball.info in which he spoke about the team's upcoming match against Spartak Moscow and expressed hope that Volga would extend their positive run of results [22]. He was joined at Volga by other Romanian-linked players during his time there: former Steaua midfielder Janos Szekely arrived in 2011 [25], and in February 2013 midfielder Adrian Ropotan signed with the club on a deal until the end of that season, earning approximately 20,000 euros per month [26].

In the 2012/13 season, Pleșan made nine Premier League appearances [2]. In September 2012 he suffered a broken rib in a match against FC Amkar in the eighth round of the championship and was sent to Bucharest for treatment under the supervision of the Romanian national team's physician [5]. He was listed as unavailable for an indefinite period ahead of Volga's home match against CSKA Moscow [5]. In the 2013/14 season he did not feature in any league matches for Volga, and that year the club was disbanded [27][5].

From Nizhny Novgorod back to Romania

Pleșan's spell at Volga Nizhny Novgorod was his only experience of playing abroad [3]. At the time of his departure from Russia, the Romanian press noted that he had been a first-team player at a club that had reached and competed in the Russian Premier League [27]. Romanian midfielder Adrian Ropotan, who joined Volga in 2013, had previously played for Dinamo Moscow and Krylya Sovetov, illustrating the network of Romanian players active in Russian football during that period [26].

After leaving Volga in the summer of 2013, Pleșan signed a one-year contract with CS Universitatea Craiova, the club of the city where his career had begun [27]. In the 2013/14 season he played 19 matches in Romania's second division and scored four goals; in 2014/15 he played nine matches in the top division, scoring one goal [2]. In October 2013, while at CS Universitatea, he received a two-match suspension following a mass brawl involving players of CS Universitatea Craiova and ASA Târgu Mureș [28].

Memory and legacy

Pleșan's goal against Germany in the 5–1 friendly of April 2004 has remained a reference point in Romanian football memory; Eurosport ran a dedicated retrospective on it in 2021, seventeen years after the event [20]. In interviews given in 2021 and 2023, he reflected on his career, his time at Steaua, his seasons in Russia and his national-team appearances [3][17]. The Russian-language football reference site footballfakts.ru maintains a biographical entry for him, covering his career statistics in Russia and the USSR-successor leagues [5]. A reference book entry on Pleșan was published by Jesse Russell in 2013 [29].

Sources

  1. eu-football.info — Mihăiță Pleșan – international football player profile (archive)
  2. national-football-teams.com — Mihăiță Pleșan player profile
  3. GOLAZO.ro — Interview with Mihăiță Pleșan, 21 January 2023 (in Romanian)
  4. Libertatea — "Urmatorul Hagi" [The Next Hagi], 29 April 2004 (in Romanian) (archive)
  5. footballfakts.ru — Pleșan Mihăiță Păunel, born 19 February 1983 – player profile (in Russian) NOT IN WIKIPEDIA'S NOTES
  6. Adevărul — "Dinamo confirms acquisition of Plesan, Guso, Daouda, Moti and Iordache", 2005 (in Romanian)
  7. HotNews.ro — "Dinamo crushed Rapid 5-2", 26 September 2005 (in Romanian)
  8. GSP.ro — "15 years since the historic Dinamo–Everton 5-1", 15 September 2020 (in Romanian)
  9. Libertatea — "Plesan, the right price", 11 January 2006 (in Romanian) (archive)
  10. HotNews.ro — "Poli Timișoara–Poli Iași 3-1. Hopes reborn on the Bega", 29 July 2007 (in Romanian)
  11. Evenimentul Zilei — "Tension and spectacle", 6 August 2007 (in Romanian) (archive)
  12. Ziare.com — "Romanian Cup final: Rapid keeps the trophy", 26 May 2007 (in Romanian)
  13. HotNews.ro — "Mihăiță Pleșan has signed with Steaua!", 6 August 2007 (in Romanian)
  14. GOLAZO.ro — Steaua - Fiorentina 0-1/ Ros-albastrii eliminati, chinul s-a terminat in Ghencea - GOLAZO.ro
  15. Ziare.com — "Ghionea and Plesan fought in the dressing room", 14 June 2009 (in Romanian)
  16. Prosport — Bătaie în vestiarul Stelei între doi fotbaliști cunoscuți
  17. Antena Sport — "EXCLUSIVE – Fight in Steaua's dressing room! How Pleșan was punished by Gigi Becali", 26 March 2021 (in Romanian)
  18. GSP.ro — "Pleșan, after the Ghionea incident reported in the Gazette", 15 June 2009 (in Romanian)
  19. eu-football.info — Italy vs Romania, 16 November 2003
  20. Eurosport — "EXCLUSIVE – Mihăiță Pleșan, 17 years after the remarkable goal in Romania–Germany 5-1", 2021 (in Romanian)
  21. GOLAZO.ro — "Mihaita Plesan: 'Wenger called me personally and said he wanted me at Arsenal'", 30 April 2014 (in Romanian)
  22. rusfootball.info — "Mihăiță Pleșan: I hope we extend our winning run against Spartak" (in Russian) NOT IN WIKIPEDIA'S NOTES
  23. Ziare.com — "Mihăiță Pleșan scored in Russia (video)", 3 April 2011 (in Romanian)
  24. Adevărul — "Mihăiță Pleșan scored against Eto'o", 2011 (in Romanian)
  25. Adevărul — "Janos Szekely will be Pleșan's teammate at Volga Novgorod", 2011 (in Romanian)
  26. Digi Sport — "EXCLUSIVE – Ropotan returns to Russia. Will be Pleșan's teammate at Volga Novgorod", 5 February 2013 (in Romanian)
  27. Digi Sport — "Pleșan returns to Craiova! Has signed with CS Universitatea", 12 September 2013 (in Romanian)
  28. Digi Sport — Dublu suspendat: Surghiunit două etape în tribună, Pleșan a rămas și fără permis
  29. chitatel.by — chitatel.by — Плешан, Михэицэ. Джесси Рассел, 2013. Купить книгу в Минске.