Alexandru Boc

Petrolul Ploiești

Boc was born on 3 June 1946 in Vașcău, Romania and played football as a defender. He was known for often using the "Oxford procedure" for the public's delight which was letting the ball pass over or past him, and when the forward was about to gain possession of it, he would reach back and take it with the exterior side of the foot.

Boc made his Divizia A debut on 11 October 1964, playing for Petrolul Ploiești under coach Ilie Oană in a 3–0 victory against CSMS Iași. In the following season he helped Petrolul win the 1965–66 Divizia A title, as coach Constantin Cernăianu used him in 26 matches in which he scored one goal. According to the Sportul newspaper, he was the player with the highest grade point average in the entire championship. Boc also played three games for The Yellow Wolves in the first round of the 1966–67 European Cup against Liverpool which included a 3–1 victory in which he scored a goal, but they did not manage to qualify to the next round.

Dinamo, Sportul and Rapid

In 1967, he joined Dinamo București, helping the club win the 1967–68 Cupa României in his first season, but coach Bazil Marian did not use him in the 3–1 victory over Rapid București in the final. In the following season he scored once in a 4–2 win in a derby against Steaua București in the league. Afterwards he had one season in which he didn't play because he was in jail and another one spent in Divizia B at Sportul Studențesc București. He returned to…

Boc played five matches for Romania, making his debut under coach Bazil Marian in a 1–1 friendly draw against Uruguay, which took place on 4 January 1967 in Montevideo at Estadio Gran Parque Central. He played in two victories against Switzerland and a 2–2 draw against Greece in the successful 1970 World Cup qualifiers. However, he missed the opportunity to be part of the squad that went to the final tournament, as he was in jail at that time. After Romania's 1–0 victory in Lausanne against Switzerland in the 1970 World Cup qualifiers, journalist Eugen Barbu praised Boc in the Flacăra magazine:"If Nicolae Ceaușescu would give Boc the right to play in Europe and sell him, he could build a city with the money!".

Boc was known for his success with women, being nicknamed "The ladies' man of Romanian football". He had relationships among others, with actresses Corina Chiriac and Aimée Iacobescu, and volleyball player Elena Butnaru. He was also engaged to Salomeea Djanhanghir, who was the granddaughter of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the richest man on the planet at that time. The VIP magazine ranked Boc among the top five best Romanian men, a list that included Florin Piersic, Petre Roman, Ion Dichiseanu and Sergiu Nicolaescu. He was also an occasional film actor, playing alongside Romanian actors Toma Caragiu and Gheorghe Dinică in the 1975 comedy movie Nu filmăm să ne-amuzăm (We do not film to amuse ourselves) directed by Iulian Mihu. In 2023, Boc received the Honorary Citizen of Craiova title.

Petrolul Ploiești

Divizia A: 1965–66 Dinamo București

Cupa României: 1967–68 Rapid București

Cupa României: 1971–72 Universitatea Craiova

Divizia A: 1973–74 Individual

Romanian Footballer of the Year (runner-up): 1972, (fifth place): 1974