Cosmin Contra

Politehnica and Dinamo

Born in Timișoara, Contra started his professional career at local club Politehnica Timișoara, making his Divizia A debut under coach Costică Ștefănescu on 27 February 1994 at age 18 in a 1–0 win in the West derby against UTA Arad. At the end of his first season they were relegated to Divizia B, but he stayed with the side, promoting back after one year. Midway through 1995–96, he signed for Dinamo București at the request of coach Cornel Dinu. During his period with the Red Dogs he failed to win any trophy, the team's best performance during his stay being a runner-up finish in 1998–99; he also made his debut in European competitions, appearing in four matches in the 1996 UEFA Intertoto Cup and two in the 1997–98 UEFA Cup.

Alavés

After three and a half campaigns with Dinamo, Contra was transferred for $800,000 to Deportivo Alavés in the Spanish La Liga. He was an important part in the Basques' runner-up run in the UEFA Cup, his performances earning him in a place in the UEFA Team of the Year. Contra scored eight goals in all competitions during his spell at the Mendizorrotza Stadium. In December 2021, as the club celebrated its 100th birthday, he was voted its best-ever right-back by newspaper Noticias de Álava.

AC Milan and Atlético

In the summer of 2001, Contra moved to Italian club AC Milan, but his spell there lasted only one season. On 21 October, in the Derby della Madonnina against Inter Milan and as his team…

Contra earned 73 caps for Romania and scored seven goals, making his debut on 24 April 1996 at the age of 20 when coach Anghel Iordănescu brought him on in the 65th minute to replace captain Gheorghe Hagi in a friendly against Georgia which ended with a 5–0 victory. He played three games in the Euro 2000 qualifiers, being selected by Emerich Jenei to be part of the final tournament squad, where he was used as a starter the first three matches, helping the team get past the group stage, but did not play in the 2–0 loss to Italy in the quarter-finals, being suspended after receiving two yellow cards in the previous fixtures. He made nine appearances and netted twice in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying phase, one in a 2–0 away victory over Georgia and one in the second leg of the play-off against Slovenia which was lost 3–2 on aggregate. Contra made six appearances in the Euro 2004 qualifiers, scoring a hat-trick in the 7–0 away rout of Luxembourg, playing six times in the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. He contributed six matches and two goals, one in a 3–0 victory against Luxembourg and one in the 2–0 defeat of Slovenia in qualification for Euro 2008, being used in the final tournament by manager Victor Pițurcă in all the minutes as his side failed to progress from their group. Contra played four games in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers and, on 1 April 2009, after a match with Austria, he announced his retirement from international football; however, on 30 August…

Early career

Contra made his Timișoara debut as a manager in September 2010, with a win against Sportul Studențesc București. Even though the team never lost a game under his guidance, he was sacked after 11 matches – six wins, five draws – because of a conflict with the club's owner. Contra returned to Spain in July 2012, being appointed at Segunda División B side Fuenlabrada. He started the campaign well and, after ten rounds, the team found themselves in a play-off position; however, after an offer from Petrolul Ploiești in his homeland arrived, he asked to be released from his contract.

Petrolul

Contra took over at Petrolul in October 2012, replacing Mircea Rednic. In his first season he reached the final of the Cupa României, defeating CFR Cluj 1–0; additionally, the club finished third in the domestic league, thus securing qualification for the Europa League after an 18-year-absence. Petrolul managed to knock out Víkingur Gøta in the Europa League second qualifying round and Vitesse Arnhem in the third, but were eliminated in the play-offs by Swansea City after being bested 5–1 in Wales and winning 2–1 at home.

Getafe

On 10 March 2014, Contra returned to Getafe and the Spanish top flight after four years, replacing Luis García who was fired after a long run of bad results which led the team to only a point above the relegation zone, and without a league win since November. His first match in charge came four days later, a 3–3 home draw…

Club

International

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Contra goal.