Biography
Two key moments in Universitatea’s history are tied to Nicolae Oțeleanu’s name: he is the coach who took the team up from the third tier to the second (1954) and then into Divizia A (1964).
He had been one of the finest army footballers of his day, playing for Sparta (1925–1929), Sportul Studențesc București (1929–1933) and Sporting Chișinău (1933–1937).
In 1953 he turned to coaching and, in a short time, led Universitatea Craiova up from Divizia C to Divizia B at the promotion tournament in Arad. Oțeleanu returned to the helm a decade later and pulled off another remarkable promotion, from B to A – not without drama. On 14 July 1964, on the final day of the season, three teams could still go up: Metalul Târgoviște, Poiana Câmpina and Știința Craiova. Everything hinged on the result in Pașcani, where CFR hosted Câmpina, and on the one in Craiova, where Știința met Metalul head to head. Pașcani beat Câmpina 2–0, the Craiova students beat Târgoviște 3–0, and Lieutenant Colonel Oțeleanu’s side entered the top division for the first time.
Nicolae Oțeleanu’s last achievement came in 1968, when he took Electroputere up to Divizia B.