| Radu Jercan | |
| Birth Date: | 24 October 1945 |
| Birth Place: | Popești-Leordeni, Romania |
| Death Place: | Popești-Leordeni, Romania |
| Height: | 1.69 m |
| Position: | Forward |
| Years1: | 1966–1967 |
| Years2: | 1967–1976 |
| Caps2: | 247 |
| Goals2: | 27 |
| Years3: | 1976–1978 |
| Nationalyears1: | 1972 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 2 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Managerclubs1: | Muscelul Câmpulung |
| Managerclubs2: | Ș.N. Oltenița |
| Managerclubs3: | CS Târgoviște |
| Managerclubs4: | Chimia Găiești |
| Managerclubs5: | Textila Roșiori |
| Managerclubs6: | IUPS Chitila |
Radu Jercan (24 October 1945 – 29 September 2012) was a Romanian football forward and manager.[1] [2]
Radu Jercan was born on 24 October 1945 in Popești-Leordeni, Romania, starting to play football in 1966 at Divizia B side, Dinamo Victoria București.[2] [3] [4]
One year later he signed with Argeș Pitești where on 20 August 1967 he made his Divizia A debut in a 2–0 home loss in front of Rapid București.[2] He started playing in European competitions during the 1967–68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, scoring a goal in a victory over Ferencváros, then in the following edition he scored in a win with Göztepe, however on both occasions Argeș was eliminated on the aggregate result.[5] In the 1971–72 season he formed a successful offensive trio with Nicolae Dobrin and Constantin Radu which helped Argeș win the first title in its history, Jercan scoring a personal record of eight goals in the 29 appearances given to him by coaches Titus Ozon and Florin Halagian, including a brace in Halagian's first game as coach, a 2–1 win over Rapid București.[6] Afterwards he played three games in the 1972–73 European Cup, eliminating Aris Bonnevoie in the first round, then in the following one they won a home game with 2–1 against Real Madrid but lost the second leg with 3–1.[7] [8] Jercan's last Divizia A appearance took place on 13 June 1976 in a 7–1 away loss in front of Dinamo București, having a total of 247 matches with 27 goals scored in the competition, also playing a total of 11 games with two goals scored in European competitions, including six games with two goals in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
In 1976, Jercan went at Muscelul Câmpulung where coach was his former Argeș teammate, Ion Barbu and he was colleague with other former Argeș teammates like Constantin Radu, Vasile Stan and Marian Popescu, managing to promote the team from the third league to the second where he ended his career in 1978.[9] During his career he was known for his speed, running 100 metres in about 11 seconds.[1] [2] [3] [4]
Radu Jercan played two friendly games at international level for Romania, making his debut under coach Gheorghe Ola in a 4–2 away victory against Morocco.[10] [11] His second game was a 2–2 against Peru.[10] [12]
After he ended his playing career, Jercan coached teams in the Romanian lower leagues such as Muscelul Câmpulung, Ș.N. Oltenița, CS Târgoviște, Chimia Găiești, Textila Roșiori and IUPS Chitila.[1] [2] [3] [4]
Jercan spent the final years of his life in his hometown, Popești-Leordeni where on 29 September 2012 he died at age 66.[10] [1] [2]
Argeș Pitești
1971–72Muscelul Câmpulung