Constantin Gâlcă (born 8 March 1972) is a Romanian former footballer, and a manager, who was most recently manager of Saudi Professional League club Al-Hazem. Equally at ease as a defensive or central midfielder and possessing an accurate long-range shot, he first made a name for himself at Steaua București. He then spent a full decade in Spain, playing in 318 matches in both major levels combined and representing five clubs, most notably Espanyol. Additionally, Gâlcă appeared for Romania in two World Cups and as many European Championships, winning 68 caps. As a manager, he led teams including both Steaua and Espanyol. Playing career Club Born in Bucharest, Gâlcă's senior career began at age 16 in the third division, with FC Progresul București. Only one year after he switched to the Liga I with lowly FC Argeș Pitești, for whom he played four times towards the end of the season, soon breaking into the Romanian national under-21 team. After one more season with solid displays (31 games, two goals), Gâlcă signed with country giants CSA Steaua București, immediately beginning to produce: in his debut campaign, he scored five times in 26 matches. Gâlcă stayed at Steaua two more years, netting 13 goals combined. After winning the domestic cup and having appeared in nearly 200 official matches, he left for Spain where he would remain the next 11 years. First stop was RCD Mallorca in the Balearic Islands, for which he scored 13 times to help to a promotion to La Liga (that total was tied for squad best). He then experienced a steady period with Barcelona-based RCD Espanyol, scoring five goals in his third season, which also ended with conquest of the Copa del Rey. Gâlcă signed with Villarreal CF in summer 2001, but was deemed surplus to requirements midway through his second year, which he finished in the second division on loan to Real Zaragoza, being instrumental as the latter club returned to the top flight after one year of absence by starting in all his appearances. Gâlcă still had three more solid seasons in the country with second-tier club UD Almería, playing 40 matches in his last season, one year before the Andalusians first reached the top division. He eventually returned to the national team with this team in 2005 – after a three-year absence – and retired in June 2006 at the age of 34. International Galca