Silviu Balace
Encyclopedia
Silviu Constantin Bălace (born November 11, 1978, Caracal
) is a Romanian
footballer, who currently plays for Liga I
club SC Vaslui. Although primarily a left back, Bălace can play as a left winger as well and is known for his overlapping runs on the left side, his pace and his technical ability.
Usually used as a left back, under the management of Basarab Panduru, Bălace established himself as Timişoara's first choise left winger. On 1 November 2003, he scored his first league goal for Timişoara, in a 3-0 win against Braşov. On 9 April 2004, he assisted at probably Timişoara's most humiliating loss from their history, a 1-8 loss on their own field against Steaua Bucureşti. Following his successful spell in Timişoara, despite his team's up and down season, the Viola fans nicknamed Bălace "Nedved from Banat" due to his Pavel Nedved look-a-like. His nickname was took over by Dinamo fans who called him "Nedved from Stefan cel Mare", but also by Vaslui fans with "Nedved from Vaslui".
On 11 August 2004, he captained Timişoara for the first time, in a 1-2 loss against FCM Bacău. On 4 August 2005, Bălace played against Pavel Nedved, in a 2-2 friendly match against Juventus Torino. The unexpected departure of Moldovan in mid-2006 led to Bălace being awarded club captaincy. Despite he was one of the most beloved players from Timisoara's history, Bălace was put on the transfer list in mid-2007, due to a conflict with Marian Iancu.
On 19 July 2008, Bălace received a red card, in Vaslui's opening match against Neftchi Baku, failing afterwards to reestablish himself as Vaslui's first choise left back. He played his second match of the season on 2 October, in a match against Slavia Prague, as a late substitute for Hugo Luz. On 6 October, he was in the startup team against FC Braşov, playing as a left midfielder, following N'Doye's suspension from yellow card accumulation. He was until the rest of the season the second choise left back, managing to play only when Hugo Luz was either suspended or injured.
On 30 July 2009, Bălace was in the startup team against Omonia Nicosia, following Hugo Luz's injury. Although it seemed he managed to reestablish himself as Vaslui's first choise left back, on 13 September he received a red card against Rapid Bucuresti, making him Vaslui's third choise left back. On 1 February 2010, he was loaned out to Universitatea Craiova, for the rest of the season. When asked about Vaslui and Timişoara's quest to claim their first national title, Bălace said that "I would rather Timişoara won the national title, although I'm still under contract with Vaslui". He missed a single match for Universitatea, due to the yellow card accumulation, and helped his team to avoid the relegation. At the end of the season, despite his expressed wish to remain in Craiova, he eventually returned to Vaslui.
Once with Juan López Caro's appointment, Bălace didn't get a single chance to play in the first team. On 4 September 2010, Bălace led his team's training program, following Caro's conflict with the team's owner. Bălace has been reinstated as Vaslui's first choise left back, after the arrival of new manager Viorel Hizo, in his third sting as Vaslui boss. On 15 May 2011, Bălace scored his first league goal since September 2007, in a match against Sportul Studenţesc at Municipal. The final score was 4-2, with Bălace scoring Vaslui's first with a header from Nemanja Milisavljević's cross. In his fourth season in Vaslui, he finished third with his team, for the second year in a row.
On 3 August 2011, Bălace was considered Vaslui's best player by Twente's manager, who stated "I enjoyed how Vaslui's Bălace played, thus being our number one danger. He won many one-on-one duels with our Ruiz". On 19 August, following Cânu and Wesley's injuries, Bălace captained Vaslui for the first time, leading his team to a 2-0 win in Europa League against Sparta Prague. Following Vaslui's qualification into the Group Stages, Porumboiu raised each player's wage up to 50%, meaning that Bălace's contract is now up to €180,000 per year.
Statistics accurate as of match played
Caracal
The caracal is a fiercely territorial medium-sized cat ranging over Western Asia, South Asia and Africa.The word caracal comes from the Turkish word "karakulak", meaning "black ear". In North India and Pakistan, the caracal is locally known as syahgosh or shyahgosh, which is a Persian term...
) is a Romanian
Romanian football league system
The Romanian football league system refers to the system in Romanian club football that consists of several football leagues bound together hierarchically by promotion and relegation.-Liga I:...
footballer, who currently plays for Liga I
Liga I
Liga I, or in full, due to sponsorship reasons, Liga I Bergenbier, is the top division of the Romanian football league system. Before the 2006/2007 season, it was called Divizia A, but the name had to be changed following the discovery that someone else had registered the trademark "Divizia A"...
club SC Vaslui. Although primarily a left back, Bălace can play as a left winger as well and is known for his overlapping runs on the left side, his pace and his technical ability.
Early years
Born in Caracal, Bălace started out as a trainee at Universitatea Craiova. On 24 May 1997, he made his first team debut, coming as a substitute in a 2-0 loss against Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ. Shortly after, when he was 18 years old, Bălace sufferd an ankle fracture which kept him out from the field for almost a year and a half. After he recovered he was sent out on loan to Chindia Târgovişte in 1999 in order to gain experience. In January 2001, Bălace was loaned out to Rocar Bucureşti for twelve months. Following his third failed attempt to establish himself in the first team, Bălace signed a contract with Divizia B team CSM Reşiţa.Poli AEK Timişoara
Following his successful short spell in Reşiţa, Bălace signed in January 2003 with newly promoted Divizia A side Poli AEK Timişoara. His league debut for his new team, was on 16 April, in the local derby against UTA Arad, coming as a substitute for Romeo Stancu. He ended his first season goalless, in which Timişoara eventually remained in the top flight, after winning the play-off against Gloria Buzău.Usually used as a left back, under the management of Basarab Panduru, Bălace established himself as Timişoara's first choise left winger. On 1 November 2003, he scored his first league goal for Timişoara, in a 3-0 win against Braşov. On 9 April 2004, he assisted at probably Timişoara's most humiliating loss from their history, a 1-8 loss on their own field against Steaua Bucureşti. Following his successful spell in Timişoara, despite his team's up and down season, the Viola fans nicknamed Bălace "Nedved from Banat" due to his Pavel Nedved look-a-like. His nickname was took over by Dinamo fans who called him "Nedved from Stefan cel Mare", but also by Vaslui fans with "Nedved from Vaslui".
On 11 August 2004, he captained Timişoara for the first time, in a 1-2 loss against FCM Bacău. On 4 August 2005, Bălace played against Pavel Nedved, in a 2-2 friendly match against Juventus Torino. The unexpected departure of Moldovan in mid-2006 led to Bălace being awarded club captaincy. Despite he was one of the most beloved players from Timisoara's history, Bălace was put on the transfer list in mid-2007, due to a conflict with Marian Iancu.
Dinamo
Following a conflict with Timişoara's boss Marian Iancu, on 19 December 2006, Bălace signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Dinamo Bucureşti with a reported transfer fee of €200,000. On 14 February, he made his first team debut for Dinamo, playing in the startup team against Benfica in UEFA Cup. His league debut for Dinamo was twelve days later, coming as a substitute for Vojislav Vranjković and providing his first assist for Cătălin Munteanu's only goal against Jiul Petroşani. Although he helped his team winning the championship after a three-year break, Bălace was put on the transfer list, following unsatisfying performances.FC Vaslui
Following an unsuccessful spell at Dinamo, Bălace moved to Vaslui for $350,000 in June 2007. He established himself immediately as Vaslui's first choice left-back. Bălace made his competitive debut for Vaslui against UTA Arad in a 2–2 draw on 27 July 2007. Bălace scored his first goal for Vaslui on 5 August 2007 in a league match win against his former club Dinamo Bucureşti. The final score was 2-0, with Bălace scoring Vaslui's first with a header from Dorinel Munteanu's corner. On 30 March 2008, he alongside team mates Sorin Frunză and Daniel Sabou were accused by Adrian Porumboiu of fixing a match against Steaua Bucureşti. As a consequence, all three players were relegated to Vaslui's satellite. Despite they were all back in the first team five days later, due to lack of evidence, all three were dropped from the startup team, until the rest of the season.On 19 July 2008, Bălace received a red card, in Vaslui's opening match against Neftchi Baku, failing afterwards to reestablish himself as Vaslui's first choise left back. He played his second match of the season on 2 October, in a match against Slavia Prague, as a late substitute for Hugo Luz. On 6 October, he was in the startup team against FC Braşov, playing as a left midfielder, following N'Doye's suspension from yellow card accumulation. He was until the rest of the season the second choise left back, managing to play only when Hugo Luz was either suspended or injured.
On 30 July 2009, Bălace was in the startup team against Omonia Nicosia, following Hugo Luz's injury. Although it seemed he managed to reestablish himself as Vaslui's first choise left back, on 13 September he received a red card against Rapid Bucuresti, making him Vaslui's third choise left back. On 1 February 2010, he was loaned out to Universitatea Craiova, for the rest of the season. When asked about Vaslui and Timişoara's quest to claim their first national title, Bălace said that "I would rather Timişoara won the national title, although I'm still under contract with Vaslui". He missed a single match for Universitatea, due to the yellow card accumulation, and helped his team to avoid the relegation. At the end of the season, despite his expressed wish to remain in Craiova, he eventually returned to Vaslui.
Once with Juan López Caro's appointment, Bălace didn't get a single chance to play in the first team. On 4 September 2010, Bălace led his team's training program, following Caro's conflict with the team's owner. Bălace has been reinstated as Vaslui's first choise left back, after the arrival of new manager Viorel Hizo, in his third sting as Vaslui boss. On 15 May 2011, Bălace scored his first league goal since September 2007, in a match against Sportul Studenţesc at Municipal. The final score was 4-2, with Bălace scoring Vaslui's first with a header from Nemanja Milisavljević's cross. In his fourth season in Vaslui, he finished third with his team, for the second year in a row.
On 3 August 2011, Bălace was considered Vaslui's best player by Twente's manager, who stated "I enjoyed how Vaslui's Bălace played, thus being our number one danger. He won many one-on-one duels with our Ruiz". On 19 August, following Cânu and Wesley's injuries, Bălace captained Vaslui for the first time, leading his team to a 2-0 win in Europa League against Sparta Prague. Following Vaslui's qualification into the Group Stages, Porumboiu raised each player's wage up to 50%, meaning that Bălace's contract is now up to €180,000 per year.
Statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| CSM Reşiţa | 2002–03 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| Total | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | |
| Poli Timişoara FC Politehnica Timişoara Fotbal Club Politehnica Timişoara is a Romanian football club which was established in 1921 and is currently playing in Romania's second league, Liga II... |
2002–03 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 2003–04 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 4 | |
| 2004–05 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 2 | |
| 2005–06 | 29 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 5 | |
| 2006–07 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 | |
| Total | 95 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 103 | 12 | |
| Dinamo | 2006–07 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Total | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| SC Vaslui | 2007–08 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 1 |
| 2008–09 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 FC Vaslui season 2009–10 The 2009–10 season will be the eighth season in FC Vaslui's existence, and its fifth in a row in Liga I. Having finished in the top six last season, FC Vaslui is qualified for the Third qualifying round in Europa League.-Pre-season:... |
5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Total | 47 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 1 | |
| U Craiova FC Universitatea Craiova Fotbal Club Universitatea Craiova is a Romanian professional football club from Craiova. They became the first Romanian football team to reach the semi-finals of a European tournament, during the UEFA Cup in 1982–83... |
2009–10 2009–10 Liga I The 2009–10 Liga I season was the ninety-second since its establishment. Unirea Urziceni were the defending champions.- Teams :Farul Constanţa, Otopeni and Gloria Buzău were relegated at the end of the 2008–09 season after finishing in 16th through 18th place... |
15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| Total | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| SC Vaslui | 2010–11 SC Vaslui season 2010–11 The 2010–11 season was the ninth season in FC Vaslui's existence, and its sixth in a row in Liga I. Having finished third last season, FC Vaslui is qualified for the play-off round in Europa League.-First-team squad:* T=Total* L=Liga I* C=Cupa României... |
16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 |
| 2011–12 2011–12 FC Vaslui season The 2011–12 season will be the tenth season in FC Vaslui's existence, and its seventh in a row in Liga I. Though finished third last season, FC Vaslui is qualified for the Third qualifying round in UEFA Champions League, after FC Timişoara's relegation.... |
4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | |
| Total | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 2 | |
| Career total | 199 | 12 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 222 | 16 | |
Statistics accurate as of match played
FC Vaslui
- UEFA Intertoto CupUEFA Intertoto CupThe UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued...
- Winner: 2008UEFA Intertoto Cup 2008The 2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup was the last UEFA Intertoto Cup football tournament, the 14th to be organised by UEFA and the third since the competition's format was given a major overhaul. Three rounds were held, and eleven teams qualified for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. The draw...
- Winner: 2008