Marian Cucchiaroni Mihail (Romanian pronunciation: [maˈrian ˈkuk:iaˈro:ni miˈhajl]; born 7 May 1958) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of PFL club United City FC.
An attack-minded right-back, Mihail spent almost his entire 17-year professional career in the top flight of Romanian football with Sportul Studentesc Bucharest.
He also represented Romania internationally at Under-21s, Under-23s and senior levels.
After retiring from playing, Mihail moved into coaching, and since then he has managed teams in Romania, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Irak, Vietnam, Indonesia and Philippines.
Mihail has also served as National Technical Director of Romania from 2011 to 2014.^[1]

Mihail began his senior career in 1975, at the age of 17, playing as a winger for his hometown club Brasov,^[2] in the second tier of Romanian football, making 24 appearances and scoring 8 goals. The following season he moved to Sportul Studentesc Bucharest, where he spent 16 successive years of Romanian top flight football, playing over 400 league games and scoring 6 goals.
Mihail made his competitive debut for Sportul Studentesc Bucharest on 20 October 1976, aged just 18, in the first leg of their 1976-77 UEFA Cup second round against German side Schalke 04.^[3][4] It was in the early 1980s that he was converted from a winger to an attacking full-back. During his time at Sportul Studentesc Bucharest, Mihail was a Romanian FA Cup runner-up in the 1978–79 season and a Romanian League runner-up in the 1985–86 season.^[5] He also played 16 European games for the club from 1976 to 1987.^[6][7]

Mihail won five caps for Romania national team between 1982 and 1986.^[8] He made his international debut on 14 March 1982 in a 4–1 friendly defeat to Belgium at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium.^[9][10] Mihail was a member of Romania's squad for the UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying campaign, but he missed the final tournament in France.^[11]

Mihail began his coaching career in June 1996 as manager of his former club Sportul Studentesc Bucharest, in Romania's top tier.^[12] He then managed other two Romanian top flight sides, Brasov^[13] and Bacau,^[14] before returning to Sportul Studentesc Bucharest in June 1998 for his second spell as manager of the club,^[15] relegated from Romania's top tier.

In October 1999, Mihail was appointed as director of football at Romanian giants Steaua Bucharest, Romania's most successful football club^[16][17] and former winners of the UEFA Champions League.^[18] In this role, he was responsible for the first team's player recruitment and tactical scouting, the youth academy and reserves, medical and sports science, and the player loan department.^[19][20] During his tenure, the club won two major trophies, the Romanian League title and the Romanian Super Cup, in the 2000–01 season.^[21]

In June 2002, after a stint as manager of Romanian second-tier side Rocar Bucharest,^[22] Mihail moved to the Middle East, where he had successful spells in the top flight football, first in Syria with Al-Qardaha, and then in Saudi Arabia with Al-Riyadh.

In June 2004, Mihail returned home to complete his UEFA Pro Licence with the Football Association of Romania (FRF).^[23] During that period, he was employed by the Football Association of Romania (FRF) as youth technical adviser, and also helped them to set up the Romanian national youth program. In 2005, he also had a brief stint as manager of Romanian second-tier side Sibiu.^[24]

In May 2006, Mihail moved back to the Middle East, where he signed a two-year contract with the Syrian giants Al-Jaish Damascus. His first competitive match in charge was a 1–3 loss away to Enppi Cairo in the 2006–07 Arab Champions League.^[25]

In June 2008, Mihail was appointed as manager of Kuwaiti top flight side Al-Jahra, on a one-year contract. In between, Mihail returned home to Romania for his third spell as manager of Sportul Studentesc Bucharest,^[26] in Romania's second tier. On 12 May 2009, at a ceremony marking the centenary of the Football Association of Romania (FRF), Mihail received the Order of Merit for services to Romanian football.^[27]

In June 2009, Mihail signed a two-year contract as technical director of Al-Wahda Abu Dhabi, one of the most prestigious club in the UAE,^[28] where he was responsible for the club's youth academy. Mihail's primary focus was to develop a strong academy set up and ensure that all the Al-Wahda youth teams play the same style. Under his stewardship the academy won two national titles, at the under-17 and under-19 levels, in the 2009–10 season.^[29]

In August 2011, Mihail was appointed as National Technical Director of the Football Association of Romania (FRF) and coordinator of all the youth national teams, on a three-year contract.^[30] The position was new in the FRF at the time and included responsibility for the overall development and direction of football in Romania. Mihail's main task was to restore the competitiveness of Romanian football. After becoming familiar with the situation in Romanian football and many analyses and consultations, both within the football family and with external partners, Mihail presented his strategic plan to stop the decline of Romanian football and to achieve new success at all levels of competition.^[31] Priority was given to improve the quality of youth coaches, the performance of the national youth teams and to develop strong partnerships with the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to promote new technical standards across the country. In only three years the new performance strategy has laid a solid base for the future development of football in Romania. This has included reforming the coach education system, revamping the format of the youth leagues and the success of the national youth teams program, both boys and girls, among other healthy developments.^{[32][33][34][35][36][37]} In February 2014, just a few days before the election of a new president for the Football Association of Romania (FRF), it was announced that Mihail officially quit his post.^[38]

In September 2016, Mihail moved back into club coaching as manager of Iraqi top flight side Zakho, on a one-year contract.^[39] His first league game in charge was on 26 October 2016 when Zakho faced away Naft Al-Wasat, the best team in the league at the time, with the match ending in a 0–0 draw.^[40] In January 2017, Mihail announced his decision to leave Zakho due to sectarian unrest in the country,^[41] and was replaced by another Romanian manager, Dorinel Munteanu.^[42][43]

In December 2017, Mihail was named the new manager of Vietnamese top flight side FLC Thanh Hóa, replacing Ljubomir "Lupko" Petrović of Serbia.^[44][45] His first competitive match as manager of the team was on 23 January 2018, when FLC Thanh Hóa defeated hosts Eastern AA of Hong Kong 4–2 in the second qualifying round of the 2018 AFC Champions League.^[46][47] In the next round, they were eliminated from the competition by the South Korean giants and two-time Asian Champions League winners Suwon Samsung Bluewings,^[48] in an away match played at the Suwon World Cup Stadium, South Korea on 30 January 2018.^[49] The Vietnamese club then took part in the 2018 AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament, where they joined Bali United from Indonesia, Yangon United from Myanmar and Global Cebu from Philippines in Group G.^[50] Their first game was a 1-0 home win against Global Cebu on 10 February 2018.^[51] After failing to reach the knockout stage of the 2018 AFC Cup,^[52] Mihail left the club by mutual consent in April 2018.^[53]

Following a period as a football pundit on television and a lecturer at the Romanian FA Coaching School (SFA),^[54] Mihail returned to coaching on 27 April 2023, signining a one-year contract as manager of Indonesian top flight side PSS Sleman.^[55][56]
Under Mihail's guidance, PSS Sleman made a good start to the 2023-24 BRI Liga 1 season with a 1-0 win away to Bali United,^[57][58] the representative of Indonesia at the 2023-24 AFC Champions League, followed by a 2-2 draw at home with neighbors and rivals Persis Solo.^[59]

In February 2024, Mihail has signed a six-month contract as head coach of United City FC (formerly Ceres-Negros),^[60][61] the most successful club in Filipino football, with four consecutive titles.^[62] His first competitive game in charge was a 2-0 loss to the current champions Kaya–Iloilo on the opening day of the season,^[63] followed by a 3-1 win against Army FC.^[64]