After retiring in 2003, Petrescu pursued a career as a coach. He began his managerial career in July 2003 with second division side
Sportul Studențesc, whom he led to
promotion before taking over at
Rapid Bucharest in December, but stepped down in April 2004, after only six games and four months at the helm. He then returned for a second spell at Sportul Studențesc, where he helped the club to a seventh-place finish in
Diviza A.
Wisła Kraków In December 2005, Petrescu agreed to manage
2004–05 Ekstraklasa champions
Wisła Kraków in Poland, replacing caretaker manager
Tomasz Kulawik. Wisła finished second in the
2005–06 championship. He was dismissed as manager of Wisła on 18 September 2006 after unconvincing results to begin the 2006–07 season. Petrescu accused the Wisła players for not wanting to train hard to improve their performances.
Unirea Urziceni About one week after his termination, Petrescu was appointed as manager of Romanian
Liga I newly promoted club
Unirea Urziceni, with which he had considerable leading. Under his management, Unirea Urziceni was runner-up in the
2007–08 Cupa României and qualified for the
2008–09 UEFA Cup. He was considered for the vacant manager's position at his former club Steaua București after
Marius Lăcătuș' resignation in October 2008.
Dorinel Munteanu was appointed instead, but Petrescu has not ruled out a future role at the club. In May 2009, Petrescu won the Liga I title with outsiders Unirea Urziceni, the first title for both Petrescu and his club, and consequently achieving qualification to the
2009–10 UEFA Champions League, during which he led Unirea to a shock 4–1 victory at Ibrox against
Rangers and a win against
Sevilla at home, 1–0. Petrescu resigned as manager of Unirea Urziceni in December 2009.
Kuban Krasnodar in 2011 On 28 December 2009,
Russian First Division club
Kuban Krasnodar hired Petrescu on a five-year contract. Petrescu managed to gain promotion to the
Russian Premier League in his debut season, winning the
2010 Russian First Division with a total of 80 points, nine clear of second place. His team conceded only 20 goals in 38 matches. On 14 August 2012, it was announced that Petrescu had resigned as Kuban Krasnodar manager, citing the need for a new challenge. Kuban later participated in the
UEFA Europa League for the first time.
Dynamo Moscow Shortly after his resignation, in August 2012 Petrescu signed a three-year contract reportedly worth €2.5 million per year to join
Dynamo Moscow. On 8 April 2014, his contract was terminated by mutual agreement after a heavy loss to outsiders
Anzhi Makhachkala, 0–4. Dynamo Moscow director of sports
Guram Adzhoyev stated, "Last year Dan drew the team from the complicated situation, lifted it to the certain level, but recently we have seen no progress."
Al-Arabi In June 2014, Petrescu agreed to coach Qatari side
Al-Arabi. On 1 December 2014, his contract with the club was terminated after a mutual agreement.
Târgu Mureș On 10 June 2015, Petrescu was announced as the new manager of Liga I runner-up
ASA Târgu Mureș. His first, and only, match in charge was in the
Supercupa României against champions Steaua București ended with Târgu Mureș winning 1–0. He resigned the next day, to take up a lucrative contract with Chinese side
Jiangsu Suning.
Jiangsu Suning On 9 July 2015, Petrescu left Târgu Mureș, claiming his decision was due to the club's growing financial problems, though he was immediately hired as manager of
Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning on a lucrative deal. Petrescu said in a statement, "It's very hard to leave the team in this moment. I don't how it'll be in China, I hope it will be like in Russia." In his first season in charge, Petrescu guided the club to victory in the 2015
Chinese FA Cup. On 3 June 2016, Suning announced that Petrescu will no longer be the manager of the club.
Kuban Krasnodar On 14 June 2016, Petrescu signed a two-year contract with Kuban Krasnodar, after the club was relegated to the second-tier
Russian National Football League. On 4 October 2016, with Kuban winning only 3 out of first 15 games and sitting in the 14th spot in the league instead of the expected fight for promotion, he left Kuban by mutual consent, stating that the club had not paid him. On 29 October 2016, Petrescu was announced as the manager of Emirates
Arabian Gulf League side
Al-Nasr until the end of the season. He led the club to the final match of the
UAE President's Cup but was defeated by
Al-Wahda in his last game in charge. Al-Nasr appointed
Cesare Prandelli as his replacement.
CFR Cluj On 10 June 2017, he was appointed head coach of
Liga I club
CFR Cluj. On 20 May 2018, Cluj were crowned as
Liga I champions for the 2017–18 season after a 1–0 victory over
Viitorul Constanța.
Guizhou Hengfeng On 7 June 2018, he was announced as the manager of Chinese club
Guizhou Hengfeng to replace
Gregorio Manzano.
Return to CFR Cluj On 22 March 2019, Petrescu returned as manager of CFR Cluj after the club had experienced a string of poor performances in the league. He managed to win the
2018-19 Liga I title, successfully defending the trophy he won one year prior. The next season, CFR Cluj sought to have an ambitious European campaign, with the goal to qualify for the group stages of a European Competition. Petrescu guided his side to the
2019-20 Europa League group stage, after a loss in the
2019-20 Champions League playoffs against
Slavia Praha, eliminating Scottish giants
Celtic on the way. In the group stages, he faced Italian side
SS Lazio,
Stade Rennais and Celtic once again, proving to be an almost impossible challenge for CFR. However, with two wins over Stade Rennais and one win over Lazio and Celtic each, CFR finished second in the group stages and qualified for the knock-out phase of the Europa League. There, Petrescu met the competition's favourites
Sevilla and were eliminated after a 1-1 and 0-0 draws. The team's performance in Europe was praised by Romanian media, and Petrescu himself claims it was one of the highlights of his career. CFR were able to maintain their domestic domination, winning the regular season of the
2019-20 Liga I by a comfortable margin. However, the playoffs proved to be a much bigger challenge, as the COVID pandemic allowed Craiova to stabilize and pose a challenge to his side. While Craiova lead the standings for most of the playoff phase, following a win on CFR's ground and CFR's draws against Astra Giurgiu and Gaz Metan Medias, eventually CFR did manage to win the reverse fixture against Craiova on the last matchday, securing their third consecutive title. On 19 August 2020, CFR started the European campaign against Maltese champions
Floriana FC with a 2–0 victory but were eliminated in the second round by
Dinamo Zagreb on penalties. Eventually, CFR did manage to qualify for the
2020-21 Europa League, eliminating
Djurgårdens in the 3rd round and
KuPS in the playoffs. Sadly, CFR could not repeat the previous season's European performance, as they finished third and were eliminated from the Europa League. Domestically, they lost form, playing unconvincing football and losing against Gaz Metan and UTA Arad at home. Petrescu announced on 30 November that he and the club had agreed to terminate his contract. He would be replaced by
Edward Iordanescu, whom Petrescu would eventually replace himself a year or so later.
Third spell at CFR Cluj On 28 August 2021, after a weak European campaign which saw the club fail to qualify for the Europa League, CFR Cluj's owner Nelutu Varga dismissed
Marius Sumudica, and after few days of negotiations, Petrescu signed a contract on 31 August for a third stint at CFR Cluj. On 15 May 2022 Petrescu won his 4th league, and CFR's 5th consecutive championship after a 2–1 win over
Universitatea Craiova, establishing the Hegemony of CFR Cluj in Romanian football.
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors On 9 June 2023, Petrescu was appointed as the head coach of
K League 1 club
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. On 6 April 2024, he stepped down after a five-game winless start.
A fourth chapter at CFR Cluj On 15 April 2024, Petrescu agreed to return to CFR Cluj on a three-year contract, with an effective start in the summer of 2024, citing desire to rest after his spell in South Korea. However, on 30 April, Petrescu announced his decision to cancel his break, and took charge of the club for the fourth time, replacing interim manager
Ovidiu Hoban. He made his return to Romanian football on 5 May, leading Cluj to a 3–2 win over Rapid București. In the 2024–25 season, Petrescu led CFR to his first cup win and 6th overall trophy, winning the
2024–25 Cupa României, 3–2 against
FC Hermannstadt, making him the most decorated manager in CFR's history. On 21 August 2025, following a humiliating 2–7 away loss against
Häcken in the
2025–26 UEFA Conference League play-off, his worst ever defeat in his 20-year managerial career, Petrescu resigned as CFR Cluj head coach, citing health reasons and a desire to take a longer break from football. == Personal life ==