[2] Constantin Cernăianu was born on 12 October 1933 in Târgu Jiu, Romania, starting to play football in 1949 at local club, Flacăra.

[3][4][5] Constantin Cernăianu became a football coach shortly after he retired from playing in 1960, becoming Ilie Oană's assistant at Petrolul Ploiești winning together the 1962–63 Cupa României.

[2][3][5][7][8][9] The following season, "U" suffered a 4–3 aggregate loss in front of Åtvidaberg in the first round of the European Cup, also the team reached the 1975 Cupa României final which was eventually lost after a 2–1 defeat with Rapid București.

[22] He also worked for Romania's under-20 squad, guiding it at the 1981 World Youth Championship from Australia, helping the team finish the tournament in the third position, winning the bronze medal.

[3][4][5][24] Constantin Cernăianu has a total of 390 matches as a manager in the Romanian top-division, Divizia A consisting of 168 victories, 93 draws and 129 losses.