Rodion Cămătaru

Rodion Gorun Cămătaru (Romanian: [rodiˈon kəməˈtaru]; born 22 June 1958) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a striker.

Rodion Cămătaru
Personal information
Full name Rodion Gorun Cămătaru
Date of birth (1958-06-22) 22 June 1958
Place of birth Strehaia, Romania
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1970–1974 Progresul Strehaia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1974–1986 Universitatea Craiova 288 (122)
1986–1989 Dinamo București 89 (76)
1989–1990 Charleroi 29 (6)
1990–1993 Heerenveen 63 (23)
Total 469 (227)
International career
1978–1990[1] Romania 73 (21)
1979 Romania University
Medal record
Representing  Romania
World University Games
Bronze medal – third place1979 Mexico CityTeam Competition
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Rodion Cămătaru was born on 22 June 1958 in Strehaia, being given his Divizia A debut at age 17 by coach Constantin Cernăianu, playing for Universitatea Craiova on 10 November 1974 in a 1–1 against CFR Cluj.[2][3] He spent twelve seasons with Universitatea, scoring 122 goals in 288 Divizia A matches, being part of the "Craiova Maxima" generation that won two consecutive league titles in 1980 and 1981, being the team's top-goalscorer in both, as in the first he scored 17 goals in the 26 appearances given to him by coach Valentin Stănescu and in the second he scored 23 in the 33 matches under coach Ion Oblemenco, also winning four cups in the years 1977, 1978 in which he scored a goal in the 3–1 victory from the final against Olimpia Satu Mare, 1981 and 1983 in which he scored a double in the 2–1 final against Politehnica Timișoara and made 9 appearances in the 1982–83 UEFA Cup campaign when they reached the semi-finals, being eliminated by Benfica on the away goal rule after 1–1 on aggregate.[2][4][5][6][7][8] At one point he was heavily criticized by journalist Eugen Barbu in the Informația Bucureștiului newspaper, Cămătaru calling the article "a blasphemy" but after the 0–0 from the first leg of the semi-final against Benfica in which Cămătaru was all over the field helping the defense, the midfielders and in the offence, Barbu wrote another article called:"M-ai învins, Rodioane!" (English:"You defeated me, Rodion!").[9][10] Also during his period spent with The Blue Lions he had offers to play abroad, firstly from Fiorentina after the Italians got eliminated by them in the 1982–83 UEFA Cup but Romania's communist regime did not allow the transfer, then in 1985 when he went on a trial at Benfica, playing for them in a friendly against Porto, making a good impression but shortly after he suffered a injury that kept him off the field for six months so the Portuguese club chose not transfer him.[11]

In 1986, he was transferred to Dinamo București, where he became the Divizia A top goalscorer and European Golden Boot winner in the first season spent at the club with 44 goals scored in 33 games, but as he scored 26 goals in the last 9 matches of the season, his European Golden Boot was retired because FIFA's investigations claimed the goals were scored unfairly and the trophy was awarded to Anton Polster, however Cămătaru was allowed to keep his copy of the trophy.[4][12][13][14][15] In 1987 he was nominated for the Ballon d'Or.[16][17] In 1989 he went to play in Belgium at Charleroi, after two seasons he moved in Netherlands at Heerenveen where he spent three seasons, scoring his last goal as a professional in the 1992–93 KNVB Cup final, which was lost with 6–2 in front of Ajax Amsterdam.[2][4] He has a total of 378 Divizia A appearances in which he scored 198 goals and 47 matches played with 7 goals scored in European competitions.[2] In 2020 with the occasion of Heerenveen's 100th anniversary, Cămătaru was selected the best striker in the club's history in front of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.[18][19]

International career

Rodion Cămătaru played 73 matches and scored 21 goals for Romania, making his debut on 13 December 1978 under coach Ștefan Kovács in a friendly which ended with a 2–1 loss against Greece.[20][21] He played two games at the Euro 1980 qualifiers and scored one goal in the 4–1 victory against Yugoslavia in the second leg of the 1977–80 Balkan Cup final.[20] He played six games and scored two goals at the successful Euro 1984 qualifiers, including one against goalkeeper Thomas Ravelli after a long pass from Costică Ștefănescu and a 30 meters run in a 1–0 win over Sweden on the Råsunda Stadium, afterwards being used by coach Mircea Lucescu in all three group matches from the final tournament as Romania did not advance to the next stage.[3][20][22][23][24][25][26] He played six games and scored three goals at the 1986 World Cup qualifiers, including a spectacular one on the Wembley Stadium against goalkeeper Peter Shilton in a 1–1 with England.[3][20][23][24][27][28][29] In the following years, Cămătaru played four games at the Euro 1988 qualifiers and made five appearances at the successful 1990 World Cup qualifiers, scoring a double against goalkeeper and Bulgaria captain Borislav Mihaylov in a 3–1 away victory, being also part of the squad that participated at the final tournament where coach Emeric Jenei did not use him in any games.[3][4][20][30] Cămătaru's last appearance for the national team was at the Euro 1992 qualifiers in a 2–1 loss against Scotland in which he scored Romania's goal.[20]

For representing his country at the 1990 World Cup, Cămătaru was decorated by President of Romania Traian Băsescu on 25 March 2008 with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" – (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III.[31][32]

International goals
Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cămătaru goal.[20]

Honours

Universitatea Craiova

Romania

Individual

Notes
  1. Original 1986–87 season winner Rodion Cămătaru (with 44 goals) was disqualified later and the trophy was awarded to Polster in 1990. However, Cămătaru was allowed to keep his copy of the trophy.

References
  1. "Rodion Gorun Camataru – Goals in International Matches". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
  2. Rodion Cămătaru at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  3. "Rodion Cămătaru a vorbit despre cele mai importante goluri ale sale. Ce ratare i-a marcat existența" [Rodion Cămătaru spoke about his most important goals. What a miss marked his existence] (in Romanian). Libertatea.ro. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  4. "Rodion Cămătaru împlineşte azi 63 de ani. Presa italiană aminteşte de aniversarea lui "Cami": "I s-a anulat Gheata de Aur, câştigată la ordinul lui Ceauşescu"" [Rodion Cămătaru turns 63 today. The Italian press remembers the anniversary of "Cami": "His Golden Boot was canceled, because it was won at the order of Ceausescu"] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  5. "Cămătaru a dat verdictul după 37 de ani de la ratarea calificării Științei în finala Cupei UEFA:"Conducerea a pierdut meciul. A făcut greșeli impardonabile!"" [Cămătaru gave the verdict after 37 years since the failure of the Science qualification in the UEFA Cup final:"The management lost the match. He made unforgivable mistakes!"] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 20 April 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  6. "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  7. "Romanian Cup – Season 1977–1978". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  8. "Romanian Cup – Season 1982–1983". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  9. "6 aprilie 1983: Benfica - Craiova 0-0 (M-ai invins, Rodioane)" [April 6, 1983: Benfica - Craiova 0-0 (You defeated me, Rodion)] (in Romanian). Romaniansoccer.ro. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  10. "Poveștile anilor '80" [The stories of the 80s] (in Romanian). Tikitaka.ro. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  11. "Rodion Cămătaru #65. Povestea neștiută a meciului pe care Cami l-a jucat pentru Benfica, în 1985, la un turneu la care a participat și Dinamo" [Rodion Camătaru #65. The unknown story of the match that Cami played for Benfica in 1985, in a tournament in which Dinamo also participated] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  12. "RETRO GSP. 33 de ani de când Cămătaru a început cursa grotescă pentru "Gheata de Aur": 26 de goluri în 9 meciuri, doar cu Steaua n-a marcat" [RETRO GSP. 33 years since Cămătaru started the grotesque race for "Golden Boot": 26 goals in 9 matches, only with Steaua he didn't score] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 3 May 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  13. "Golden Boot ("Soulier d'Or") Awards". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  14. "Romanians You Should Know: Rodion Camataru".
  15. "Der unglaubliche Camataru (in German)". Archived from the original on 5 August 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
  16. Pierrend, José Luis (1 February 2006). "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or") 1987". RSSSF. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  17. "Dumitru Macri, primul fotbalist român nominalizat la Balonul de Aur! Gică Hagi, aproape de succes în 1994" [Dumitru Macri, the first Romanian footballer nominated for the Golden Ball! Gica Hagi, almost successful in 1994] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  18. "Un atacant pentru un secol de istorie. Rodion Cămătaru, ales cel mai bun "vârf" al lui Heerenveen:"A fost extrem de iubit - uriașul prietenos!"" [A striker for a century of history. Rodion Cămătaru, chosen the best "striker" of Heerenveen:"He was extremely loved - the friendly giant] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  19. "Rodion Cămătaru a împlinit 62 de ani! Cum a încercat Steaua să-i blocheze transferul la Dinamo şi meciul care l-a făcut să plângă. Video" [Rodion Cămătaru is 62 years old! How Steaua tried to block his transfer to Dinamo and the match that made him cry. Video] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  20. "European Football". Rodion Cămătaru. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  21. "European Football". Greece 2-1 Romania. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  22. "European Football". Sweden 0-1 Romania. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  23. "Rodion Cămătaru, dezvăluire șocantă după 32 de ani:"La Mondialul din 1990 s-a făcut echipa în funcție de interes! Mi-au spus în față"" [Rodion Cămătaru, shocking revelation after 32 years:"At the 1990 World Cup, the team was made based on interest! They told me to my face"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 8 April 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  24. "Noi nu i-am uitat! Cine a fost Radion Cămătaru?" [We have not forgotten them! Who was Radion Cămătaru?] (in Romanian). 100sport.ro. 8 May 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  25. "Noaptea albă de pe Rasunda" [The white night on Rasunda] (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 9 June 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  26. "Generația EURO 84, chemată la raport după turneul final. "Ne-a spus că am jucat sub orice critică! Credeam că vine șeful și ne curăță"" [EURO 84 generation, called to report after the final tournament. "He told us we played under any criticism! I thought the boss was coming and cleaning us up."] (in Romanian). Playsport.ro. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  27. "RETRO GSP. 35 de ani de când Lucescu remiza pe Wembley cu trei jucători de la Corvinul, locul 8 în campionat, și cu numai doi de la campioana Steaua" [RETRO GSP. 35 years since Lucescu drew at Wembley with three players from Corvinul, the 8th place in the championship, and with only two from the champion Steaua] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  28. "29 aprilie, o zi cu trei rezultate mari, care însă n-au dus la nimic" [April 29, a day with three big results, which, however, did not lead to anything] (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  29. "European Football". England 1-1 Romania. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  30. "European Football". Bulgaria 1-3 Romania. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  31. "DECRET privind conferirea Ordinului și Medaliei Meritul Sportiv" (PDF). Monitorul Oficial al României Nr. 241. 28 March 2008. p. 3. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  32. "Decorarea unor personalități ale fotbalului românesc". Administrația Prezidențială. 25 March 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  33. "Balkan Cup 1977–80". European Football. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
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