Rodion Gorun Cămătaru (Romanian: [rodiˈon kəməˈtaru]; born 22 June 1958) is a retired Romanian footballer, who played as a striker.
![]() | |||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Rodion Gorun Cămătaru | ||||||||||||
Date of birth | (1958-06-22) 22 June 1958 (age 64) | ||||||||||||
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) | |||||||||||
National team | |||||||||||||
1978–1990[1] | Romania | 73 | (21) | ||||||||||
1979 | Romania University | ||||||||||||
Honours
| |||||||||||||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Rodion Cămătaru was born on 22 June 1958 in Strehaia and debuted in Divizia A with Universitatea Craiova on 10 November 1974 in a 1–1 against CFR Cluj.[2] 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, in the first he contributed with 26 appearances in which he scored 17 goals and in the second he scored 23 goals in 33 matches, 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 managed to reach the 1982–83 UEFA Cup semi-finals, making 9 appearances in the campaign.[2][3][4][5][6] 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][7][8][9][10] In 1987 he was nominated for the Ballon d'Or.[11][12] 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.[13][14]
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.[15][16] 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.[15] He played six games and scored two goals at the successful Euro 1984 qualifiers, also being used by coach Mircea Lucescu in all three group matches from the final tournament as Romania did not advance to the next stage.[15][17] In the following years, Cămătaru played six games and scored three goals at the 1986 World Cup qualifiers, four games at the Euro 1988 qualifiers, five games and two goals scored at the successful 1990 World Cup qualifiers, being also part of the squad that participated at the final tournament where coach Emeric Jenei did not use him in any games.[4][15] Cămătaru's last appearance for the national team was in a 2–1 loss against Scotland in which he scored Romania's goal at the Euro 1992 qualifiers.[15]
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.[18][19]
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 June 1980 | Stade du Heysel, Brussels, Belgium | ![]() | 1–0 | 1–2 | Friendly match |
2 | 27 August 1980 | 23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania | ![]() | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1977–80 Balkan Cup |
3 | 25 March 1981 | 23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania | ![]() | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly match |
4 | 15 April 1981 | Københavns Idrætspark, Copenhagen, Denmark | ![]() | 1–0 | 1–2 | Friendly match |
5 | 14 April 1982 | Gradski stadion, Ruse, Bulgaria | ![]() | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly match |
6 | 1 May 1982 | Stadionul Corvinul, Hunedoara, Romania | ![]() | 2–0 | 3–1 | Euro 1984 qualifiers |
7 | 2 February 1983 | Alkazar Stadium, Larissa, Greece | ![]() | 2–1 | 3–1 | Friendly match |
8 | 2 February 1983 | Alkazar Stadium, Larissa, Greece | ![]() | 3–1 | 3–1 | Friendly match |
9 | 9 June 1983 | Råsunda Fotbollsstadion, Solna, Sweden | ![]() | 1–0 | 1–0 | Euro 1984 qualifiers |
10 | 29 July 1984 | 23 August Stadium, Iași, Romania | ![]() | 2–0 | 4–2 | Friendly match |
11 | 3 April 1985 | Stadionul Central, Craiova, Romania | ![]() | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1986 World Cup qualifiers |
12 | 3 April 1985 | Stadionul Central, Craiova, Romania | ![]() | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1986 World Cup qualifiers |
13 | 11 September 1985 | Wembley Stadium, London, England | ![]() | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1986 World Cup qualifiers |
14 | 23 April 1986 | Stadionul 1 Mai, Timișoara, Romania | ![]() | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly match |
15 | 8 October 1986 | Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel | ![]() | 3–1 | 4–2 | Friendly match |
16 | 20 September 1988 | Stadionul 1 Mai, Constanța, Romania | ![]() | 3–0 | 3–0 | Friendly match |
17 | 19 October 1988 | Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria | ![]() | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1990 World Cup qualifiers |
18 | 19 October 1988 | Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria | ![]() | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1990 World Cup qualifiers |
19 | 23 November 1988 | Stadionul Municipal, Sibiu, Romania | ![]() | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly match |
20 | 21 May 1990 | 23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania | ![]() | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly match |
21 | 12 September 1990 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland | ![]() | 1–0 | 1–2 | Euro 1992 qualifiers |
Universitatea Craiova
Romania
Romania squad – UEFA Euro 1984 | ||
---|---|---|
![]() |
Romania squad – 1990 FIFA World Cup | ||
---|---|---|
![]() |
Liga I top scorers | |
---|---|
|
European Golden Shoe | |
---|---|
L'Équipe award |
|
Unofficial | |
ESM award |
|