Michael Klein (10 October 1959 – 2 February 1993) was a Romanian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Club career

Michael Klein, nicknamed ''Mișa'', was born on 10 October 1959 in

Amnaș The Amnaș ( hu, Ecsellői-patak) is a right tributary of the river Apold in Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukra ...

, Romania, being half of

Transylvanian Saxon The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ...

origin from his father side. He started to play football at

Corvinul Hunedoara Clubul Sportiv Corvinul 1921 Hunedoara, commonly known as Corvinul Hunedoara or simply as Corvinul, is a Romanian football club based in Hunedoara, Hunedoara County, currently playing in the Liga III. Founded in 1921 under the name of ''Fero Spo ...

's youth center in 1973, making his debut for the senior team on 24 August 1977 under coach Ștefan Coidum in a

Divizia A The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It is the country's top ...

match which ended 2–2 against Argeș Pitești. In the following season he was sent on a loan at

Divizia B The Liga 2, most often spelled as Liga II, is the second level of the Romanian football league system. The league changed its name from Divizia B just before the start of the 2006–07 Liga II, 2006–07. It is currently Sponsor (commercial), sp ...

team,

Aurul Brad Clubul Sportiv Armata Aurul Brad, commonly known as CSA Aurul Brad, or simply as Aurul Brad, is a Romanian amateur football (soccer), football football team, club based in Brad, Hunedoara, Brad, Hunedoara County, founded in 1934. The club is cur ...

, but in the 1978–79 Divizia A season he was brought back to Corvinul by the team's new coach,

Mircea Lucescu Mircea Lucescu (; born 29 July 1945) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently head coach of Ukrainian Premier League club Dynamo Kyiv. He is one of the most decorated managers of all time. Lucescu is also ...

. At the end of Klein and Lucescu's first season spent at Corvinul, the club relegated to

, but Klein stayed with the club, promoting back to the first division after one year, helping the club finish 3rd in the

1981–82 Divizia A The 1981–82 Divizia A was the sixty-fourth season of Divizia A, the top-level football league of Romania. Teams League table Results Top goalscorers Champion squad See also * 1981–82 Divizia B * 1981–82 Divizia C * 1981– ...

, also appearing in four games in which he scored one goal in the

1982–83 UEFA Cup The 1982–83 UEFA Cup was the 12th edition of the UEFA Cup. It was won by Belgian club Anderlecht on 2–1 aggregate over Portuguese club Benfica. Association team allocation A total of 64 teams from 31 UEFA member associations participate in ...

. After 11 seasons and a half spent with

in which he scored 37 goals in 313 league games, in the middle of the 1988–89 season he was transferred at

Dinamo București A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterinbu ...

where he reunited with his former Corvinul manager,

. In his first season spent with '' The Red Dogs'', he didn't win any trophies and he played two games in the

1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1988–89 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won for the third time by Barcelona in the final against Italian entrants Sampdoria. The two sides would meet again in the 1992 European Cup Final, which Barcelona also won. Wimbledon did n ...

where the club reached the quarter-finals. In the following season the club won the title and the cup with Klein playing 23

matches in which he scored two goals, also appearing in 7 matches in which he scored one goal in the

1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1989–90 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won for the only time by Sampdoria in the final against Anderlecht, 2–0 at Nya Ullevi in Gothenburg, on 9 May 1990. They went on to win 1990–91 Serie A, also being runners-up in the 1 ...

where Dinamo reached the semi-finals. After the 1989 Romanian Revolution, Klein went to play in Germany for

Bayer Uerdingen KFC Uerdingen 05 is a German football club in the Uerdingen district of the city of Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. The former Bundesliga side enjoyed its greatest successes in the 1980s but now plays in the fifth-level Oberliga. History The ...

where in his first season the team relegated to 2. Bundesliga, but he stayed with the club winning the promotion back to

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

. On 2 February 1993, Klein died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

during a training session with

at the age of 33. Michael Klein has a total of 322 matches and 36 goals scored in

, 37 matches in

, 25 games in 2. Bundesliga and 13 games played with two goals scored in European competitions. The

Stadionul Michael Klein Stadionul Michael Klein is a multi-use stadium in Hunedoara, Romania. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of CS Hunedoara. The stadium holds 16,500 people. Opened in 1960 the stadium was the home ground of Corvi ...

from

Hunedoara Hunedoara (; german: Eisenmarkt; hu, Vajdahunyad ) is a municipiu, city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in southwestern Transylvania near the Poiana Ruscă Mountains, and administers five villages: Boș (''Bós''), Groș ...

is named in his honor, also in front of the stadium there is a statue of Michael Klein. A book about him was written by Nicolae Stanciu, called ''Klein, căpitanul lui Lucescu. Cronici sentimentale'' ''(Klein, Lucescu's captain. Sentimental chronicles)''.

International career

Michael Klein played 89 matches and scored five goals at international level for

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, making his debut on 9 September 1981 when coach

Valentin Stănescu Valentin Stănescu (20 November 1922 – 4 April 1994) was a Romanian football goalkeeper and manager. Club career Valentin Stănescu also known as "Tinel" or "Zimbrul" ( The bison) was born on 20 November 1922 in București, Romania and starte ...

sent him on the field in the 49th minute in order to replace Aurel Beldeanu in a friendly which ended with a 2–1 loss against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. His following appearance was a 0–0 against

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

at the 1982 World Cup qualifiers and he scored his first two goals in a friendly which ended with a 3–2 victory against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. He made 7 appearances at the successful Euro 1984 qualifiers in which he scored one goal in a 2–0 victory against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, being used by coach

in all the minutes of the three matches from the

final tournament Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

did not pass the group stage. He played 7 games at the 1986 World Cup qualifiers, six matches with one goal scored in a 1–0 away victory against

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

at the Euro 1988 qualifiers and made five appearances at the successful 1990 World Cup qualifiers, being used by coach

Emerich Jenei Emerich Jenei or Imre Jenei (also known as Emeric Jenei or Ienei; 22 March 1937) is a Romanian former Football (soccer), football player and coach of Hungarians in Romania, Hungarian ethnicity. He is considered one of Romania's best Managers, a ...

in all the minutes of the four matches from the

, as

got eliminated by

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in the eight-finals. Michael Klein played six games at the Euro 1992 qualifiers and in the last one of them, he made his final appearance for the national team which took place on 13 November 1991 in a 1–0 victory against

International goals

:''Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Klein goal''.

Honours

Corvinul Hunedoara *

: 1979–80 Dinamo București *

: 1989–90 *

Cupa României The Cupa României ( en, Romanian Cup) is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. I ...

: 1989–90 Bayer Uerdingen * 2. Bundesliga: 1991–92

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Michael 1959 births 1993 deaths People from Săliște Romanian footballers Romania international footballers Romanian expatriate footballers FC Dinamo București players KFC Uerdingen 05 players CS Corvinul Hunedoara players 1990 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1984 players Romanian people of German descent Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Liga I players Liga II players Expatriate footballers in Germany Association football defenders Association football players who died while playing Sport deaths in Germany Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Transylvanian-Saxon people