Remus Câmpeanu (8 September 1938 – 3 April 2021) 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 ...

for

Universitatea Cluj Fotbal Club Universitatea Cluj (), commonly known as Universitatea Cluj or simply as U Cluj, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I, the first ...

Career

Remus Câmpeanu was born on 8 September 1938 in

Cluj-Napoca ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...

, Romania and started to play junior level football when he was aged 11 at local club, Flamura Roșie. Later he played for Flamura's senior squad, helping the team promote to

Divizia C The Liga 3, most often spelled as Liga III, is the third level of the Romanian football league system. Its name was changed from Divizia C to Liga III before the start of the 2006–07 season. It was the first in this format (six series of 18 t ...

and after only one season to

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 ...

, working with coaches

Nicolae Szoboszlay Nicolae Szoboszlay (18 July 1925 – 2 January 2019) was a Romanian football goalkeeper and manager. Career Nicolae Szoboszlay was one of Universitatea Cluj's players in the hardest period of the club's history. In 1940, the team moved from Clu ...

and

Ștefan Kovács Ștefan Kovács ( ro, Ştefan Covaci; hu, Kovács István; 2 October 1920 – 12 May 1995) was a Romanian football player and coach. By winning 15 major titles he is one of the most successful association football coaches in the history of th ...

. In 1960 he was advised by Kovács to go play for

where on 4 September he made his

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 ...

debut under coach

Andrei Sepci Andrei Sepci (7 October 1911 – 3 December 1992) is a Romanian former footballer and manager. He was the manager that guided Știința Cluj in its successful 1964–65 Cupa României campaign. International career Andrei Sepci played four g ...

in a 2–0 away loss in front of

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 ...

. He helped the club win the

1964–65 Cupa României The 1964–65 Cupa României was the 27th edition of Romania's most prestigious football cup competition. The title was won by Ştiinţa Cluj against Dinamo Piteşti. Format The competition is an annual knockout tournament. In the first round ...

, being used by Sepci in the whole game of the 2–1 victory from the

final 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 ...

against Argeș Pitești in which he opened the score with a spectacular goal from about 30 meters. In the following season, Câmpeanu made his debut in European competitions, playing four games in the

1965–66 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1965–66 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup club football tournament was won by Borussia Dortmund in an extra-time final victory over Liverpool at Hampden Park in Glasgow. This season of the Cup Winners' Cup was the first instance of the ...

, helping "U" Cluj eliminate Austrian team,

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...

in the first round, being eliminated in the following round by

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

. In 1966, after Traian Georgescu left the club, Câmpeanu became the team's captain. In the 1971–72 season he helped '' The Red Caps'' finish on the 3rd position and two years later on 19 June 1974 he made his last

appearance on 19 June 1974 in a 2–0 away loss in front of

FC Constanța FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...

, having a total of 328 matches with 3 goals scored in the competition. After his retirement from playing football, Câmpeanu was

's president from 1975 until 1989 and for a short while in 2008. Even do he played for Romania B, Remus Câmpeanu never played for Romania's senior team and on 13 May 2020, ''

Gazeta Sporturilor ''Gazeta Sporturilor'' ( en, The Sports Gazette) is a daily Romanian newspaper, and the country's largest and most read sports-related publication. It is owned by Ringier Sportal S.R.L—a joint venture of Ringier Romania S.R.L. and the Bulgarian ...

'' included him on a list of best Romanian players who never played for the senior national team.

Personal life

A book about him was written by Ion Cupen called ''Confesiunile unui veteran al gazonului'' ''(Confessions of a veteran of the field)''. When Remus Câmpeanu was diagnosed with

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...

, he requested his team colleague and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, Traian Georgescu who also worked as a

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

to operate him. His older brother, Ovidiu was a footballer who played for

Victoria Cluj ''ACS Supporter 2.0'', but mostly known as Fotbal Club Victoria Cluj (due to Victoria Cluj brand legal own), also known as Victoria Cluj or simply as Victoria, was a Romanian amateur football club based in Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, Romania, fou ...

Aurul Brad Clubul Sportiv Armata Aurul Brad, commonly known as CSA Aurul Brad, or simply as Aurul Brad, is a Romanian amateur football club based in Brad, Hunedoara County, founded in 1934. The club is currently playing in the Liga IV. History Aurul Brad ...

and

Jiul Petroșani Jiul may refer to these places in Romania: * the River Jiu ( + ) ** Jiul de Vest ** Jiul de Est * A village in Țuglui Țuglui is a commune in Dolj County, Oltenia, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroad ...

including at Divizia A level, while his nephew

Septimiu Câmpeanu Septimiu Câmpeanu (also known as Tim Câmpeanu and in Germany as Tim Kamp; born 12 July 1957) is a Romanian retired football striker and manager. Club career Septimiu Câmpeanu was born on 12 July 1957 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania and started to ...

was a footballer who played at

. On 13 May 2013, on

Cluj Arena Cluj Arena () is a multi-purpose stadium in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. It serves as the home of FC Universitatea Cluj, Universitatea Cluj of the Liga II and was completed on 1 October 2011. It is also the home of the Untold Festival. The facility, owne ...

during the halftime of the match between

and CSMS Iași he received the title of Honorary Citizen of Cluj County - "Clujean of Honor". Remus Câmpeanu died on 3 April 2021 at age 82.

Honours

Flamura Roșie Cluj *

: 1958–59 Universitatea Cluj *

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 ...

: 1964–65

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Câmpeanu, Remus 1938 births 2021 deaths Romanian men's footballers Men's association football defenders Liga I players FC Universitatea Cluj players Footballers from Cluj-Napoca Romanian sports executives and administrators