Rodion Gorun Cămătaru (; born 22 June 1958) is a Romanian former professional

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 lea ...

who played as a striker.

Club career

Universitatea Craiova

Rodion Cămătaru was born on 22 June 1958 in

Strehaia Strehaia () is a town in Mehedinți County, Oltenia, Romania. It is situated on the Motru (river), Motru River valley, in the eastern part of the county. Nine villages are administered by the town: Ciochiuța, Comanda, Hurducești, Lunca Banului, ...

, being given his

Divizia A Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...

debut at age 17 by coach Constantin Cernăianu, playing for Universitatea Craiova on 10 November 1974 in a 1–1 against

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ) or simply CFR, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I. Founded as ''Kolozsvári Vasut ...

. He spent twelve seasons with Universitatea, 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, then they reached the quarter-finals of the

1981–82 European Cup The 1981–82 European Cup was the 27th season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football competition. The tournament was won for the only time by Aston Villa in the final against Bayern Munich. It was the sixth consecutive year that an E ...

after eliminating

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

and

Kjøbenhavns Boldklub Kjøbenhavns Boldklub (known simply as KB) was a Danish professional multi-sports club based in Copenhagen. The club was founded on 26 April 1876 on the grassy fields in outer Copenhagen which later became Fælledparken. Tennis has been played s ...

against whom he scored once, being eliminated with 3–1 on aggregate by

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

. Cămătaru also won four cups with "U" in the years

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

in which he scored a goal in the 3–1 victory from the final against Olimpia Satu Mare,

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

and

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

in which he scored a double in the 2–1 final against Politehnica Timișoara and made nine appearances in the 1982–83 UEFA Cup campaign when they reached the semi-finals, being eliminated by Benfica on the

away goal rule Away may refer to: Film and television * ''Away'' (2016 film), a British film directed by David Blair * ''Away'' (2019 film), a Latvian animated silent film by Gints Zilbalodis * Away (2025 film), a drama film by Gerard Oms * ''Away'' (TV series ...

after 1–1 on aggregate. 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!"). Also during his period spent with '' The Blue Lions'' he had offers to play abroad, firstly from

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

after the Italians got eliminated by them in the 1982–83 UEFA Cup but Romania's

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

did not allow the transfer, then in 1985 when he went on a trial at Benfica, playing for them in a friendly against

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

, making a good impression but shortly afterwards he suffered an injury that kept him off the field for six months, so the Portuguese club chose not to transfer him.

Dinamo București

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 nine matches of the season, his European Golden Boot was retired because

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

'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. In 1987 he was nominated for the

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French magazine ''France Football'' since 1956 Ballon d'Or, 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. Conceived ...

, also during the 1980s he was on five occasions in the top five of the Romanian Footballer of the Year award, two times being placed third. 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 ...

campaign he was used by coach

Mircea Lucescu Mircea Lucescu (; born 29 July 1945) is a Romanian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, currently the head coach of the Romania national football team, Romania national team. He i ...

in all six games as '' The Red Dogs'' reached the quarter-finals where they were eliminated on the

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

after 1–1 on aggregate by Sampdoria.

Charleroi and Heerenveen

In 1989 he went to play in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

. After two seasons he moved in

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, ) is a town and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the m ...

where he spent three seasons, being for a while teammate with compatriot Ioan Andone, 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 Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...

. He has a total of 378 Divizia A appearances in which he scored 198 goals and 47 matches played with seven goals scored in European competitions. In 2020 with the occasion of

's 100th anniversary, Cămătaru was selected the best striker in the club's history in front of

Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (; born 1 July 1976), commonly known as Ruud van Nistelrooy (), is a Dutch professional Association football, football manager and former player who is the current manager of EFL Championship club Leic ...

and

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar Dirk Jan Klaas Huntelaar (born 12 August 1983), known professionally as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (), is a Dutch former professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Huntelaar played for PSV Ein ...

International career

Rodion Cămătaru played 73 matches and scored 21 goals for

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, making his debut on 13 December 1978 under coach Ștefan Kovács in a friendly which ended with a 2–1 loss in front of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. He played two games at the Euro 1980 qualifiers, then he scored one goal in the 4–1 victory against

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

in the second leg of the 1977–80 Balkan Cup final. Cămătaru 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 Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

on the

Råsunda Stadium Råsunda Stadium (; also known as Råsunda Fotbollsstadion, Råsundastadion, Råsunda Football Stadium or just Råsunda) was the Swedish national football stadium. It was located in Solna Municipality in Stockholm and named after the district ...

, afterwards being used by coach

in all three group matches from the

final tournament Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

as Romania did not advance to the next stage. He played six games and scored three goals at the 1986 World Cup qualifiers, including a spectacular one on the

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

against goalkeeper

Peter Shilton Peter Leslie Shilton (born 18 September 1949) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. His 31-year career included spells at 11 clubs and he has the uni ...

in a 1–1 with

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. 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 Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

captain

Borislav Mihaylov Borislav Biserov Mihaylov (; born 12 February 1963) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer, who played as a goalkeeper, and Former President of the Bulgarian Football Union (2005 – 2019; 2021 – 2023). He is the longest-serving presid ...

in a 3–1 away victory, being also part of the squad that participated at the

where coach Emeric Jenei did not use him in any games. Cămătaru's last appearance for the national team was at the Euro 1992 qualifiers in a 2–1 loss against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in which he scored Romania's goal. For representing his country at the

1990 World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

, Cămătaru was decorated by

President of Romania The president of Romania () is the head of state of Romania. The president is directly elected by a two-round system, and, following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, serves for five years. An individual may serve two ter ...

Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a Romanian politician who served as the president of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian minister of transport on multiple occasions between 1991 and 2000, ...

on 25 March 2008 with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" – (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III.

International

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

Honours

Universitatea Craiova *

: 1979–80, 1980–81 *

Cupa României The Cupa României () 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. It is the Romania ...

: 1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1982–83 Dinamo București *

runner-up: 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89 Heerenveen *

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

runner-up: 1992–93 Romania *

Balkan Cup The Balkan Cup (officially ''Coupe Balkanique de Football'') was an international association football competition contested on and off from 1929 to 1980 by countries from the Balkans region. The most successful team was Romania with four titles. ...

: 1977–80

Individual

top scorer: 1986–87 *

European Golden Shoe The European Golden Shoe, also known as the European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the player with the most points in league matches from the top division of a European national league. The trophy is a sculpture o ...

: 1986–87 (revoked) *

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

(21st place) * Romanian Footballer of the Year (''third place''): 1982, 1987, (''fourth place''): 1983, 1986, (''fifth place''): 1980

Notes

References

External links

*
Dutch league stats
– Voetbal International {{DEFAULTSORT:Camataru, Rodion 1958 births Living people People from Strehaia Romanian men's footballers Romania men's international footballers Romanian expatriate men's footballers CS Universitatea Craiova players FC Dinamo București players Royal Charleroi S.C. players SC Heerenveen players Liga I players Belgian Pro League players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Romanian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands UEFA Euro 1984 players 1990 FIFA World Cup players Men's association football forwards Summer World University Games medalists in football FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Romania Footballers from Mehedinți County 20th-century Romanian sportsmen