Dorel Zamfir

Dorel Zamfir
Personal information
Date of birth (1961-09-30)30 September 1961[1]
Place of birth Vișeu de Sus, Romania[1]
Date of death 6 October 2023(2023-10-06) (aged 62)
Place of death Bucharest, Romania
Position Right midfielder[2]
Youth career
1968–1977 FC Constanța
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1977–1979 FC Constanța 43 (3)
1980–1982 Dinamo București 27 (2)
1982 Steaua București 8 (2)
1983–1989 Argeș Pitești 196 (17)
Gloria Bistrița
Flacăra Moreni
Total 274 (24)
International career
1981 Romania U20[2] 5 (1)
Managerial career
Flacăra Moreni (player-coach)
Medal record
Representing  Romania
FIFA World Youth Championship
Bronze medal – third place FIFA U-20 World Cup 1981
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Dorel Zamfir (30 September 1961 – 6 October 2023) was a Romanian footballer who played as a right midfielder.[1][3][4]

Club career

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Zamfir was born on 30 September 1961 in Vișeu de Sus, Maramureș County, Romania, but when he was two months old, his parents settled in his father's city, Constanța.[1][5][6][7][8] He started playing football at age 7, at FC Constanța's youth center where he worked with coach Iosif Bükössy.[5] He made his Divizia A debut for the senior team when he played a full match at the age of 15 years, five months and 16 days on 16 March 1977 under coach Gheorghe Ola in a 1–0 loss to Steaua București.[1][5][6] In the beginning of 1980, Zamfir went to play for Dinamo București, a team with which he won The Double in the 1981–82 season, being used by coach Valentin Stănescu in nine league matches.[7][9][10][11] With Dinamo he also played his only game in a European competition, a 3–0 victory against Levski Sofia in the 1981–82 UEFA Cup.[5][7][12] In 1982 he played for Dinamo's rival, Steaua, after which he joined Argeș Pitești for six seasons.[1][5][6][7] In the following years of his career, Zamfir went to play for Gloria Bistrița, and also had experiences playing abroad in Turkey and Israel.[1] He ended his career as a player-coach at Flacăra Moreni.[1][7]

International career

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Zamfir was selected by coach Constantin Cernăianu to be part of Romania's under-20 squad for the 1981 World Youth Championship held in Australia.[5][13] He appeared in five games, scoring once in a 1–1 draw against Brazil in the group stage, helping the team finish the tournament in third position, winning the bronze medal.[5][13][14] Although defection from the Socialist Republic of Romania was illegal at that time, Zamfir decided to remain in Australia after the tournament, but eventually he willingly returned to the country.[15]

Death

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Zamfir died on 6 October 2023, at the age of 62.[5][6][7][16]

Honours

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Dinamo București

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Meciul din 1977. Înainte de Enes Sali, a fost Dorel Zamfir! Povestea unui alt copil teribil al Farului, care a debutat la 15 ani, contra Stelei (galerie foto)" [The 1977 match. Before Enes Sali, it was Dorel Zamfir! The story of another terrible child of Farul, who debuted at the age of 15, against the Steaua] (in Romanian). Ziuaconstanta.ro. 8 November 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b Dorel Zamfir at WorldFootball.net
  3. ^ "A încetat din viață Dorel Zamfir" [Dorel Zamfir passed away] (in Romanian). Frf.ro. 6 October 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Doliu în fotbalul românesc. A murit Dorel Zamfir, fostul mijlocaş de la Dinamo, Steaua şi FC Argeș" [Mourning in Romanian football. Dorel Zamfir, former midfielder from Dinamo, Steaua and FC Argeș, died] (in Romanian). Orangesport.ro. 6 October 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "S-a mai stins un "cangur". A murit Dorel Zamfir, fostul mijlocaș de la Dinamo, Steaua și FC Argeș" [Another "kangaroo" went out. Dorel Zamfir, former midfielder from Dinamo, Steaua and FC Argeș, died] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 6 October 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d "Doliu în fotbalul românesc. A murit Dorel Zamfir. A debutat la 15 ani contra Stelei" [Mourning in Romanian football. Dorel Zamfir died. He debuted at the age of 15 against Steaua] (in Romanian). Playsport.ro. 6 October 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Fotbalul românesc, în doliu! A murit fostul atacant de la Dinamo, Steaua și FC Argeș, care a luat bronzul cu naționala României la Cupa Mondială U20" [Romanian football, in mourning! The former striker from Dinamo, Steaua and FC Argeș, who won bronze with the Romanian national team at the U20 World Cup, has died] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 6 October 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Dorel Zamfir, "copilul mării" și "Cangurul" precoce" [Dorel Zamfir, "the child of the sea" and the "cangaroo"] (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Dinamo Bucuresti in 1981-82". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  11. ^ "Dinamo Bucuresti in 1979-80". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  12. ^ "Dinamo București vs. Levski Sofia 3 – 0". WorldFootball. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  13. ^ a b "România, locul trei la Campionatul Mondial de tineret din Australia! Romulus Gabor, succesorul lui Diego Maradona" [Romania, third place at the World Youth Championship in Australia! Romulus Gabor, Diego Maradona's successor] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  14. ^ "Dorel Zamfir. U20 World Cup 1981 in Australia". WorldFootball. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  15. ^ "VIDEO Acum 34 de ani România a fost mai aproape ca oricând de titlul mondial la fotbal. Povestea echipei care a obţinut cea mai mare performanţă pentru FRF" [VIDEO 34 years ago, Romania was closer than ever to the world football title. The story of the team that achieved the highest performance for FRF] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 29 May 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  16. ^ "A murit Dorel Zamfir, fostul atacant de la Dinamo, Steaua și FC Argeș! Cu echipa națională s-a clasat pe locul 3 la Campionatul Mondial Under 20 din 1981" [Dorel Zamfir, the former striker from Dinamo, Steaua and FC Argeș, has died! With the national team, he ranked 3rd at the Under 20 World Championship in 1981] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 6 October 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
    "Doliu în lumea sportului. Dorel Zamfir a murit la 63 de ani. A jucat la Dinamo, Steaua și FC Argeș" [Mourning in the world of sports. Dorel Zamfir died at the age of 63. He played for Dinamo, Steaua and FC Argeș] (in Romanian). Cancan.ro. 6 October 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
    "Dorel Zamfir a murit la 62 de ani" [Dorel Zamfir died at the age of 62] (in Romanian). As.ro. 6 October 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
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