Gheorghe Dungu
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 Dungu (bottom row, centre) with the Cupa Primăverii trophy in 1957. | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 5 April 1929 | ||
| Place of birth | Bucharest, Romania | ||
| Date of death | 15 June 2023 (aged 94) | ||
| Place of death | Bucharest, Romania | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1946–1947 | Explosivi Făgăraș | ||
| 1947–1948 | CFR Făgăraș | ||
| 1948–1963 | Rapid București[1] | 170 | (0) |
| 1963–1964 | Progresul Alexandria | ||
| International career | |||
| 1955–1958 | Romania B[2] | 6 | (0) |
| 1962 | Romania | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1963–1964 | Progresul Alexandria | ||
| 1964–1965 | Chimia Făgăraș | ||
| 1965–1966 | Metalurgistul Cugir | ||
| 1966–1967 | Oțelul Galați | ||
| 1967–1972 | Steaua București (juniors) | ||
| 1972–1974 | Zanzibar | ||
| 1974–1975 | Electroputere Craiova | ||
| 1975–1976 | Dinamo Slatina | ||
| 1976–1977 | Unirea Alexandria | ||
| 1980–1982 | Laminorul Roman | ||
| 1982–1983 | Rova Roșiori | ||
| 1983–1984 | Sportul Muncitoresc Caracal | ||
| 1984–1985 | Rapid București (juniors) | ||
| 1985–1986 | Rapid București (assistant) | ||
| 1986–1987 | Rapid București (juniors) | ||
| 1988 | Sportul Muncitoresc Caracal | ||
| 1989 | Rapid București (juniors) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Gheorghe Dungu (5 April 1929 – 15 June 2023) was a Romanian football player and manager.
Dungu was born on 5 April 1929 in Bucharest, Romania, and when he was six years old his family moved to Făgăraș.[3][4][5][6] He started playing football at Explosivi Făgăraș, first as a forward.[3][4][5][6] At the age of 15 or 16 in a match against Metrom Brașov, the team's goalkeeper got injured and he replaced him, saving a penalty in the game, coach Andrei Sepci deciding to definitely keep him in the goalkeeper position from then on.[3][4][5][6] In 1947, Dungu went to play for CFR Făgăraș, where he was noticed by Rapid București's player Remus Ghiurițan who recommended him to the team's officials.[3][4][5][6] He went on a trial at Rapid and after playing three matches in which he kept a clean sheet, coach Petre Steinbach decided to keep him at the team.[3][4][5][6] Dungu made his Divizia A debut for The Railwaymen on 4 March 1949 in a 3–0 victory against Metalul Reșița.[3][4][5][6] He stayed with the club until the end of his career in 1963, totaling 170 Divizia A appearances, and was described as "one of the most appreciated goalkeepers" of Rapid.[1][3][4][5][6] The highlights of his career were winning the 1957 Cupa Primăverii and two runner-up positions in the 1948–49 and 1950 Divizia A seasons.[7] He also helped Rapid reach two Cupa României finals in 1961 and 1962 under coach Ion Mihăilescu which were lost to Arieșul Turda and Steaua București, respectively.[8][9]
International career
Dungu played two friendly games for Romania, making his debut on 30 September 1962 in a 4–0 victory against Morocco, as coach Constantin Teașcă used him in the first 80 minutes, being replaced for the last 10 by Vasile Sfetcu.[5][6][10][11] In the second game which took place on 14 October 1962, Teașcă played him the entire match in the 3–2 away loss to East Germany.[10][12]
Managerial career
Dungu coached several teams in the Romanian lower leagues, the first one being Progresul Alexandria in 1963.[3][4][5][6] He had a spell abroad as the national team of Zanzibar's coach from 1972 until 1974.[3][4][5][6] He also worked at junior level at the youth centers of Steaua București and Rapid București, and in the 1985–86 Divizia A season he was the assistant of Ion Motroc at Rapid.[3][4][5][6]