Gheorghe Gornea
Romanian footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gheorghe Gornea (2 August 1944 – 2005) was a Romanian football goalkeeper.
|
Gornea in 1970 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gheorghe Gornea | ||
| Date of birth | 2 August 1944 | ||
| Place of birth | Sinaia, Romania | ||
| Date of death | 2005 (aged 60–61) | ||
| Place of death | Sinaia, Romania | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1963–1964 | Carpați Sinaia | ||
| 1964–1966 | Steaua București | 3 | (0) |
| 1966–1971 | UTA Arad | 127 | (0) |
| 1971–1972 | Minerul Baia Mare | 8 | (0) |
| 1972–1973 | CSM Reșița | 13 | (0) |
| 1973–1976 | Rapid Arad | 41 | (0) |
| Total | 192 | (0) | |
| International career | |||
| 1968–1970 | Romania | 4 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
Gornea was born on 2 August 1944 in Sinaia, Romania and began playing football at local club Carpați.[1][2] He was transferred to Steaua București where he made his Divizia A debut on 30 August 1964 under coach Ilie Savu in a 4–0 away victory against Știința Craiova.[1][2][3] In his second season spent at Steaua he won the Cupa României.[1][2][4]
Afterwards he went to play for UTA Arad where in his five years spent at the club he won two consecutive titles in the 1968–69 and 1969–70 seasons.[1][2][4][5] Coach Nicolae Dumitrescu used him in 30 games in the first one and in 29 matches in the second.[1][2][4][5] He also helped the team by delivering a praised performance when they eliminated the defending European Cup champions Feyenoord in the 1970–71 European Cup season, having a total of six appearances in the competition over the course of two seasons.[1][2] For the way he played in 1968, Gornea was placed fourth in the ranking for the Romanian Footballer of the Year award.[6]
In 1971, Gornea went to play for one season in Divizia B at Minerul Baia Mare.[1][2] Afterwards he joined CSM Reșița, being brought there by his former coach from UTA, Ioan Reinhardt, where on 11 March 1973 he made his last Divizia A appearance in a 5–1 loss to Steagul Roșu Brașov, totaling 143 matches played in the competition.[1][2] He retired after playing three more seasons at Rapid Arad in Divizia B.[1][2]
International career
Gornea played four games for Romania in which he conceded two goals, all under the guidance of coach Angelo Niculescu.[2][7] He made his debut on 27 October 1968, when he came on as a substitute at halftime and replaced Narcis Coman in a 3–0 away loss to Portugal in the 1970 World Cup qualifiers, where he conceded one goal from Jacinto Santos.[2][7][8] His following game was a 0–0 friendly draw against England, followed by a 2–0 victory over Switzerland in the 1970 World Cup qualifiers.[2][7] His last game was another friendly against England, at the Wembley Stadium that ended with a 1–1 draw where his appreciated performance earned him the nickname "The hero from Wembley".[2][7] Niculescu also selected Gornea for Romania's 1970 World Cup final tournament, though he did not play in any matches there.[2][9][10]
