Lică Nunweiller

[[File:Lică Nunweiller, Radu Nunweiller, Ion Nunweiller 1963.jpg|thumb|left|270px|

Nunweiller was born on 13 November 1938 in Piatra Neamț, Romania, but his parents told the authorities that he was born on 12 November 1938, because they felt that the number 13 brings bad luck.^[4] He had an Austrian father named Johann Nunweiller, who settled in Piatra Neamț after World War II where he met his wife, Rozina, and later they moved to Bucharest.^[4] He had six brothers: Constantin, the oldest, was a water polo player, while Dumitru, Ion, Victor, Radu, and Eduard were all footballers who each played at least one spell at Dinamo București.^[4] They are the reason why the club's nickname is "The Red Dogs" as especially he and Ion were known for their aggressiveness on the field, which often caused their faces to turn red from the effort.^[4][5] He began playing junior-level football in 1947 at Unirea Tricolor București, moving afterwards to Venus U.C.B., before joining Dinamo București where he worked with coach Petre Steinbach.^[6][7] In 1957 he started to play senior level football at Dinamo Obor București in Divizia B.^[6]

He made his Divizia A debut, playing for Dinamo București on 5 June 1960 under coach Traian Ionescu in a 2–0 victory against Rapid București.^[6][8] Nunweiller helped the club win four consecutive Divizia A titles from 1962 until 1965.^[6][9] In the first one he worked with three coaches, Ionescu, Constantin Teașcă, and Nicolae Dumitru, who gave him 18 appearances.^[6][9] In the subsequent two seasons, Dumitru and Ionescu utilized him in 22 matches, where he scored one goal in the first, and in 26 matches, where he also scored one goal in the second.^[6][9] In the last one he played 13 games, netting twice under the guidance of Angelo Niculescu.^[6][9] At the conquest of all these titles he was teammates with his brother Ion, and his brother Radu was also on the team for the last two.^[9] Nunweiller also won the 1963–64 Cupa României with The Red Dogs, coach Ionescu using him and his brothers Lică and Radu for the full 90 minutes in the 5–3 victory over rivals Steaua București in the final.^[6][10] He played for Dinamo in a total of 11 matches without scoring in the European Cup, including all four games of the 1963–64 European Cup campaign as they got past East Germany champion, Motor Jena, being eliminated in the next phase by Real Madrid.^[3][11] He also appeared in a historical 2–1 win over Inter Milan in the 1965–66 edition who were the winners of the previous two seasons of the competition.^[3][12]

In 1967, he joined Dinamo Bacău for two seasons.^[6] Nunweiller next moved to Turkey in 1969 to join Beşiktaş, making him one of the first Romanians to play professional football there.^[6][13] He made only one appearance in the Süper Lig during the 1969–70 season.^[6] Afterwards, he returned to Romania to end his career at Dinamo București in 1970 where on 19 July he made his last Divizia A appearance in a 1–1 draw against Politehnica Iași, totaling 206 matches with five goals in the competition.^[6]

Nunweiller played four friendly games for Romania, making his debut on 8 October 1961 under coach Gheorghe Popescu in a 4–0 victory against Turkey.^[1][14][15] His following games were a 3–2 win over East Germany, a goalless draw against Turkey and a 1–1 tie against Austria.^[1]

Nunweiller was the assistant coach of his brother Ion at Dinamo București during the 1976–77 season at the end of which they won the title together.^[9][16][17]

Nunweiller died on 8 November 2013 at the Floreasca Hospital in Bucharest at age 74.^[18] During Dinamo's first home game after his death, the fans displayed a banner dedicated to him that said:"Few of those who wrote the history of our team remain! You taught us what the "D" of life is, Lică Nunweiller, thank you!".^[19]