# Rodion Cămătaru

Rodion Gorun Cămătaru (Romanian:; born 22 June 1958) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a striker.

## Club career
### Universitatea Craiova

Rodion Cămătaru was born on 22 June 1958 in Strehaia, being given his Divizia A debut at age 17 by coach Constantin Cernăianu, playing for Universitatea Craiova on 10 November 1974 in a 1–1 against CFR Cluj. 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 after eliminating Olympiacos and Kjøbenhavns Boldklub against whom he scored once, being eliminated with 3–1 on aggregate by Bayern Munich. Cămătaru also won four cups with "U" in the years 1977, 1978 in which he scored a goal in the 3–1 victory from the final against Olimpia Satu Mare, 1981 and 1983 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 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 after the Italians got eliminated by them in the 1982–83 UEFA Cup but Romania's communist regime did not allow the transfer, then in 1985 when he went on a trial at Benfica, playing for them in a friendly against Porto, 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'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, 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 campaign he was used by coach Mircea Lucescu in all six games as The Red Dogs reached the quarter-finals where they were eliminated on the away goals rule after 1–1 on aggregate by Sampdoria.

### Charleroi and Heerenveen

In 1989 he went to play in Belgium at Charleroi. After two seasons he moved in Netherlands at Heerenveen 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. 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 Heerenveen's 100th anniversary, Cămătaru was selected the best striker in the club's history in front of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

## International career

Rodion Cămătaru played 73 matches and scored 21 goals for Romania, 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. He played two games at the Euro 1980 qualifiers, then he scored one goal in the 4–1 victory against Yugoslavia 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 on the Råsunda Stadium, afterwards being used by coach Mircea Lucescu in all three group matches from the final tournament 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 against goalkeeper Peter Shilton in a 1–1 with England. 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 captain Borislav Mihaylov in a 3–1 away victory, being also part of the squad that participated at the final tournament 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 in which he scored Romania's goal.
For representing his country at the 1990 World Cup, Cămătaru was decorated by President of Romania Traian Băsescu on 25 March 2008 with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" – (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III.

### International

Appearances and goals by national team and year. :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Romania | 1978 | 2 | 0 |
| Romania | 1979 | 3 | 0 |
| Romania | 1980 | 7 | 2 |
| Romania | 1981 | 6 | 2 |
| Romania | 1982 | 6 | 2 |
| Romania | 1983 | 10 | 3 |
| Romania | 1984 | 7 | 1 |
| Romania | 1985 | 8 | 3 |
| Romania | 1986 | 6 | 2 |
| Romania | 1987 | 4 | 0 |
| Romania | 1988 | 7 | 4 |
| Romania | 1989 | 5 | 0 |
| Romania | 1990 | 3 | 2 |
| Total | Total | 74 | 21 |
    Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cămătaru goal.
List of international goals scored by Rodion Cămătaru :
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 6 June 1980 | Stade du Heysel, Brussels, Belgium | Belgium | 1–0 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 2 | 27 August 1980 | Stadionul 23 August, Bucharest, Romania | Yugoslavia | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1977–80 Balkan Cup |
| 3 | 25 March 1981 | Stadionul 23 August, Bucharest, Romania | Poland | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 15 April 1981 | Københavns Idrætspark, Copenhagen, Denmark | Denmark | 1–0 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 5 | 14 April 1982 | Gradski stadion, Ruse, Bulgaria | Bulgaria | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly match |
| 6 | 1 May 1982 | Stadionul Corvinul, Hunedoara, Romania | Cyprus | 2–0 | 3–1 | Euro 1984 qualifiers |
| 7 | 2 February 1983 | Olympic Winner Crown Prince Constantine, Larissa, Greece | Greece | 2–1 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 8 | 2 February 1983 | Olympic Winner Crown Prince Constantine, Larissa, Greece | Greece | 3–1 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 9 | 9 June 1983 | Råsunda Fotbollsstadion, Solna, Sweden | Sweden | 1–0 | 1–0 | Euro 1984 qualifiers |
| 10 | 29 July 1984 | Stadionul 23 August, Iași, Romania | China | 2–0 | 4–2 | Friendly |
| 11 | 3 April 1985 | Stadionul Central, Craiova, Romania | Turkey | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1986 World Cup qualifiers |
| 12 | 3 April 1985 | Stadionul Central, Craiova, Romania | Turkey | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1986 World Cup qualifiers |
| 13 | 11 September 1985 | Wembley Stadium, London, England | England | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1986 World Cup qualifiers |
| 14 | 23 April 1986 | Stadionul 1 Mai, Timișoara, Romania | Soviet Union | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 15 | 8 October 1986 | Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel | Israel | 3–1 | 4–2 | Friendly |
| 16 | 20 September 1988 | Stadionul 1 Mai, Constanța, Romania | Albania | 3–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 17 | 19 October 1988 | Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria | Bulgaria | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1990 World Cup qualifiers |
| 18 | 19 October 1988 | Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria | Bulgaria | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1990 World Cup qualifiers |
| 19 | 23 November 1988 | Stadionul Municipal, Sibiu, Romania | Israel | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 20 | 21 May 1990 | Stadionul 23 August, Bucharest, Romania | Egypt | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 21 | 12 September 1990 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland | Scotland | 1–0 | 1–2 | Euro 1992 qualifiers |

## Honours

Universitatea Craiova
* Divizia A: 1979–80, 1980–81
* Cupa României: 1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1982–83
Dinamo București
* Cupa României runner-up: 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89
Heerenveen
* KNVB Cup runner-up: 1992–93
Romania
* Balkan Cup: 1977–80

### Individual

* Divizia A top scorer: 1986–87
* European Golden Shoe: 1986–87 (revoked)
* Ballon d'Or: 1987 (21st place)
* Romanian Footballer of the Year (third place): 1982, 1987, (fourth place): 1983, 1986, (fifth place): 1980