# Emerich Dembrovschi

Emeric Dembroschi (born 6 October 1945) is a retired Romanian football striker.

## Club career

   "He was neither graceful nor spectacular. He was, instead, one of the players who can be said, without making a mistake, that he knows how to stay on the field. Dembo belonged to the category of strategic players, like Gérson, Didi, Bobby Charlton, Overath"
Emerich Dembrovschi was born on 6 October 1945 in Câmpulung la Tisa, Romania and started to play football in the Romanian lower leagues at Foresta Sighet and Victoria Roman. In 1967 he was transferred at SC Bacău where he was wanted by coach Constantin Teașcă, helping the team promote in Divizia A, a competition in which he made his debut on 20 August 1967 under coach Nicolae Dumitru, representing SC Bacău in a 2–1 victory against Steaua București in which he scored a goal. During his period spent at SC Bacău, Dembrovschi made his debut in European competitions, playing seven games in which he scored a hat-trick against Floriana and a brace with Skeid in the 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, helping the club reach the quarter-finals where they were eliminated by Arsenal who would eventually win the competition.
In 1974, Dembrovschi went to play for Politehnica Timișoara where he won the 1979–80 Cupa României, being used by coach Ion Ionescu all the minutes in the 2–1 win over Steaua București from the final. In the following season he helped the team eliminate Celtic in the 1980–81 European Cup Winners' Cup and reached another Cupa României final where Ionescu used him as a starter in the 6–0 loss in front of Universitatea Craiova. Emerich Dembrovschi made his last Divizia A appearance on 17 June 1981, playing for Politehnica in a 1–1 with Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea, having a total of 385 appearances and 108 goals scored in the competition, also having a total of 15 matches and five goals scored in European competitions (including seven appearances and five goals scored in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup).

## International career

Dembrovschi played 26 matches and scored eight goals for Romania, making his debut on 27 October 1968 under coach Angelo Niculescu in a 3–0 loss against Portugal at the successful 1970 World Cup qualifiers in which he made a total of six appearances, scoring a goal in a 1–1 with Greece. At the 1970 World Cup final tournament he was used by Niculescu in all the minutes of the three group matches as Romania did not advance to the next stage, scoring a goal in the last game which was a 3–2 loss against Brazil. For his performances at the Mexican World Cup, Dembrovschi was declared Romania's best player and he and the other 15 best players from the other national teams were part of a project which consisted of each of them having a statue near the Estadio Azteca which was never fulfilled, but a wooden statue of him was displayed in his native Câmpulung la Tisa. He played six matches and scored two goals at the 1972 Euro qualifiers, managing to reach the quarter-finals where Romania was defeated by Hungary, who advanced to the final tournament. Dembrovschi's last two games played for the national team were at the 1974 World Cup qualifiers, in the first one scoring a goal in a 2–0 against Albania, his last appearance taking place on 26 September 1973 in a 2–0 loss in front of East Germany.
For representing his country at the 1970 World Cup, Dembrovschi 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 goals

    Score column indicates score after each Dembrovschi goal.
List of international goals scored by Emerich Dembrovschi :
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1. | 3 September 1969 | JNA Stadium, Belgrade, Yugoslavia | Yugoslavia | 0–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 2. | 16 November 1969 | 23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania | Greece | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1970 World Cup qualifiers |
| 3. | 10 June 1970 | Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico | Brazil | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1970 World Cup |
| 4. | 21 April 1971 | Vojvodina Stadium, Novi Sad, Yugoslavia | Yugoslavia | 0–1 | 0–1 | Friendly |
| 5. | 22 September 1971 | Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland | Finland | 0–3 | 0–4 | 1972 Euro qualifiers |
| 6. | 14 November 1971 | 23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania | Czechoslovakia | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1972 Euro qualifiers |
| 7. | 3 September 1972 | Stadionul Central, Craiova, Romania | Austria | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 8. | 29 October 1972 | 23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania | Albania | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1974 World Cup qualifiers |

## Personal life

A book about him was written by Ilie Dobre, called Emeric Dembroschi - eroul de la Guadalajara (Emeric Dembroschi - The hero from Guadalajara).

## Honours

SC Bacău
* Divizia B: 1966–67
Politehnica Timișoara
* Cupa României: 1979–80, runner-up 1980–81