Emerich Dembrovschi

Emeric Dembrovschi

Dembrovschi in 1970
Personal information
Date of birth	(1945-10-06) 6 October 1945 (age 79)
Place of birth	Câmpulung la Tisa, Romania
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1962–1965	Foresta Sighet
1965–1966	Victoria Roman
1967–1974	SC Bacău	190	(63)
1974–1981	Politehnica Timișoara	208	(51)
Total		398	(114)
International career
1968–1973	Romania [a]	27	(9)
Managerial career
1983–1985	Politehnica Timișoara
1996–1997	Politehnica Timișoara
1997	UTA Arad
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Emeric Dembroschi ^[3] (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, it can be said without mistake, knows how to stay on the field. Dembo belonged to the category of strategic players, like Gérson, Didi, Bobby Charlton, Overath"

–Mircea Lucescu, former teammate ^[4]

Dembrovschi was born on 6 October 1945 in Câmpulung la Tisa, Romania and began playing football in the Romanian lower leagues at Foresta Sighet and Victoria Roman. ^{[4] [5] [6]} In 1967 he was transferred to SC Bacău where he was wanted by coach Constantin Teașcă. ^{[4] [5] [6]} He helped the team get promoted in Divizia A, a competition where he made his debut on 20 August 1967 under coach Nicolae Dumitru in a 2–1 victory against Steaua București in which he scored a goal. ^{[4] [5] [6]} Dembrovschi participated in SC Bacău's 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup campaign, playing seven games, scoring a hat-trick against Floriana and a brace against Skeid, helping the club reach the quarter-finals where they were eliminated by Arsenal who eventually won the competition. ^{[6] [7]}

In 1974, Dembrovschi went to Politehnica Timișoara where he won the 1979–80 Cupa României, being used by coach Ion Ionescu the entire match in the 2–1 win over Steaua București in the final. ^{[4] [5] [6] [8]} In the following season he helped them 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 to Universitatea Craiova. ^{[4] [5] [6] [9]} Dembrovschi made his last Divizia A appearance on 17 June 1981, playing for Politehnica in a 1–1 draw against Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea, having a total of 385 appearances with 108 goals scored in the competition, and also totaling 15 matches with five goals in European competitions (including seven appearances with five goals netted in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup). ^{[4] [5] [6]}

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 to Portugal in the successful 1970 World Cup qualifiers. ^{[1] [10] [11]} He made a total of six appearances in these qualifiers, scoring a goal in a 1–1 draw against Greece. ^{[1] [10]} He was used in the final tournament by Niculescu for the entirety of all three games which were a win against Czechoslovakia and losses to England and Brazil, scoring once against the latter, as his side failed to progress from their group. ^{[1] [4] [6] [10]} For his performances at the Mexican World Cup, Dembrovschi was declared Romania's best player. ^{[4] [6]} He and the other 15 best players from the other national teams were part of a project that entailed each of them having a statue near the Estadio Azteca, a project that was ultimately never fulfilled. ^{[4] [6]} However, a wooden statue of him was displayed in his native Câmpulung la Tisa. ^{[4] [6]} He played six matches and scored two goals in the 1972 Euro qualifiers, managing to reach the quarter-finals where Romania was defeated by Hungary, who advanced to the final tournament. ^[1] Dembrovschi played his last two national team games in the 1974 World Cup qualifiers, scoring a goal in the first, a 2–0 win against Albania. ^[1] His last appearance took place on 26 September 1973 in a 2–0 loss to East Germany. ^[1]

For representing his country in 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. ^{[12] [13]}

International goals

Score column indicates score after each Dembrovschi goal. ^[1]

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

Ilie Dobre wrote a book about him, titled Emeric Dembroschi - eroul de la Guadalajara(Emeric Dembroschi - The hero from Guadalajara). ^[6]

Honours

SC Bacău

• Divizia B: 1966–67 ^[5]

Politehnica Timișoara

• Cupa României: 1979–80, runner-up 1980–81 ^[5]

Notes

1. Including one appearance and one goal for Romania's Olympic team. ^{[1] [2]}

References

1. "Emerich Dembrovschi". European Football. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
2. Emerich Dembrovschi at National-Football-Teams.com
3. Ilie Dobre – Emeric Dembroschi – eroul de la Guadalajara (Ed. Paralela 45, 2004), p. 5
4. "Interviu savuros cu Dembrovszki, "tricolorul" care trebuia să aibă statuie lângă Pele: "Am o statuie de lemn la mine în sat. Era lângă biserică, se închinau babele la ea. Credeau că e un sfânt"" [Tasty interview with Dembrovszki, the "tricolor" who was supposed to have a statue next to Pele: "I have a wooden statue in my village. It was near the church, the old women worshiped it. They thought it was one of a saint"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
5. Emerich Dembrovschi at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
6. "Emeric Dembróschi: "Am fost desemnat cel mai bun jucător român din Mexic, în România nu am fost nici măcar printre primii zece"" [Emeric Dembróschi: "I was named the best Romanian player in Mexico, in Romania I wasn't even among the top ten"] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
7. "Jumătate de secol de la o calificare istorică în primăvara europeană" [Half a century since a historic qualification in the European spring] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
   "Football stories: Once upon a time they were great…". 20 March 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
   "Bacăul a ajuns în fața lui Arsenal" [Bacău ended up in front of Arsenal] (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 13 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
   "Emerich Dembrovschi. Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1969/1970". WorldFootball. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
8. "Romanian Cup – Season 1979–1980". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
9. "Romanian Cup – Season 1980–1981". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
10. "România la CM 1970. Enigma Dobrin" [România la WC 1970. The Dobrin enigma] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 2 June 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
11. "Portugal 3-0 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
12. "DECRET privind conferirea Ordinului și Medaliei Meritul Sportiv" (PDF). Monitorul Oficial al României Nr. 241. 28 March 2008. p. 3. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
13. "Decorarea unor personalități ale fotbalului românesc". Administrația Prezidențială. 25 March 2008. Archived from the original on 12 September 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2022.

External links

• Emerich Dembrovschi at WorldFootball.net