Iosif Varga (6 April 1941 – 22 May 1992) was a Romanian footballer who played as a forward and also was a manager.[3][5]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 4 December 1941[1][2] | ||
| Place of birth | Bucharest, Romania[3] | ||
| Date of death | 22 May 1992 (aged 50)[1][2] | ||
| Place of death | Bucharest, Romania[2] | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward[3][4] | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1951–1958 | Dinamo București | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1958–1964 | Dinamo București | 94 | (23) |
| 1965 | Dinamo Pitești | 3 | (0) |
| 1965–1969 | Dinamo București | 23 | (6) |
| 1969–1970 | Wuppertaler SV | 18 | (8) |
| Total | 138 | (37) | |
| International career | |||
| 1963 | Romania Olympic | 1 | (0) |
| 1963 | Romania | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1985 | Dinamo București | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 January 2020 | |||
Club career
edit"I consider him the most complete player of his time, not only at Dinamo, but even in Romanian football. He never feared any opponent"
–Ion Nunweiller, former Dinamo player[6]
Iosif Varga, nicknamed Piți was born on 4 December 1941 in the Vitan neighborhood of Bucharest, growing up in the Pantelimon neighborhood.[1][2][3][7] At the age of 10 he went to play football at the junior squads of Dinamo București where he worked with coach Petre Steinbach.[3][6][7][8] On 24 August 1958 he became the youngest player that scored in his Divizia A debut match, when at 16 years, 8 months and 20 days he scored a hat-trick against Steagul Roșu Brașov in a 6–0 victory.[3][7][6][9] He finished his first season as a senior with the winning of a trophy, coach Iuliu Baratky using him all the minutes in the 4–0 win over CSM Baia Mare from the 1959 Cupa României Final.[3][10][11] In 1961, coach Traian Ionescu used him as the team's game coordinator, helping them win the 1961–62 Divizia A by scoring four goals in 15 appearances, including transforming a penalty in a 1–0 win in the derby with Steaua București in which he previously scored on two other occasions in the earlier seasons.[1][3][6][12][13][14][15] In the next three seasons, Varga helped The Red Dogs win another three titles, working with coaches like Ionescu, Nicolae Dumitru and Angelo Niculescu in the process, at the first one contributing with four goals scored in 22 matches, in the second he played eight games and in the third he appeared in two games.[1][2][3][6][7][12] Also during this time he helped the club win the 1963–64 Cupa României but did not appear in the final and made three appearances in the European Cup.[1][2][3][6][16] In 1965, Varga went to play for Dinamo Pitești for a half year in which he played three Divizia A games, returning to Dinamo București, where he would spend another four seasons, winning the 1967–68 Cupa României in which he did not play in the final, making his last Divizia A appearance on 10 November 1968 in a 3–0 victory against Universitatea Cluj, a competition in which he has a total of 120 appearances and 29 goals scored.[1][2][3][6][17] He ended his career by playing one season in West Germany's second tier, Regionalliga West at Wuppertaler SV, scoring 8 goals in 18 appearances.[1][2][3][6][7]
International career
editIosif Varga played two friendly matches at international level for Romania, making his debut under coach Silviu Ploeșteanu in a 3–2 victory against East Germany.[18][19] His second game was a 1–1 against Poland and he also played one match for Romania's Olympic team at the 1964 Summer Olympics qualifiers.[18][20]
Coaching career
editAfter he retired from playing football he worked at Dinamo's youth center where he taught and formed generations of players, which include Florin Răducioiu, Ioan Lupescu, Bogdan Stelea, Florin Prunea and Florin Tene.[1][6]
Death
editIosif Varga died on 22 May 1992 in his native Bucharest at age 50.[1][2][3][6]
Honours
editDinamo București
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Povestea boemilor din fotbalul românesc. "Flencea" şi cu Varga erau "academicieni profesori doctori în ştiinţe alcoolice"" [The story of the bohemians in Romanian football. "Flencea" and Varga were "academic doctoral professors in alcoholic sciences"] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 13 October 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Piți Varga, mai "candriu" decât "Mopsul" ori "Gâscanul". Şi la fotbal, şi la şpriţ!" [Piți Varga, more "boozed" than "Mopsul" or "Gâscanul". At football, and spritz!] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 22 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Iosif Varga at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
- ^ Iosif Varga at WorldFootball.net
- ^ Iosif Varga at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Legendele fotbalului: Boemul din "Ştefan cel Mare"" [Football legends: The bohemian from "Stefan cel Mare"] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 28 October 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Piți Varga, dinamovistul boem și prolific" [Piti Varga, the bohemian and prolific Dinamo player] (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 21 July 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ^ "Din istoria sportului românesc-Povestea lui Petre Steinbach, fotbalistul-scriitor deportat în URSS" [From the history of Romanian sport-The story of Petre Steinbach, the football player-writer deported to the USSR] (in Romanian). Independentaromana.ro. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
"Ceahlăul a avut un antrenor legendar, PETRE STEINBACH" [Ceahlăul had a legendary coach, PETRE STEINBACH] (in Romanian). Zch.ro. 25 November 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
"Ceahlăul 100: Fotbaliștii pietreni au avut un antrenor legendar – Petre Steinbach" [Ceahlăul 100: The footballers from Piatra Neamț had a legendary coach – Petre Steinbach] (in Romanian). Dordeneamt.ro. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2024. - ^ "VIDEO Robert Vâlceanu e al doilea cel mai tânăr marcator la debut din istoria Ligii 1" [VIDEO Robert Vâlceanu is the second youngest debut scorer in the history of Liga I] (in Romanian). Digisport.ro. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
- ^ "Romanian Cup 1958–59". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ^ "Finala Cupei României 1959: Dinamo – CSM Baia Mare 4-0" [The Cupei României Final 1959: Dinamo – CSM Baia Mare 4-0] (in Romanian). Tikitaka.ro. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
- ^ a b "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ^ "Dinamo Bucuresti in 1959–60". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ^ "Dinamo Bucuresti in 1960–61". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ^ "Dinamo Bucuresti in 1961–62". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ^ "Romanian Cup 1963-1964". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ^ "Romanian Cup 1967-1968". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ^ a b "Iosif Varga". European Football. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
- ^ "Romania - East Germany 3:2". European Football. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ "Denmark - Romania 2:3". European Football. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
External links
edit- Iosif Varga at Labtof.ro