Florea Dumitrache

Dumitrache was born on 22 May 1948 in Bucharest, Romania, having been nicknamed since his childhood "Mopsul" (The Pug), because his nose resembled that of a pug. He started playing junior-level football in 1961 at Rapid București. Two years later he went to TUG Bucureșt, where he was seen by Dinamo București's coach Traian Ionescu who convinced him to come and play for his team. He made his Divizia A debut on 2 May 1966, playing for Dinamo București under coach Angelo Niculescu in a 1–1 draw against Dinamo Pitești. His first trophy won was the 1967–68 Cupa României, scoring a goal in the 3–1 victory in the final against Rapid in which coach Bazil Marian used him the entire match. In the following three editions of the Cupa României, the team would reach the final in all of them, Dumitrache scoring a goal in each of the first two, but they were all lost to rivals Steaua București. Over the years he would score five more goals in the derby against Steaua in five league victories.

Dumitrache won three league titles with The Red Dogs in 1971, 1973 and 1975. In the first one he contributed with 15 goals scored in the 28 matches he was used by coaches Nicolae Dumitru and Ionescu. In the second he played 26 games and scored 15 goals under the guidance of Ion Nunweiller and in the third he made 10 appearances with four goals netted while working once again with Dumitru. During his time at Dinamo, Dumitrache also played 16 games and scored six goals in European competitions.…

Dumitrache played 31 games and scored 15 goals for Romania, making his debut under coach Angelo Niculescu in a 0–0 friendly draw against the Netherlands. He played five games in which he scored three goals in the successful 1970 World Cup qualifiers. He performed well in the final tournament, being used by coach Niculescu in all three group stage games, scoring twice, once in a 2–1 win over Czechoslovakia and once in a 3–2 loss to Brazil. Dumitrache also impressed with his dribbling abilities, especially in the 1–0 loss to England in front of defenders Bobby Moore and Terry Cooper. However, Romania did not manage to advance to the next stage. He played three matches and scored two goals in the Euro 1972 qualifiers. Then he scored five goals in five games during the 1974 World Cup qualifiers, including two in Romania's biggest ever victory, a 9–0 win against Finland. Dumitrache also played in a 3–1 win over Greece in the 1973–76 Balkan Cup, making his last appearance for the national team on 23 July 1974 in a 4–1 friendly victory against Japan in which he scored two goals.

In 2022, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) included Dumitrache in its "Romania's all-time dream team" first XI.

International goals

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Dumitrache goal:

Sports commentator Ilie Dobre published a book about his career titled I se spune "Mopsul" - Florea Dumitrache (They call him "Pug" - Florea Dumitrache), which was released in 2001. Dumitrache died in his native Bucharest on 26 April 2007, aged 59, due to a digestive hemorrhage. After his death, the Victoria Ground was renamed "Stadionul Florea Dumitrache" in his honor.

Dinamo București

Divizia A: 1970–71, 1972–73, 1974–75 Cupa României: 1967–68 Corvinul Hunedoara

Divizia B: 1979–80 Individual

Divizia A top scorer: 1968–69, 1970–71 Romanian Footballer of the Year: 1968, 1969 Ballon d'Or 24th place: 1970