Lazăr Sfera

Debut

Sfera was born on 29 April 1909 as a subject of Austria-Hungary in Végszentmihály (today Lokve, administered as part of Alibunar in Serbia; known in Romanian as Sân-Mihai). He belonged to the ethnic Romanian community in the historical Banat region. Following World War I and the fall of the dual monarchy, and just as Lazăr had completed grade four at a local school, his family opted to relocate into the Romanian Kingdom. In doing so, the Sferas chose not to become subjects of Yugoslavia, and were instead naturalized Romanian. Later in life, Lazăr joined an "Association of Refugees from the Yugoslav Banat". Upon arrival to Romania, his father joined the state railway carrier (CFR) as a skilled worker, while his mother was employed at a cigarette factory in Timișoara. Lazăr lived with them, as well as with his sister and grandfather, in Mehala district, where they built themselves a house (at No 13 Zorile Street). In a 1966 interview, he described himself as a Timișoara native. Elsewhere, he also confessed to being fluent in Serbian. This skill allowed him to communicate directly with Yugoslav players on opposing teams. It was in Mehala that Sfera was first introduced to street football, using either a rag ball or a regulation tennis ball. Affiliated with an informal club representing his street, he was a goalkeeper, then a half-back, before he found that he was most at ease as a defender. At age twelve or thirteen, Sfera was discovered by a local coach, Cristian…