Petre Steinbach

Steinbach was born on 1 January 1906 in Temesvár, Austria-Hungary, being of Banat Swabian ethnicity, and began playing football in 1925 at CAM Timișoara. In 1928 he went for one year at Colțea Brașov, afterwards moving to Unirea Tricolor București. After playing three years in the regional league, he made his Divizia A debut on 4 September 1932 in Unirea Tricolor's 4–1 home win over AMEF Arad. During his ten-season spell at Unirea, the team earned a second place in the 1933–34 season. Subsequently, Steinbach led the club to the 1936 Cupa României final as a player-coach, playing the entire match in the 5–1 loss to Ripensia Timișoara. He made his last Divizia A appearance on 10 April 1938 in a 6–1 loss to Chinezul Timișoara, totaling 90 games with five goals in the competition. Unirea Tricolor was relegated at the end of that season, but he stayed with the club for one more year, helping it earn promotion back to the first league. Steinbach finished his playing career in 1940 at Olympia București.

Steinbach was selected by coach Constantin Rădulescu to be part of Romania's squad for the 1930 World Cup in which he did not play. His debut came on 12 October 1930, when Rădulescu used him in a 5–3 away loss to Bulgaria in the 1929–31 Balkan Cup. In the same tournament he also played in the rematch, a 5–2 victory, and appeared in two 4–2 away wins over Yugoslavia and Greece respectively, helping Romania win the competition. He played the entire match in Romania's first meeting against France, a home friendly that ended with a 6–3 victory. Steinbach played three games in the 1932 Balkan Cup, captaining the team for the first time in a 3–0 away win over Greece. He also played three games during the 1931–1934 Central European Cup for Amateurs and two in the 1933 Balkan Cup, including a 7–0 victory against Bulgaria, with both tournaments being won by Romania. During his 18th and last cap for the national team, he was captain in a 7–1 friendly loss to Sweden.

In 1933 and 1938, Steinbach spent a month each year in England, studying football training sessions, including Arsenal's. He began coaching in 1934 while still playing for Unirea Tricolor București, reaching the 1936 Cupa României final, which they lost 5–1 to Ripensia Timișoara. After World War II, Steinbach, because of his German origins, was sent for a while to forced labor in the USSR. Joseph Stalin considered that German people doing forced labor was a way for the Germans to pay "war reparations". Sent to work at a lead mine in the Donbas region, Steinbach was working in inhumane conditions. However, according to the sports journalist Lucian Oprea, one of the bosses in the region found out that among the deportees there was a former footballer, who also played in the Romanian national team. Thus Steinbach was taken out of the camp and put in charge of training a local team. He managed to get the team promoted to a higher echelon and was eventually released, returning to Romania. In 1947 he became coach at ITA Arad, helping the team win the title, using only 14 players in the process. In the same season the club won the Cupa României, but Steinbach left before the final, Gusztáv Juhász leading the team in the 3–2 win over CFR Timișoara. In 1948 he coached Romania for a short period of time, leaving after a 9–0 away loss to Hungary in the 1948 Balkan Cup. Afterwards he went to coach Rapid București with whom he finished runner-up in the 1948–49 and 1950 seasons. After The…

Player

Unirea Tricolor București

Divizia A runner-up: 1933–34 Divizia B: 1938–39 Cupa României runner-up: 1935–36 Romania

Balkan Cup: 1929–31, 1933 Central European International Cup: 1931–34

Manager

Unirea Tricolor București

Cupa României runner-up: 1935–36 ITA Arad

Divizia A: 1947–48 Cupa României: 1947–48 Rapid București

Divizia A runner-up: 1948–49, 1950 Divizia B: 1952 Romania U18

Under-18 European Championship runner-up: 1960