Zoltan Crișan

Zoltan Crișan
Krizsán Zoltán
Personal information
Full name Zoltan Crișan
Date of birth (1955-05-03)3 May 1955
Place of birth Oradea, Romania
Date of death 14 October 2003(2003-10-14) (aged 48)
Place of death Craiova, Romania
Position
Youth career
1969–1973 Minerul Baia Mare
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1973–1974 Minerul Baia Mare 32 (9)
1974–1984 Universitatea Craiova 237 (40)
1984–1985 Bihor Oradea 14 (2)
1985–1987 Olt Scornicești 45 (6)
1987 Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea 8 (2)
Total 304 (50)
International career
1973 Romania U18 1 (1)
1973–1974 Romania U21 4 (2)
1973–1975 Romania U23 8 (1)
1975–1976 Romania Olympic 5 (0)
1977 Romania B 1 (0)
1974–1984 Romania 41 (4)
Managerial career
Aurul Brad
Montefano
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Zoltan Crișan (Hungarian: Krizsán Zoltán;[1] 3 May 1955 – 14 October 2003) was a Romanian international footballer of Hungarian ethnicity who played for Minerul Baia Mare, Universitatea Craiova, Bihor Oradea, Olt Scornicești and Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea.[2] He reached the semi-finals of the 1982–83 UEFA Cup with "U" Craiova.[3]

Club career

Crișan was born on 9 December 1956 in Oradea, Romania and began playing junior-level football at Minerul Baia Mare in 1969.[4][5] He started his senior career by playing for Minerul during the 1973–74 Divizia B season.[4] Subsequently, he joined Universitatea Craiova where he made his Diviza A debut on 11 August 1974 under coach Constantin Cernăianu in a 1–1 away draw against Universitatea Cluj.[4][6]

Crișan went on to play 10 seasons for "U" Craiova, being part of the "Craiova Maxima" generation that won two consecutive league titles in 1980 and 1981.[3][4][7] At the first one he contributed with three goals scored in the 29 appearances given to him by coach Valentin Stănescu and in the second he netted a career best of 10 goals in the 29 matches that coach Ion Oblemenco used him.[4][7] He also won the Cupa României four times, but played in only three finals, scoring once in the 6–0 victory over Politehnica Timișoara in the 1981 final.[4][8]

Crișan played 30 games and scored five goals for "U" Craiova in European competitions.[4] In the second round of the 1979–80 UEFA Cup, he played in one leg of the 4–0 aggregate win over Leeds United, as Universitatea became the first Romanian club that eliminated a team from England in European competitions.[9][10] Afterwards, they reached the quarter-finals in the 1981–82 European Cup by eliminating Olympiacos and Kjøbenhavns Boldklub, with him scoring a goal against the latter, being eliminated with 3–1 on aggregate by Bayern Munich.[11] He made 10 appearances in the 1982–83 UEFA Cup campaign, with Crișan scoring once against Kaiserslautern, as they reached the semi-finals where they were eliminated by Benfica on the away goal rule after 1–1 on aggregate.[4][12]

In 1984, Crișan went to play for his hometown club, Bihor Oradea.[4][5] However, after six months, he joined Olt Scornicești.[4][5] In the middle of the 1986–87 season, he went to Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea with whom he suffered a relegation at the end of the season, retiring afterwards.[4][13] His last Divizia A appearance took place on 10 May 1987 in Chimia's 2–1 home loss to SC Bacău, totaling 304 matches with 50 goals in the competition.[4][14]

International career

From 1973 to 1977, Crișan was consistently featured for Romania's under-18, under-21, under-23, Olympic and B teams.[4][15]

Crișan played 41 matches and scored four goals for Romania, making his debut on 4 December 1974 when coach Valentin Stănescu sent him at halftime to replace Mircea Lucescu in a 1–0 friendly victory against Israel.[16][17] Subsequently, he played five matches in the Euro 1976 qualifiers and scored four goals of which one was in a 1–1 draw against Spain, two were netted in a 6–1 win over Denmark and the final one was in a 1–1 draw against Scotland.[16] He played in all four matches during the World Cup 1978 qualifiers, helping to secure victories in the first two games against Spain and Yugoslavia, but ultimately failed to qualify for the final tournament after losing the second leg against both opponents, thus finishing second in the group behind the Spaniards.[16][18] Crișan played three matches in the 1977–80 Balkan Cup, including a 4–1 victory against Yugoslavia in the final.[16][19] He also played five games during the Euro 1980 qualifiers.[16] Then he made six appearances in the 1982 World Cup qualifiers which included a 2–1 home win and a 0–0 away draw against England.[16] His last appearance for the national team took place on 11 April 1984 in a 0–0 friendly draw against Israel.[16]

International goals

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Crișan goal.[16]
List of international goals scored by Zoltan Crișan
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 17 April 1975 Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain  Spain 1–1 1–1 Euro 1976 qualifiers
2 11 May 1975 23 August Stadium, Bucharest, Romania  Denmark 2–0 6–1
3 3–0
4 17 December 1975 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland  Scotland 1–1 1–1

Coaching career

After he ended his playing career, Crișan coached Aurul Brad in Romania and Montefano in Italy.[3][5][20]

Personal life and death

In 2003, Crișan received the Honorary Citizen of Craiova title.[21]

Crișan died of tuberculosis on 14 October 2003 at the age of 48 in Craiova.[3][22]

Ion Jianu, a Romanian journalist, wrote a book about his life titled Patimile lui Crișan (The Passions of Crișan) published in 2004.[23] Another book about him was written by sports commentator Ilie Dobre, titled Zoltan Crișan, irezistibila extremă (Zoltan Crișan, the irresistible winger), which was also released in 2004.[24]

Honours

Universitatea Craiova

Romania

References

  1. ^ Farkas, Norbert (4 February 2019). "Ceausescu miatt nem verték szét az UEFA-kupában csodát tévő egyetemistákat". www.origo.hu. New Wave Media Group.
  2. ^ Zoltan Crișan at WorldFootball.net
  3. ^ a b c d ""Șapte ani fără numărul șapte!" Zoltan Crișan, comemorat de Universitatea Craiova" ["Seven years without the number seven!" Zoltan Crișan, commemorated by the Universitatea Craiova] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 14 October 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Zoltan Crișan at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  5. ^ a b c d "Crișan – omul penalty" [Crișan – the penalty man] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 20 May 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  6. ^ "Universitatea Cluj vs Universitatea Craiova 1-1". Labtof. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  8. ^ "Romanian Cup – Season 1976–1977". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
    "Romanian Cup – Season 1977–1978". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
    "Romanian Cup – Season 1980–1981". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
    "Romanian Cup – Season 1982–1983". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  9. ^ "Zoltan Crișan. UEFA Cup 1979/1980". WorldFootball. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  10. ^ "38 de ani de la o performanță senzațională! Universitatea Craiova, prima echipă din România care elimina o grupare din Anglia" [38 years since a sensational performance! Universitatea Craiova, the first team in Romania to eliminate a group from England] (in Romanian). Orangesport.ro. 7 November 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
    "Au trecut 43 de ani de la Leeds United – Universitatea Craiova 0-2. Amintirile lui Aurel Beldeanu: "M-au aplaudat și englezii". Exclusiv" [43 years have passed since Leeds United – Universitatea Craiova 0-2. Aurel Beldeanu's memories: "The English applauded me too." Exclusive] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  11. ^ "Zoltan Crișan. Champions League 1981/1982". WorldFootball. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  12. ^ "EXCLUSIV. Dezvăluiri explozive despre cum "i-a luat" naționala calificarea Craiovei Maxima în finala Cupei UEFA : "S-au făcut multe greșeli după România-Italia"" [EXCLUSIVE. Explosive revelations about how the national team "took away" Craiova Maxima's qualification for the UEFA Cup final: "Many mistakes were made after Romania-Italy"] (in Romanian). Playsport.ro. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
    "Zoltan Crișan. UEFA Cup 1982/1983". WorldFootball. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  13. ^ "Divizia A 1986/87". Romanaiansoccer.ro. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  14. ^ "Zoltan Crișan profile". Labtof. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  15. ^ "Zoltan Crișan profile". 11v11. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Zoltan Crișan". European Football. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Israel 0-1 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  18. ^ "1978 FIFA World Cup Qualification, Group 8". European Football. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  19. ^ a b "Balkan Cup 1977–80". European Football. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  20. ^ "Un sărut şi o lacrimă pentru Zoli Crişan" [A kiss and a tear for Zoli Crișan] (in Romanian). Cvlpress.ro. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  21. ^ "Cetățeni de onoare ai Craiovei" [Honorary citizens of Craiova] (in Romanian). Primariacraiova.ro. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  22. ^ "Zoltan Crisan a murit la spital uitat de prieteni si rude" [Zoltan Crisan died in hospital forgotten by friends and relatives] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 15 October 2003. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  23. ^ ""Patimile lui Crisan", un volum de interviuri in care adevarul este devastator" ["Crisan's Passions", a volume of interviews in which the truth is devastating] (in Romanian). Gds.ro. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  24. ^ "Most books published by a Radio Sports commentator: world record set by Ilie Dobre". Worldrecordacademy.com. 5 July 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  • Mihai Ionescu; Răzvan Toma; Mircea Tudoran (2001). Fotbal de la A la Z. Bucharest: Mondocart Pres. p. 228. ISBN 973-8332-00-1.
  • Ion Jianu (2004). Patimile lui Crișan. Craiova: Editura de Sud. ISBN 973-8395-06-2.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoltan_Cri%C5%9Fan