Great champion passes

Today, a great man passed away: Nicolae Dobrin. Quote from Wikipedia :

"Nicolae Dobrin, nicknamed Gâscanul, "the Gander" (August 26, 1947 - October 26, 2007) was a Romanian football player, considered by many the best Romanian player of the 1960s and 1970s and one of the most talented players ever to play the game.

He was born in Piteşti, Argeş County, and he played for the first time in a Divizia A game when he was 16, on July 1, 1962, in the game between Ştiinţa Cluj and Dinamo Piteşti. He played for FC Argeş for 22 years, and only one year for another team, CS Târgovişte; Dobrin refused to play for any other First Division clubs, such as FC Dinamo Bucharest or Universitatea Craiova. Dobrin's contribution was essential to the 1979 Championship win for FC Argeş, when his team won the championship by defeating Dinamo 4-3, the last goal being scored by Dobrin in extra time.

Dobrin played 48 games for the Romanian national team, scoring six times, and contributed to Romania's qualification for the 1970 FIFA World Cup. However, he did not play in it even though he was in the finals squad.

During his whole career, Nicolae Dobrin played 409 matches, scoring 111 goals in all. He was named three times the best Romanian player, in 1966, 1967 and 1971. He played his last game on June 14, 1983, when FC Argeş faced FC Bihor (the match ended 2-0 in favor of FC Argeş). In 2007, Dobrin was the technical director of FC Argeş.

He died in October 2007 at the intensive care unit of the County Hospital in Piteşti. This came as a result of multiple organ failure, in turn caused by lung cancer."

Sadly, he didn't manage to dribble past death this time.

A great champion during his life, Nicolae Dobrin will remain a bright memory for all of us.