Florin Prunea (born 8 August 1968) is a former Romanian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Prunea was born on 8 August 1968 in BucureÃÂti, Romania. He began playing junior-level football in 1977 when he went to play for Steaua BucureÃÂti, but was rejected there and shortly afterwards went to rivals, Dinamo BucureÃÂti. There, coach Fane StÃÂnculescu used him as a striker in his first three years and then he worked with Gheorghe Timar who started using him as a goalkeeper. Later in his youth career he was coached by Iosif Varga, and also during these years he was teammates with future national team competitor Bogdan Stelea.
Prunea made his Divizia A debut on 31 May 1986 under coach Mircea Lucescu in Dinamo's 5âÂÂ0 loss to Sportul StudenÃÂesc BucureÃÂti. However, he made only a few appearances in the first three seasons as his childhood idol, Dumitru Moraru, was still the first choice goalkeeper of The Red Dogs. Thus, he and other players were sent to Universitatea Cluj in exchange for Ioan SabÃÂu. After two seasons spent as first choice goalkeeper at "U" Cluj, he joined Universitatea Craiova. In his first season he helped Craiova win The Double, being used by coach Sorin CârÃÂu in 32 league matches, also playing in the 2âÂÂ1 victory in the Cupa României final against FC BacÃÂu. In 1992, Prunea returned to Dinamo, where he lived his most steady period, remaining with the team for six seasons but without winning any trophies.
In the following years he switched many teams, first returning for a second spell at "U" Cluj. Then Prunea had his first experience abroad by playing for Turkish side Erzurumspor. He made his Süper Lig debut on 9 August 1998 under coach Sadi TekelioÃÂlu in a 5âÂÂ1 away loss to GençlerbirliÃÂi, totaling 11 matches in the competition. Subsequently, Prunea returned to Romania and played just one game in the 1999âÂÂ2000 season for Astra PloieÃÂti. He then joined "U" Craiova for the rest of the season, managing not to concede any goals for 633 consecutive minutes. Prunea had his second experience abroad, when he went to Litex Lovech in Bulgaria where he was teammates with fellow Romanian Valeriu RÃÂchitÃÂ. There, he was in the center of a controversy, being accused of match fixing after a game against Levski Sofia.
He returned to Dinamo in the middle of the 2000âÂÂ01 season, helping them win the Cupa României, being used by coach Cornel Dinu in the 4âÂÂ2 victory in the final against Rocar BucureÃÂti. In the following season he helped the club win the title, but coaches Dinu and Marin Ion used him in only six games, as the team's first choice goalkeeper was Bogdan LobonÃÂ. In the last years of his career, Prunea had two spells at FCM BacÃÂu which were separated by a period spent at FC BraÃÂov. Afterwards he had his third and final spell abroad at Super League Greece team Skoda Xanthi, where he was colleagues with compatriot Stelian CarabaÃÂ. Prunea ended his career at NaÃÂional BucureÃÂti where he made his last Divizia A appearance on 5 November 2005 in a 3âÂÂ2 loss to OÃÂelul GalaÃÂi, totaling 383 matches in the competition and 17 games in European competitions (including three in the Intertoto Cup).
Prunea played 41 games in which he conceded 26 goals for Romania, making his debut on 5 December 1990 under coach Mircea RÃÂdulescu in a 6âÂÂ0 victory against San Marino in the Euro 1992 qualifiers. He made a total of three appearances during those qualifiers.
He made another three appearances during the successful 1994 World Cup qualifiers. He was part of the "Golden Generation" that went to the final tournament. Coach Anghel IordÃÂnescu used him in only one game in the group stage, where he kept a clean sheet in the 1âÂÂ0 victory against USA, whereas Bogdan Stelea was preferred in the first two. Prunea played from the round of 16 onwards, as they got past Argentina with a 3âÂÂ2 win, reaching the quarter-finals where they faced Sweden. There, with five minutes remaining in extra time, his side was leading 2âÂÂ1. However, Prunea failed to intercept a 40-meter cross in time, allowing striker Kennet Andersson to level the score at 2âÂÂ2. As a result, the game went to penalties, where Sweden won 5âÂÂ4.
Prunea played one game during the successful Euro 1996 qualifiers. In the final tournament, the team lost all three group stage games against France, Bulgaria and Spain. IordÃÂnescu used him only in the 2âÂÂ1 loss to the Spanish side.
He played two games during the successful 1998 World Cup qualifiers and was selected by IordÃÂnescu to be part of the final tournament squad, but did not play there. Prunea was also selected by coach Emerich Jenei to be part of the Euro 2000 final tournament squad, but again without playing there. On 25 April 2001 he made his last appearance for the national team in 0âÂÂ0 friendly draw against Slovakia.
For representing his country during 1990âÂÂ2000 at the World and European Cups final tournaments, Prunea was decorated by President of Romania Traian BÃÂsescu on 25 March 2008 with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" â (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III.
In 1994, Prunea was named Honorary Citizen of Bucharest.
Dinamo BucureÃÂti
Universitatea Craiova
Universitatea Cluj
NaÃÂional BucureÃÂti