Gheorghe Ene (also known as Gheorghe Ene II; 27 January 1937 â 6 April 2009) was a Romanian football striker and coach.
Ene was born on 27 January 1937 in BucureÃÂti, Romania, and began playing junior-level football in 1952, aged 14 at Progresul ICAS BucureÃÂti. In 1954, he started his senior career at VoinÃÂa BucureÃÂti, moving after one season to Progresul CPCS BucureÃÂti. On 18 March 1956 he made his Divizia A debut, playing for Rapid BucureÃÂti under coach Ferenc Rónay in a 1âÂÂ1 draw against Minerul PetroÃÂani. During his four seasons spent with The Railwaymen, Ene became the top-scorer of the 1958âÂÂ59 Divizia A with 17 goals scored.
Ene went to play for Dinamo BucureÃÂti where from 1962 to 1965 he helped the club win four consecutive Divizia A titles. In the first one he worked with three coaches, Traian Ionescu, Constantin TeaÃÂcàand Nicolae Dumitru, who gave him 20 appearances in which he scored 19 goals. In the following two, Dumitru and Ionescu used him in 19 matches in which he netted seven times in the first and in 14 with five goals scored in the second. In the last one he played 23 games, scoring 15 times under the guidance of Angelo Niculescu. Ene also won the 1963âÂÂ64 Cupa României with The Red Dogs, coach Ionescu used him for the entire match in the 5âÂÂ3 victory over rivals Steaua BucureÃÂti in the final. He would score two goals in the league in the derby against Steaua, including one in a 3âÂÂ2 victory. Ene played in 11 European Cup matches in which he scored two goals. In the 1963âÂÂ64 edition they got past East Germany champion Motor Jena, but were eliminated in the next phase by Real Madrid. In the 1965âÂÂ66 campaign, he scored two goals against Denmark's champion, Boldklubben 1909 which helped Dinamo advance to the next round. There, they were eliminated by Inter Milan, winners of the previous two seasons of the competition, but earned a historical 2âÂÂ1 victory in the first leg.
Ene spent the last season of his career at Dinamo BacÃÂu, making his last Divizia A appearance on 9 June 1968 in a 4âÂÂ1 victory against Farul ConstanÃÂa, totaling 227 matches with 116 goals in the competition.
Ene played three games for Romania, making his debut under coach Gheorghe Popescu on 15 June 1955 in a 4âÂÂ1 friendly loss to Sweden. His second game was a 1âÂÂ1 draw against Yugoslavia in the 1958 World Cup qualifiers. His last appearance was on 8 October 1961 in a friendly that ended with a 4âÂÂ0 victory against Turkey.
Ene started coaching after he ended his playing career at Dinamo BucureÃÂti's children and juniors center. Afterwards he coached senior teams Jiul PetroÃÂani, Unirea Slobozia, Muscelul Câmpulung, CS TârgoviÃÂte and Corvinul Hunedoara, mostly in the Romanian lower leagues, having only short spells in Divizia A at Jiul and Corvinul.
His brother, Daniel, was also a footballer who played for SC BacÃÂu and Rapid BucureÃÂti. Ene died on 6 April 2009 at age 72.
Dinamo BucureÃÂti