Ion Munteanu (7 June 1955 â 24 March 2006) was a Romanian footballer who played as a left back for Autobuzul BucureÃÂti, Sportul StudenÃÂesc BucureÃÂti and Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea.
Munteanu was born on 7 June 1955 in Buria, Dolj County, Romania and began playing junior-level football in 1965 at Steaua "23 August". Two years later he moved to Autobuzul BucureÃÂti where in the 1974âÂÂ75 Divizia B season he would start his senior career. In his second season, Autobuzul was relegated to Divizia C, but he stayed with the club, helping it get promoted back after one year.
In 1979, Munteanu joined Sportul StudenÃÂesc of Bucharest where he would be teammates with players such as Gheorghe Hagi, Mircea Sandu, Marcel CoraÃÂ, Aurel ÃÂicleanu and Paul Cazan. He made his Divizia A debut on 22 April 1979 under coach Mircea RÃÂdulescu in Sportul's 1âÂÂ0 away loss to Jiul PetroÃÂani. His first performance was reaching the 1979 Cupa României final where RÃÂdulescu used him as a starter, but replaced him at half time with Mircea Sandu in the eventual 3âÂÂ0 loss to Steaua BucureÃÂti. In the 1983âÂÂ84 season, he netted a personal record of seven goals, while in the 1985âÂÂ86 championship he helped Sportul to a runner-up position. During his time with The Students, Munteanu played 13 matches with two goals scored in the UEFA Cup over the course of four seasons, most notably playing in a historical 1âÂÂ0 victory against Inter Milan in the first round of the 1984âÂÂ85 season, but did not qualify further as they lost 2âÂÂ0 in the second leg. In the 1987âÂÂ88 edition, he helped them get past GKS Katowice, then Peter Schmeichel and Brian Laudrup's Brøndby, winning the second leg 3âÂÂ0 after an away loss by the same score, securing a historic penalty shootout qualification to the third round where they were defeated by Hellas Verona. He made his last Divizia A appearance on 11 December 1988, playing in a 1âÂÂ0 win over Inter Sibiu, having a total of 281 matches with 30 goals in the competition, all of them for Sportul StudenÃÂesc.
Munteanu ended his career in 1989 at Divizia B club Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea. Afterwards he worked as coach at the children and junior center of Sportul StudenÃÂesc.
Munteanu played 23 matches for Romania, making his debut on 14 October 1979 under coach Constantin CernÃÂianu in a 3âÂÂ1 friendly loss against the Soviet Union. He made two appearances during the Euro 1980 qualifiers and played in both legs of the 4âÂÂ3 aggregate victory over Yugoslavia in the 1977âÂÂ80 Balkan Cup final. Afterwards he played seven matches during the 1982 World Cup qualifiers, including a 2âÂÂ1 win and a 0âÂÂ0 draw against England. Munteanu's last game for the national team was a 1âÂÂ1 friendly draw against Israel which took place on 21 November 1984.
He died on 24 March 2006 at age 50 because of cirrhosis.
Autobuzul BucureÃÂti
Sportul StudenÃÂesc
Romania