Stere "StericÃÂ" Adamache (17 August 1941 â 9 July 1978) was a Romanian football goalkeeper.
Adamache, nicknamed "Baronul" (The Baron), was born on 17 August 1941 in GalaÃÂi, Romania. He began playing junior-level football as a field player in 1955 at Energia GalaÃÂi. He later moved to Ancora GalaÃÂi, where he started playing as a goalkeeper, and subsequently joined ÃÂtiinÃÂa GalaÃÂi. In 1960, he started his senior career by playing two Divizia B seasons for Dinamo GalaÃÂi. Adamache made his Divizia A debut on 9 September 1962, playing for Viitorul BucureÃÂti under coach Gheorghe Ola in a 0âÂÂ0 draw against ÃÂtiinÃÂa Cluj. Shortly afterwards, the club dissolved and he had offers to play for Steaua BucureÃÂti and Steagul RoÃÂu BraÃÂov and after a talk with the latter's coach, Silviu PloeÃÂteanu, he chose Steagul because he would have had more opportunities to play.
Adamache remained at Steagul over the course of 13 seasons, the highlight of this period being a fourth place in the 1964âÂÂ65 Divizia A season. He also played 10 games in European competitions, including a 4âÂÂ2 win over Espanyol Barcelona in the 1965âÂÂ66 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and a 3âÂÂ2 victory on aggregate against Beà Âiktaà  in the 1974âÂÂ75 UEFA Cup. At the end of the 1967âÂÂ68 Divizia A season, Steagul was relegated to Divizia B, but he stayed with the club, helping the team get promoted back to the first division after one year. For the way he played in 1972, Adamache was placed fourth in the ranking for the Romanian Footballer of the Year award. He played his last Divizia A match on 29 June 1975 in Steagul's 2âÂÂ1 home victory against Dinamo BucureÃÂti, totaling 253 appearances in the competition. After one year of absence, he came out of retirement to play again for Steagul in the 1976âÂÂ77 Divizia B season, trying to help them get promoted to Divizia A, but failing to do so.
Under the guidance of coaches Nicolae Dumitrescu and Gheorghe Ola, Adamache helped Romania's under-18 national team win the 1962 European championship. Between 1962 and 1967, he played several games for Romania's under-23 and B squads. He was selected by coach Silviu PloeÃÂteanu to be part of Romania's Olympic team for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Adamache played seven games for Romania, making his debut on 28 April 1970 when coach Angelo Niculescu sent him at halftime to replace RicàRÃÂducanu in a 2âÂÂ0 friendly loss to France. His following two games were a 2âÂÂ2 draw against Peru and a 2âÂÂ0 loss against the Soviet Union. Adamache was a member of Steagul RoÃÂu BraÃÂov's "Mexican trio", as together with Mihai IvÃÂncescu and Nicolae Pescaru they were part of Romania's 1970 Mexico World Cup squad. He was used by coach Niculescu in all three games which were a win against Czechoslovakia and losses to England and Brazil, as his side failed to progress from their group. In the 3âÂÂ2 loss against the Brazilians, he conceded two goals from Pelé and Jairzinho, being replaced in the 29th minute by RicàRÃÂducanu, thus becoming the first goalkeeper substitution in World Cup history. His last game for the national team was a 2âÂÂ0 victory against Albania in the 1974 World Cup qualifiers.
Adamache drowned and died at age 36 while swimming in the Danube on 9 July 1978.
Steagul RoÃÂu BraÃÂov
Romania U18
Individual