Nicolae Dobrin
Renowned for his dribbling ability, Dobrin received the Romanian Footballer of the Year award on three occasions, in 1966, 1967, and 1971, and has a stadium in native Pitești named after him.[8][9] He played for Argeș Pitești most of his career, his first performance was when the club reached the 1965 Cupa României final in which coach Virgil Mărdărescu used him as a starter in the eventual 2–1 loss in front of Știința Cluj.[15] In the 1972–73 European Cup, Argeș Pitești passed Aris Bonnevoie in the first round against whom he scored three goals, then in the following one they won a home game with 2–1 against Real Madrid in which Dobrin opened the score but lost the second leg with 3–1, however this was enough for Real Madrid's president Santiago Bernabéu to want him at the club, making a potential record breaking offer of $2 million and a nocturne installation for the 1 Mai stadium from Pitești.[6][15][16][18][19][20] Because of the communist regime in Romania in that period, Bernabéu had to hold talks with dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu himself, but could not persuade him, because Dobrin was regarded as a "national treasure" and such values could not be "estranged", especially not playing in a team from the country of Francisco Franco's fascist dictatorship.It is said that this was the biggest regret of Dobrin's life, although he did eventually end up playing in Francisco Gento's testimonial, in the famous "blanco" shirt of Real Madrid.[6][30][31] He played six matches and scored two goals at the 1972 Euro qualifiers, managing to reach the quarter-finals where Romania was defeated by Hungary who advanced to the final tournament.
Argeș PiteștiPiteștiAttacking midfielderDinamo PiteștiFCM TârgovișteRomaniaARO Muscelul CâmpulungRomanian LeagueRomanian CupfootballermanagerRomanian Footballer of the YearstadiumArgeș CountyMaracanaArgeș riverDivizia AȘtiința Cluj1965 Cupa României finalVirgil MărdărescuFlorin Halagian1971–72Constantin RaduRadu Jercan1978–79Marin RaduDoru NicolaeDinamo BucureștiIoan ChirilăIlie BalaciInter-Cities Fairs Cup1966–67 Inter-Cities Fairs CupSevillaToulouseDinamo ZagrebMarseilleInter MilanHelenio HerreraRomania's communist regime1972–73 European CupAris BonnevoieReal MadridSantiago Bernabéu1 Mai stadiumcommunist regime in RomaniaNicolae CeaușescuFrancisco FrancoFrancisco Gento1978–79 UEFA CupValenciaAndrei SperiatuMario KempesWorld CupArgentina1979–80 European CupAEK AthensNottingham ForestDivizia BBihor Oradea1985–86 Divizia BStadionul Nicolae DobrinIlie OanăWest GermanySüdweststadionLudwigshafenHorst SzymaniakFritz WalterDie RheinpfalzSwitzerlandEuro 1968 qualifiersPortugal1970 World Cup qualifiersAngelo Niculescu1970 World Cup1972 Euro qualifiersquarter-finalsHungaryfinal tournament1974 World Cup qualifiersEuro 1976 qualifiersEuro 1980 qualifiers1977–80 Balkan CupEast GermanyStadio San PaoloNaplesHardturmZürichStadionul 23 AugustBucharestCzechoslovakia1972 Euro quarter-finalsAlbania1982–83 Divizia AIon Oblemencosecond leaguelung cancerintensive caremultiple organ failureCupa României1964–651980–811980–81 Divizia BAdevărulWayback MachineGazeta SporturilorDumitracheDumitruGeorgescuBölöniSameșRăducanuBalaciDuckadamMateuțPopescuContraDănciulescuRusescuChiricheșSânmărteanTătărușanuAlibecBudescuȚucudeanNițăStanciu