Florin Prunea (born 8 August 1968) is a former Romanian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

Club career

Prunea was born on 8 August 1968 in

București Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater metropolitan area of 2. ...

, Romania and he started playing football at junior level in 1977 when he went to play for Steaua București but he was rejected, shortly afterwards going at

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

Dinamo București A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterin ...

. There, coach Fane Stănculescu used him as a striker in his first three years, then he worked with Gheorghe Timar who started using him as a

and in the later years of his youth career he was coached by Iosif Varga, also during these years he was teammate with future national team competitor,

Bogdan Stelea Bogdan Gheorghe Stelea (; born 5 December 1967) is a former Romanian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Having played professionally into his 40s, he played for all three major Liga I clubs in his country's capital, and also sp ...

. Prunea made his

Divizia A Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...

debut on 31 May 1986 under coach

Mircea Lucescu Mircea Lucescu (; born 29 July 1945) is a Romanian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, currently the head coach of the Romania national football team, Romania national team. He i ...

in Dinamo's 5–0 loss to Sportul Studențesc București. 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'' so he and other players were sent to Universitatea Cluj in exchange for

Ioan Sabău Ioan "Neluțu" Ovidiu Sabău (born 12 February 1968) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, currently in charge of Liga I club Universitatea Cluj. Club career Ioan Sabău, nicknamed ''Moțul'' after the people from Țar ...

. After two seasons spent at "U" Cluj in which he was a first choice goalkeeper, he went to play for Universitatea Craiova. In his first season he helped Craiova win The Double, being used by coach

Sorin Cârțu Sorin Cârțu (born 12 November 1955) is a former football striker and football coach, currently honorary president at Liga I club Universitatea Craiova. Cârțu won two Romanian Championships and four Romanian Cups with Universitatea Craiov ...

in 32 league matches, also playing in the 2–1 victory from the Cupa României final against FC Bacău. In 1992, Prunea returned at 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 going for a second spell at "U" Cluj, then he had his first experience abroad by playing for Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

side,

Erzurumspor Erzurumspor was a sports club located in Erzurum, Turkey. The football club played in the Turkish Regional Amateur League. The club also played in Turkish First League between 1998 and 2001. It fell into money shortage since 2000 and gradually f ...

. Afterwards he returned to Romania and played just one game in the 1999–2000 season for

Astra Ploiești Asociația Fotbal Club Astra Giurgiu (), commonly known as Astra Giurgiu or simply Astra, was a Romanian Association football, football Club (organization), club last based in the city of Giurgiu, Giurgiu County. Founded in 1921 in Ploiești as ' ...

as he played for "U" Craiova for the rest of the season, managing to not concede any goals for 633 consecutive minutes. Prunea had his second spell abroad, when he went in

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Litex Lovech FC Lovech (; formerly Litex Lovech) is a Bulgarian professional association football, football club based in Lovech, that competes in the Second Professional Football League (Bulgaria), Second League. The club was founded in 1921 as Hisarya Spor ...

where he was teammate with fellow Romanian,

Valeriu Răchită Valeriu "Vivi" Răchită (born 30 May 1970) is a Romanian former footballer and current manager. Playing career A central defender, he spent most of his career in Romania with Steaua București and Petrolul Ploiești, winning a combined five ...

, also being in the center of a controversy when he was accused of

match fixing In organized sports, match fixing (also known as game fixing, race fixing, throwing, rigging, hippodroming, or more generally sports fixing) is the act of playing or officiating a contest with the intention of achieving a predetermined result, v ...

after a game against

Levski Sofia PFC Levski Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded on 24 May 1914 by a group of high sc ...

. He returned again at Dinamo in the middle of the 2000–01 season by the end of which he helped them win the

Cupa României The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...

, being used by coach

Cornel Dinu Cornel Dinu (born 2 August 1948) is a Romanian retired professional footballer and manager who played as a sweeper or a defensive midfielder. He started out his playing career at hometown club Metalul Târgoviște in 1965, and went on to spen ...

in the 4–2 victory from the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

against Rocar București. In the following season he helped the club win the title but coaches Dinu and

Marin Ion Marin Ion (born 25 March 1955) is a Romanian professional football coach and a former player, currently the head coach of the Romania national under-19 team. Playing career Marin started his football career as a defender with the youth team ...

used him in only six games, as the team's first choice goalkeeper was

Bogdan Lobonț Bogdan Ionuț Lobonț (; born 18 January 1978) is a Romanian professional football coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper, currently technical director at Liga III club CSM Olimpia Satu Mare. He amassed 86 appearances for the Rom ...

. In the last years of his career, Prunea had two spells at

FCM Bacău Asociația Sportivă a Suporterilor FCM 1950 Bacău (also known as ASS FCM 1950 Bacău, FCM 1950 Bacău or FCM Bacău) was a Romanian association football, football football team, club based in Bacău, Bacău County, Moldavia. Founded in 1950 a ...

which were interfered by a period spent at FC Brașov. Afterwards he had his third and final spell abroad at

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

team,

Skoda Xanthi Xanthi Football Club () is a Greek Association football, football club based in Xanthi, Western Thrace. They play their home matches at Skoda Xanthi Arena Founded in 1967, Xanthi is well set up in terms of their financial support and youth set ...

where he was teammate with compatriot Stelian Carabaș. He ended his career at Național București where he made his last Divizia A appearance on 5 November 2005 in a 3–2 loss to Oțelul Galați, gaining a total of 383 matches in the competition and he also has a total of 17 games in European competitions (including three in the

Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was discon ...

International career

Prunea played 41 games in which he conceded 26 goals at international level for

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, making his debut on 5 December 1990 under coach

Mircea Rădulescu Mircea Rădulescu (born 31 August 1941 in Bucharest) is a Romanian former football player and manager. Life and career Rădulescu was born in Bucharest and appeared in nearly 300 football matches. He was a member of Rapid București at junior l ...

in a 6–0 victory against

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

at the Euro 1992 qualifiers in which he made a total of three appearances. He made another three appearances at the successful 1994 World Cup qualifiers. He was part of the "Golden Generation" that went at the 1994 World Cup final tournament, being used by coach

Anghel Iordănescu Anghel Iordănescu (; born 4 May 1950), is a Romanian former footballer and former manager, who played as a forward. In 2007, Iordănescu retired from football, and the following February, after his predecessor resigned, he became a member ...

in only one game from the group stage in which he kept a clean sheet in the 1–0 victory against

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

, as in the first two

was preferred. Prunea played from the round of 16 onwards, as they got past

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

with a 3–2 win, reaching the quarter-finals where they faced

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. There, while his side was leading 2–1 in

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

with five minutes to the final whistle, Prunea did not jump in time at a 40 meters cross and gave striker

Kennet Andersson Bernt Kennet Andersson (born 6 October 1967) is a Swedish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Starting off his career with IFK Eskilstuna in the mid-1980s, he went on to p ...

the chance to level the score to 2–2 so the game went on to penalties where Sweden won 5–4 after

Petrescu Petrescu is a patronymic surname common in Romania, meaning "son of Petre (disambiguation), Petre". Notable people with this surname include: *Anca Petrescu, architect and politician *Barbu Petrescu, mayor of Bucharest (1989–1990) *Camil Petrescu ...

and Belodedici could not defeat

Thomas Ravelli Thomas Ravelli (; born 13 August 1959) is a Swedish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. His 21-year professional career was almost exclusively associated with Öster ...

. He played one game at the successful Euro 1996 qualifiers, also being used by Iordănescu in a 2–1 loss against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

as Romania did not get past the group stage of the

final tournament Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. He played two games at the successful 1998 World Cup qualifiers and was selected by Iordănescu to be part of the squad that went at the

, however he did not made any appearances there. In his final years, Prunea was selected by coach

Emerich Jenei Emerich Alexandru Jenei (also known as Emeric Jenei or Imre Jenei; 22 March 1937) is a Romanian former football player and manager. He is considered one of Romania's best managers, alongside Ştefan Kovács, Mircea Lucescu, and Anghel Iordăn ...

to be part of the squad that went at the

Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

final tournament without playing and on 25 April 2001 he made his last appearance for the national team in a friendly which ended 0–0 against

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. For representing his country during 1990–2000 at the World and European Cups final tournaments, Prunea was decorated by

President of Romania The president of Romania () is the head of state of Romania. The president is directly elected by a two-round system, and, following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, serves for five years. An individual may serve two ter ...

Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a Romanian politician who served as the president of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian minister of transport on multiple occasions between 1991 and 2000, ...

on 25 March 2008 with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" – (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III.

International stats

Honours

Dinamo București *

: 2001–02 *

: 1985–86, 2000–01 *

Supercupa României The Supercupa României () is a Romanian football (soccer), football championship contested by the winners of the Liga I and the Cupa României. It is usually played at the Arena Națională in Bucharest. The competition started off in 1994 Supe ...

runner-up:

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

Universitatea Craiova *

: 1990–91 *

: 1990–91 Universitatea Cluj *

Cupa Ligii The Cupa Ligii () was Romania's secondary club football tournament. Like the Cupa României, it was played on a knockout (single elimination) basis. History It is unclear when the competition was first created, as there are no official recordi ...

runner-up:

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

Național București *

runner-up: 2005–06

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prunea, Florin 1968 births Living people Footballers from Bucharest Romanian men's footballers Romania men's international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers 1994 FIFA World Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1996 players UEFA Euro 2000 players Liga I players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Süper Lig players Super League Greece players FC Dinamo București players FC Universitatea Cluj players FC Progresul București players FC Brașov (1936) players FCM Bacău players FC U Craiova 1948 players FC Lovech players Erzurumspor footballers FC Astra Giurgiu players Xanthi F.C. players Romanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Bulgaria Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Romanian sports executives and administrators 20th-century Romanian sportsmen