Gabriel Zahiu (footballer, born 1956)

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Gabriel Zahiu
Personal information
Date of birth (1956-11-17)17 November 1956[1]
Place of birth Buzău, Romania[1]
Date of death 20 November 2023(2023-11-20) (aged 67)[2]
Place of death Helsingborgs, Sweden[2]
Position(s) Midfielder / Central defender[1][3]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1973–1975 Gloria Buzău 46 (1)
1975–1981 Steaua București 120 (31)
1981–1987 Gloria Buzău 88 (32)
1987 Örebro
Total 254 (64)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gabriel Zahiu (17 November 1956 – 20 November 2023) was a Romanian footballer who played as a midfielder.[3][4]

Career[edit]

Gabriel Zahiu was born on 17 November 1956 in Buzău, Romania, starting to play football at local club, Gloria in Divizia B for two seasons between 1973 and 1975.[1][2][5] Afterwards he went to play for Divizia A club, Steaua București, making his debut in the competition on 17 August 1975 in a 2–1 home victory with FCM Reșița.[1] By the end of his first season with Steaua, he helped the club win The Double, being used by coach Emerich Jenei in nine league games but did not appear in the 2–1 win over CSU Galați from the Cupa României final.[1][2][5][6][7] In the following season he reached another Cupa României final, Jenei sending him on the field in the 72nd minute to replace Radu Troi in the eventual 2–1 loss in front of Universitatea Craiova.[8] In the 1977–78 season, Zahiu had a prolific period as he scored 12 goals in the 22 league games that Jenei used him, being the team's second top-goalscorer with seven behind Anghel Iordănescu, helping the club win another title.[1][2][5][6] In next two seasons, he reached two more Cupa României finals, in the first one he did not appear in the 3–0 win over Sportul Studențesc București and in the one from 1980, coach Gheorghe Constantin sent him on the field in the 65th minute to replace Marcel Răducanu but the team lost with 2–1 in front of Politehnica Timișoara.[2][5][9][10] In his six seasons spell spent with The Military Men he also played seven matches in European competitions, scoring one goal in a 6–0 win over Young Boys from the 1979–80 European Cup Winners' Cup.[2][3][11] In 1981 he returned to Gloria Buzău in Divizia B, where in the 1983–84 season he scored a personal record of 15 goals which helped the team promote to Divizia A where on 2 November 1986 in a 2–1 home win with Corvinul Hunedoara he made his last appearance in the league, having a total of 135 games with 32 goals in the competition.[1][2][5] In 1987 at age 31, Zahiu left Communist Romania legally to settle in Sweden where he played for a short while for Örebro before ending his career.[2][3][5]

Death[edit]

Gabriel Zahiu died on 20 November 2023 in Helsingborgs, Sweden, three days after he turned 67.[2][5][12]

Honours[edit]

Steaua București

Gloria Buzău

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Gabriel Zahiu at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Dramatic: Trupul unui dublu campion al României se află de peste două luni într-un congelator din Suedia!!!" [Dramatic: The body of a double Romanian champion has been in a freezer in Sweden for over two months!!!] (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Gabriel Zahiu at WorldFootball.net
  4. ^ "Fotbaliştii care au creat istoria clubului STEAUA BUCUREŞTI" [The football players who created the history of STEAUA BUCHAREST] (in Romanian). fcsteaua.ro. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "Un dublu campion cu Steaua a murit acum două luni și se află încă la morgă în Suedia" [A double champion with Steaua died two months ago and is still in the morgue in Sweden] (in Romanian). Digisport.ro. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Romanian Cup - Season 1975 - 1976". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Romanian Cup - Season 1976 - 1977". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Romanian Cup - Season 1979 - 1980". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Romanian Cup - Season 1978 - 1979". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Steaua și-a egalat cea mai categorică victorie în Cupele Europene, după 35 de ani!" [Steaua equaled its most decisive victory in the European Cups, after 35 years!] (in Romanian). Digisport.ro. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Trupul fotbalistului Gabriel Zahiu zace de două luni într-un congelator" [The body of the footballer Gabriel Zahiu has been lying in a freezer for two months] (in Romanian). Evz.ro. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
    "Trupul fostului fotbalist Gabriel Zahiu se află de mai bine de două luni într-un congelator din Suedia. "Fratele meu l-a găsit pe listă"" [The body of former footballer Gabriel Zahiu has been in a freezer in Sweden for more than two months. "My brother found it on the list"] (in Romanian). Libertatea.ro. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
    "Caz cutremurător: Gabriel Zahiu, fost stelist, a murit și cadavrul său zace de două luni la morgă" [Shocking case: Gabriel Zahiu, former star, died and his body has been lying in the morgue for two months] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
    "Trupul fostului fotbalist de la Steaua se află de două luni într-o morgă din Suedia. Cum l-au găsit rudele" [The body of the former footballer from Steaua has been in a Swedish morgue for two months. How his relatives found him] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
    "Cutremurător! Un dublu campion al României a murit în urmă cu mai bine de două luni, dar trupul i se află într-un congelator din Suedia" [Earthquake! A double champion of Romania died more than two months ago, but his body is in a freezer in Sweden] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
    ""A plecat să-şi schimbe inima şi a făcut infarct!". Un fost fotbalist de la Steaua e de trei luni într-o morgă!" ["He went to change his heart and had a heart attack!". A former footballer from Steaua has been in a morgue for three months!] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
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