Cornel Pavlovici


Cornel Pavlovici was a Romanian footballer who played as a striker.

Club career

Pavlovici, nicknamed Pavca, was born on 2 April 1943 in Bucharest, Romania and began playing junior-level football in 1952 at Locomotiva București. He began his senior career in 1960 at Metalul București. Afterwards, he went to play for Recolta Carei, Dinamo Baia Mare and ASMD Satu Mare. In 1961, Pavlovici joined Jiul Petroșani, making his Divizia A debut under coach Bazil Marian on 15 October 1961 in a 5–2 away loss to Dinamo București.
Subsequently, he played in the first half of the 1962–63 season for Viitorul București, moving for the second half to Steaua București. In the following season, he became the top-scorer of the season alongside Constantin Frățilă, netting 19 goals, including a hat-trick in a 4–1 win over rivals Dinamo. Afterwards, Pavlovici netted two goals in the 5–0 aggregate victory against Derry City in the first round of the 1964–65 European Cup Winners' Cup. In the 1965–66 season, he scored a brace in a 3–3 league draw against Dinamo and won the Cupa României, but coach Ilie Savu did not use him in the 4–0 victory against UTA Arad in the final.
In 1966, Pavlovici joined ASA Târgu Mureș in Divizia B, scoring 15 goals in his first season to help them gain first-league promotion. Two years later, he joined Argeș Pitești where he played in a 3–0 loss to Göztepe in the second round of the 1968–69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. In the middle of the 1968–69 season, he went to play for Petrolul Ploiești. Then Pavlovici returned to Divizia B football, signing with Progresul București which he helped gain promotion to the first league. However, he remained in the second league, joining Metalul Târgoviște.
In the middle of the 1971–72 season, Pavlovici went to Steagul Roșu Brașov where he made his last Divizia A appearance on 19 April 1972 in a 1–0 home win over Crișul Oradea, totaling 114 matches with 57 goals in the competition. Pavlovici ended his career after playing for Metalul Turnu Severin during the 1972–73 Divizia B season.

International career

From 1962 to 1964, Pavlovici made eight appearances for Romania's under-23 team.
Pavlovici played two matches for Romania, making his debut on 12 May 1963 when coach Silviu Ploeșteanu sent him at halftime to replace Cicerone Manolache in a 3–2 friendly win over East Germany in which he scored a goal. His second appearance occurred about a month later in a 1–1 friendly draw against Poland.
Pavlovici also represented Romania's Olympic team, playing four games under coach Silviu Ploeșteanu during the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He scored six goals, including one against East Germany in a draw, goals in wins over Iran and Yugoslavia, and a hat-trick in a 4–2 victory against Ghana, which contributed to his team's fifth-place finish in the tournament.

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.12 May 1963Stadionul 23 August, Bucharest, Romania1–23–2Friendly
2.13 October 1964Komazawa Stadium, Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan1–11–11964 Summer Olympics
3.15 October 1964Omiya Park Soccer Stadium, Omiya, Saitama, Japan1–01–01964 Summer Olympics
4.20 October 1964Nishikyogoku Athletic Stadium, Kyoto, Japan1–04–21964 Summer Olympics
5.20 October 1964Nishikyogoku Athletic Stadium, Kyoto, Japan2–04–21964 Summer Olympics
6.20 October 1964Nishikyogoku Athletic Stadium, Kyoto, Japan4–24–21964 Summer Olympics
7.22 October 1964Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan1–03–01964 Summer Olympics

Personal life and death

Sports commentator Ilie Dobre wrote a book about him titled Cornel Pavlovici sau fascinația golului '''', which was released in 2004.
Pavlovici died on 8 January 2013 at age 69.

Honours

Club

Steaua București
ASA Târgu Mureș
Progresul București

Individual