Dorin Mateuț


Dorin Mateuț is a former Romanian professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.

Club career

Corvinul Hunedoara

Mateuț was born in Bogata-Curtuiuș, Cluj County, Romania, on 2 August 1965, but his birth was declared by his family to the authorities on 5 August. He made his Divizia A debut on 14 October 1981, playing for Corvinul Hunedoara in a 3–1 victory against Olt Scornicești under coach Mircea Lucescu. The highlight of his five and a half seasons spent at Corvinul was a third place in the 1981–82 Divizia A season. He also appeared in three games in the 1982–83 UEFA Cup campaign, as they got past Grazer AK in the first round, being eliminated in the following one by FK Sarajevo against whom he scored a goal.

Dinamo București

Mateuț was transferred in the middle of the 1986–87 season to Dinamo București. He scored an astounding 43 goals, with only one penalty kick among them, to take the top-scorer title and even the European Golden Boot in the 1988–89 season. In the same season he scored two goals against Dundee United in the 1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup campaign as the team reached the quarter-finals where they were eliminated on the away goals rule after 1–1 on aggregate by Sampdoria. For the way he played in 1988, Mateuț was named the Romanian [Footballer of the Year (Gazeta Sporturilor)|Romanian Footballer of the Year]. In the 1989–90 season, Mateuț helped Dinamo win The Double, coach Lucescu giving him 22 league appearances in which he netted nine goals, and he scored one goal in the 1990 [Cupa României final|Cupa României final] that ended with a 6–4 victory against rivals Steaua București. He also scored one goal against Dinamo Tirana, then three goals against Panathinaikos in eight matches in the 1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup as the club reached the semi-finals where they were eliminated after 2–0 on aggregate by Anderlecht.

Real Zaragoza

After the 1989 Romanian Revolution, Mateuț went to play abroad, in Spain at Real Zaragoza. He made his La Liga debut on 14 October 1990 under coach Ildo Maneiro in a 1–1 draw against Betis Sevilla. In the following three games he scored a goal in a 2–2 draw against Real Valladolid, netted both goals of the 2–0 win over Tenerife and the only goal in the 1–0 victory against Athletic Bilbao, scoring seven league goals by season's end. In the next season he scored only three league goals, but before leaving the club he netted a hat-trick in November 1992 against Boldklubben Frem in a 5–1 win in the second round of the 1992–93 UEFA Cup.

Brescia and Reggiana

Mateuț joined Mircea Lucescu's "Brescia Romena", as around that period, his fellow Romanians Gheorghe Hagi, Florin Răducioiu, Ioan Sabău and Dănuț Lupu also played for the club. He made his Serie A debut on 29 November 1992 in a 2–1 away loss to Inter Milan.
In the following season he left Brescia to go and play for Reggiana where in his first game he netted a goal in a 2–0 win over Cremonese. Until the end of the season he scored two more goals in another two victories against Cagliari and Lecce.

Return to Romania

In 1995, Mateuț made a comeback to Dinamo for one and a half years. Subsequently, he joined Sportul Studențesc where he made his last Divizia A appearance on 23 March 1996 in a 1–0 victory against Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț, totaling 281 matches with 134 goals in the competition and 25 games with 12 goals in European competitions.

International career

Mateuț played 56 matches and scored 10 goals for Romania, making his debut on 7 February 1984 when coach Mircea Lucescu sent him in the 81st minute to replace Aurel Țicleanu in a 1–1 friendly draw against Algeria. In his following game, a 2–0 friendly victory against Greece, Mateuț scored his first goal. He played four games, scoring one goal in the 1986 [FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 3|1986 World Cup qualifiers] and five games in which he scored once during the Euro 1988 qualifiers.
Mateuț netted two goals in six games in the successful 1990 FIFA [World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 1|1990 World Cup qualifiers]. Coach Emerich Jenei selected him to be part of the final tournament squad, where he played only in the final minutes of a group game against Argentina that ended in a 1–1 draw. The campaign ended in the round of 16. Mateuț appeared in six games in which he scored two goals during the UEFA [Euro 1992 qualifying Group 2|Euro 1992 qualifiers], including his last game for the national team that was a 1–1 draw against Bulgaria.
For representing his country at the 1990 World Cup, Mateuț was decorated by President of Romania Traian Băsescu on 25 March 2008 with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" – class III.

Career statistics

International

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
17 March 1984Stadionul Central, Craiova, Romania2–02–0Friendly
25 December 1984Olympiakó Stádio, Athens, Greece1–11–2Friendly
328 August 1985Stadionul 1 Mai, Timișoara, Romania2–02–01986 [FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 3|1986 World Cup qualifiers]
44 June 1986Stadionul 23 August, Bucharest, Romania3–13–1Friendly
529 April 1987Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania2–03–1Euro 1988 qualifiers
619 October 1988Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria1–03–11990 World Cup qualifiers
72 November 1988Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania1–03–01990 World Cup qualifiers
823 November 1988Stadionul Municipal, Sibiu, Romania2–03–0Friendly
923 November 1988Stadionul Municipal, Sibiu, Romania3–03–0Friendly
105 December 1990Stadionul Național, Bucharest, Romania2–06–0Euro 1992 qualifiers
1113 November 1991Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania1–01–0Euro 1992 qualifiers

Honours

Club

Dinamo București
Individual