Dragu Bădin


Dragu Bădin was a Romanian footballer who played as a defender.
Bădin was part of "U" Craiova's team that won the 1973–74 Divizia A, which was the club's first trophy.

Club career

Bădin was born on 7 August 1947 in Brăila, Romania and began playing football in 1965 at Divizia B club Progresul Brăila. In 1967 he went to Șoimii Buzău. One year later he moved to Petrolul Ploiești, making his Divizia A debut on 21 September 1968 under coach Ilie Oană in a 1–0 away win over Progresul București.
In 1972, Bădin joined Universitatea Craiova where he was close to winning the title in his first season, but they finished in second place on equal points with Dinamo București, losing controversially on the goal difference. This outcome led poet Adrian Păunescu to nickname Craiova as "Campioana unei mari iubiri". In the first round of the 1973–74 UEFA Cup season, "U" Craiova got past Fiorentina, being eliminated in the following one by Standard Liège, with Bădin playing three games in the campaign. In the same season, he was part of Craiova's team that won the league title, which was the club's first trophy, being used by coach Constantin Cernăianu in 25 games. Then he played in a 3–1 loss to Åtvidaberg in the first round of the European Cup, scoring his side's goal. The team reached the 1975 Cupa României final, but coach Cernăianu did not use him in the eventual 2–1 loss against Rapid București.
In 1975 he went to play for one season at FCM Bacău. Subsequently, Bădin joined Jiul Petroșani where on 21 May 1980, he made his last Divizia A appearance in a 2–2 draw against Dinamo, totaling 301 matches with 19 goals in the competition. Afterwards he joined Mecanica Fină București where he ended his career in 1981.

International career

Bădin played two matches for Romania's under-23 team in 1969.

Personal life and death

In 2023, Bădin received the Honorary Citizen of Craiova title.
He died on 30 July 2023, at the age of 75.

Honours

Universitatea Craiova