Valeriu Călinoiu


Valeriu Călinoiu was a Romanian footballer. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1952 Summer Olympics.

Club career

Călinoiu was born on 9 October 1928 in Bucharest, Romania and began playing junior-level football in 1942 at Olympia București, moving after one year to Carmen București. He started his senior career in 1948 at IMS Hunedoara. He made his Divizia A debut, playing for Petrolul București on 29 May 1949 under coach Colea Vâlcov in a 2–0 away victory against CFR Cluj. After a short period spent in Divizia B at Dinamo Brașov, a team he helped promote to the first league, he went to play for Dinamo București in 1951. There, his first performance with the club was reaching the 1954 Cupa României final where coach Angelo Niculescu used him the entire match in the eventual 2–0 loss to Metalul Reșița. In the following season, Călinoiu helped the club win its first Divizia A title, scoring one goal in the 22 matches he was used by Niculescu. He played in the first European match of a Romanian team in the 1956–57 European Cup in the 3–1 victory against Galatasaray in which he was also the team's captain. The Red Dogs advanced to the next phase of the competition where they were eliminated by CDNA Sofia, Călinoiu playing in all four games of the campaign. He reached another Cupa României final in 1959, this time winning it, as coach Iuliu Baratky played him for the entire match in the 4–0 win over CSM Baia Mare. On 19 June 1960, Călinoiu played his last Divizia A match for Dinamo in a 3–1 away loss against Farul Constanța, totaling 167 matches with nine goals in the competition.

International career

Călinoiu played 20 games and scored one goal for Romania, making his debut under coach Gheorghe Popescu in the 1952 Summer Olympics in a 2–1 loss against eventual champions, Hungary. He played four games in which he scored one goal in a 2–1 away victory against Bulgaria during the 1954 World Cup qualifiers. His last four games played for the national team were in the 1958 World Cup qualifiers, the last one taking place on 17 November 1957 in a 2–0 away loss to Yugoslavia.

International goals

#DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
111 October 1953Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria52–12–11954 World Cup qualifiers

Managerial career

Călinoiu's only coaching spell was from 1961 to 1963 at Divizia B team Știința Craiova, where he debuted Ion Oblemenco in senior football.

Death

Călinoiu died on 20 December 1990 at age 62.

Honours

Dinamo Brașov
Dinamo București