33 years ago,
Steaua Bucharest obtained the greatest achievement in the history of Romanian football by
winning the European Cup final. They defeated in Seville the Spanish champions
FC Barcelona after penalty shoot-outs. Steaua scored twice, with Marius Lacatus
and Gabi Balint. The hero of the penalty shoot-out and of the match was however
Steaua’s goalkeeper Helmuth Duckadam, who defended all of Seville’s four
penalty kicks. The European Cup trophy thus ended up in Bucharest.
On April 1st,
Helmuth Duckadam turned 60. He was born in western Romania, more precisely in
the village of Semlac, in Arad county, a place mentioned in historical records
as far back as 1256. He first played for his village team Semlacana, then he
joined the Gloria Arad Sports School. He made his debut at senior level in 1977
as a goalkeeper for Constructorul Arad, in the third-tier Division C. He played
his first Division A match for UTA Arad in September 1978 against CS
Targoviste, a match his team lost 0-2. He stayed with UTA Arad for four years
before being transferred to Steaua Bucharest, where he was part of the best
generation of players in Romanian football. He won the national championship
title with Steaua twice, in 1985 and 1986.
After the
European Cup win he was forced to retire with an injury, having undergone
surgery on his left arm because of an aneurism. He came back in 1989, playing
this time for the Division B side Vagonul Arad, but only for two seasons. After
retiring from football definitively, he worked for a while for the border
police. He then emigrated to the United States, but returned after a year. Back
in Romania, he reentered the world of sports. He is currently the honorary
president of FCSB, formerly Steaua Bucharest.