Ion Nunweiller

Ion Nunweiller

Ion Nunweiller in 1971
Personal information
Date of birth	(1936-01-09)9 January 1936
Place of birth	Piatra Neamț, Romania
Date of death	3 February 2015(2015-02-03) (aged 79)
Place of death	Pitești, Romania
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
1950–1951	Progresul ICAB București
1951–1955	Dinamo București
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1956	Dinamo 6 București
1956–1968	Dinamo București[a]	244	(19)
1968–1970	Fenerbahçe	57	(6)
1970–1972	Dinamo București	35	(0)
Total		336	(25)
International career
1958–1967	Romania	40[b]	(0)
Managerial career
1972–1974	Dinamo București
1974–1975	Dinamo București (assistant)
1976–1979	Dinamo București
1979–1981	Romania U21
1981–1983	Gloria Bistrița
1984–1985	Corvinul Hunedoara
1985–1986	Victoria București
1986–1989	Flacăra Moreni
1990	Argeș Pitești
1990–1991	Bursaspor
1991–1992	Argeș Pitești (technical director)
1992–1993	Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț
1996–1998	Romania (women)
1998–1999	FC Baia Mare
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ion Nunweiller (9 January 1936 – 3 February 2015) was a Romanian football defender and manager.^[4]

Club career

Ion Nunweiller was born in Piatra Neamț on 9 January 1936.^[1][5] He had an Austrian father named Johann Nunweiller, who settled in Piatra Neamț after World War II where he met his wife, Rozina, later they moved from Piatra Neamț to Bucharest.^[6] He had six brothers, the oldest one of them, Constantin was a water polo player and the other five: Dumitru, Lică, Victor, Radu and Eduard were footballers, each of them having at least one spell at Dinamo București, they are the reason why the club's nickname is "The Red Dogs" as especially Ion and Lică were known for their aggressiveness on the field and the fact that their faces were turning red from the effort.^[6][7] Ion started playing junior level football in 1950 at Progresul ICAB București, one year later moving to Dinamo București where he worked with coach Petre Steinbach, four years later starting his senior career in 1956, playing for Dinamo 6 București in Divizia B.^[1][8][9]

He came back to Dinamo București where on 12 August 1956 he made his Divizia A debut in a 2–0 victory against Dinamo Bacău.^[1][8] In his first seasons spent with Dinamo he scored four goals against rivals Steaua București, including a brace in a 2–1 victory, winning his first trophy after being used all the minutes by coach Iuliu Baratky in the 4–0 win over CSM Baia Mare from the 1959 Cupa României final.^[1][8][10] Ion Nunweiller helped the club win four consecutive Divizia A titles from 1962 until 1965, in the first he worked with three coaches Traian Ionescu, Constantin Teașcă and Nicolae Dumitru who gave him 26 appearances in which he scored three goals, in the following two Dumitru and Ionescu used him in 18 matches in the first and 26 in the second and in the last one he played 25 games under the guidance of Angelo Niculescu.^[1][8][11] At the conquest of all these titles he was teammate with his brother Lică, at the last two in the team being his brother Radu as well.^[11] He also won two more Cupa României trophies with The Red Dogs, coach Ionescu using him and his brothers all the minutes in the 5–3 victory over Steaua from the 1964 final, then in the one from 1968 Ion played the whole match which was a 3–1 over Rapid București, being coached by Bazil Marian.^[1][12] He played for Dinamo in a total of 19 European Cup matches in which he scored twice and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup game, appearing in the first European match of a Romanian team, the 3–1 victory against Galatasaray from the 1956–57 European Cup, helping the team go to the next phase of the competition where they were eliminated by CDNA Sofia.^[1][13] In the 1963–64 European Cup edition, he scored once in a 2–0 victory against East Germany champion, Motor Jena which helped the club advance to the next phase where they were eliminated by Real Madrid against whom he scored in a 5–3 loss and also appearing in a historical 2–1 win over Inter Milan in the 1965–66 edition who were the winners of the last two seasons of the competition.^{[1][5][14][15][16]} For the way he played in 1966, Nunweiller was placed fifth in the ranking for the Romanian Footballer of the Year award.^[17]

Afterwards Nunweiller spent two seasons at Fenerbahçe from 1968 until 1970, making him one of the first Romanians to play professional football in Turkey.^[14][18] During his period spent in Turkey, Nunweiller played four games in the 1968–69 European Cup where he helped Fenerbahçe eliminate the champion of England, Manchester City and in his second season spent at the club he was coached by Traian Ionescu and was teammate with Ilie Datcu, all of them previously working together at Dinamo, winning together the Turkish Super League title, a TSYD Cup in which he scored the only goal from the final against Beşiktaş, also being elected the best foreign player of the Turkish League 1969–70 season.^{[1][14][18][19]}

In 1970 he returned to Dinamo and in his first season he won another title, playing alongside his brother Radu, coaches Dumitru and Ionescu using Ion in 20 games.^[1][8][11] Ion Nunweiller made his last Divizia A appearance on 12 December 1971 in a 2–1 away loss in front of Argeș Pitești, having a total of 279 matches with 19 goals scored in the competition.^[1][8][14]

International career

Ion Nunweiller played 26 games at international level for Romania, making his debut on 26 October 1958 under coach Augustin Botescu in a friendly which ended with a 2–1 loss against Hungary.^[2][20] He played four games at the 1960 European Nations' Cup qualifiers as Romania eliminated Turkey in the round of 16, reaching the quarter-finals where they were defeated by Czechoslovakia, who advanced to the final tournament.^[2] Nunweiller played two games at the 1964 European Nations' Cup qualifiers, one game at the 1966 World Cup qualifiers and four at the Euro 1968 qualifiers.^[2] He also played for Romania's Olympic team, being chosen by coach Silviu Ploeșteanu to be part of the 1964 Summer Olympics squad from Tokyo where he played four games, helping the team finish the competition on the fifth place.^[4][21][22]

Managerial career

After ending his playing career in 1972, Ion Nunweiller became the head coach of Dinamo București, managing to win the title in his first season, one of his players being his brother, Radu.^{[5][11][14][21][23][24]} Together with his brother, they won another title in the 1974–75 season but this time Ion was the assistant coach of Nicolae Dumitru.^[11][21] As head coach he led The Red Dogs to a third title in the 1976–77 season, having his brother Lică as his assistant coach.^[11][21][25]

In the following years he qualified Flacăra Moreni to the 1989–90 UEFA Cup, had an experience in Turkey at Bursaspor and obtained the first ever promotion to Divizia A of his hometown team Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț.^[14][21] Nunweiller has a total of 374 matches as a manager in the Romanian top-division, Divizia A consisting of 163 victories, 76 draws and 135 losses.^[26]

On 25 March 2008, Ion Nunweiller was decorated by the president of Romania, Traian Băsescu for all of his achievements as a football coach, and for forming young generations of future champions with Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" — (The Order "The Sportive Merit") class III.^[27]

Death

Ion Nunweiller died on 3 February 2015 at age 79 in a hospital from Pitești.^{[14][21][23][24][28][29]} He was buried in a cemetery from Albota, his coffin being wrapped up in the flags of Dinamo București and Fenerbahçe.^[24][28][29] After his death, his former Dinamo teammate, Cornel Dinu talked about him:"He was the creator of the symbol of The Red Dogs and the main pillar of resistance through which the great team was built from the beginning of the 60s. A player who had many moments in which he showed heroism in blocking the opponent and making sure that his own defense was not overtaken. He was an indisputable leader of that period and achieved good things, as a coach, after the 70s, also in the position of leader of Dinamo. Both as a player and as a coach, he transmitted this spirit of fight and loyalty in the service of the team."^[23]

Honours

Player

Dinamo București

• Divizia A: 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1970–71^[1]
• Cupa României: 1958–59, 1963–64, 1967–68^[1]

Fenerbahçe

• Turkish Super League: 1969–70^[1]
• TSYD Cup: 1969–70^[14]

Individual

• Gazeta Sporturilor Romanian Footballer of the Year (fifth place): 1966^[17]

Manager

Dinamo București

• Divizia A: 1972–73, 1976–77^[11][21]

Dinamo București (assistant)

• Divizia A: 1974–75^[11][21]

Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț

• Divizia B: 1992–93^[14]

Notes

1. The statistics for the 1957 unofficial championship called Cupa Primăverii are not taken into consideration.^[1]
2. Including 14 appearances for Romania's Olympic team^[2][3]

References

1. Ion Nunweiller at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
2. "Ion Nunweiller". European Football. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
3. Ion Nunweiller at National-Football-Teams.com
4. Ion Nunweiller at WorldFootball.net
5. "Doliu la Dinamo! Nelu Nunweiller a murit. "Un jucător excepţional, ambiţios şi foarte talentat!"" [Mourning Dynamo! Nelu Nunweiller has died. "An exceptional, ambitious and very talented player!"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
6. "Fata primului "câine roșu", cele mai frumoase povești despre Lică Nunweiller și un îndemn pentru ultima etapă: "Tata v-ar fi zis să fiți Un suflet!"" [The girl of the first "red dog", the most beautiful stories about Lica Nunweiller, and an exhortation for the last stage: "Dad would have said be A Soul!"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
7. "Destinul fratilor Nunweiller, cei care au dat numele de "cainii-rosii". "Nevestele ne-au indepartat"" [The Destiny of the Nunweiller Brothers, who gave the name of "Red Dogs". "The wives separated us"] (in Romanian). Cancan.ro. 6 July 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
   "De ce li se spune dinamoviștilor "câinii roșii". "Totul s-a întâmplat după un Dinamo - Rapid!" Ce le-a spus un adversar fraților Nunweiller" [Why are the Dinamo called "red dogs". "Everything happened after a Dinamo - Rapid!" What an opponent said to the Nunweiller brothers] (in Romanian). Primasport.ro. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
8. "Doliu la Dinamo. S-a stins din viaţă Ion Nunweiller, unul dintre primii "câini roșii"" [Sorrow at Dinamo. Ion Nunweiller, one of the first "red dogs", passed away] (in Romanian). Digisport.ro. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
9. "Din istoria sportului românesc-Povestea lui Petre Steinbach, fotbalistul-scriitor deportat în URSS" [From the history of Romanian sport-The story of Petre Steinbach, the football player-writer deported to the USSR] (in Romanian). Independentaromana.ro. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
   "Ceahlăul a avut un antrenor legendar, PETRE STEINBACH" [Ceahlăul had a legendary coach, PETRE STEINBACH] (in Romanian). Zch.ro. 25 November 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
   "Ceahlăul 100: Fotbaliștii pietreni au avut un antrenor legendar – Petre Steinbach" [Ceahlăul 100: The footballers from Piatra Neamț had a legendary coach – Petre Steinbach] (in Romanian). Dordeneamt.ro. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
10. "Dinamo Bucuresti in 1956". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
    "Dinamo Bucuresti in 1959–60". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
    "Dinamo Bucuresti in 1960–61". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
    "Romanian Cup 1958–59". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
    "Finala Cupei României 1959: Dinamo – CSM Baia Mare 4-0" [The Cupei României Final 1959: Dinamo – CSM Baia Mare 4-0] (in Romanian). Tikitaka.ro. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
11. "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
12. "Romanian Cup – Season 1963–1964". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
    "Romanian Cup – Season 1967–1968". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
    "Asta e prima finala Steaua - Dinamo din istorie! Omul care i-a inventat pe Lucescu si Dinu a umilit-o pe Steaua in fata a 70.000 de fani!" [This is the first Steaua - Dinamo final in history! The man who invented Lucescu and Dinu humiliated Steaua in front of 70,000 fans!] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 23 May 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
    "Povestea unei fabuloase finale de Cupă" [The story of a fabulous cup final] (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 16 June 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
13. "RETRO GSP. 64 de ani de la primul meci european al unei echipe românești. Dinamo i-a scos pe turci, apoi a urmat măcelul!" [RETRO GSP. 64 years since the first European match of a Romanian team. Dinamo took out the Turks, then the slaughter followed!] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
14. "'Red Dog' Nunweiller mourned in Romania" (in Romanian). Uefa.com. 3 February 2015. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
15. "Ion Nunweiller - Champions League 1963/1964". WorldFootball. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
16. "1 decembrie 1965, Ziua națională a "câinilor": cea în care au învins dubla campioană a Europei și a lumii" [December 1, 1965, the national day of the "dogs": the one in which they defeated the double champion of Europe and the world] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 1 December 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
17. "Romania - Player of the Year Awards". Rsssf.org. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
18. Gheorghiu, Lucian (11 September 2011). "Pe timpul lui Ceaușescu fotbaliştii români au invadat Turcia" [During Ceausescu's time, Romanian footballers invaded Turkey] (in Romanian). Cotidianul.ro. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
19. "Ilie Datcu, primul bașkan român în fotbal" [Ilie Datcu, the first Romanian baskan in football] (in Romanian). Sptfm.ro. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
20. "Romania 1-2 Hungary". European Football. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
21. "Nunweiller III, legendarul libero "câine roșu", s-a dus azi la Ceruri" [Nunweiller III, the legendary "red dog" sweeper, went to Heaven today] (in Romanian). Ripensia-sport-magazin.ro. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
22. "Cum a fost ultima participare a României la Olimpiadă, în 1964, când "tricolorii" au pierdut dramatic sfertul cu Ungaria" [How was Romania's last participation in the Olympics, in 1964, when "The Tricolors" dramatically lost the quarter to Hungary] (in Romanian). Theplaymaker.ro. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
23. "Doliu in fotbalul romanesc. Legenda lui Dinamo, Ion Nunweiller, a murit in aceasta dimineata" [Mourning in Romanian football. Dinamo legend Ion Nunweiller died this morning] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
24. "Fostul fotbalist Ion Nunweiller a fost inmormantat cu onoruri militare" [Former football player Ion Nunweiller was buried with military honors] (in Romanian). Mediafax.ro. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
25. "Dinamo Bucuresti in 1976–77". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
26. "Top 60 antrenori" [Top 60 coaches] (in Romanian). RomanianSoccer.ro. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
27. "DECRET privind conferirea Ordinului și Medaliei Meritul Sportiv" (PDF). Monitorul Oficial al României Nr. 241. 28 March 2008. p. 3. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
    "Decorarea unor personalități ale fotbalului românesc". Administrația Prezidențială. 25 March 2008. Archived from the original on 12 September 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
28. "Moartea lui Ion Nunweiller, anunțată de către cel mai mare dușman al său!" [The death of Ion Nunweiller, announced by his greatest enemy!] (in Romanian). Libertatea.ro. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
29. "Ion Nunweiller va fi inmormantat in Albota" [Ion Nunweiller will be buried in Albota] (in Romanian). Epitesti.ro. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2024.

External links

• Ion Nunweiller – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Ion Nunweiller". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012.