Cătălin Hîldan

Cătălin George Hîldan (3 February 1976 – 5 October 2000) was a Romanian professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Early life and club career Hîldan was born on 3 February 1976 in Brănești, Ilfov, Romania. Two years later, in the summer of 1986, he joined football club Dinamo București where he worked with coach Ionuț Chirilă, playing alongside Florentin Petre, Mihai Tararache and others. After a couple of months he was loaned to Oțelul Târgoviște in the third league, where Hîldan helped the team win promotion to the second division and then to the first. In a couple of years he became the team's captain. In the 1999–2000 season, under the guidance of Dinu, Hîldan played 29 league games in which he scored one goal, helping Dinamo win the title. That was the first championship earned by the club in nine years, and was mathematically won after a 3–2 victory against Steaua. In the same season, he scored the second goal of the 2–0 victory in the Cupa României final against Universitatea Craiova. On 1 October 2000, Hîldan made his last Divizia A appearance in a 3–2 home loss to Petrolul Ploiești, totaling 138 matches with six goals in Divizia A and 11 matches in European competitions. In the final tournament that was composed of eight teams, coach Victor Pițurcă used him in all three games which were losses to Netherlands, Germany and Russia, as they finished in last place. He scored his only goal for the national team in a 1–1 draw against Georgia.

International goals Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hîldan goal. There were rumours that he may have used performance-enhancing drugs, which allegedly contributed to his death. Hîldan's family rejected the doping theory. His brother stated that he had not taken prohibited medication and that tests sent to Cologne were negative. In his honour, Dinamo retired his number 11 shirt and unveiled a statue of him at Dinamo Stadium.

Romanian singers Don Baxter and Moni-K also performed a song dedicated to him titled Înger pentru o zi (Angel for a Day).

Honours Oțelul Târgoviște Divizia B: 1995–96 Divizia C: 1994–95 Dinamo București Divizia A: 1999–2000 Cupa României: 1999–2000