Constantin Zamfir

Constantin Zamfir (15 May 1951 – 3 November 2025) was a Romanian footballer who played as a midfielder.

Club career Zamfir, nicknamed Papucul Zburător (The Flying Shoe), was born on 15 May 1951 in Bucșani, Romania. The team was relegated at the end of his first season, but Zamfir stayed with the club for one more year. He finished his first season at Steaua by winning The Double, being used by coach Emerich Jenei in 32 league games in which he scored eight goals, and played the entire match in the 2–1 win over CSU Galați in the Cupa României final. He reached another Cupa României final in 1977, where Jenei used him the full 90 minutes in the eventual 2–1 loss to Universitatea Craiova. In the 1977–78 season, Zamfir scored three goals in the 24 league games Jenei used him, helping the club win another title. In his five-season spell with The Military Men he also played eight matches in European competitions, most notably getting past Young Boys with an 8–2 aggregate win in the first round of the 1979–80 European Cup Winners' Cup.

In the middle of the 1979–80 season, Zamfir left Steaua to join Divizia B club Progresul București, helping them earn promotion to Divizia A at the end of the season. Subsequently, he returned to Progresul for the 1981–82 Divizia A season, but suffered another relegation at the end of it. Zamfir ended his career after playing several years in the Romanian lower leagues for teams such as Metalurgistul Cugir, Dacia Pitești, Chimia Turnu Măgurele, Urbis București, Laromet București, Inter Vaslui and Petrolul Roata de Jos. Notably, he scored a goal for the Olympic side in a 5–1 victory against the Netherlands during the 1976 Summer Olympics qualifiers. Afterwards he made three appearances during the 1978 World Cup qualifiers, including two victories against Spain and Yugoslavia.

Style of play Emerich Jenei, his coach from Steaua București, said about him: "I have coached few footballers in my career who had as many qualities as Zamfir." Zamfir was one of Ilie Dumitrescu's childhood idols, who described his style of play as: "He had very good speed, he was explosive, and in one-on-one duels he was very good. He excelled at speed dribbling. (...) He was a great talent. He was a classic winger. The style that Giggs had. He had speed, he crossed very well."

Death Zamfir died on 3 November 2025, at the age of 74.

Honours Steaua București Divizia A: 1975–76, 1977–78 Cupa României: 1975–76, 1978–79, runner-up 1976–77

Progresul București Divizia B: 1979–80