Ion Oblemenco

Ion Oblemenco (13 May 1945 – 1 September 1996) was a Romanian football player and manager who spent the majority of his playing career with Universitatea Craiova. A prolific striker, he is known for finishing four seasons as top goalscorer in the Romanian top division, Divizia A. With a total of 170 goals in 272 appearances, he is the sixth highest-scoring player in the history of the competition. However, these performances were not enough to earn him a cap for the national team.

Club career

"I kissed Oblemenco more than my wife because of how many goals he scored!" — Petre Deselnicu, former teammate of Ion Oblemenco at "U" Craiova His first coach was Petre Prodileanu. In 1959 he moved to CFR Electroputere Craiova, which merged with Știința Craiova to create CSO Craiova, where he ended his youth period.

He played his first senior match on 6 May 1962 under coach Valeriu Călinoiu, appearing for CSO Craiova in a Divizia B match which ended in a 0–0 draw against CSM Mediaș. At Rapid, Oblemenco's first team opportunities were limited as he was kept out of the side by forwards Emil Dumitriu and Ion Ionescu, and he left the club in the summer of 1966 to return to Craiova on the advice of his friend, "U" Craiova player, Silviu Stănescu.

Oblemenco made his second debut for "U" Craiova, this time in Divizia A, under coach Robert Cosmoc in a 4–1 loss to Dinamo București. The latter opened the score in the 37th minute but The Cannon equalized one minute later and the game ended in a 1–1 draw, thus earning Oblemenco his second league top-scorer award, with 19 goals. This outcome led poet Adrian Păunescu to nickname Craiova as "Campioana unei mari iubiri" (The Champion of a great love). Italian journalist Gianfranco Pancani wrote after the game: "Oblemenco is a real demon. He shoots like a cannon from any position". In the following season, he played his first games in the European Cup, scoring two goals in the first round against the champion of Sweden, Åtvidaberg, but it was not enough to qualify for the next round, as the tie was lost 4–3 on aggregate. During his career, he played nine games and scored four goals in European competitions (including two appearances in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup). On 13 May 2020, Gazeta Sporturilor included him in a first XI of the best Romanian players who never played for the senior national team. In the next season, Oblemenco's team became the first Romanian club to reach the quarter-finals of the European Cup after eliminating Olympiacos and Kjøbenhavns Boldklub. They were eliminated 3–1 on aggregate by Bayern Munich. In January 1996 he was appointed as sports director at Electroputere Craiova.

Oblemenco had a total of 183 matches as a manager in the Romanian top division, with a record of 83 victories, 33 draws and 67 losses.

Personal life Oblemenco's father was a Ukrainian named Andrei, while his mother, Margareta, was from Oltenia.

During his life, Oblemenco had serious health problems.

Honours

Player Universitatea Craiova Divizia A: 1973–74 Cupa României: 1976–77

Manager Universitatea Craiova Divizia A: 1980–81 Cupa României: 1980–81

Individual Divizia A top-scorer: 1966–67, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1972–73 Divizia B top-scorer: 1977–78