Zoltán Beke

Zoltán Beke (30 July 1911 – 5 March 1994) was a Romanian football player and coach of Hungarian ethnicity who played as a striker. He was a member of Romania's team that competed in the 1934 World Cup, but he did not play in any match.

Club career Beke was born on 30 July 1911 in Fehértemplom, Austria-Hungary (now Serbia). He grew up and started to play football in the Mehala neighborhood of Timișoara, Romania. In 1925 he began playing junior-level football at Chinezul Timișoara. In the following season he helped the team reach the 1934 Cupa României final, playing in the first leg against Universitatea Cluj, which led to them winning the cup. In the 1934–35 season he won another title, coaches Josef Uridil and Rudolf Wetzer giving him 14 appearances in which he scored three goals, also the team reached the Cupa României final where he played the entire match in the 6–5 loss to CFR București. Next season, Beke helped Ripensia win The Double, being given 12 appearances in which he netted five goals by coaches Wetzer and Konrád, and he played in the 5–1 win over Unirea Tricolor București in the Cupa României final. In the following Cupa României edition, the team reached another final, but he did not play in the 5–1 loss to Rapid București. In the 1937–38 season, Ripensia won another title, but coach Sepp Pojar used him in only seven matches in which he netted one goal. He made his last Divizia A appearance in a 2–2 draw against Gloria Arad, totaling 89 matches with 21 goals in the competition, all of them for Ripensia.

Afterwards he went to play for Kolozsvári VSC, making his Nemzeti Bajnokság I debut on 22 August 1943 under coach Zoltán Opata in a 3–1 home win against Diósgyőr. He made a total of 13 league appearances, netting seven goals, including a double in his last game which was a 3–0 victory against BSZKRT. Kolozsvári also reached the 1943–44 Magyar Kupa final but he did not play in the defeat to Ferencváros.

Beke ended his career by playing in the 1946–47 Divizia B season for CFR Turnu Severin. He helped the team win the 1936 Balkan Cup, playing in two victories against Greece and Bulgaria. His last appearance for The Tricolours was in a friendly which took place on 10 June 1937 and ended with a 2–1 home win over Belgium.

Managerial career Beke's first coaching spell started in 1942 when he was a player-coach at CFR Turnu Severin, helping the club win the 1942–43 Cupa României after a 4–0 victory against Sportul Studențesc București in the final. Afterwards he trained the youth teams of Știința Timișoara. For five years, between 1965 and 1970, he trained IRA Timișoara in the municipal championship.

Death Beke died on 5 March 1994 in Timișoara, Romania at age 82.

Honours Player Ripensia Timișoara Divizia A: 1932–33, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1937–38, runner-up 1933–34, 1938–39 Cupa României: 1933–34, 1935–36, runner-up 1934–35, 1936–37 CFR Turnu Severin Cupa României: 1942–43 Kolozsvári VSC Magyar Kupa runner-up: 1943–44 Romania Balkan Cup: 1936 Manager CFR Turnu Severin Cupa României: 1942–43