Ștefan Birtalan
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 25 September 1948 Jibou, Romania | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Romanian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.95 metres (6 ft 5 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Back | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Bibi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior clubs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1967–1969 1970–1985 | Minerul Baia Mare Steaua Bucharest | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Romania | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams managed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1985–1994 1992–1993 1994–1999 1999–2002 | Steaua Bucharest Romania Qatar Steaua Bucharest | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ştefan Birtalan (Hungarian: Birtalan István; born 25 September 1948 in Jibou)[1] is a former Romanian handball player, coach and sports official.
Birtalan, who comes form the Hungarian minority in Romania,[2] was one of the best players of his time and was named the World Player of the Year in 1974, 1976 and 1977.[3]
He spent the majority of his club career by Steaua Bucharest, winning with them 15 Romanian championships and 2 Romanian cups, and obtained the European Champions Cup title in 1977. Amongst his national team successes are two World Championship titles from 1970 and 1974. Birtalan also won the top scorers' award on the latter one with 43 goals.
Birtalan participated at three Olympic Games and finished on a podium place in each occasions: in 1972 he collected the bronze medal, having played one match at the tournament. Four years later he won the silver medal, scoring 32 goals in five matches. In 1980 he was a member of the Romanian team, which won the bronze medal again. He played all six matches and scored 23 goals.[1]
Achievements
- Romanian League:
- Winner: 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985
- Romanian Cup:
- Winner: 1981, 1985
- European Champions Cup:
- Winner: 1977
- Finalist: 1971
- World Championship:
- Winner: 1970, 1974
- Olympic Games:
- Silver Medalist: 1976
- Bronze Medalist: 1972, 1980
Awards
- World Championship Top Scorer: 1974
- World Player of the Year: 1974, 1976, 1977
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Ştefan Birtalan Biography and Olympic Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
- ↑ "A román államelnök mentette meg a magyar legenda életét" [The Romanian president saved the life of the Hungarian legend] (in Hungarian). Sportgéza. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
- ↑ "Handball legend amazed by CL final". European Handball Federation. 27 May 2009. Retrieved 11 February 2012.