Ion Pârcălab

Early career Pârcălab, nicknamed "The Carpathian Arrow", was born on 5 November 1941 in Bucharest, Romania and began playing junior-level football at local club Dinamo, working with coach Petre Steinbach. He was brought to UTA Arad by his stepbrother, Nicolae Dumitrescu, who was a junior coach there, and they won together the 1958–59 national junior championship after defeating Farul Constanța in the final. In his last season spent with The Old Lady, Pârcălab scored 10 goals in the league. In the first one he worked with three coaches, Traian Ionescu, Constantin Teașcă and Nicolae Dumitru, who gave him 24 appearances in which he scored seven goals. He would score two more goals against Steaua, including one in a 2–0 victory. In 1965, Pârcălab was awarded the title "Best Football Player" in Romania, and in 1966 he was ranked third for the first Romanian Footballer of the Year award. In the 1963–64 European Cup campaign, he played all four games as Dinamo got past East Germany champion, Motor Jena, being eliminated in the next phase by Real Madrid against whom he scored a goal in a 5–3 loss. In the 1965–66 European Cup edition he scored a goal that helped them eliminate Denmark's champion, Boldklubben 1909. Subsequently, they were eliminated by the winners of the previous two seasons of the competition, Inter Milan, but earned a historical 2–1 victory in the first leg, after which he said:"I am happy, very happy! This victory is primarily a lesson for us. We proved to ourselves that we can do much more". Pârcălab's last Divizia A appearance took place on 19 July 1970, playing for Dinamo in a 1–1 draw against Politehnica Iași, totaling 232 matches with 66 goals in the competition. However, in June 1970, dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu visited France, where he was invited by president Georges Pompidou. He scored his first goal on 31 October in a 2–1 loss to Red Star and by the end of the season he netted a brace in a 5–3 win over Saint-Étienne. Pârcălab and compatriot Voinea finished the 1971–72 season with each scoring 11 goals, which helped the team finish second in the championship. He made his last French Division 1 appearance on 11 February 1973 in a 1–1 draw against Red Star, totaling 80 matches with 20 goals in the competition. Pârcălab also played for Nîmes in four UEFA Cup matches, having a total of 20 games with five goals in European competitions. ==International career==

Pârcălab played 26 games and scored three goals for Romania, making his debut on 8 October 1961 under coach Gheorghe Popescu in a 4–0 friendly victory against Turkey. His following game was a 3–1 win over Spain in the 1964 European Nations' Cup qualifiers. Pârcălab scored his first goal for the national team in a friendly which ended with a 3–2 victory against East Germany. He played six matches and scored one goal in a 2–0 victory against Eusébio's Portugal during the 1966 World Cup qualifiers. Pârcălab scored his last goal for The Tricolours in a 2–1 friendly success over Israel. He made four appearances in the Euro 1968 qualifiers and one in the 1970 World Cup qualifiers. International goals :''Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pârcălab goal''. ==Conviction==

In 1980, Pârcălab was coach at Progresul Pucioasa in the third division. After a victory in the championship, he took his players to celebrate in a restaurant, but after a few drinks, a conflict between him and the goalkeeper Nicolae Stancu started because of a waitress. They went to the bathroom to solve their problem, and it is assumed that there Pârcălab killed Stancu by introducing a broomstick in his throat or by hitting him in the back of his head. He was sentenced to three years in prison, but got released after two. In the early 2000s, Pârcălab claimed he was innocent and that he was wrongfully convicted. ==Personal life==

Pârcălab's stepbrother, Nicolae Dumitrescu, was also an international footballer and a manager. ==Honours==

Dinamo București • Divizia A: 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65 • Cupa României: 1963–64, 1967–68 Nîmes Olympique • French Division 1 runner-up: 1971–72 • Coppa delle Alpi: 1972 Individual • Romanian Best Football Player: 1965 • Gazeta Sporturilor Romanian Footballer of the Year (third place): 1966 ==Notes==