He started out his playing career at hometown clubMetalul Târgoviște in 1965, and went on to spend the rest of his career atDinamo București where he won eight domestic trophies. Internationally, Dinu appeared in over 60 matches forRomania's national team and scored three goals. He was named theRomanian Footballer of the Year three times, in 1970, 1972 and 1974, and in theformer year also finished on the 24th place in theBallon d'Or voting.
After retiring as a player, Dinu coached Dinamo București on five occasions among other stints, initially in the role of an assistant. Between 1992 and 1993, he was at the helm of the Romania national team.
"Cornel Dinu, the serious player, who never smiles and maybe that's why he doesn't tremble in front of anyone, even if he has to face an entire stadium. For him, football was never just a game."
Dinu was born on 2 August 1948 inTârgoviște, Romania to aRomanian father fromBârlad who worked as a magistrate, lawyer and doctor of law, and aSerbian mother from Târgoviște who worked as an economist.[2][3][4] He began playing football in 1963 for the junior teams ofMetalul Târgoviște under coaches Eugen Popescu and Gheorghe Ticușan.[3][5][6][7] His talent was noticed byRudolf Wetzer, the counselor of head coach Gheorghe Nuțescu, who promoted him to the senior squad.[5][6] He made his debut for the seniors on 17 March 1965 in a 1–0 victory, in which he gave the assist of the goal againstUTA Arad in the1964–65 Cupa României.[3][5][6][7][8] Dinu also played in the subsequent Cupa României quarter-final match against Dinamo București, which resulted in a 5–0 loss.[5] During this game, Dinamo's officials noticed him, and he was later brought to the club at the request of coachTraian Ionescu.[5]
Dinu (back row, second from the right) with Dinamo București in 1968
Dinu debuted for Dinamo inDivizia A under Traian Ionescu on 25 September 1966 in a 1–0 loss toSteagul Roșu Brașov.[6][9][10] He remained at Dinamo throughout his career, winning six Divizia A titles, a competition in which he made 454 appearances (with only one appearance as a substitute) and scored 53 goals, also winning twoCupa României.[3][6][9][11][12] He played 33 games in which he scored three goals in European competitions, including appearing in both legs of Dinamo's 4–3 aggregate victory against his childhood favorite team,Inter Milan in the1981–82 UEFA Cup.[3][6][9][11][13] Dinu graduated from Faculty of Law at theUniversity of Bucharest in 1972, which earned him the nickname "Procurorul"(The Prosecutor).[4][10][14][15] His last game played was a Divizia A match that took place on 18 June 1983 againstUniversitatea Craiova which ended in a 1–1 draw, being replaced by coachNicolae Dumitru in the 25th minute withNelu Stănescu due to an injury.[7][9][11]
After he retired from his playing and coaching football career, Dinu worked in various management positions atDinamo București.[3][4][10][11][31] He was also a guest at various radio and television shows, with football and cultural themes.[3][10] He received the Honorary Citizen ofTârgoviște (2015) andBucharest (2019) titles.[3][4]
Dinu wrote sports columns in the magazine "Flacăra" and the daily "Scânteia tineretului" duringRomania's communist era, and after 1989 in the newspapers "Sportul", "Gazeta Sporturilor", "Dimineața", "Gândul", "Național", "Adevărul", "Cultura" and "Fanatik".[2][3][4][11] He also wrote a total of five volumes, two of them being about football and three autobiographical:[2][3][4][11][32]
Fotbal – Tactica astăzi(Football – The tactic of today) - co-written withIon V. Ionescu (1977)
Fotbal – Concepția de joc(Football - The concept of the game) - co-written withIon V. Ionescu (1982)
Zâmbind din iarbă(Smiling from the grass) - autobiographical novel (2007)
Jucând cu destinul(Playing with destiny) - autobiographical novel (2008)
Misterele lui Mister(The mysteries of Mister) - autobiographical novel (2019)
He is known for his original ironic comments by using metaphors, parables, quotes from historians, classical writers, and historical references:[33]
"A funny story. The first match was played inBelfast. I was not in the team. On the way back, a few colleagues said it was a very tough game, 1–0, the Northern Irish are very strong. They were given a bonus, good thing the matches weren't broadcast! When we played in the second leg, I yelled at them to shame them after about 20 minutes. Those guys had no idea about football. They were amateurs, these bearded guys, you had the feeling that they were something between guitarists and waiters. Pure amateurs!" – declaration years later after an 11–0 win overCrusaders in the1973–74 European Cup in which he scored a goal.[34]
"Șumudică is a «vero» (n.r. true) Romanian. He combines the fantastic humor and the Romanian spirit very well. He has this spirit of treating phases with humor. His lines are very good. I don't know where he gets this humor from, he has it not only because he was born in the center of Bucharest, inPiața Romană, as he says. He has good quality sidewalk humor. He is not called Ninel for nothing. He is also calledMarius, a Latin name. That was the name ofCaesar's uncle, the general who fought the German savages head-to-head."
"WorkerNicoliță, very hardworking, but the football field is not a construction site."
"Philosophy is a transcendental propaedeutic for the death-haunted soul of the Romanian."
"Pițurcă is like aGriffon dog that you have to knock off the forehead with a compass and a rake to see if it has a brain."
"I started writing the fourth book. I generally write at night and sleep during the day. On the other hand, where should I go out? I apply the famous quote ofȚuțea, "you have nothing to look for outside, there are too many imbeciles"."
"Gnohéré looked like a simple Foreign Legion unit cook somewhere in Africa in an imaginary war."
"ThisRambé... I think his name is Ramble. The railway ramble where the train slows down so it doesn't derail."
"I have a reserved opinion, in my opinionPeteleu is something between a cave and a cavern as a left defender. The poor guy has big problems!"
"Matulevičius is good rather as a high voltage pole in the opposing box, maybe only to electrocute the opposing defenders."
"Sânmărtean, considering how he plays in many phases when he won't finish the dribbles he starts at 30, 35 meters from the opposing goal. I have the feeling that he is a born tired player!"
"Oroș, according to me, is a hole inAstra's indisputable defense! The way Oroș looks means that he eats well atGiurgiu, because he looks more like a rugby pillar. Don't you see how he looks?"
"It was a mistake with the display offrankincense. Not in the locker room, not in the cells where the football parishioners stay. It had to start from the Palace, everything starts from there. Well, who brought players likePopescu orOaidă? They are players without imagination, without technical ability. These players, after they pass the half court, you have to tell them to stop. But who will do this? The monks and prayer witnesses who sit next toBecali are not good at football."
"A detective needs to find out whatDinamo is playing and how the players were placed on the field byBonetti. When you make football players train by climbing the stairs, something that hasn't been done sinceTeașcă's time, what expectations do you have?! That's the basic training lately, ten stairs up, ten down! It's like those black guys who carried sacks of dirt on their backs in search ofTutankhamun's tomb."
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