| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 11 January 1906 (1906-01-11) | ||
| Place of birth | Temesvár,Austria-Hungary | ||
| Date of death | 17 January 1993 (1993-01-18) (aged 87) | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1919–1925 | Chinezul Timișoara | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1925–1926 | Sparta CFR Timișoara | ||
| 1926–1930 | Chinezul Timișoara[a] | 11 | (0) |
| 1930–1938 | Ripensia Timișoara | 44 | (5) |
| 1938–1939 | ILSA Timișoara | ||
| 1945–1947 | Politehnica Timișoara | ||
| Total | 55 | (5) | |
| International career | |||
| 1926–1935 | Romania | 6 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1949–1951 | Vulturii Lugoj | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Vilmos Zombori (11 January 1906 – 17 January 1993) was a Romanian footballer who played as agoalkeeper. He was also known asWilliam Zombory.
Zombori was born on 11 January 1906 inTemesvár,Austria-Hungary (now Romania), growing up in a family in which he had eight brothers.[2][3][4] He began playing junior-level football in 1919 atChinezul Timișoara, starting his senior career in 1925 in the regional league at Sparta CFR Timișoara.[2] After one year he was brought back to Chinezul as a replacement forAdalbert Ritter, and won the1926–27 title, being used by coaches Frontz Dőme andJenő Konrád in 11 games.[1][2][5][6][7]
In 1930, Zombori joinedRipensia Timișoara.[2] He won the1932–33 title, being the first-choice goalkeeper, as coach Konrád used him in 11 games in which he scored one goal, including playing in the final againstUniversitatea Cluj.[1][2][5][8] In the following season he helped the team reach the1934 Cupa României final, playing in both victories against "U" Cluj, winning the cup.[2][9] In the1934–35 season he won another title, coachesJosef Uridil andRudolf Wetzer giving him only seven appearances in which he scored one goal, asDumitru Pavlovici was first-choice goalkeeper.[1][2][10][11] The team also reached theCupa României final where he scored a goal in the 6–5 loss toCFR București.[12]Next season, Zombori helped Ripensia winThe Double, as coaches Wetzer and Konrád gave him eight appearances, but in the 5–1 win overUnirea Tricolor București in theCupa României final, his competitor, Pavlovici was preferred.[1][2][10][11][13] In the1936–37 season, Zombori scored two goals in five games, then in hislast season he made only one appearance, coach Sepp Pojar preferring to use Pavlovici in the other games.[1][2][10]
He ended his career after playing for a few years in the Romanian lower leagues forILSA Timișoara andPolitehnica Timișoara.[2][3][4]
With five goals scored, Zombori is the goalkeeper with most goals scored in the Romanian top-division, Divizia A.[2][3][4][14][15]
Zombori played six games forRomania, making his debut under coachTeofil Morariu on 3 October 1926 in a 3–2 win overYugoslavia in the friendlyKing Alexander's Cup.[16][17] He then played in a 5–1 victory againstHungary during the successful1931–34 Central European Cup for Amateurs.[16][18] Zombori played in a 2–2 draw againstSwitzerland in the successful1934 World Cup qualifiers.[16] He was selected by coachesJosef Uridil andConstantin Rădulescu to be part of thefinal tournament squad, where he played in a first round exit as they were defeated with 2–1 by eventual finalists,Czechoslovakia.[3][16] During the1934–35 Balkan Cup that was hosted by Greece, Romania had to face Yugoslavia in the last game of the tournament which, if won, could have earned them the trophy.[19] However, its goalkeeperAnghel Crețeanu got injured, so coachAlexandru Săvulescu asked forAndrei Sepci and Zombori to come for the match.[19] Eventually, Zombori played in the game against the Yugoslavs which ended with a 4–0 loss, that being his last appearance for the national team.[16][19]
After he ended his playing career, Zombori coachedVulturii Lugoj from 1949 until 1951.[20] He subsequently served as areferee until 1957.[20]
Zombori died on 17 January 1993 at age 87.[2][3][4]
Chinezul Timișoara
Ripensia Timișoara
Romania
Individual
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