RRI Sport Club RRI – In memoriam Emerich Jenei
One of Romania's greatest football legends has passed away
Florin Orban, 12.11.2025, 13:45
Last week, we lost one of Romania’s greatest football men – Emerich Jenei. He was the coach of the team that achieved the greatest performance in the history of Romanian football. With Jenei at its helm, Steaua Bucharest won the European Champions Cup in 1986. Emerich Jenei passed away, after a long illness, in Oradea, where he was buried Saturday with military honors.
Emerich Alexandru Jenei was born in the Arad commune of Agrișu Mic (west) on March 22, 1937, under the name Jenei Imre Sándor. He made his football debut at the Arad-based “7 Noiembrie” club, then in 1950 joined the juniors of the main team of Western Romania, Flamura Roșie Arad, sponsored by the city’s textile factory, where he stayed for five years. He then moved to Progresul Bucharest, returned to Arad, and in 1957 transferred to the team where he had his career: CCA Bucharest, later becoming Steaua Bucharest. His traditional role was defensive midfielder. He stayed with the military team until 1969, after which, benefiting from some relaxation in the Bucharest regime’s policies, he was able to transfer abroad, to Turkey, at Kayserispor. He was selected 6 times for the Romanian national team. He was part of the squad that finished 5th at the Tokyo Olympics.
As a coach, he started his career in 1972 as assistant coach at Steaua Bucharest. Three years later he became head coach, a position he held for five years. He then coached FC Bihor and CS Târgoviște, before returning to Steaua in 1983. With the Bucharest team, he won the European Champions Cup in 1986, after which he was appointed coach of the Romanian national team. With the Romanian national team, he secured qualification to the World Cup hosted by Italy in 1990, after a 20-year absence from the World Cup final tournaments. He then coached the Hungarian national team and various European club teams, including again two stints with Steaua Bucharest.
In 2000, after Romania qualified for the European Championship in Belgium and the Netherlands, he was brought back to lead the national team, achieving a top-eight finish in the continental competition and a memorable 3-2 victory over England in Charleroi on June 20, 2000. He then retired from coaching and for a time was president of the Oradea club FC Bihor. (VP)
