Athlete of the week

Only one Romanian football team in the ongoing competition season, early into 2023, has advanced to the European Cups' upcoming stages. In the autumn of 2022, CFR Cluj qualified to the playoffs as part of the European Conference League's round of 16, ranking 2nd in the competition's Group G. In Rome last week, holders CFR competed for a place in this year's round of 16. CFR Cluj sustained a defeat by the narrowest of margins in their away game against Lazio, ni-1. In two days' time, the match deciding the qualification in the League's round of 16 will be played in Cluj. However, we made mention of the match in Rome since it provided a record: CFR's captain, Mario Camora, is the footballer boasting most caps in the European Cups for a Romanian squad. For this very reason, Radio Romania International has designated CFR's Portuguese-born left-back Mario Camora the Athlete of the week.

Up until the ongoing season, Marius Lacatus was the footballer with most caps in European cups. We recall Marius Lacatus was one of the stars of Steaua Bucharest, a team that saw its heyday in the 20th century's 1980s. Over 1984 and 1999, Lacatus played 72 matches in the European Champions Cup, The Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Cup. With Steaua Bucharest, in 1986 Lacătus won the European Champions Cup, an unparalleled performance in Romanian football. This past Thursday in Rome, Mario Camora played his 73rd match in European competitions. Camora's first such game was played on August 1st, 2012, when CFR Cluj defeated Slovan Liberec 1-nil, in a fixture counting towards the Champions League's 3rd preliminary round. 

Mario Camora was born on September 21, 1986, in Portugal. He made his debut as an amateur footballer, then in 2006, he turned pro, being signed up by second-tier team Beira-Mar. Mario arrived in Romania in 2011, playing for CFR Cluj. Seven years later, on April 17, 2018, he broke the caps record for CFR, until then held by another Portuguese, Cadú. In 2020, Mario Camora was granted Romanian citizenship. Also in 2020, on October 8, he made his debut with the national team, setting a new record. Being 37 years and 17 days old, Mario Camora became Romanian national squad's oldest first-time footballer. (EN)