Iuliu Barátky

Who was Iuliu Barátky?

Gyula Barátky was a football player who had represented both Hungary and Romania. His preferred position was the half right.

He played a total of 155 games in the national Romanian championships, starting on 10 September 1933. He won 4 Romanian Cups in 1937, 1939, 1940, 1941, all with Rapid Bucureşti.

He debuted in the Hungary national football team for which he played 9 games. In 1933, he started to play for the Romania national football team, for which he played 20 games and scored 13 goals. He appeared in the 1938 World Cup, scoring a goal against Cuba.

After his last game, he coached RATA Târgu Mureş for a while and, for a very short term, the Romanian national team.

Stories about his skills are still a source of pride for Rapid Bucureşti supporters. Hundreds of thousands read Finala se joacă azi or Glasul roţilor de tren, written by Ioan Chirilă, an important Romanian sports writer, in which Baratky plays a central role.