Catholic church Pantilimon - Romanian goalkeeper in England

Romania today is not a strong country in the football plan. However, it is worth noting that good players are available there. They play in good clubs in Europe and even sometimes make their way to the tops, as did the Church of Pantilimon. This goalkeeper did not beat records, did not become a legend of the strongest clubs, but he managed to get out of Romania to England, where he spent some time in one of the strongest clubs at the moment. How exactly developed the career of this goalkeeper? The church of Pantilimon long sought to where he is now, and success to him came not at once.

Carier start

At the age of six, the Church of Pantilimon began attending the sports school of the Aerostar club, based in the player's hometown. The goalkeeper looked quite talented for his level, and at the age of 16 he played his first match for his native club. However, it can not be said that the young footballer received a lot of practice. Since the call to the main team Pantilimon spent only nine matches. When he turned 19 in February 2006, he moved to the larger Romanian club "Timisoara", but there he was not immediately in demand. The church of Pantilimon did not begin as a genius, he was considered only as a reserve or even reserve goalkeeper.

Rise in the new club

In his first season for Timisoara, Fane Pantilimon appeared on the field only eight times, in the next and even less - only five. And only in 2008 he was able to gain a foothold in the main part of the club and become a permanent goalkeeper. So he spent three whole years, after which his candidacy was interested in the top club of England "Manchester City". For the 24-year-old goalkeeper, this is incredible news, he was extremely happy that he got this opportunity.

As a result, he spent 115 games for his last Romanian club and in August 2011 went to a half-year lease in Manchester City, which considered the probability of acquiring a young goalkeeper, if he manifests himself. The church of Pantilimon, whose statistics at the time was more than outstanding, went to England, where he was waiting for a dream, which, unfortunately, was not destined to come true.

Going to Manchester City

Naturally, no one expected that in the new top club the young goalkeeper will play in every match. However, Pantilimon was practically never released on the field, he never appeared on the field in the championship matches, and five times in the matches of the Cup and the League Cup. This for the Romanian goalkeeper was enough, so in the winter of 2012 he agreed to a full transition. The English club paid about four million euros, and the football player began to wait for his chance.

In the next season he again never came on the field in the championship matches, and in the cups he played six fights. The third season for Pantilimon became the most successful - in total he went on the field as many as eighteen times, and seven of them - in the championship of England. But by that time it became clear that the Romanian goalkeeper does not want to continue cooperation with the top club, where he was threatened only by a bench. The church of Pantilimon, whose growth is as much as two meters and two centimeters, went in search of a game practice and signed a contract with another English club - Sunderland.

New call

The church of Pantilimon is a goalkeeper who has very good skills, of course, not for the top club, which has already been shown by his practice in Manchester City. Now he learned the lesson and went to the club an order of magnitude lower, and it brought its results. In the first season Pantilimon spent 31 matches in the new club, but he only held the second season there only half. After eighteen games in the winter transfer window, interested in the services of the Romanian goalkeeper showed "Watford", which was ready to pay for the goalkeeper about eight million euros. "Sunderland" agreed to the deal, and he himself was not against testing himself in a new club.

Return to the bench

The 29-year-old goalkeeper switched to a club in which 35-year-old Eurelio Gomes, a Brazilian goalkeeper known for his performances for Tottenham Hotspur, stood at the gate. Because of this, the Romanian football player was in the same situation in which he was in the "Manchester City": he was sitting on the bench, leaving only in the cup matches. He played four times, but never appeared on the field in the championship. Perhaps, the church counts on the fact that the experienced and age-old goalkeeper will soon decide to hang the gloves on the nail, but so far this is not expected, the club is negotiating to extend the contract with the Brazilian on improved terms. So, nothing can be said about the fate of Pantilimon. It is unlikely that he will be happy to sit on the bench at Watford, if he refused to do it, even in Manchester City.

National team appearances

For the national team of Romania, Pantilimon has been performing since 2008. He made his debut in a friendly match against the Georgian team. The first official match he spent a year in the qualifying tournament for the 2010 European Championships. In all qualifying games, he sat on the bench, but in the last match with the Faroe Islands he came out in the starting lineup. In total, Pantilimon spent twenty-two matches for the national team, the last of which was in May 2016 in preparation for the European Championship in 2016 against the Congo national team. At the European Championships Pantilimon went, but all three matches, which the team held in France, stayed on the bench. However, while he is 29, he is quite a small age for the goalkeeper, so he may still be ahead.