Romania today is not a strong country in terms of football. However, it is worth noting that good players are 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 the legend of the strongest clubs, but he was able to get out of Romania to England, where he spent some time in one of the strongest clubs at the moment. How exactly did the career of this goalkeeper develop? Church Pantilimon long sought to where he is now, and success came to him far from immediately.
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 already at the age of 16 he played his first match for his native club. However, it cannot be said that the young football player received a lot of practice. From the moment he was called up 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 even there he was not immediately in demand. The Church of Pantilimon did not start as a genius; he was considered only as a reserve or even reserve goalkeeper.
Rise in the new club
In its first season for Timisoara, the Church of Fane Pantilimon appeared on the field only eight times, the next and even less - only five. And only in 2008 he was able to gain a foothold in the main team and become a permanent goalkeeper. So he spent the whole three years, after which his candidacy became 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 received such an opportunity.
As a result, he spent 115 matches for his last Romanian club and in August 2011 went on a six-month lease at Manchester City, which was considering the likelihood of acquiring a young goalkeeper if he showed himself. The Church of Pantilimon, whose statistics at that time was more than outstanding, went to England, where a dream awaited him, which, unfortunately, was not destined to come true.
Transition to Manchester City
Naturally, no one expected the young goalkeeper to play in every match in the new top club. However, Pantilimon was practically never allowed to enter the field, he never entered the field in championship matches, and five times in Cup and League Cup matches. This was enough for the Romanian goalkeeper, so in the winter of 2012 he agreed to a full transition. The English club paid about four million euros, and the player began to wait for his chance.
In the next season, he again never once entered the field in championship matches, and played six matches in the cups. The third season for Pantilimon was the most successful - in total, he entered the field as much as eighteen times, with seven of them in the championship of England. But by that time it became clear that the Romanian goalkeeper did not want to continue cooperation with the top club, where he was threatened exclusively by the bench. Church Pantilimon, whose growth is two meters and two centimeters, went in search of gaming practice and signed a contract with another English club - Sunderland.
New challenge
Church Pantilimon is a goalkeeper who has very good skills, of course, not for the top club, as his practice in Manchester City has already shown. Now he has learned a lesson and went to the club an order of magnitude lower, and this brought its results. In the first season, Pantilimon played 31 games as part of the new club, but he only spent half of the second season there. After eighteen games at the winter transfer window, Watford showed interest in the services of the Romanian goalkeeper, who was ready to pay about eight million euros for the goalkeeper. Sunderland agreed to the deal, and the Church itself was not opposed to try themselves in the new club.
Return to the bench
The 29-year-old goalkeeper moved to a club where 35-year-old Eureliu Gomes, the Brazilian goalkeeper known for his appearances for Tottenham, stood on goal. Because of this, the Romanian football player found himself in the same situation in which he was in Manchester City: he was sitting on the bench, going out exclusively in cup matches. In total, he played four times, but in the championship he never appeared on the field even once. Perhaps the Church expects that an experienced and age-related goalkeeper will soon decide to hang gloves on a nail, but so far this is not expected, the club is negotiating an extension of the contract with the Brazilian on improved conditions. 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 this even in Manchester City.
Team appearances
Pantilimon has been playing for Romania since 2008. He made his debut in a friendly match against the Georgian national team. He held his first official match a year later as part of the qualifying tournament for the 2010 European Championship. In all qualifying games, he was sitting 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 2016 European Championship against the Congo national team. Pantilimon went to the European Championships himself, but he spent all three matches that the national team spent in France on a bench. However, he is still 29 years old - a rather small age for the goalkeeper, so he still may have ahead.