Gabriel Zahiu (footballer, born 1956)

Gabriel Zahiu (17 November 1956 – 20 November 2023) was a Romanian footballer who played as a midfielder.

Career
Gabriel Zahiu was born on 17 November 1956 in Buzău, Romania, starting to play football at local club, Gloria in Divizia B for two seasons between 1973 and 1975. Afterwards he went to play for Divizia A club, Steaua București, making his debut in the competition on 17 August 1975 in a 2–1 home victory with FCM Reșița. By the end of his first season with Steaua, he helped the club win The Double, being used by coach Emerich Jenei in nine league games but did not appear in the 2–1 win over CSU Galați from the Cupa României final. In the following season he reached another Cupa României final, Jenei sending him on the field in the 72nd minute to replace Radu Troi in the eventual 2–1 loss in front of Universitatea Craiova. In the 1977–78 season, Zahiu had a prolific period as he scored 12 goals in the 22 league games that Jenei used him, being the team's second top-goalscorer with seven behind Anghel Iordănescu, helping the club win another title. In next two seasons, he reached two more Cupa României finals, in the first one he did not appear in the 3–0 win over Sportul Studențesc București and in the one from 1980, coach Gheorghe Constantin sent him on the field in the 65th minute to replace Marcel Răducanu but the team lost with 2–1 in front of Politehnica Timișoara. In his six seasons spell spent with The Military Men he also played seven matches in European competitions, scoring one goal in a 6–0 win over Young Boys from the 1979–80 European Cup Winners' Cup. In 1981 he returned to Gloria Buzău in Divizia B, where in the 1983–84 season he scored a personal record of 15 goals which helped the team promote to Divizia A where on 2 November 1986 in a 2–1 home win with Corvinul Hunedoara he made his last appearance in the league, having a total of 135 games with 32 goals in the competition. In 1987 at age 31, Zahiu left Communist Romania legally to settle in Sweden where he played for a short while for Örebro before ending his career.

Death
Gabriel Zahiu died on 20 November 2023 in Helsingborgs, Sweden, three days after he turned 67.

Honours
Steaua București Gloria Buzău
 * Divizia A: 1975–76, 1977–78
 * Cupa României: 1975–76, 1978–79, runner-up 1976–77, 1979–80
 * Divizia B: 1983–84