 During his career as a footballer, he won 12 caps for Romania's national team (between 1959 and 1964).The highlights of his career as a player were the Romanian football championship titles he won with Steaua in 1959–60, 1960–61 and 1967–68, as well as his participation with Romania's Olympic team at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Japan, where the Romanians came on 5th place.As a coach, Jenei continued to enjoy success.