[1][2] He played his first Divizia A match on 21 August 1977, representing Dinamo București, as coach Ion Nunweiller sent him on the field to replace Ionel Augustin in the 60th minute of a 0–0 with SC Bacău.

[1][4][5][6] Țălnar also won two Cupa României with The Red Dogs, in the first one he did not play in the final with FC Baia Mare but in the second he was used all the minutes by coach Dumitru in the 2–1 over rivals Steaua București.

[1][7] He made some notable performances with Dinamo in European competitions as helping it eliminate Inter Milan in the 1981–82 UEFA Cup and appearing in seven matches in the 1983–84 European Cup season, scoring one goal in the 5–3 victory on aggregate against title holders Hamburg, reaching the semi-finals where the campaign ended in front of Liverpool.

[1][4][5][8] After his spell with Dinamo ended, Țălnar went to play for Brașov, Victoria București and Petrolul Ploiești, at the latter making his last Divizia A appearance which took place on 24 April 1988 in a 1–0 win over Olt Scornicești, earning a total of 297 matches and 33 goals scored in the competition, also gaining a total of 31 games played with four goals scored in European competitions.

[1] Cornel Țălnar played six matches for Romania, making his debut on 1 June 1979 when coach Ștefan Kovacs sent him on the field in the 74th minute in order to replace Mihai Romilă in a friendly which ended with a 1–0 loss in front of East Germany.