Helmut Duckadam was born on 1 April 1959 in Semlac, Arad County, Romania, being of Banat Swabian (German) descent, growing up being a fan of goalkeepers Gordon Banks, Luis Arconada and Stere Adamache.

[3] After one year he returned to UTA where on 14 September 1978 he made his Divizia A debut when coach Ion Ionescu sent him on the field for the last 20 minutes of a 2–0 loss with CS Târgoviște, managing to not concede any goals.

[2] Afterwards he became first-choice goalkeeper, winning The Double in the 1984–85 season when he was used in 31 league matches by coaches Florin Halagian and Emerich Jenei and played all the minutes in the 2–1 victory from the Cupa României final over Universitatea Craiova, also he made his debut in European competitions as he appeared in both legs of the 1–0 aggregate loss in front of A.S. Roma from the first round of the European Cup Winners' Cup, managing to save a penalty executed by Ubaldo Righetti.

[2][19][20][21][22] In the summer of 1986, while being at a campfire in Arad, Duckadam suffered an accident as he slipped on the grass and leaned on his right arm, then he felt a great pain and his hand was bruised.

[29][30] His second and last appearance for the national team took place on 17 November of the same year when Lucescu sent him on the field in the 87th minute in order to replace Moraru in a 4–1 loss in a friendly with East Germany.

[34][35][36] In 2003, Duckadam won at the Diversity Immigrant Visa organized by the American embassy from Bucharest and emigrated with his family to the United States, however he soon returned to Arad as he was unable to adjust to the life in the US.

[13][43] On 30 January 2025, during a Europa League match with Manchester United, FCSB's fans displayed a scenography consisting of a giant image of Duckadam holding the European Cup, beneath it being written:"Legends never die".