Ioan Sabău

Ioan "Neluțu" Ovidiu Sabău (born 12 February 1968) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, currently in charge of Liga I club Universitatea Cluj.

Ioan Sabău
Sabău in 2018
Personal information
Full name Ioan Ovidiu Sabău
Date of birth (1968-02-12) 12 February 1968
Place of birth Câmpia Turzii, Romania
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Universitatea Cluj (head coach)
Youth career
1982–1985 Universitatea Cluj
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1985–1987 Universitatea Cluj 35 (4)
1988 ASA Târgu Mureş 12 (2)
1988–1990 Dinamo București 49 (8)
1990–1992 Feyenoord 39 (11)
1992–1996 Brescia 99 (10)
1996–1997 Reggiana 19 (1)
1997–1998 Brescia 7 (1)
1998–2000 Rapid București 43 (2)
2000–2001 Universitatea Cluj 19 (6)
2001–2003 Rapid București 35 (1)
2005 Gaz Metan Mediaș 1 (0)
Total 358 (46)
International career
1988–2001 Romania 55 (8)
Managerial career
2000–2001 Universitatea Cluj (player/coach)
2003 Universitatea Cluj
2003–2005 Gaz Metan Mediaș
2005–2009 Gloria Bistrița
2009–2010 Politehnica Timișoara
2010–2011 FCM Târgu Mureș
2012 FCM Târgu Mureș
2012 Rapid București
2013–2014 ASA Târgu Mureș
2023 Universitatea Cluj
2023– Universitatea Cluj
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Ioan Sabău, nicknamed Moțul after the people from Țara Moților because of his ambition, was born on 12 February 1968 in Câmpia Turzii, starting to play football at junior level in 1985 at Universitatea Cluj, under the guidance of coaches Alexa Uifăleanu and Nicolae Szoboszlay.[1][2][3] He made his professional debut playing for Universitatea in the 1984–85 Divizia B season under coach Remus Vlad, helping the team win promotion to Divizia A, where in the following season he made his debut on 8 March 1986, replacing Nicolae Bucur for the last 9 minutes of a 1–0 loss against Rapid București, also under the guidance of coach Remus Vlad.[1][2][4][5][6] In 1988, Sabău had offers from Dinamo București and Steaua București, choosing to play for the first because of coach Mircea Lucescu's project of building a team composed of mainly young players like himself.[2][7][8] But Steaua's officials with president Ion Alecsandrescu and the relatives of dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, his son Valentin who was Steaua's unofficial president and brother Ilie who was a Romanian army general insisted and pressured Sabău on several occasions to sign with the club, especially during his military service in which he played for Ministry of National Defence club and friend team of Steaua, ASA Târgu Mureş, but he refused, eventually going to Dinamo who gave four players to Universitatea Cluj in exchange for him, including Florin Prunea.[2][7][8] He spent two seasons with The Red Dogs, in the first one he did not win any trophies and reached the quarter-finals in the 1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup where they were eliminated on the away goals rule after 1–1 on aggregate by Sampdoria and in the following season the club won the title and the cup with Sabău playing 24 Divizia A matches in which he scored five goals and scored one goal in the 6–4 victory from the 1990 Cupa României Final against Steaua București, also appearing in 7 matches in which he scored two goals in the 1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup where Dinamo reached the semi-finals where they were eliminated after 2–0 on aggregate by Anderlecht.[1][7][9][10] After the 1989 Romanian Revolution, Sabău was transferred by Dinamo at Feyenoord for over one million$, where he spent two seasons, winning two cups and one supercup, also helping the club reach the 1991–92 European Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals, appearing in 3 matches from the campaign and was colleague in his second season with fellow Romanian, Marian Damaschin.[1][11][12][13] In 1992 he was sold by Feyenoord to Mircea Lucescu's Brescia for over one million€, playing two seasons in Serie A and two in Serie B a period in which he was declared the best right midfielder from Serie A in 1993, managed to win the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1994 and was colleague with compatriots Gheorghe Hagi, Florin Răducioiu, Dorin Mateuț and Dănuț Lupu, the team's nickname being "Brescia Romena".[1][2][14][15][16][17] In July 1996, Lucescu signed with Serie A club, Reggiana, bringing Ioan Sabău with him, but the team finised on the last place in the end of the season.[1][16][18] After another Serie A season at Brescia, Sabău returned to Romania in 1998 at Rapid București, at the advice of coach Mircea Lucescu, appearing in 22 matches in which he scored one goal in the 1998–99 season, helping the team win the first title after 32 years.[1][19][20] In the 2000–01 season, he was a player-coach at Universitatea Cluj in Divizia C, helping the team win promotion to Divizia B, leaving shortly afterwards because of a conflict with the club's officials.[1][8][21][22] In 2001, he returned to play for Rapid for two seasons, winning the 2002–03 Divizia A title, playing 16 Divizia A matches in which he scored one goal, also winning a cup and a supercup with coach Mircea Rednic and made his last Divizia A appearance on 24 May 2003 in a 3–0 home victory against UTA Arad.[1][23] He made his last appearance as a footballer at the end of the 2004–05 Divizia B season for Gaz Metan Mediaș, a team which he was also at that time its head coach.[1][21] Ioan Sabău has a total of 70 matches and six goals scored in Serie A, 55 matches and six goals scored in Serie B, 39 games with 11 goals scored in Eredivisie, 172 appearances and 17 goals scored in Divizia A and 25 games played with 3 goals scored in European competitions.[1] A book about him was written by Ilie Dobre, called Ioan Ovidiu Sabău și Patima fotbalului (Ioan Ovidiu Sabău and the passion for football).[8][24]

International career

Ioan Sabău played 55 games and scored 8 goals for Romania, making his debut on 3 February 1988 at age 19 under coach Emerich Jenei in a friendly which ended with a 2–0 away victory against Israel.[25][26] He scored his first goal three days later in a friendly which ended 2–2 against Poland.[25] He played 6 matches and scored two goals at the successful 1990 World Cup qualifiers, one in a 3–0 victory against Greece and one in the 3–1 victory against Denmark which was decisive for the qualification at the final tournament where he was used by coach Emerich Jenei as a starter in all four matches, as Romania got eliminated by Ireland in the eight-finals.[25] He played 7 games and scored one goal at the Euro 1992 qualifiers, made 8 appearances at the successful 1994 World Cup qualifiers but could not be part of the squad that went to play at the final tournament because of an injury.[2][14][25] He played one game at the successful Euro 1996 qualifiers, being selected by coach Anghel Iordănescu to be part of the squad that went at the final tournament but did not play a single match, being injured.[14][25] Ioan Sabău played three games at the successful Euro 2000 qualifiers but was not selected to take part at the final tournament and made his last three appearances for the national team at the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, one in a group match against Hungary which ended with a 2–0 away victory and two in both legs of the play-off against Slovenia which was lost with 3–2 on aggregate.[25]

For representing his country at the 1990 World Cup, Sabău was decorated by President of Romania Traian Băsescu on 25 March 2008 with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" – (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III.[27][28]

International
Appearances and goals by national team and year.[25]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Romania 198892
198983
1990122
199150
199230
199350
199410
199521
199620
199700
199820
199930
200010
200130
Total568

International goals
Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sabău goal.[25]
List of international goals scored by Ioan Sabău
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
16 February 1988Kiryat Eliezer Stadium, Haifa, Israel Poland2–12–2Friendly
22 November 1988Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania Greece3–03–01990 World Cup qualifiers
329 March 1989Municipal Stadium, Sibiu, Romania Italy1–01–0Friendly
412 April 1989Stadion Wojska Polskiego, Warsaw, Poland Poland1–11–2Friendly
515 November 1989Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania Denmark2–13–11990 World Cup qualifiers
625 April 1990Kiryat Eliezer Stadium, Haifa, Israel Israel3–04–1Friendly
75 December 1990Stadionul Național, Bucharest, Romania San Marino1–06–0Euro 1992 qualifiers
815 February 1995İzmir Atatürk Stadium, İzmir, Turkey Turkey1–01–1Friendly

Managerial career

Ioan Sabău started his coaching career in 2000 with Universitatea Cluj in Divizia C, also being a player, helping the team win promotion to Divizia B, leaving shortly afterwards because of a conflict with the club's officials.[1][8][22][21] At the beginning of the 2003–04 Divizia B, he returned at Universitatea, but left after only two games, going to coach fellow Divizia B team, Gaz Metan Mediaș for two seasons, but did not manage to win a promotion to Divizia A.[21][29][30][31] In 2005 he went to coach Divizia A club, Gloria Bistrița for four seasons, the highlights of this period being a sixth-place finish at the end of the 2006–07 season and a 2–1 home victory against Atlético Madrid in the 2007 UEFA Intertoto Cup final, however the second leg was lost with 1–0, thus losing the final on the away goals rule.[30][32][33] In the 2009–10 season, Sabău coached Politehnica Timișoara, eliminating UEFA Cup holders Shakhtar Donetsk in the third round of the 2009–10 Champions League, which was his former coach, Mircea Lucescu's team, but was eliminated by VfB Stuttgart in the next round, reaching the 2009–10 Europa League group stage which he did not pass and finished the championship on the 5th position.[21][30][34] In the following years, he went to coach first league clubs, FCM Târgu Mureș on two occasions and Rapid București, his last spell as a coach being in the second league at ASA Târgu Mureș, without any notable results.[30][35] Ioan Sabău has a total of 226 matches as a manager in the Romanian top-division, Divizia A consisting of 86 victories, 56 draws and 84 losses.[36]

Personal life

Sabău is featured on the cover of FIFA 96, playing for Brescia in a match against Notts County at the Anglo-Italian Cup final in a duel with Andy Legg, being the first Romanian that appeared on the cover of a FIFA video game.[17][37][38] He is a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses.[39][40]

Honours

Player

Universitatea Cluj

Dinamo București

Feyenoord

Brescia

Rapid București

Coach

Universitatea Cluj

References
  1. Ioan Sabău at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  2. "Sabău: "Munceam să nu scap mâncarea"" [Sabău: "I was working not to drop the food"] (in Romanian). Zcj.ro. 4 November 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  3. "Ioan Sabău: "Când aveam bani, mâncam spanac cu ouă". Neluțu va evolua mâine împotriva legendelor Barcelonei" [Ioan Sabău: "When I had money, I ate spinach with eggs." Neluţu will play tomorrow against the legends of Barcelona] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  4. "Universitatea Cluj 1984–85 season" (in Romanian). 4everucluj.ro.
  5. "Universitatea Cluj 1985–86 season" (in Romanian). 4everucluj.ro.
  6. "Neluțu, copilul navetist din tren" [Nelutu, the commuter child on the train] (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 27 January 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  7. "Cum au fost create marile echipe ale anilor '80?. Episodul 3: Dinamo - Show cu doar 14 "câini". Dar de rasă" [How were the great teams of the '80s created? Episode 3: Dinamo - Show with only 14 "dogs". But dogs of race] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  8. "REMEMBER. Culisele transferului lui Sabău la Dinamo și cum a încercat Steaua să-l fure" [REMEMBER. Behind the scenes of Sabău's transfer to Dinamo and how Steaua tried to steal him] (in Romanian). Sportulclujean.ro. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  9. "Dinamo, reunire cu gandul la Sampdoria" [Dinamo, reunited with the fought at Sampdoria] (in Romanian). Jurnalul.ro. 9 January 2009. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  10. "Romanian Cup – Season 1989–1990". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  11. "Trei decenii de la Marele Exod" [Three decades since the Great Exodus] (in Romanian). Wesport.ro. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  12. "Dennis Man, gata să doboare toate recordurile! Feyenoord a venit la București pentru el. Cât cere Becali + cât ar oferi olandezii" [Dennis Man, ready to break all records! Feyenoord came to Bucharest for him. How much is Becali asking + how much the Dutch would offer] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  13. "Ioan Sabău, de Jehova's getuige van Feyenoord" [Ioan Sabău, the Jehovah's Witness of Feyenoord] (in Dutch). Staantribune.nl. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  14. "Sabău explică pentru prima dată cauza care l-a făcut să rateze două turnee finale:"Emoțiile m-au costat"" [Sabău explains for the first time the cause that made him miss two final tournaments: "Emotions costed me"] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 28 October 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  15. "Dezvăluiri incredibile făcute de Neluţu Sabău: "A chemat lumea poliţia, au crezut toţi că s-a întâmplat ceva!"" [Incredible revelations made by Neluţu Sabău: "People called the police, everyone thought something had happened!"] (in Romanian). Orangesport.ro. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  16. "Mircea Lucescu and The Tale of The "Brescia Romena"" (in Romanian). Cultofcalcio.com. 31 March 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  17. "Brescia Romena" (in Romanian). Onromanianfootball.medium.com. 4 September 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  18. "Pe urmele lui Luce" [On the footsteps of Luce] (in Romanian). Libertatea.ro. 17 January 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  19. "Mircea Lucescu are COVID, dar va fi prezent pe Stadionul Giulești sâmbătă. "Familia Lucescu face parte din istoria Rapidului". Exclusiv" [Mircea Lucescu has COVID, but will be present at Giulești Stadium on Saturday. "The Lucescu family is part of Rapid's history." Exclusive] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 22 March 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  20. "Cum l-a convins Mircea Lucescu pe Neluțu Sabău să vină la Rapid! "M-a sunat și Cornel Dinu. Dacă o făcea cu 30 de minute înainte, mă întorceam la Dinamo!"" [How Mircea Lucescu convinced Nelutu Sabău to come to Rapid! "Cornel Dinu also called me. If he would have did it 30 minutes before, I would have gone back to Dinamo!"] (in Romanian). Playsport.ro. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  21. "Bine ai revenit, "Moţule"! Neluţu Sabău a debutat, la 47 de ani, la Inter Ciugud!" [Welcome back, "Moțule"! Neluţu Sabău made his debut, at 47 years old, at Inter Ciugud!] (in Romanian). Alba-sport.ro. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  22. "Universitatea Cluj 2000–01 season" (in Romanian). 4everucluj.ro.
  23. "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  24. "Ioan Ovidiu Sabău, fotografii inedite din perioada Feyenoord. Omagiu din Țara Lalelelor adus "Moțului"" [Ioan Ovidiu Sabău, new photos from the Feyenoord period. Tribute from the Land of Tulips to "The Moț"] (in Romanian). Sportulclujean.ro. 13 February 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  25. "Ioan Sabău profile". European Football. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  26. "Israel 0-2 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  27. "DECRET privind conferirea Ordinului și Medaliei Meritul Sportiv" (PDF). Monitorul Oficial al României Nr. 241. 28 March 2008. p. 3. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  28. "Decorarea unor personalități ale fotbalului românesc". Administrația Prezidențială. 25 March 2008. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  29. "Universitatea Cluj 2000–01 season" (in Romanian). 4everucluj.ro.
  30. "Ioan Ovidiu Sabău, gata să revină pe bancă după 7 ani: "Mă vor antrenor-manager"" [Ioan Ovidiu Sabău, ready to return to the bench after 7 years: "They want me coach-manager"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  31. "Sabau, antrenor la "U" Cluj" [Sabau, coach at "U" Cluj] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 30 June 2003. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  32. "Se împlinesc 10 ani de la Gloria - Atletico Madrid. Bistrițenii, la un pas de a elimina o echipă plină de vedete" [It's been 10 years since Gloria - Atletico Madrid. The people from Bistrița, one step away from eliminating a team full of stars] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 18 February 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  33. "Gloria, oleee! Se împlinesc 10 ani de la victoria cu Atletico! Totul despre acea dublă de poveste!" [Gloria, oleee! It's been 10 years since the victory with Atletico! All about that story double!] (in Romanian). Sportulbistritean.ro. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  34. "Poli in "era" Iancu: 6 ani = 0 trofee! Din 2004 si pana in prezent Poli a fost pregatita de nu mai putin de 10 antrenori" [Poli in the Iancu "era": 6 years = 0 trophies! From 2004 until now, Poli has been trained by no less than 10 coaches] (in Romanian). Opiniatimisoarei.ro. 10 June 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  35. "Sabău a plecat de la ASA Tg. Mureș, după înfrângerea de pe teren propriu cu FC Bihor" [Sabău left ASA Tg. Mureș, after the home defeat against FC Bihor] (in Romanian). Digisport.ro. 23 March 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  36. "Top 60 antrenori" [Top 60 coaches] (in Romanian). RomanianSoccer.ro. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  37. "Singurul român de pe coperta jocului FIFA! Cum a apărut Ioan Sabău pe "coverul" ediției din 1996: "Nici nu știam asta! Cum fac să văd poza?"" [The only Romanian on the cover of the FIFA game! How Ioan Sabău appeared on the "cover" of the 1996 edition: "I didn't even know that! How do I see the picture?"] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  38. "Singurul jucător român care a apărut pe coperta jocului FIFA din 1994 până în prezent. Cum arăta coperta jocului în fiecare ediţie" [The only Romanian player who appeared on the cover of the FIFA game from 1994 until now. What the cover of the game looked like in each edition] (in Romanian). Orangesport.ro. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  39. (in Romanian) Daniel Conțescu "Iehovistul Sabău le-a arătat calea: 'Timișoara va câștiga titlul. După două înfrângeri, Dorinel va fi înjurat'" ("Jehovah's Witness Sabău Shows Them the Way: 'Timişoara Will Win the Title. After Two Defeats, Dorinel Will be Cussed Out'"), Evenimentul ZIlei, 17 March 2011; Retrieved 17 March 2011
  40. EXCLUSIV Ioan Ovidiu Sabău discută deschis despre apropierea de Martorii lui Iehova – De ce nu sărbătorește Crăciunul
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