Alexandru Neagu
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Alexandru Neagu | ||
Date of birth | 19 July 1948 | ||
Place of birth | Bucharest, Romania | ||
Date of death | 17 April 2010(2010-04-17) (aged 61) | ||
Place of death | Bucharest, Romania | ||
Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
Position(s) | Striker | ||
Youth career | |||
1963–1965 | Rapid București | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1965–1978 | Rapid București | 286 | (110) |
International career | |||
1970–1972 | Romania[a] | 17 | (4) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Alexandru "Sandu" Neagu (19 July 1948 – 17 April 2010) was a Romanian footballer who played as a striker.
Club career
"Hey, you will only leave Rapid with your feet first"
–Coach Valentin Stănescu's words told to Neagu[3]
Alexandru Neagu, nicknamed Cappellini from Giulești by journalist Ioan Chirilă was born on 19 July 1948 in the Rahova neighborhood from Bucharest, but grew up in the Giulești neighborhood.[3][4][5][6] He started playing football for the junior squads of Giulești based club, Rapid București, this being the team for which he would play all of his career, making his Divizia A debut under coach Valentin Stănescu on 31 March 1966 in a 1–0 away loss against Petrolul Ploiești and in the next season he won the competition, Stănescu using him in only 8 games in which he scored one goal, as the first options for the offence were Ion Ionescu and Emil Dumitriu.[3][5][6][7][8][9] Neagu also won two Cupa României, scoring the second goal of the 2–0 victory against Jiul Petroșani from the 1972 final.[3][5][6][7][8][10] He took part in Rapid's 1971–72 UEFA Cup campaign, playing all six games, as the team reached the eight-finals, eliminating Napoli and Legia Warsaw against whom he scored a double, being eliminated by the team who would eventually win the competition, Tottenham, also taking part in the 1972–73 European Cup Winners' Cup campaign, playing all six games, helping the team reach the quarter-finals, eliminating Landskrona BoIS and Rapid Wien against whom he scored a goal, being eliminated by Leeds United who reached the final.[6][11][12][13][14][15] At the end of the 1974–75 Divizia A season, the club relegated to Divizia B, but Neagu stayed with the club, scoring 17 goals in 32 matches and helping it promote back to the first division after one year.[5][6][7] He made his last Divizia A appearance on 30 June 1977 in a 2–1 away loss against FC Constanța, having a total of 254 games played with 93 goals in the competition, also having a total of 19 matches in which he scored 5 goals in European competitions (including 4 games and two goals in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup).[5][6]
International career
Alexandru Neagu played 15 games and scored 4 goals for Romania, all under the guidance of Angelo Niculescu, making his debut on 9 February 1970 in a friendly which ended 1–1 against Peru.[1][16] In his second international cap, a 1–1 against West Germany, he scored his first international goal.[1] At the 1970 World Cup final tournament, Neagu was used by Angelo Niculescu in all the three group games as Romania did not advance to the next stage, scoring a goal and obtaining a penalty from which Florea Dumitrache scored the victory goal in the 2–1 against Czechoslovakia.[1][3][4][5][8] He played 6 matches at the 1972 Euro qualifiers, managing to reach the quarter-finals where he scored two goals but Romania was defeated by Hungary, who advanced to the final tournament.[1] Neagu's last game played for the national team took place on 20 September 1972 at the 1974 World Cup qualifiers in a 1–1 against Finland.[1]
International goals
- Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Neagu goal.[1]
# | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 8 April 1970 | Neckarstadion, Stuttgart, West Germany | 2 | ![]() | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
2 | 6 June 1970 | Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico | 6 | ![]() | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1970 World Cup |
3 | 14 May 1972 | Stadionul 23 August, Bucharest, Romania | 13 | ![]() | 2–2 | 2–2 | Euro 1972 quarter-finals |
4 | 17 May 1972 | Stadion Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija, Belgrade, Yugoslavia | 14 | ![]() | 1–1 | 1–2 | Euro 1972 quarter-finals |
Personal life
His son, Roberto was also a footballer who played briefly for Academica Clinceni in the Romanian first league.[17]
Death
Alexandru Neagu died on 17 April 2010 at age 61, after slipping and falling on the ground on the Giulești stadium while he was watching a training session of Rapid and was sent to the hospital where he died, also because he was ill of cirrhosis.[3][4][5][7][8]
Honours
Rapid București
Notes
- ^ Including 2 appearances for Romania's Olympic team.[1][2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Alexandru Neagu". European Football. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ Alexandru Neagu at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ a b c d e f "Legendele fotbalului: "Capellini" din Giuleşti" [Football legends: "Capellini" from Giulesti] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 2 December 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ a b c "Ce s-a ales din familia "Eroului de la Guadalajara", Sandu Neagu. El şi-a vândut casa pe băutură, iar copiii săi cei mici au ajuns astăzi să cerşească" [What became of the family of the "Hero from Guadalajara", Sandu Neagu. He sold his house for alcohol, and his little children are now begging] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Derby în doliu: a murit Alexandru Neagu" [Derby in mourning: Alexandru Neagu died] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 17 April 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Alexandru Neagu at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
- ^ a b c d "Rapidul in doliu. Sandu Neagu a murit la 61 de ani" [Rapid in mourning. Sandu Neagu died at the age of 61] (in Romanian). Sport.hotnews.ro. 17 April 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Sandu Neagu, eroul de la Guadalajara, a murit la 61 de ani". Archived from the original on 19 April 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ^ "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "Romanian Cup – Season 1971–1972". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "49 de ani de când Rapid mătura pe jos cu Zoff și cu Altafini. Boc: "Așa ne-am câștigat dreptul să vedem un film aproape porno la Varșovia!"!" [49 years since Rapid swept on foot with Zoff and Altafini. Boc: "This is how we earned the right to see an almost pornographic film in Warsaw!"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "Acum o jumătate de veac, Rapid elimina pe Napoli" [Half a century ago, Rapid eliminated Napoli]. Wesport.ro. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "Leeds United – Rapid 5-0 (7 martie 1973 – sferturi Cupa Cupelor)" [Leeds United – Rapid 5-0 (March 7, 1973 – Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals)]. Tikitaka.ro. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "Alexandru Neagu. Europa League 1971/1972". WorldFootball. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "Alexandru Neagu. Cup Winners Cup 1972/1973". WorldFootball. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "Peru 1-1 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ "Povestea merge mai departe. Fiul lui Sandu Neagu, copilul crescut în peluza Giuleștiului, printre tibiile fotbaliștilor, a debutat în Liga 1. "Vreau să-mi depășesc tatăl"" [The story goes on. The son of Sandu Neagu, the child raised on the lawn of Giulești, among the footballers' shins, made his debut in Liga 1. "I want to surpass my father"] (in Romanian). Playsport.ro. 21 May 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
External links
- Alexandru Neagu at WorldFootball.net