Wikipedia

Alexandru Neagu

Not to be confused with the Romanian footballer Alexandru Cătălin Neagu.

Sandu Neagu
Neagu in 1965
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 Striker
Youth career
1963–1965 Rapid București
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1965–1978 Rapid București[a] 286 (110)
International career
1970–1972 Romania[b] 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

[edit]

Neagu, nicknamed Cappellini from Giulești by journalist Ioan Chirilă, was born on 19 July 1948 in the Rahova neighborhood of Bucharest, but grew up in the Giulești neighborhood.[3][4][5][6] He began playing football for the junior squads of Giulești-based club, Rapid București, making his Divizia A debut under coach Valentin Stănescu on 31 March 1966 in a 1–0 away loss to Petrolul Ploiești.[3][5][6] He would go on to spend his entire career at Rapid, with coach Stănescu telling him at one point:"Hey, you will only leave Rapid with your feet first."[3][5][6] In the next season he won the 1966–67 title, but Stănescu used him in only eight games in which he scored one goal, as the first options for the offense were Ion Ionescu and Emil Dumitriu.[3][6][7][8][9]

Neagu (back row, third from the right) with Rapid in 1970.

Neagu also won two Cupa României, being used the full 90 minutes by coach Bazil Marian in the 1972 final in which he scored the second goal of the 2–0 victory against Jiul Petroșani.[3][5][6][7][10] He also played the entire game under coach Ion Motroc in the 2–1 win over Universitatea Craiova in the 1975 final.[3][5][6][7][11] He took part in Rapid's 1971–72 UEFA Cup campaign, playing all six games, as the team reached the third round, eliminating Napoli and Legia Warsaw, scoring a double against the latter, being eliminated by the eventual winners of the competition, Tottenham.[6][12] He also took 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, scoring once against the latter, being knocked out by Leeds United who reached the final.[6][13] At the end of the 1974–75 Divizia A season, Rapid was relegated to Divizia B, but Neagu stayed with the club, contributing with 17 goals, to help it get promoted back to the first division after one year.[5][6][7] Neagu made his last Divizia A appearance on 30 June 1977 in a 2–1 away loss to FC Constanța, having a total of 254 games and 93 goals in the competition, also totaling 19 matches with five goals in European competitions (including four games and two goals in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup).[5][6]

International career

[edit]

Neagu played 15 games and scored four goals for Romania, all under coach Angelo Niculescu, making his debut on 9 February 1970 in a 1–1 friendly draw against Peru.[2][14] In his second cap, a 1–1 draw against West Germany, he scored his first international goal.[2] In the 1970 World Cup final tournament, Neagu played in all three games which were a win against Czechoslovakia and losses to England and Brazil, as his side failed to progress from their group.[2][15] In the 2–1 victory over the Czechoslovaks, he netted a goal and obtained a penalty from which Florea Dumitrache scored the victory goal.[2][3][4][5][8] He played six matches in 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.[2] Neagu's last game played for the national team took place on 20 September 1972 during the 1974 World Cup qualifiers in a 1–1 draw against Finland.[2]

International goals

[edit]
Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Neagu goal.[2]
List of international goals scored by Alexandru Neagu
# Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 8 April 1970 Neckarstadion, Stuttgart, West Germany 2  West Germany 1–0 1–1 Friendly
2 6 June 1970 Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico 6  Czechoslovakia 1–1 2–1 1970 World Cup
3 14 May 1972 Stadionul 23 August, Bucharest, Romania 13  Hungary 2–2 2–2 Euro 1972 quarter-finals
4 17 May 1972 Stadion Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija, Belgrade, Yugoslavia 14  Hungary 1–1 1–2 Euro 1972 quarter-finals

Personal life

[edit]

His son, Roberto, was also a footballer who played briefly for Academica Clinceni in the Romanian first league.[16]

Death

[edit]

Neagu died on 17 April 2010, at the age of 61 after slipping and falling at Giulești stadium while watching a Rapid training session.[3][4][5] He was taken to the hospital, where he later died, with cirrhosis also being a contributing factor.[3][4][5][7][8]

Honours

[edit]

Rapid București

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The statistics for the 1977–78 Divizia B season are unavailable.[1]
  2. ^ Including 2 appearances for Romania's Olympic team.[1][2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Alexandru Neagu at National-Football-Teams.com
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Alexandru Neagu". European Football. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Legendele fotbalului: "Capellini" din Giuleşti" [Football legends: "Capellini" from Giulesti] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 2 December 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d "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.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Derby în doliu: a murit Alexandru Neagu" [Derby in mourning: Alexandru Neagu died] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 17 April 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Alexandru Neagu at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  7. ^ a b c d e "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.
  8. ^ a b c "Sandu Neagu, eroul de la Guadalajara, a murit la 61 de ani". Archived from the original on 19 April 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  9. ^ "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Romanian Cup – Season 1971–1972". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Romanian Cup – Season 1974–1975". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  12. ^ "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.
    "Alexandru Neagu. Europa League 1971/1972". WorldFootball. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  13. ^
    "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. Cup Winners Cup 1972/1973". WorldFootball. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  14. ^ "Peru 1-1 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  15. ^ "România la CM 1970. Enigma Dobrin" [România la WC 1970. The Dobrin enigma] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 2 June 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  16. ^ "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.
[edit]