Ioan Sabău
Ioan Ovidiu " Neluţu " Sabău ( born February 12, 1968 in Câmpia Turzii, Cluj County ) is a former Romanian football player and current coach. As a player Sabău completed a total of 281 games in Divizia A, the Eredivisie and Serie A. He took part in the Football World Cup 1990 and the European Football Championship 1996. Since October 2013 he has been head coach of ASA Târgu Mureş in the League II
Playing career
Ioan Sabău began his career at Universitatea Cluj, which was playing in the highest Romanian football league, the Divizia A. On March 8, 1986 Sabău came in the away match against Rapid Bucharest was first used. When dribbling, free-scoring team and provide supporting right side of midfield, he quickly caught the nation's attention. Under the pretext that he had to do his military service, he was forced during the season 1987/88, to move to Premier League rivals AS Armata Tirgu Mures, since this association was subordinate to the Ministry of Defence. Sabău caused during this time in a car accident in which one person was killed. This incident was hushed up by the Romanian authorities, after Sabău had declared in return willing in 1988 to switch to the Romanian top club Dinamo Bucharest.
During the two successful years at Dinamo Sabău won the championship in 1990 and the Romanian Cup and reached the semi-finals in the European Cup Winners' Cup. After the World Cup finals, he left - like many other Romanian national team also - Romania and moved to Feyenoord in the Dutch Eredivisie. In Rotterdam Sabău came only at the beginning regularly used in his second season, he played only 12 games, but caught up in two years, each of the KNVB Cup. During this time he also joined the Jehovah's witnesses.
Then left Sabău the Netherlands and made his way to Serie A Brescia Calcio. Here he immediately became a regular player, but could not prevent relegation to Serie B. During the four years in Brescia, the club developed into a lift club. The good performance Sabăus made him a regular player of the Romanian national team and led to a nomination for the European Football Championship 1996. During the same year left Sabău Brescia, after the club was almost relegated to the C series. But even with his new club AC Reggiana fared Sabău not much better. The club descended from Serie A, while Sabău was used only in half of the games. He left Reggiana therefore in 1997 and returned to Brescia, which had just gained in the Serie A. Sabău could not prevent the renewed descent - especially because it was hardly used.
1998 returned Sabău Italy back and Rapid Bucharest joined in his Romanian homeland. There, the success returned, and won the 1999 Sabău again the Romanian championship. He could repeat this success with Rapid 2003, after he had helped his hometown club, U Cluj in the 2000 /01 season as player-coach to return from the Divizia C in the Divizia B. After the 2003 championship Sabău ended his career. As a coach of Gaz Metan Medias, he came in 2004 to a still further use.
National
Sabău denied a total of 52 caps for Romania. He made his debut in the Romanian national football team on February 3, 1988 against Israel. Sabău was called to the squad for the FIFA World Cup 1990 in Italy by coach Emerich Jenei and played in all four games. Very successfully played as a right midfielder Sabău in the World Cup qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 1994. However An injury prevented his participation in the tournament. After only occasional inserts Anghel Iordănescu Sabău nominated for the European Football Championship in England in 1996, but could not use it because he was injured again. After a comeback in 1999 Sabău ended his international career, but was instrumental in the successful qualification for Euro 2000.
Coaching career
During his active career Sabău served as player-coach at his hometown club Universitatea Cluj in the 2000 /01 season, where he helped to a rebirth after the crash in the Divizia C. After ending his playing career at Rapid Bucharest Sabău trained in 2003 initially for a short time Universitatea Cluj and then second division side Gaz Metan Medias 2003 to 2005, with whom he missed in his last season promotion to the Divizia A only due to goal difference. On 27 June 2005 Sabău took over for four years as coach at Gloria Bistrita. In the season 2006/ 07 he achieved a remarkable sixth place and then reached the final in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, where the club was eliminated almost against Atlético Madrid. On 28 June 2009, he signed with the Romanian runner-up FC Timişoara a three-year contract, from which he resigned after the end of the 2009/10 season in May 2010.
From September 2010, he trained as a successor of Adrian Falub the FCM Targu Mures within the League 1 On September 26, 2011, he resigned from his post after the club had achieved in the 2011/12 season only six points in the first eight league games and was also involved in a referee scandal. In the following years he spent in the fall of 2011 to prepare purposes in some Italian clubs on. On March 18, 2012 Sabău returned in place of Marius Lăcătuş to relegation-threatened FCM Târgu Mureş. In the summer of 2012, he became head coach of Rapid Bucharest, but had to vacate his chair back in October 2012. In October 2013 he was again head coach in Târgu Mureş.
Achievements
- World Cup participants: 1990
- EM participants: 1996
- Romanian champion: 1990, 1999, 2003
- Romanian Cup Winners: 1990, 2002
- Dutch Cup winner: 1991, 1992
Awards
On 25 March 2008 Sabău was " sporty Meritul " III by Romanian President Traian Basescu for the achievements in the national team with the Order of Merit. Class excellent.
Others
Sabău is married and has a daughter and a son.