Mircea Sandu
Mircea Traian Sandu (born 22 October 1952 in Bucharest) is a retired Romanian footballer and president of the Romanian Football Federation.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Mircea Traian Sandu | ||
Date of birth | 22 October 1952 | ||
Place of birth | Bucharest, Romania | ||
Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
Position(s) | Striker | ||
Youth career | |||
1964–1968 | Școala Sportivă 2 București | ||
1968–1970 | Progresul București | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1970–1971 | Progresul București | 15 | (2) |
1971–1986 | Sportul Studențesc București | 416 | (178) |
1986–1987 | Gloria Buzău | 5 | (2) |
Total | 436 | (182) | |
International career | |||
1972–1982 | Romania | 18[lower-alpha 1] | (6) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Career
Mircea Sandu, nicknamed "Nașul" (The Godfather) was born on 22 October 1952 in Bucharest and started playing football at junior level at Școala Sportivă 2 București and Progresul București.[3][4] He made his Divizia A debut on 30 August 1970 playing for Progresul București in a 1–0 victory against CFR Cluj.[3] The following season he went to play for Sportul Studențesc București in Divizia B where he scored 15 goals in 28 matches, helping the team earn the promotion to the first league.[3] The following 14 seasons Sandu played for Sportul Studențesc in Divizia A, also representing the club in 6 UEFA Cup matches in which he scored two goals and helped the club win the 1979–80 Balkans Cup.[3][5] After his period spent at Sportul Studențesc, Sandu went to play for Gloria Buzău for one season, making his last Divizia A appearance on 21 September 1987 in a 1–0 victory against Universitatea Cluj in which he scored the goal.[3] With 167 goals scored in 408 Divizia A matches, he is ranked seventh in the all-time scoring table.[3][6] After he ended his playing career, Sandu was the president of the Romanian Football Federation between 1990 and 2014.[4]
On 25 March 2008 he was decorated by President of Romania Traian Băsescu for Romania's successful Euro 2008 qualifying campaign with the Medalia "Meritul Sportiv" – (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III.[7][8]
International career
Mircea Sandu made 16 appearances and scored 4 goals at international level for Romania, making his debut on 8 April 1972 when coach Angelo Niculescu used him in a friendly which ended with a 2–0 victory against France.[1][9] His following game was Romania's biggest ever victory, a 9–0 against Finland at the 1974 World Cup qualifiers in which he scored two goals.[1][10] Sandu also played in a 2–2 against Spain at the Euro 1976 qualifiers and played both legs of the successful 1977–80 Balkan Cup final, a 4–3 victory on aggregate against Yugoslavia.[1] His following goals for the national team were in friendlies, a 2–2 against East Germany and a 2–1 loss against Israel.[1] He played two games at the 1982 World Cup qualifiers, making his last appearance for the national team in a friendly which ended with a 1–0 victory against Denmark.[1] Sandu also played two games for Romania's Olympic team at the 1976 Summer Olympics qualifiers scoring two goals in a 2–1 away victory against Denmark.[2][11]
International goals
- Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sandu goal.[1]
# | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 14 October 1973 | Stadionul 23 August, Bucharest, Romania | 2 | ![]() | 3–0 | 9–0 | 1974 World Cup qualifiers |
2 | 14 October 1973 | Stadionul 23 August, Bucharest, Romania | 2 | ![]() | 8–0 | 9–0 | 1974 World Cup qualifiers |
3 | 2 April 1980 | Stadionul 23 August, Bucharest, Romania | 9 | ![]() | 1–0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
4 | 8 April 1981 | Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv, Israel | 13 | ![]() | 1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
Personal life
Mircea Sandu's former wife who died in 1995, Simona Arghir was a handball player and their daughter Raluca was a professional tennis player.[12][13][14][15] They also had a son named Dan Mircea.[16][17] In 1997 he married Lisa Alban.[17][18]
Honours
Sportul Studențesc
- Balkans Cup (1): 1979–80, runner-up (1): 1976[5]
- Divizia A runner-up (1): 1985–86[3]
- Cupa României runner-up (1): 1978–79[3]
- Divizia B (1): 1971–72[3]
Romania
References
- "Mircea Sandu". European Football. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- "Mircea Sandu profile". 11v11. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- Mircea Sandu at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
- "Gică Hagi, cerut selecționer al echipei naționale de Mircea Sandu: "După mandatul lui Contra, să-l chemăm la discuții" + atac la Burleanu: "E omul serviciilor"" [Gică Hagi, proposed as coach of the national team by Mircea Sandu: "After Contra's mandate, let's call him to discussions" + attack on Burleanu: "He works for the secret services"] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- "Ce pensie are Mircea Sandu, după cei 8 ani pe care i-a lucrat la UEFA" [What a pension Mircea Sandu has, after the 8 years he worked at UEFA] (in Romanian). Impact.ro. 6 June 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
- "Danciu, atacantul care se ia la trîntă cu recordurile: prima pentru cota 200!" [Danciu, the striker who tries to break the records: the first for the 200 share!] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- "DECRET privind conferirea Ordinului și Medaliei Meritul Sportiv" (PDF). Monitorul Oficial al României Nr. 241. 28 March 2008. p. 3. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- "Decorarea unor personalități ale fotbalului românesc". Administrația Prezidențială. 25 March 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- "Romania 2-0 France". European Football. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- "Sandu și ceilalți "eroi" din 1973, despre culisele victoriei istorice cu 9-0 cu Finlanda" [Sandu and the other "heroes" from 1973, about the backstage of the historic 9-0 victory over Finland] (in Romanian). Digisport.ro. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- "Denmark 1-2 Romania". 11v11. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- "Raluca Sandu îşi învaţă fetiţa tenis!" [Raluca Sandu teaches her girl to play tennis!] (in Romanian). libertatea.ro. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
- "Unde a dispărut fiica mondenă a ex-şefului de la FRF! Raluca Sandu e patroană de cârciumă la…" [Where did the daughter of the ex-boss from FRF disappear? Raluca Sandu is the owner of a pub in ...] (in Romanian). cancan.ro. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
- "Ce bine seamănă cu mama ei!" [How well she resembles her mother!] (in Romanian). libertatea.ro. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
- "Raluca si Mircea Sandu au castigat meciul impotriva cancerului" [Raluca and Mircea Sandu won the game against cancer] (in Romanian). revistavip.ro. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
- "Mircea Sandu, socru-mare in weekend" [Mircea Sandu, great-grandfather in the weekend] (in Romanian). revistavip.ro. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- "Poartă pe spate crucea mamei" [She carries on her back her mother's cross] (in Romanian). libertatea.ro. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- "Fost patron la FRF, Mircea Sandu s-a apucat în sfârșit de afaceri. Domeniul? Specialist în dezastre" [Former owner of FRF, Mircea Sandu has finally started his business. Domain? Disaster specialist] (in Romanian). prosport.ro. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- "Balkan Cup 1977–80". European Football. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
External links
- Mircea Sandu at National-Football-Teams.com
- Mircea Sandu at WorldFootball.net
- Interview with Mircea Sandu Dolce-sport.ro (in Romanian)