_2018_Sports_Festival_-_meciul_amintirilor._(52810598539)_(cropped)_3.jpg) Sabău in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ioan Ovidiu Sabău | ||
| Date of birth | (1968-02-12)12 February 1968 (age 57) | ||
| Place of birth | Câmpia Turzii, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1982–1985 | Universitatea Cluj | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1985–1987 | Universitatea Cluj | 35 | (4) |
| 1988 | ASA Târgu Mureș | 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 | ||
| 2023–2025 | Universitatea Cluj | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ioan "Neluțu"OvidiuSabău (born 12 February 1968) is a Romanian professionalfootballmanager and former player. He played as a midfielder for clubs inRomania,Italy, and theNetherlands, includingUniversitatea Cluj,Dinamo București,Feyenoord,Brescia, andRapid București.
Sabău earned 55 caps for theRomania national team, representing his country at the1990 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 1996. After retiring from playing, he managed several Romanian clubs, includingGaz Metan Mediaș,Poli Timișoara, andUniversitatea Cluj, whom he coached to theRomanian Cup final in the2022–23 season, which they lost in a penalty shootout.
Sabău, nicknamedMoțul due to his ambition, a trait associated with the people fromȚara Moților, was born on 12 February 1968 inCâmpia Turzii, Romania.[1][2][3] He began playing junior-level football in 1985 atUniversitatea Cluj, under the guidance of coachesAlexa Uifăleanu andNicolae Szoboszlay.[1][2][3] He made his professional debut playing for Universitatea in the1984–85 Divizia B season under coachRemus Vlad, helping the team win promotion toDivizia A.[2][4] In the following season, he made his debut in the Romanian top-league on 8 March 1986, replacing Nicolae Bucur for the last nine minutes of a 1–0 loss toRapid București, also under coach Remus Vlad.[1][2][5] In 1988, Sabău had offers fromDinamo București andSteaua București, choosing to play for the first because of coachMircea Lucescu's project of building a team composed of mainly young players like himself.[2][6][7] But Steaua's officials with presidentIon Alecsandrescu and the relatives of dictatorNicolae Ceaușescu, his sonValentin who was Steaua's unofficial president and brotherIlie who was a Romanian army general, insisted and pressured Sabău on several occasions to sign with the club, especially during hismilitary service in which he played forMinistry of National Defence club and friend team of Steaua,ASA Târgu Mureș.[2][6][7] He refused, eventually going to Dinamo which gave four players to Universitatea Cluj in exchange for him, includingFlorin Prunea.[2][6][7]
.jpg)
In his first season withThe Red Dogs, the team reached the quarter-finals in the1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup where they were eliminated on theaway goals rule after 1–1 on aggregate bySampdoria.[1][8][9] In the following season, the club wonThe Double, as Lucescu gave him 24 league appearances in which he scored five goals, and also scored one goal in the 6–4 victory in theCupa României final against Steaua.[1][6][10][11] In the same season, Sabău played seven matches, scoring two goals againstPanathinaikos in the1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup where Dinamo reached the semi-finals, being eliminated after 2–0 on aggregate byAnderlecht.[1][6][12]
After the1989 Romanian Revolution, Sabău was signed by Dutch clubFeyenoord which paid for his transfer over$1 million.[1][13][14] He made hisEredivise debut on 1 September 1990 under coachGunder Bengtsson in a 6–0 home win overMVV Maastricht in which he scored once.[15][16] In his first season, he won the1990–91 KNVB Cup, coachWim Jansen using him the entire match in the 1–0 victory againstBVV Den Bosch in the final.[1][13][17] In the following season, he was teammates with compatriotMarian Damaschin.[1][13] The club reached the1991–92 European Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals, Sabău playing three matches in the campaign.[1] Subsequently, he won anotherKNVB Cup, coach Jansen sending him in the 75th minute to replaceRob Witschge in the 3–0 win overRoda in the final.[1][13][18]
In 1992 he was sold for over€1 million by Feyenoord to Mircea Lucescu's "Brescia Romena", as he was teammates there with fellow RomaniansGheorghe Hagi,Florin Răducioiu,Dorin Mateuț andDănuț Lupu.[1][2][19][20][21] He made hisSerie A debut on 5 September 1992 in a 0–0 draw againstNapoli, three months later scoring his first goal in a 1–1 draw againstAtalanta.[22] At the end of hisfirst season, the team was relegated toSerie B, but Sabău was named the best Serie A right midfielder.[1][2][19][20] In his second season with Brescia, he helped them win theAnglo-Italian Cup, defeatingNotts County 1–0 in the final atWembley and also contributed to their third-place finish inSerie B and subsequent promotion back to Serie A.[1][19][20] However, they were relegated once again at the end of the1994–95 season.[1][19][20] He spent one more season withThe Lioness inSerie B.[1][19][20] In July 1996, Lucescu signed with Serie A club,Reggiana, bringing Sabău with him, but the team finished theseason in last place.[1][19][23] Subsequently, he made a comeback to Brescia where on 16 May 1998 he made his last Serie A appearance in a 3–1 away victory againstParma, totaling 70 matches with six goals in the competition.[1][24][25]
Sabău returned to Romania in 1998 atRapid București, on the advice of coach Mircea Lucescu.[1][10][26][27] He appeared in 22 matches in which he scored one goal in the1998–99 season, helping the team win its first title after 32 years.[1][10][26][27] In the2000–01 season, he was a player-coach at Universitatea Cluj inDivizia C, helping the team achieve promotion toDivizia B.[1][7][28][29] However, he departed from the club shortly thereafter due to disagreements with club officials.[7][28] In 2001, Sabău returned to play for Rapid, and in his first season, he won theCupa României, as coachMircea Rednic used him the entire match in the 2–1 victory againstDinamo București in thefinal.[1][30] He started the next season by winning the2002 Supercupa României, with coach Rednic using him the full 90 minutes in another 2–1 win over Dinamo.[1][27][31] They finished the2002–03 season as champions, Sabău scoring once in the 16 matches Rednic played him.[1][10] He made his last Divizia A appearance on 24 May 2003 in Rapid's 3–0 home victory againstUTA Arad, having a total of 172 games with 17 goals in the competition, also totaling 25 games with three goals in European competitions.[1] Sabău made his last appearance as a footballer at the end of the2004–05 Divizia B season forGaz Metan Mediaș, a team for which he was also the head coach at that time.[1][28] Throughout his career, Sabău was placed several times among the top five in theRomanian Footballer of the Year ranking, finishing second in 1989.[32]
Sabău played 55 games and scored eight goals forRomania, making his debut on 3 February 1988 at age 19 under coachEmerich Jenei in a friendly which ended with a 2–0 away victory againstIsrael.[33][34] He scored his first goal three days later in a 2–2 friendly draw againstPoland.[33]
Subsequently, he played six matches during the successful1990 World Cup qualifiers, scoring two goals, one in a 3–0 win overGreece and one in the 3–1 victory againstDenmark which was decisive for the qualification to thefinal tournament.[33] There, he was used by coachEmerich Jenei as a starter in all four matches, as Romania got eliminated byIreland in the round of 16.[33][35] Sabău played seven games and scored one goal in theEuro 1992 qualifiers, and then made eight appearances during the successful1994 World Cup qualifiers, but could not be part of thefinal tournament squad due to an injury.[2][33][36] He played one game in the successfulEuro 1996 qualifiers.[33] Afterwards he was selected by coachAnghel Iordănescu to be part of thefinal tournament squad, but did not play a single match, being injured.[33][36][37]
Sabău played three games during the successfulEuro 2000 qualifiers, but was not selected in the squad for thefinal tournament.[33] He made his last three appearances for the national team during the2002 World Cup qualifiers, of which one was in a 2–0 away victory in agroup match againstrivalsHungary, and then two in both legs of the play-off againstSlovenia which was lost with 3–2 on aggregate.[33]
For representing his country at the1990 World Cup, Sabău was decorated byPresident of RomaniaTraian Băsescu on 25 March 2008 with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" – (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III.[38][39]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | 1988 | 9 | 2 |
| 1989 | 8 | 3 | |
| 1990 | 12 | 2 | |
| 1991 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1992 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1993 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1994 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 2 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 56 | 8 | |
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 February 1988 | Kiryat Eliezer Stadium,Haifa, Israel |  Poland | 2–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 2 | 2 November 1988 | Stadionul Steaua,Bucharest, Romania |  Greece | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1990 World Cup qualifiers |
| 3 | 29 March 1989 | Municipal Stadium,Sibiu, Romania |  Italy | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 12 April 1989 | Stadion Wojska Polskiego,Warsaw, Poland | Poland | 1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 5 | 15 November 1989 | Stadionul Steaua,Bucharest, Romania |  Denmark | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1990 World Cup qualifiers |
| 6 | 25 April 1990 | Kiryat Eliezer Stadium,Haifa, Israel |  Israel | 3–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 7 | 5 December 1990 | Stadionul Național,Bucharest, Romania |  San Marino | 1–0 | 6–0 | Euro 1992 qualifiers |
| 8 | 15 February 1995 | İzmir Atatürk Stadium,İzmir, Turkey |  Turkey | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
Sabău started his coaching career in 2000 atUniversitatea Cluj inDivizia C, also being a player, helping the team gain promotion toDivizia B.[7][28] He left shortly afterwards following a conflict with the club's officials.[1][7][29][28] At the beginning of the2003–04 Divizia B, he returned to Universitatea, but left after only two games.[40] He went to coach fellow Divizia B teamGaz Metan Mediaș for two seasons, but did not manage to win a promotion toDivizia A.[28][41][42] In 2005 he went to coach Divizia A clubGloria Bistrița for four seasons, the highlight of this period being a sixth-place finish at the end of the2006–07 season.[41] The team also reached2007 UEFA Intertoto Cup final, earning a 2–1 home victory againstAtlético Madrid, but lost the second leg with 1–0, thus losing the final on theaway goals rule.[41][43][44]
In the2009–10 season, Sabău coachedPolitehnica Timișoara, eliminatingUEFA Cup holdersShakhtar Donetsk in the third round of the2009–10 Champions League, which was the team of his former coach,Mircea Lucescu.[28][41] Subsequently, they were eliminated byVfB Stuttgart in the next round, before reaching the2009–10 Europa League group stage, where their campaign ended.[28][41][45] He helped Politehnica finish the championship in fifth place.[28] In the following years, he coachedfirst league clubsFCM Târgu Mureș, on two occasions, andRapid București, but also had a spell in thesecond league atASA Târgu Mureș, without any notable results.[41][46]
In January 2023, after almost 10 years of inactivity, Sabău came back to coaching, signing with Universitatea Cluj.[47] The team reached the2023 Cupa României final where they were defeated bySepsi OSK.[48] He left the club after saving the team from relegation at the end of theseason.[49] However, he came back to "U" in August 2023.[50] In the2024–25 season, he helped the club finish in fourth place.[51] Subsequently, the club played in the second round of the2025–26 Conference League, being eliminated with 2–1 on aggregate byArarat-Armenia.[52] In October 2025, Sabău resigned, leaving "U" after the team's 10th-place standing following the first 13 rounds of the2025–26 season.[53]
Sabău is featured on the main cover ofFIFA 96, shown being tackled byAndy Legg during theAnglo-Italian Cup final, while playing for Brescia againstNotts County, and is the first Romanian to appear on the cover of aFIFA video game.[20][54][55] He is a member of theJehovah's Witnesses.[56][57] Sports commentator Ilie Dobre wrote a book about him titledIoan Ovidiu Sabău și Patima fotbalului(Ioan Ovidiu Sabău and the passion for football), which was released in 2002.[7][58]
Universitatea Cluj
Dinamo București
Feyenoord
Brescia
Rapid București
Individual
Universitatea Cluj
Romania squads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
