 Simatoc in 1950 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1920-05-01)1 May 1920[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Grimăncăuți,Kingdom of Romania | ||
| Date of death | 11 December 1979(1979-12-11) (aged 59)[2] | ||
| Place of death | Sydney, Australia | ||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1934–1938 | Ripensia Timișoara | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1938–1941 | Ripensia Timișoara | 44 | (3) |
| 1941–1942 | Carmen București[a] | ||
| 1942–1944 | Nagyváradi AC | 32 | (3) |
| 1945 | Vasas | 9 | (3) |
| 1945–1947 | Carmen București | 12 | (0) |
| 1948–1949 | Inter Milan | 17 | (3) |
| 1949–1950 | Brescia | 30 | (8) |
| 1950 | Hungaria FbC Roma | ||
| 1950–1952 | Barcelona | 34 | (2) |
| 1952–1953 | Real Oviedo | 5 | (0) |
| Total | 183 | (22) | |
| International career | |||
| 1940–1946 | Romania | 8 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1959–1960 | Lleida | ||
| 1960–1961 | Sabadell | ||
| 1962–1963 | AEL Limassol | ||
| 1963–1968 | Budapest Sydney | ||
| 1969–1972 | Polonia Western Eagles | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Nicolae Simatoc (also known asNicolae Șmatoc,Miklós Szegedi orNicholas Sims; 1 May 1920 – 11 December 1979) was a Romanianfootball player and manager.
Simatoc started playing junior level football at age 14 in 1934 atRipensia Timișoara.[2] He made hisDivizia A debut on 28 May 1939 in a 1–0 home loss toJuventus București.[3][5] In 1941 he went atCarmen București where he spent one season and a half before moving to Hungary atNemzeti Bajnokság I team,Nagyváradi AC with whom under the guidance of coachFerenc Rónay he won the title in the1943–44 season, contributing with one goal in 19 matches.[2][3][5][6] Afterwards he spent one year atVasas, then he returned to Romania at Carmen where on 7 December 1947 he made his last Divizia A appearance in a 6–2 home win againstCiocanul București.[2][3][5]
In 1948, Simatoc went to play atInter Milan, making hisSerie A debut on 25 January under coachGiuseppe Meazza in a 3–0 loss toNapoli.[3][5][7][8] He scored his first goal in a 4–1 overFiorentina, scoring two more until the end of theseason in a victory againstAS Roma and a loss toTriestina.[3][8] In thefollowing season, he helped Inter to a runner-up position in the league, making his last appearance in the competition in a 0–0 againstLucchese.[3][9][10][11]
Afterwards he went to play forone season atBrescia inSerie B where he scored a personal record of eight goals to help earn a sixth place.[2][3][5][7][8][9] In 1950, Simatoc played alongsideLászló Kubala atHungaria FbC Roma, a team that was formed mainly from Hungarian players that left theEastern Bloc and they would play exhibition games inItaly andSpain under the guidance ofFerdinand Daučík.[2][5][7][9][12]
His next spell was atBarcelona where on 10 September 1950 he made hisLa Liga debut under coach Daučík in a 8–2 win overReal Sociedad, managing to score once and provide three assists.[2][3][5][7][8] He played regularly for the Catalans in hisfirst season, wearing the number 10 shirt, appearing in a 7–2 win overReal Madrid in theEl Clásico, then scoring his second goal in another 7–2 victory againstMálaga, also managing to win theCopa del Generalísimo.[3][7][8][10] In hissecond season withBarça, Simatoc made six league appearances as the club wonThe Double.[3][8][9][10] Simatoc spent thelast season of his career atReal Oviedo where on 22 March 1953 he played his last La Liga game, a 4–0 away loss toValencia, having a total of 39 matches with two goals netted in the competition.[3][7][8][13]
Nicolae Simatoc played eight games forRomania, making his debut on 22 September 1940 at age 20 under coachLiviu Iuga in a friendly which ended with a 2–1 away victory againstYugoslavia.[14][15] His last three games for the national team were at the1946 Balkan Cup, consisting of a draw againstBulgaria, a victory over Yugoslavia and a loss toAlbania.[14]
After retiring as a player he became a coach, managing Spanish sideLleida between 1959 and 1960 in the Spanish third league, promotingEladio to the team.[5][8][10][16] Then he worked atSabadell between 1960 and 1961 in the second league.[5][8][10][16][17] In 1961 he worked as a technical director forEspanyol, afterwards in 1962, Simatoc went in Cyprus atAEL Limassol for one year.[2][8][10][10][16]
In 1963, he moved to Australia, coachingBudapest Sydney for five years, then atPolonia Western Eagles for three years.[8][9][10][16][18]
Simatoc was born to Romanian parents on 1 May 1920 inGrimăncăuți, then part ofRomania, present-dayMoldova.[2][3][5] His birth name was Nicolae Șmatoc, while in Hungary he was known as Miklós Szegedi and in Australia as Nicholas Sims.[2][5] Simatoc was married to a Hungarian woman named Etelka Stolárcsik, with whom he had two sons, Silvio and Santi.[2][5][8][9][19] Silvio, born in 1950, had followed his father's footsteps and played for the junior squads ofBarcelona and in the first league of Australia atHakoah Sydney City.[8][16]
Simatoc was multilingual, speaking ten languages: Romanian, Hungarian, Serbian, Russian, Italian, Spanish, English, French, Catalan and German.[2][5][16][20] After retirement he became a professional poker player and owned a casino in Australia.[2][5][8][9]
He died inSydney on 11 December 1979 at age 59 after suffering aheart attack while playing a game of poker.[2][10]
Astadium inLozova,Moldova is named after him.[21]
A book about him was written in 2013 byOctavian Țîcu and Boris Boguș calledNicolae Simatoc (1920 – 1979). Legenda unui fotbalist basarabean de la Ripensia la FC Barcelona(Nicolae Simatoc (1920 – 1979). The legend of a Bessarabian footballer from Ripensia to FC Barcelona).[2][5][10][16][22] A documentary about him calledNicolae Simatoc - variațiuni pe un nume(Nicolae Simatoc - variations on a name) was released in 2017.[2][5][23]
Nagyváradi
Barcelona
| International | |
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| National | |
