Mircea Sasu

Mircea Sasu
Sasu (center, below) with Minerul Baia Mare in 1967
Personal information
Date of birth 5 October 1939
Place of birth Ferneziu [ro], Maramureș County, Romania
Date of death 17 October 1983(1983-10-17) (aged 44)
Place of death Baia Mare, Romania
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position Striker
Youth career
1953–1959 Minerul Baia Mare
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1959–1960 Dinamo Săsar
1961 Dinamo București 7 (2)
1961–1963 UTA Arad 50 (25)
1963–1967 Minerul Baia Mare 26 (7)
1967–1970 Farul Constanța 71 (21)
1970–1971 Fenerbahçe 6 (3)
1971–1974 Minerul Baia Mare 31 (0)
Total 191 (58)
International career
1961 Romania U23 1 (0)
1963–1967 Romania Olympic 3 (1)
1965 Romania B 1 (1)
1965–1968 Romania 5 (1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mircea Sasu (5 October 1939 – 17 October 1983) was a Romanian footballer who played as a striker in his country for Minerul Baia Mare, UTA Arad, Dinamo București and Farul Constanța, and in Turkey for Fenerbahçe. He was known in Turkey for his free kick goals.

Club career

Sasu was born on 5 October 1939 in Ferneziu, Maramureș County, Romania. He began playing junior-level football in 1953 at Minerul Baia Mare, before starting his senior career at third-tier club Dinamo Săsar in 1959. He went to play for Dinamo București, making his Divizia A debut on 19 March 1961 under coaches Traian Ionescu and Nicolae Dumitru in a 1–0 away loss to UTA Arad. On 9 July, he scored his first goals in the competition by netting twice in a 2–0 victory against Steagul Roșu Brașov. Subsequently, Sasu joined UTA Arad, where he scored a career-best 16 goals in the 1961–62 season. In 1963, he moved to Divizia B club Minerul Baia Mare, helping them gain promotion to the first league at the end of his first season. However, Sasu could not avoid the team's relegation back to the second league after one year, but he stayed with the club for a further two seasons.

In 1967, Sasu returned to Divizia A football by joining Farul Constanța. There, he made his last appearance in the Romanian top league on 22 July 1970 in a 1–1 draw against CFR Cluj, accumulating a total of 154 matches and 55 goals in the competition. Sasu then went to Turkey to join Fenerbahçe, where he became a teammate of compatriot Ilie Datcu. His debut in the Turkish league took place on 29 November 1970 under coach Constantin Teașcă and he scored once in a 1–1 draw against rivals Galatasaray. On 20 December, he netted a brace in a 2–2 draw against Eskişehirspor. Sasu made his last appearance in the Turkish league in a 2–0 derby win over Beşiktaş, totaling six matches with three goals in the competition. He ended his career after playing in Divizia B from 1971 to 1973 at Minerul Baia Mare.

International career

From 1961 to 1967, Sasu made several appearances for Romania's under-23, Olympic and B sides. Notably, while playing for the Olympic team, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory against Denmark during the successful 1964 Summer Olympics qualifiers.

Sasu played five matches and scored once for Romania, making his debut on 30 May 1965 under coach Ilie Oană in a 1–0 victory against Czechoslovakia in the 1966 World Cup qualifiers. During those qualifiers, he also played in two losses to Portugal and Czechoslovakia. He scored his only goal for the national team in a 1–1 friendly draw against DR Congo. His last appearance for Romania took place on 1 May 1968 in a 1–1 friendly draw against Austria.

Death

Sasu died on 17 October 1983 at the age of 44.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Romania 196530
196711
196810
Total51

International goals

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sasu goal.
List of international goals scored by Mircea Sasu
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
124 December 1967Stade du 20 Mai, Kinshasa, DR Congo DR Congo1–01–1Friendly

Honours

Minerul Baia Mare

Notes

  1. ↑ The statistics for the 1963–64, 1965–66 and 1966–67 Divizia B seasons are unavailable.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Mircea Sasu at RomanianSoccer.ro (archived) (in Romanian)
  2. ↑ "Era frizer la Negru Vodă, apoi a făcut carieră la Farul Constanța. În Turcia, un fost farist - recompensat cu aur după goluri" (in Romanian). Ziuaconstanta.ro. 16 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Mircea Sasu at National-Football-Teams.com
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Sportul. 30 November 1963" (PDF) (in Romanian). Bibliotecadeva.ro. p. 7. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Legendele nu mor. Niciodata" (in Romanian). Ziuaconstanta.ro. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Dinamo Bucuresti in 1960–61". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Mircea Sasu profile". Arsiv.mackolik.com. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  8. ↑ "Fenerbahçe Istanbul. Kader Champions League 1970/1971". Datencenter.dfb.de. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  9. ↑ "Galatasaray 1-1 Fenerbahçe". Arsiv.mackolik.com. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  10. ↑ "Care e istoria turcilor în fotbal? Se laudă cu două prezențe la Mondiale și cu 11 fotbaliști români care au ajuns pe malul Bosforului în vremea dictaturii lui Nicolae Ceaușescu" (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 26 March 2026. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  11. ↑ "Mircea Sasu profile". 11v11. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  12. ↑ "Sportul. 30 November 1963" (PDF) (in Romanian). Bibliotecadeva.ro. p. 5. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Mircea Sasu". European Football. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  14. ↑ "Romania 1-0 Czechoslovakia". European Football. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
  15. 1 2 "DR Congo 1-0 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 31 October 2026.