Alexandru Neagu
Alexandru "Sandu" Neagu was a Romanian footballer who played as a striker.
Club career
Neagu, nicknamed Cappellini from Giulești by journalist Ioan Chirilă, was born on 19 July 1948 in the Rahova neighborhood of Bucharest, but grew up in the Giulești neighborhood. He began playing football for the junior squads of Giulești-based club, Rapid București, making his Divizia A debut under coach Valentin Stănescu on 31 March 1966 in a 1–0 away loss to Petrolul Ploiești. He would go on to spend his entire career at Rapid, with coach Stănescu telling him at one point:"Hey, you will only leave Rapid with your feet first." In the next season he won the 1966–67 title, but Stănescu used him in only eight games in which he scored one goal, as the first options for the offense were Ion Ionescu and Emil Dumitriu.Neagu also won two Cupa României, being used the full 90 minutes by coach Bazil Marian in the 1972 [Cupa României final|1972 final] in which he scored the second goal of the 2–0 victory against Jiul Petroșani. He also played the entire game under coach Ion Motroc in the 2–1 win over Universitatea Craiova in the 1975 final. He took part in Rapid's 1971–72 UEFA Cup campaign, playing all six games, as the team reached the third round, eliminating Napoli and Legia Warsaw, scoring a double against the latter, being eliminated by the eventual winners of the competition, Tottenham. He also took part in the 1972–73 European Cup Winners' Cup campaign, playing all six games, helping the team reach the quarter-finals, eliminating Landskrona BoIS and Rapid Wien, scoring once against the latter, being knocked out by Leeds United who reached the final. At the end of the 1974–75 Divizia A season, Rapid was relegated to Divizia B, but Neagu stayed with the club, contributing with 17 goals, to help it get promoted back to the first division after one year. Neagu made his last Divizia A appearance on 30 June 1977 in a 2–1 away loss to FC Constanța, totaling 254 games with 93 goals in the competition and 19 matches with five goals in European competitions.
International career
Neagu played 15 games and scored four goals for Romania, all under coach Angelo Niculescu, making his debut on 9 February 1970 in a 1–1 friendly draw against Peru. In his second cap, a 1–1 draw against West Germany, he scored his first international goal. In the 1970 World Cup final tournament, Neagu played in all three games which were a win against Czechoslovakia and losses to England and Brazil, as his side failed to progress from their group. In the 2–1 victory over the Czechoslovaks, he netted a goal and obtained a penalty from which Florea Dumitrache scored the victory goal. He played six matches in the UEFA [Euro 1972 qualifying Group 1|1972 Euro qualifiers], managing to reach the quarter-finals where he scored two goals, but Romania was defeated by Hungary, who advanced to the final tournament. Neagu's last game played for the national team took place on 20 September 1972 during the 1974 [FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4|1974 World Cup qualifiers] in a 1–1 draw against Finland.International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 8 April 1970 | Neckarstadion, Stuttgart, West Germany | 2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly | |
| 2 | 6 June 1970 | Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico | 6 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1970 World Cup | |
| 3 | 14 May 1972 | Stadionul 23 August, Bucharest, Romania | 13 | 2–2 | 2–2 | Euro 1972 quarter-finals | |
| 4 | 17 May 1972 | Stadion Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija, Belgrade, Yugoslavia | 14 | 1–1 | 1–2 | Euro 1972 quarter-finals |