Iosif Lereter


Iosif Lereter was a Romanian footballer and manager.

Club career

Energia Oțelu Roșu

Lereter was born on 23 July 1933 in Oțelu Roșu, Romania. In 1949, he started to play football in the lower leagues of Romania at the local club from his town Energia Oțelu Roșu. At the beginning of his career he played as a forward and midfielder, ending his career as a centre-back.

Politehnica Timișoara

Lereter moved to Politehnica Timișoara where he made his Divizia A debut on 18 August 1957 in a 2–2 draw against Progresul Oradea. He was part of Politehnica's team that won the 1957–58 Cupa României, with coach Dincă Schileru using him the entire match in the 1–0 victory in the final against Progresul București. During his 10 seasons spent with The White-Purples, the team was relegated twice to the second division, but Lereter stayed with the club each time, helping it gain promotion back after one year on both occasions. He also netted five goals in the West derby against UTA Arad, all in the first league, contributing to Politehnica winning two games and earning three draws.

UTA Arad

In 1967, Lereter joined UTA Arad, where under coach Nicolae Dumitrescu he won two consecutive titles in the 1968–69 and 1969–70 seasons. He contributed with 10 goals in 30 appearances in the first season, and seven goals in 29 matches in the second. Lereter also made some European performances with The Old Lady, such as eliminating defending champions Feyenoord in the 1970–71 European Cup season. Subsequently, he played eight games in the 1971–72 UEFA Cup campaign when the team reached the quarter-finals where they were eliminated by Tottenham Hotspur who eventually won the competition. On 16 October 1971, while playing for UTA in a match against Argeș Pitești, he became the first footballer to reach 300 Divizia A appearances. This milestone led the press to coin the term "Iosif Lereter Club" for any footballer achieving this feat in the Romanian top-league. He made his last Divizia A appearance on 1 October 1972 in UTA's 4–2 loss to Jiul Petroșani, totaling 327 appearances with 79 goals in the competition and 16 appearances in European competitions.

International career

Lereter played one game for Romania when coach Ilie Oană used him on 19 September 1965 in a 3–1 loss to Czechoslovakia during the 1966 World Cup qualifiers.

Managerial career and later life

After he ended his playing career, Lereter worked for a few years as a manager for Constructorul Timișoara and UM Timișoara. In 1985 he was Politehnica Timișoara's president for 10 months. In 2008, Lereter received the Honorary Citizen of Timișoara title. In 2018 in order to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the 1957–58 Cupa României victory, the Politehnica University of Timișoara awarded him a diploma of excellence.

Death

Lereter died in Timișoara on 26 January 2024, at the age of 90, having spent the last years of his life at a local nursing home.

Honours

Politehnica Timișoara
UTA Arad