Robert Sadowski
Robert Sadowski was a Romanian football goalkeeper, who earned five caps for Romania, and participated in the 1938 World Cup. He also played ice hockey, representing the national team in three World Championships.
Football career
Club career
Sadowski, nicknamed by the press "Frumosul Robert", was born on 16 August 1914 in Cernăuți, Austria-Hungary and began playing football as a goalkeeper at local club Muncitorul. In 1935 he went to play for AMEF Arad, making his Divizia A debut on 29 September in a 2–2 draw against Gloria Arad. After appearing regularly for AMEF three seasons, during which the team finished twice in second place, he joined Juventus București. Sadowski spent two years with Juventus, then he signed for neighboring club Rapid. There, he won the 1939–40 Cupa României, with coach Ștefan Auer using him the entire match in the 2–1 victory in the fourth game of the final against Venus București, as the previous three in which he did not play were draws. In the following season he helped the club earn a second place in the league and win another Cupa României, being used the full 90 minutes by coach Iuliu Baratky in the 4–3 victory against Unirea Tricolor București in the final. In the 1941–42 season, Sadowski helped The Railwaymen win the third consecutive Cupa României, being again used by Baratky the whole match in the final, a 7–1 win over Universitatea Cluj-Sibiu. In 1947 he left Rapid after Valentin Stănescu was brought as goalkeeper, initially going to play for Divizia B team, Astra Română Poiana Câmpina, but eventually he stayed in Divizia A for one more season at Ciocanul București. He made his last appearance in the league on 5 May 1948 in Ciocanul's 2–1 away victory against Jiul Petroșani, totaling 161 matches in the competition. Subsequently, Sadowski ended his career by playing two seasons abroad in the French Division 2 for AS Monaco.International career
Sadowski played five games for Romania, making his debut on 6 September 1937 under coach Constantin Rădulescu in a 2–1 away loss to Yugoslavia in the King Carol II friendly tournament. He was selected by coaches Săvulescu and Rădulescu to be part of the squad that participated in the 1938 World Cup. His teammate Dumitru Pavlovici played in the first game against Cuba which ended in a 3–3 draw, but Sadowski played in the replay that ended with a surprising 2–1 loss. In the following years, he played in a 3–2 victory against Slovakia and a draw against Poland in which he kept a clean sheet, both of which were friendlies. His last appearance took place on 2 May 1948 in a 1–0 home loss to Albania in the 1948 Balkan Cup.Ice hockey career
Club career
Sadowski started playing ice hockey in 1935 at HC Bragadiru București, playing as a right winger, alongside Constantin Cantacuzino and Andrei Bărbulescu, winning the Romanian Hockey League in his first season. He then went to play for a few years for his hometown team, Dragoș Vodă Cernăuți, with whom he won another Romanian league title. Afterwards, Sadowski joined for one season Rapid București where he was teammates with Mihai Flamaropol, helping the club win the 1940 title. In 1940 he went alongside Flamaropol to play for Juventus București for six seasons, winning four titles. He ended his career in 1947 after one year spent at HC Ciocanul București.International career
Sadowski represented Romania's national team in three World Championships. First he played one game during the 1937 edition when the team finished in 10th place. He appeared in three games in the following World Championships when Romania finished in 13th place. During the 1947 edition, Sadowski made a personal record of six appearances in a final tournament, as the team finished in 7th place.Death
Sadowski died in 2000 at age 86.Honours
Footballer
Rapid BucureștiHC Bragadiru București
- Romanian Hockey League: 1936
- Romanian Hockey League: 1938
- Romanian Hockey League: 1940
- Romanian Hockey League: 1941, 1942, 1945, 1946