Alexandru "Sandu" Neagu (19 July 1948 â 17 April 2010) was a Romanian footballer who played as a striker.
Neagu, nicknamed Cappellini from GiuleÃÂti by journalist Ioan ChirilÃÂ, was born on 19 July 1948 in the Rahova neighborhood of Bucharest, but grew up in the GiuleÃÂti neighborhood. He began playing football for the junior squads of GiuleÃÂti-based club, Rapid BucureÃÂti, making his Divizia A debut under coach Valentin StÃÂnescu on 31 March 1966 in a 1âÂÂ0 away loss to Petrolul PloieÃÂti. He would go on to spend his entire career at Rapid, with coach StÃÂnescu telling him at one point:"Hey, you will only leave Rapid with your feet first." In the next season he won the 1966âÂÂ67 title, but StÃÂnescu 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 final in which he scored the second goal of the 2âÂÂ0 victory against Jiul PetroÃÂani. He also played the entire game under coach Ion Motroc in the 2âÂÂ1 win over Universitatea Craiova in the 1975 final. He took part in Rapid's 1971âÂÂ72 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 1972âÂÂ73 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 1974âÂÂ75 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 2âÂÂ1 away loss to FC ConstanÃÂa, totaling 254 games with 93 goals in the competition and 19 matches with five goals in European competitions (including four games and two goals in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup).
Neagu played 15 games and scored four goals for Romania, all under coach Angelo Niculescu, making his debut on 9 February 1970 in a 1âÂÂ1 friendly draw against Peru. In his second cap, a 1âÂÂ1 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 2âÂÂ1 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 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 World Cup qualifiers in a 1âÂÂ1 draw against Finland.
His son, Roberto, was also a footballer who played briefly for Academica Clinceni in the Romanian first league.
Neagu died on 17 April 2010, at the age of 61 after slipping and falling at GiuleÃÂti stadium while watching a Rapid training session. He was taken to the hospital, where he later died, with cirrhosis also being a contributing factor.
Rapid BucureÃÂti