Gabriel Sandu (7 November 1952 â 1 October 1998) was a Romanian football defender.
Sandu was born on 7 November 1952 in Bucharest, Romania and began playing football in 1969 at local club Metalul. Afterwards, he joined Dinamo BucureÃÂti, making his Divizia A debut on 2 May 1971 in a 1âÂÂ0 victory against ArgeàPiteÃÂti. He won the title in his first season spent at the club, coaches Nicolae Dumitru and Traian Ionescu giving him nine appearances. The team also reached the 1971 Cupa României final where he played in the first half of the 3âÂÂ2 loss to rivals Steaua BucureÃÂti, being replaced for the second with Mircea Stoenescu. Sandu won three more titles with The Red Dogs. In the first, he worked with coach Ion Nunweiller who used him in 28 games, then in the second he played 25 matches and scored two goals under Dumitru. In the third, he worked again with Nunweiller, making 29 appearances in which he scored once in a 4âÂÂ2 victory against Steaua. During his time at Dinamo, Sandu also played 14 games in European competitions, including a 1âÂÂ0 home victory against Real Madrid in the 1975âÂÂ76 European Cup.
After spending nine seasons at Dinamo, Sandu went to play for Progresul BucureÃÂti. There, he ended his career, making his last Divizia A appearance on 30 October 1981 in a 1âÂÂ0 victory against Politehnica TimiÃÂoara, totaling 211 appearances with four goals in the competition.
Sandu played 17 matches for Romania, making his debut on 5 June 1974 under coach Valentin StÃÂnescu in a 0âÂÂ0 friendly draw against Netherlands. He played five matches in the Euro 1976 qualifiers and made two appearances during the 1973âÂÂ76 Balkan Cup. Sandu scored one goal in a friendly against Iran which ended in a 2âÂÂ2 draw. He made his last appearance for the national team on 22 September 1976 in a 1âÂÂ1 friendly draw against Czechoslovakia.
Sandu also appeared for Romania's Olympic team in five qualification matches for the 1976 Summer Olympics, scoring one goal in a 4âÂÂ0 victory against Denmark.
Sandu died on 1 October 1998 at the age of 45.
Dinamo BucureÃÂti