Ioan "NeluÃÂu" Ovidiu SabÃÂu (born 12 February 1968) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player. He played as a midfielder for clubs in Romania, Italy, and the Netherlands, including Universitatea Cluj, Dinamo BucureÃÂti, Feyenoord, Brescia, and Rapid BucureÃÂti.
SabÃÂu earned 55 caps for the Romania national team, representing his country at the 1990 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1996. After retiring from playing, he managed several Romanian clubs, including Gaz Metan MediaÃÂ, Poli TimiÃÂoara, and Universitatea Cluj, whom he coached to the Romanian Cup final in the 2022âÂÂ23 season, which they lost in a penalty shootout.
SabÃÂu, nicknamed MoÃÂul due to his ambition, a trait associated with the people from ÃÂara MoÃÂilor, was born on 12 February 1968 in Câmpia Turzii, Romania. He began playing junior-level football in 1985 at Universitatea Cluj, under the guidance of coaches Alexa UifÃÂleanu and Nicolae Szoboszlay. He made his professional debut playing for Universitatea in the 1984âÂÂ85 Divizia B season under coach Remus Vlad, helping the team win promotion to Divizia A. In the following season, he made his debut in the Romanian top-league on 8 March 1986, replacing Nicolae Bucur for the last nine minutes of a 1âÂÂ0 loss to Rapid BucureÃÂti, also under coach Remus Vlad. In 1988, SabÃÂu had offers from Dinamo BucureÃÂti and Steaua BucureÃÂti, choosing to play for the first because of coach Mircea Lucescu's project of building a team composed of mainly young players like himself. But Steaua's officials with president Ion Alecsandrescu and the relatives of dictator Nicolae CeauÃÂescu, his son Valentin who was Steaua's unofficial president and brother Ilie who was a Romanian army general, insisted and pressured SabÃÂu on several occasions to sign with the club, especially during his military service in which he played for Ministry of National Defence club and friend team of Steaua, ASA Târgu MureÃÂ. He refused, eventually going to Dinamo which gave four players to Universitatea Cluj in exchange for him, including Florin Prunea.
In his first season with The Red Dogs, the team reached the quarter-finals in the 1988âÂÂ89 European Cup Winners' Cup where they were eliminated on the away goals rule after 1âÂÂ1 on aggregate by Sampdoria. In the following season, the club won The Double, as Lucescu gave him 24 league appearances in which he scored five goals, and also scored one goal in the 6âÂÂ4 victory in the Cupa României final against Steaua. In the same season, SabÃÂu played seven matches, scoring two goals against Panathinaikos in the 1989âÂÂ90 European Cup Winners' Cup where Dinamo reached the semi-finals, being eliminated after 2âÂÂ0 on aggregate by Anderlecht.
After the 1989 Romanian Revolution, SabÃÂu was signed by Dutch club Feyenoord which paid for his transfer over $1 million. He made his Eredivise debut on 1 September 1990 under coach Gunder Bengtsson in a 6âÂÂ0 home win over MVV Maastricht in which he scored once. In his first season, he won the 1990âÂÂ91 KNVB Cup, coach Wim Jansen using him the entire match in the 1âÂÂ0 victory against BVV Den Bosch in the final. In the following season, he was teammates with compatriot Marian Damaschin. The club reached the 1991âÂÂ92 European Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals, SabÃÂu playing three matches in the campaign. Subsequently, he won another KNVB Cup, coach Jansen sending him in the 75th minute to replace Rob Witschge in the 3âÂÂ0 win over Roda in the final.
In 1992 he was sold for over â¬1 million by Feyenoord to Mircea Lucescu's "Brescia Romena", as he was teammates there with fellow Romanians Gheorghe Hagi, Florin RÃÂducioiu, Dorin Mateuàand DÃÂnuàLupu. He made his Serie A debut on 5 September 1992 in a 0âÂÂ0 draw against Napoli, three months later scoring his first goal in a 1âÂÂ1 draw against Atalanta. At the end of his first season, the team was relegated to Serie B, but SabÃÂu was named the best Serie A right midfielder. In his second season with Brescia, he helped them win the Anglo-Italian Cup, defeating Notts County 1âÂÂ0 in the final at Wembley and also contributed to their third-place finish in Serie B and subsequent promotion back to Serie A. However, they were relegated once again at the end of the 1994âÂÂ95 season. He spent one more season with The Lioness in Serie B. In July 1996, Lucescu signed with Serie A club, Reggiana, bringing SabÃÂu with him, but the team finished the season in last place. Subsequently, he returned to Brescia where on 16 May 1998 he made his last Serie A appearance in a 3âÂÂ1 away victory against Parma, totaling 70 matches with six goals in the competition.
SabÃÂu returned to Romania in 1998 at Rapid BucureÃÂti, on the advice of coach Mircea Lucescu. He appeared in 22 matches in which he scored one goal in the 1998âÂÂ99 season, helping the team win its first title after 32 years. In the 2000âÂÂ01 season, he was a player-coach at Universitatea Cluj in Divizia C, helping the team achieve promotion to Divizia B. However, he departed from the club shortly thereafter due to disagreements with club officials. In 2001, SabÃÂu returned to play for Rapid, and in his first season, he won the Cupa României, as coach Mircea Rednic used him the entire match in the 2âÂÂ1 victory against Dinamo BucureÃÂti in the final. He started the next season by winning the 2002 Supercupa României, with coach Rednic using him the full 90 minutes in another 2âÂÂ1 win over Dinamo. They finished the 2002âÂÂ03 season as champions, SabÃÂu scoring once in the 16 matches Rednic played him. He made his last Divizia A appearance on 24 May 2003 in Rapid's 3âÂÂ0 home victory against UTA Arad, totaling 172 games with 17 goals in the competition and 25 games with three goals in European competitions. SabÃÂu made his last appearance as a footballer at the end of the 2004âÂÂ05 Divizia B season for Gaz Metan MediaÃÂ, a team for which he was also the head coach at that time. Throughout his career, SabÃÂu was placed several times among the top five in the Romanian Footballer of the Year ranking, finishing second in 1989.
SabÃÂu played 55 games and scored eight goals for Romania, making his debut on 3 February 1988 at age 19 under coach Emerich Jenei in a friendly which ended with a 2âÂÂ0 away victory against Israel. He scored his first goal three days later in a 2âÂÂ2 friendly draw against Poland.
Subsequently, he played six matches during the successful 1990 World Cup qualifiers, scoring two goals, one in a 3âÂÂ0 win over Greece and one in the 3âÂÂ1 victory against Denmark which was decisive for the qualification to the final tournament. There, he was used by coach Emerich Jenei as a starter in all four matches, as Romania got eliminated by Ireland in the round of 16. SabÃÂu played seven games and scored one goal in the Euro 1992 qualifiers, and then made eight appearances during the successful 1994 World Cup qualifiers, but could not be part of the final tournament squad due to an injury. He played one game in the successful Euro 1996 qualifiers. Afterwards he was selected by coach Anghel IordÃÂnescu to be part of the final tournament squad, but did not play a single match, being injured.
SabÃÂu played three games during the successful Euro 2000 qualifiers, but was not selected in the squad for the final tournament. He made his last three appearances for the national team during the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, of which one was in a 2âÂÂ0 away victory in a group match against rivals Hungary, and then two in both legs of the play-off against Slovenia which was lost with 3âÂÂ2 on aggregate.
For representing his country at the 1990 World Cup, SabÃÂu was decorated by President of Romania Traian BÃÂsescu on 25 March 2008 with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" â (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III.
SabÃÂu started his coaching career in 2000 at Universitatea Cluj in Divizia C, also being a player, helping the team gain promotion to Divizia B. He left shortly afterwards following a conflict with the club's officials. At the beginning of the 2003âÂÂ04 Divizia B season, he returned to Universitatea, but left after only two games. He went to coach fellow Divizia B team Gaz Metan Mediaàfor two seasons, but did not manage to win a promotion to Divizia A. In 2005 he went to coach Divizia A club Gloria BistriÃÂa for four seasons, the highlight of this period being a sixth-place finish in the 2006âÂÂ07 season. The team also reached 2007 UEFA Intertoto Cup final, earning a 2âÂÂ1 home victory against Atlético Madrid, but lost the second leg with 1âÂÂ0, thus losing the final on the away goals rule.
In the 2009âÂÂ10 season, SabÃÂu coached Politehnica TimiÃÂoara, eliminating UEFA Cup holders Shakhtar Donetsk in the third round of the 2009âÂÂ10 Champions League, which was the team of his former coach, Mircea Lucescu. Subsequently, they were eliminated by VfB Stuttgart in the next round, before reaching the 2009âÂÂ10 Europa League group stage, where their campaign ended. He helped Politehnica finish the championship in fifth place. In the following years, he coached first league clubs FCM Târgu MureÃÂ, on two occasions, and Rapid BucureÃÂti, but also had a spell in the second league at ASA Târgu MureÃÂ, without any notable results.
In January 2023, after almost 10 years of inactivity, SabÃÂu came back to coaching, signing with Universitatea Cluj. The team reached the 2023 Cupa României final where they were defeated by Sepsi OSK. He left the club after saving the team from relegation at the end of the season. However, he came back to "U" in August 2023. In the 2024âÂÂ25 season, he helped the club finish in fourth place. Subsequently, the club played in the second round of the 2025âÂÂ26 Conference League, being eliminated with 2âÂÂ1 on aggregate by Ararat-Armenia. In October 2025, SabÃÂu resigned, leaving "U" after the team's 10th-place standing following the first 13 rounds of the 2025âÂÂ26 season.
SabÃÂu is featured on the main cover of FIFA 96, shown being tackled by Andy Legg during the Anglo-Italian Cup final, while playing for Brescia against Notts County, and is the first Romanian to appear on the cover of a FIFA video game. He is a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Sports commentator Ilie Dobre wrote a book about him titled Ioan Ovidiu SabÃÂu ÃÂi Patima fotbalului (Ioan Ovidiu SabÃÂu and the passion for football), which was released in 2002.
Universitatea Cluj
Dinamo BucureÃÂti
Feyenoord
Brescia
Rapid BucureÃÂti
Individual
Universitatea Cluj