Nicolae Lupescu (17 December 1940 â 6 September 2017) was a Romanian football defender and manager.
Lupescu was born on 17 December 1940 in Bucharest, Romania. He began playing junior-level football in 1954 at ICAR BucureÃÂti, afterwards moving to FlacÃÂra RoÃÂie BucureÃÂti. He started his senior career by playing two seasons in Divizia B, the first one at Academia MilitarÃÂ BucureÃÂti and the second at Olimpia BucureÃÂti.
Lupescu was brought to Rapid BucureÃÂti by coach Nicolae RoÃÂculeÃÂ, where he debuted in Divizia A on 16 September 1962 in a 4âÂÂ2 victory against Farul ConstanÃÂa. He remained with Rapid for ten seasons, winning the title in the 1966âÂÂ67 season, being used by coach Valentin StÃÂnescu in 26 matches in which he scored one goal. In the following season he played four games in the 1967âÂÂ68 European Cup, helping The Railwaymen eliminate Trakia Plovdiv and advance to the following round where they were eliminated by Juventus.
Lupescu also won two Balkans Cup and the 1971âÂÂ72 Cupa României, being used the entire match by coach Bazil Marian in the 2âÂÂ0 win over Jiul PetroÃÂani in the final. He played all the six games in the 1971âÂÂ72 UEFA Cup campaign, as the team reached the round of 16, eliminating Napoli and Legia Warsaw, being eliminated by the team who eventually won the competition, Tottenham. For the way he played in 1970, Lupescu was placed fifth in the ranking for the Romanian Footballer of the Year award, in the following year being third. Lupescu has a total of 244 matches and eight goals scored in Divizia A.
During Romania's communist era, transfers of Romanian footballers outside the country were rarely allowed. However, Lupescu convinced ÃÂtefan Andrei, who was the Secretary for Foreign Relations of the Central Committee, to help him gain the regime's approval for his transfer to Admira Wacker in 1972. Rapid received $40,000 for this transfer.
Lupescu made his Austrian Bundesliga debut on 15 September 1972 under coach Ernst Ocwirk in a 0âÂÂ0 draw against Austria Klagenfurt. The team finished the season in fourth place, which would be the club's best championship performance during his five seasons spent there. He also helped Admira eliminate Inter Milan in the first round of the 1973âÂÂ74 UEFA Cup. Lupescu made 134 appearances in the Austrian Bundesliga, scoring nine goals.
Lupescu earned 20 caps and scored two goals for Romania, all under the guidance of coach Angelo Niculescu, making his debut on 25 June 1967 in a 1âÂÂ0 home loss to Italy in the Euro 1968 qualifiers. Niculescu used him for the entirety of all three games in the 1970 World Cup final tournament which were a win against Czechoslovakia and losses to England and Brazil, as his side failed to progress from their group. He played eight matches and scored two goals in the 1972 Euro qualifiers, managing to reach the quarter-finals where Romania was defeated by Hungary, who advanced to the final tournament.
Lupescu was Romania's captain in a friendly against the Netherlands that ended with a 2âÂÂ0 loss. He made his last appearance for the national team on 17 June 1972 in a 3âÂÂ3 friendly draw against Italy.
For representing his country at the 1970 World Cup, Lupescu 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.
Lupescu started his coaching career in 1977 at Divizia C team MecanicàFinàBucureÃÂti. Afterwards, he worked at Rapid BucureÃÂti in Divizia B where in the 1979âÂÂ80 season he was close to earning a promotion to the first league. Then he worked at ÃÂoimii Sibiu and Gloria BuzÃÂu, helping the latter get promoted to Divizia A in the 1983âÂÂ84 season. He made a comeback at Rapid, leading the team over the course of the 1985âÂÂ86 Divizia A season. Lupescu's last coaching spell took place in 1988 at Progresul BucureÃÂti.
He was the father of professional football player Ioan Lupescu.
On 6 September 2017, Lupescu died at the Fundeni hospital in Bucharest at age 76. Shortly after his death, his former teammate from Rapid, Viorel Kraus described him:"He impressed us from the start. He was quiet, tight-lipped, but a true professional. When two colleagues were arguing, he intervened. He said to the one who screamed the loudest: "Stop talking in big letters!". This saying remained famous among us".
Rapid BucureÃÂti
Individual
Gloria BuzÃÂu