Vasile Deheleanu (12 August 1910 â 30 April 2003) was a Romanian footballer who played in midfield and coach.
Deheleanu was born on 12 August 1910 in Temesvár, Austria-Hungary and grew up in the Mehala neighborhood. He began playing junior-level football at local club Unirea. In 1925 he moved to neighboring club Politehnica and there he met Tony Cargnelli whom he would consider the best coach of his career. In 1928 he went to play for România Cluj where in his first season, the team reached the final of the national league where they were defeated with 3âÂÂ2 by Venus BucureÃÂti. In 1931 he went to play for one season at UD ReÃÂiÃÂa with whom he reached another championship final which was lost with 3âÂÂ0 to Venus BucureÃÂti.
In 1932, Deheleanu joined Ripensia TimiÃÂoara, winning the title in his first season, coach Jenà  Konrád using him in eight games in which he scored one goal, including playing in the final against Universitatea Cluj. In the following season he helped the team reach the 1934 Cupa României final, playing in both wins over "U" Cluj, winning the cup. In the 1934âÂÂ35 season he won another title, coaches Josef Uridil and Rudolf Wetzer giving him 21 appearances in which he scored three goals, also the team reached the Cupa României final where he played the entire match in the 6âÂÂ5 loss to CFR BucureÃÂti. Next season, Deheleanu helped Ripensia win The Double, being given nine appearances by coaches Wetzer and Konrád, but he did not play in the 5âÂÂ1 win over Unirea Tricolor BucureÃÂti in the Cupa României final. In the following Cupa României edition, the team reached another final in which he played the entire match in the 5âÂÂ1 loss to Rapid BucureÃÂti. In the 1937âÂÂ38 season, Ripensia won another title but coach Sepp Pojar used him in only two matches. Afterwards he played in Ripensia's 3âÂÂ0 win over AC Milan in the first leg of the first round of the 1938 Mitropa Cup, helping the team get past the Italians.
Deheleanu played five games for Romania, making his debut on 29 April 1934 under coach Constantin RÃÂdulescu in a 2âÂÂ1 home win against Yugoslavia in the 1934 World Cup qualifiers. After the game, Deheleanu was named "Man of the match" by the Gazeta Sporturilor newspaper that wrote: "Our opinion is that Deheleanu was indeed the most deserving Romanian in Sunday's game. With his sober but regular game, with his perfect intuition as a midfielder par excellence, Deheleanu richly deserves the title given to him by the public as well as our trophy". Afterwards he was selected by coaches Josef Uridil and RÃÂdulescu to be part of the squad that went to the final tournament in Italy where he played the entire match in the first round, a 2âÂÂ1 defeat to eventual finalists, Czechoslovakia. His last appearance for the national team took place on 3 November 1935, a friendly against Poland that ended with a 4âÂÂ1 home win.
Deheleanu started coaching in 1945 at Electrica TimiÃÂoara in the Romanian lower leagues where he stayed until 1947. In 1948 he won the national junior championship with Ripensia TimiÃÂoara.
Deheleanu had several spells at Politehnica TimiÃÂoara in Divizia A, consisting of 39 games of which 14 were victories, 10 draws and 15 losses, his best performance being a third place in 1950. He also coached Locomotiva TimiÃÂoara and several other teams from the TimiÃÂ county.
Deheleanu was known for his aerial play and the ability to dispossess his opponents through sliding, a rarity at the time.
Balázs Hoksary, a former Ripensia teammate described Dehelanu as a player who worked a lot for the team:"He put a lot of heart into every game. It cannot be said that he did not have a personal style of play, but he was, first of all, extremely useful to the team, he mobilized exemplary and knew how to mobilize the whole team to lead it to victory".
Deheleanu died on 30 April 2003 in TimiÃÂoara at age 92.
România Cluj
UD ReÃÂiÃÂa
Ripensia TimiÃÂoara