Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | [1] | 17 March 1955||
Place of birth | Bucharest, Romania [1] | ||
Position(s) | Defender [1] | ||
Youth career | |||
1968–1973 | ȘSE 2 București | ||
1973–1974 | Sportul Studențesc București | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1974–1980 | Gloria Buzău [a] | 58 | (1) |
1982–1982 | Olt Scornicești | 62 | (4) |
1982–1989 | Dinamo București | 168 | (10) |
1989 | Victoria București | 3 | (0) |
1990–1991 | Dinamo București | 10 | (0) |
Total | 301 | (15) | |
International career | |||
1979–1987 | Romania | 19 | (1) |
* Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Alexandru Nicolae (born 17 March 1955) is a Romanian former football defender. [2]
Nicolae was born on 17 March 1955 in Bucharest, Romania, and began playing junior-level football in 1968 at ȘSE 2 București. [1] In 1973 he went to Sportul Studențesc București's youth academy. [1] He started his senior career in 1974, playing four seasons in Divizia B at Gloria Buzău, helping the team get promoted to Divizia A where he made his debut on 24 August 1978 in a 1–0 loss to CS Târgoviște. [1] [3] Two years later, Nicolae joined Olt Scornicești for two seasons and despite having offers from Steaua București during this period, he chose in 1982 to pursue his dream of playing for Dinamo București. [1] [3]
In his first two seasons at Dinamo, the club won two consecutive league titles, under coach Nicolae Dumitru who played him 30 games each season and in the first he also scored four goals, one of them in a 1–1 draw against rivals Steaua. [1] [3] [4] [5] Nicolae also won two Cupa României with The Red Dogs . [1] He was used by coach Dumitru the full 90 minutes in the 2–1 victory over Steaua in the 1984 final, then in the one from 1986 coach Mircea Lucescu used him the entire match in the 1–0 win against the same club which had recently won the European Cup. [1] [3] [6] Nicolae appeared in seven matches in the 1983–84 European Cup edition, as the club eliminated title holders Hamburg in the campaign, reaching the semi-finals where they were defeated by Liverpool. [1] [3] [7] He also played one game against Sampdoria in the quarter-finals of the 1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup where the Italians eliminated them on the away goals rule after 1–1 on aggregate. [1] [3] [8]
In 1989, Nicolae alongside teammates Dumitru Moraru and Costel Orac were transferred from Dinamo to Victoria București. [1] [3] He spent there only half a season, appearing in three league games and made one appearance in a 3–1 loss to Valencia in the 1989–90 UEFA Cup. [1] [3] [9] He returned for the second half of the season to Dinamo where he won The Double, coach Lucescu using him in five league games but did not use him in the 6–4 win over Steaua in the Cupa României final. [1] [3] [4] [10] Nicolae made his last Divizia A appearance on 11 May 1991 in Dinamo's 3–0 victory against Universitatea Craiova, having a total of 301 games with 15 goals in the competition and 24 matches in European competitions. [1] [3]
Nicolae played 19 games for Romania, managing to score one goal in his debut which took place on 14 October 1979 under coach Constantin Cernăianu in a 3–1 friendly loss to the Soviet Union. [11] [12] He played in four qualification matches for the Euro 1980 and 1984 tournaments, also appearing in one qualification match for the 1982 World Cup. [11] His last appearance for the national team took place on 2 September 1987 in a friendly against Poland which ended with a 3–1 loss. [11]
# | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 14 October 1979 | Lenin Central Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union | 1 | ![]() | 1–2 | 1–3 | Friendly |
Gloria Buzău
Dinamo București