Iosif Vigu

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Iosif Vigu
Iosif Vigu.jpg
Personal information
Date of birth (1946-05-15) 15 May 1946 (age 79)
Place of birth Șimian, Bihor, Romania [1]
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) [1]
Position Left back
Youth career
1958–1963 Crișul Oradea
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1963–1964 Flamura Roșie Oradea
1964 Olimpia Oradea
1965–1966 Crișul Oradea 26 (1)
1966–1980 Steaua București 313 (27)
1973–1974FC Constanța (loan) 34 (3)
1980–1981 ASA Târgu Mureș 31 (3)
1981–1982 ASA Chimia Buzău
Total404(34)
International career
1971 Romania Olympic 2 (0)
1970–1979 Romania 22 (2)
Managerial career
1984–1986 ASA Chimia Buzău
1987–1992 Olimpia Satu Mare
Minerul Turț
Armătura Zalău
Someșul Satu Mare
1994 Minerul Baia Mare
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 27 December 2019
‡ National team caps and goals as of 27 December 2019

Iosif Vigu (born 15 May 1946) is a Romanian former footballer who played as a left back. [1] [2] [3] He was also a manager. [2]

Contents

Club career

Vigu was born on 15 May 1946 in Șimian, Bihor, Romania and began playing junior-level football at Crișul Oradea. [1] In 1983, he moved to Flamura Roșie Oradea where he started his senior career in Divizia B. [1] After a short period spent at Olimpia Oradea in Divizia C, Vigu joined Crișul Oradea and made his Divizia A debut on 4 April 1965 under coach Ladislau Zilahi in a 1–0 away loss to Minerul Baia Mare. [1] [4]

In 1966, Varga went to Steaua București where he stayed until 1980, but his time was interrupted in the 1973–74 season when he was loaned to FC Constanța. [1] [2] [3] [5] He won his first championship title in the 1967–68 season, being used by coach Ștefan Kovács in four games in which he scored two goals. [1] [2] [3] [6] Subsequently, he won two more in the 1975–76 and 1977–78 seasons, with coach Emerich Jenei using him in 34 matches each season, scoring three goals in the former. [1] [2] [3] [6] During his period spent with The Military Men , he also won six Cupa României, but played in only four of the finals. [1] [2] [3] [7] He played 21 games with one goal scored in European competitions. [1] [2] [3] In the 1971–72 European Cup Winners' Cup campaign he played six games, as the team reached the quarter-finals by eliminating Hibernians and Barcelona, being eliminated after 1–1 on aggregate on the away goal rule by Bayern Munich. [1] [2] [3] [8] For the way he played in 1977, Vigu was placed fifth in the ranking for the Romanian Footballer of the Year award. [9]

In the 1980–81 season, he played for ASA Târgu Mureș for which he made his last Divizia A appearance on 21 June 1981 in a 3–0 home victory against Politehnica Timișoara, totaling 404 appearances with 34 goals in the competition. [1] [2] [3] He was the first player to reach 400 appearances in Divizia A, a milestone that led to the press coining the term "Iosif Vigu Club" for any footballer achieving this feat in the Romanian top-league. [10] Vigu ended his playing career in 1982 after spending one season in Divizia C at ASA Chimia Buzău. [1] [2] [3]

International career

Vigu played 22 matches for Romania and scored two goals, making his debut under coach Angelo Niculescu in a Euro 1972 qualification match which ended with a 3–0 victory against Finland. [11] [12] He scored his first goal in a 4–0 win over Turkey in the 1977–80 Balkan Cup. [11] [13] Vigu played four games during the 1978 World Cup qualifiers, opening the score in a 6–4 loss to Yugoslavia. [11] [14] In the Euro 1980 qualifiers, Vigu appeared in two games, a 3–2 home victory against Yugoslavia and a 1–0 away loss to Spain. [11] [15] He also played two games for Romania's Olympic team without scoring. [11]

International goals

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Vigu goal. [11]
List of international goals scored by Iosif Vigu
#DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
123 March 1977 Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania3Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 3–04–0 1977–80 Balkan Cup
213 November 1977 Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania11Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  Yugoslavia 1–04–6 1978 World Cup qualifiers

Managerial career

Vigu coached teams mostly from the Romanian lower leagues such as ASA Chimia Buzău, Olimpia Satu Mare, Minerul Turț, Armătura Zalău and Someșul Satu Mare. [2] [3] He contributed to the formation of footballers Tiberiu Csik, Zoltan Ritli, Daniel Prodan and Gábor Gerstenmájer. [2] [3] He had only a short spell in Divizia A when he coached Minerul Baia Mare in five games in the 1994–95 season. [16]

Honours

Steaua București

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Iosif Vigu at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Memoriile lui Iosif Vigu, fosta glorie a Stelei: "Cu Lucescu nici nu transpiram"" [The memories of Iosif Vigu, the former glory of the Steaua: "We didn't even sweat with Lucescu"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 19 February 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Reportaj la Satu Mare, acasă la Iosif Vigu. Tricolorii au avut o primă uriașă, la meciul cu sârbii, din 1977" [Interview at Satu Mare in Iosif Vigu's home. The tricolors had a huge bonus, at the match with the Serbians, in 1977] (in Romanian). Libertatea.ro. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  4. "FC Maramures vs FC Bihor Liga1 1964–1965". Labtof. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  5. "Iosif Vigu, despre blaturile din fotbal: "Am dat gol și m-au dat afară din armată, că i-am bătut"" [Iosif Vigu, about the tricked football matches: "I scored a goal and they kicked me out of the army, because I beat them"] (in Romanian). Sptfm.ro. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  6. 1 2 "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  7. "Romanian Cup – Season 1966–1967". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
    "Romanian Cup – Season 1968–1969". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
    "Romanian Cup – Season 1969–1970". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
    "Romanian Cup – Season 1970–1971". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
    "Romanian Cup – Season 1975–1976". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
    "Romanian Cup – Season 1978–1979". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  8. "În 1972, Steaua a fost la un pas să o elimine pe Bayern" [In 1972, Steaua was one step away from eliminating Bayern] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
    "Cupa Cupelor, sezonul 1971/72, sferturi: Steaua 1-1 Bayern, 8 martie 1972" [Cup Winners' Cup, season 1971/72, quarter-finals: Steaua 1-1 Bayern, 8 March 1972]. Tikitaka.ro. 25 March 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
    "Iosif Vigu. UEFA Cup Winners Cup 1971/1972". WorldFootball. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  9. 1 2 "Romania - Player of the Year Awards". Rsssf.org. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  10. "Maftei intră în topul Iosif Vigu. Doar alți 21 de jucatori din istoria Ligii 1 au reușit să mai atingă o asemenea bornă!" [Maftei enters the top Iosif Vigu. Only 21 other players in the history of Liga 1 have managed to reach such a milestone!] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 4 June 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
    "Frăsinescu, al 23-lea jucător care atinge borna 400! Acum joacă în Chindia Târgoviște – Poli Iași" [Frăsinescu, the 23rd player to reach the 400 mark! Now he plays in Chindia Târgoviște – Poli Iași] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 27 June 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Iosif Vigu". European Football. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  12. "Romania – Finland 3:0". European Football. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  13. "Romania – Turkey 4:0". European Football. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  14. "Romania – Yugoslavia 4:6". European Football. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  15. "Romania – Yugoslavia 3:2". European Football. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
    "Spain – Romania 1:0". European Football. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  16. "Iosif Vigu profile". Labtof.ro. Retrieved 25 October 2022.