Iacob Felecan
Romanian footballer (1914–1964)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Iacob Felecan (30 May 1914 – 1988) was a Romanian footballer who played as a defender for Romania in the 1938 FIFA World Cup.[2]
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 30 May 1914 | ||
| Place of birth | Cluj-Napoca, Romania | ||
| Date of death | 1988 (aged 73–74) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1930–1940 | Victoria Cluj | 145 | (1) |
| 1940–1942 | Ripensia Timișoara | 20 | (0) |
| 1942–1944 | FC Craiova[a] | 0 | (0) |
| 1945–1946 | Victoria Cluj | ||
| 1947–1949 | CFR Cluj | 39 | (0) |
| Total | 204 | (1) | |
| International career | |||
| 1937–1943 | Romania | 9 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1945–1946 | Victoria Cluj | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
Felecan was born on 30 May 1914 in Cluj-Napoca, Austria-Hungary.[3][4] He began playing football in 1930 at local club, Victoria.[4] Subsequently, he made his Divizia A debut on 11 September 1932 in a 2–1 home loss to Gloria Arad.[5][6] In 1940, Felecan joined Ripensia Timișoara, as the northern part of Transylvania was ceded to Hungary due to the Second Vienna Award and he refused to stay in Cluj-Napoca under the Hungarian administration.[1][4][5] Two years later, he went to play for FC Craiova, with whom he won the 1942–43 championship which was not recognized by the Romanian Football Federation.[1][4][5] In 1945, after the end of the Second World War and the return of the northern part of Transylvania to Romania, Felecan returned to Victoria Cluj as a player-coach.[1][4] After two years, he went to play for CFR Cluj.[4][5] There, on 3 July 1949, he made his last Divizia A appearance in a 5–2 loss to Dinamo București, totaling 204 matches with one goal in the competition (without counting the unofficial appearances for FC Craiova).[4][5][7]
International career
Felecan played nine games for Romania, making his debut on 4 July 1937 under coach Constantin Rădulescu in a friendly that ended in a 4–2 away win over Poland.[3][4][8] He was selected by coaches Alexandru Săvulescu and Rădulescu to be part of the squad that participated in the 1938 World Cup.[3][4][9] He did not appear in the first game against Cuba, that ended in a 3–3 draw, but Felecan played in the replay which ended in a surprising 2–1 loss.[3][9][10] His last appearance for the national team took place on 13 June 1943 in a 2–2 friendly draw against Slovakia.[3]
Personal life and death
Felecan's brother, Theodor, was also a footballer.[4]
Shortly after ending his playing career, Felecan refused to be a member of the Romanian Communist Party and consequentially was forced to work at the Danube–Black Sea Canal.[4] He died in 1988.[3]
Notes
- The 1940–41 Divizia A was the last season before World War II and the 1946–47 Divizia A was the first one after, so the appearances and goals scored during this period for FC Craiova are not official.[1]