Iosif Lereter
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.jpg) Lereter in 1972 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 23 July 1933 | ||
| Place of birth | Oțelu Roșu, Romania | ||
| Date of death | 26 January 2024 (aged 90) | ||
| Place of death | Timișoara, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1949–1956 | Energia Oțelu Roșu | ||
| 1957–1967 | Politehnica Timișoara[a] | 227 | (89) |
| 1967–1972 | UTA Arad | 148 | (23) |
| Total | 375 | (112) | |
| International career | |||
| 1965 | Romania | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1972–1975 | Constructorul Timișoara | ||
| 1975–1977 | UM Timișoara | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Iosif Lereter (23 July 1933 – 26 January 2024) was a Romanian footballer and manager.
Energia Oțelu Roșu
Lereter was born on 23 July 1933 in Oțelu Roșu, Romania.[1][2][3][4] In 1949, he started to play football in the lower leagues of Romania at the local club from his town Energia Oțelu Roșu.[1][2] At the beginning of his career he played as a forward and midfielder, ending his career as a centre-back.[1][2][3][4]
Politehnica Timișoara
Lereter moved to Politehnica Timișoara where he made his Divizia A debut on 18 August 1957 in a 2–2 draw against Progresul Oradea.[1][2][4] He was part of Politehnica's team that won the 1957–58 Cupa României, with coach Dincă Schileru using him the entire match in the 1–0 victory in the final against Progresul București.[1][2][3][4][5] During his 10 seasons spent with The White-Purples, the team was relegated twice to the second division, but Lereter stayed with the club each time, helping it gain promotion back after one year on both occasions.[1] He also netted five goals in the West derby against UTA Arad, all in the first league, contributing to Politehnica winning two games and earning three draws.[6]
UTA Arad
In 1967, Lereter joined UTA Arad, where under coach Nicolae Dumitrescu he won two consecutive titles in the 1968–69 and 1969–70 seasons.[1][2][4][7] He contributed with 10 goals in 30 appearances in the first season, and seven goals in 29 matches in the second.[1][7] Lereter also made some European performances with The Old Lady, such as eliminating defending champions Feyenoord in the 1970–71 European Cup season.[1][2] Subsequently, he played eight games in the 1971–72 UEFA Cup campaign when the team reached the quarter-finals where they were eliminated by Tottenham Hotspur who eventually won the competition.[1][2][8] On 16 October 1971, while playing for UTA in a match against Argeș Pitești, he became the first footballer to reach 300 Divizia A appearances.[2][3][4][9] This milestone led the press to coin the term "Iosif Lereter Club" for any footballer achieving this feat in the Romanian top-league.[10] He made his last Divizia A appearance on 1 October 1972 in UTA's 4–2 loss to Jiul Petroșani, totaling 327 appearances with 79 goals in the competition and 16 appearances in European competitions.[1][4]
International career
Lereter played one game for Romania when coach Ilie Oană used him on 19 September 1965 in a 3–1 loss to Czechoslovakia during the 1966 World Cup qualifiers.[11][12]
Managerial career and later life
After he ended his playing career, Lereter worked for a few years as a manager for Constructorul Timișoara and UM Timișoara.[2][4][13] In 1985 he was Politehnica Timișoara's president for 10 months.[13] In 2008, Lereter received the Honorary Citizen of Timișoara title.[14] In 2018 in order to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the 1957–58 Cupa României victory, the Politehnica University of Timișoara awarded him a diploma of excellence.[2]
Death
Lereter died in Timișoara on 26 January 2024, at the age of 90, having spent the last years of his life at a local nursing home.[15]
