Marcel Sabou
Romanian footballer (1965–2025)
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Marcel Sabou (22 August 1965 – 9 June 2025) was a Romanian footballer who played for Romanian sides Politehnica Timișoara and Dinamo București, Spanish clubs Real Madrid Castilla, Tenerife, Racing Santander and Sporting Gijón and Portuguese team Desportivo Chaves.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 22 August 1965 | ||
| Place of birth | Timișoara, Romania | ||
| Date of death | 9 June 2025 (aged 59) | ||
| Place of death | Gijón, Asturias, Spain | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Politehnica Timișoara | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1985–1986 | Politehnica Timișoara | 46 | (9) |
| 1986–1989 | Dinamo București | 48 | (0) |
| 1989–1990 | Real Madrid Castilla | 7 | (0) |
| 1990–1991 | Tenerife | 20 | (0) |
| 1991–1993 | Racing Santander | 66 | (9) |
| 1993–1996 | Sporting Gijón | 72 | (6) |
| 1996–1998 | Desportivo Chaves | 59 | (10) |
| Total | 318 | (34) | |
| International career | |||
| 1986–1987 | Romania U21 | 7 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
Sabou was born on 22 August 1965 in Timișoara, Romania.[2][3][4] He began playing football at local club Politehnica, making his Divizia A debut on 14 August 1985 under coach Ion Dumitru in a 1–0 away loss to Petrolul Ploiești.[2][3][4][5] At the end of his first season spent at the club, they were relegated to Divizia B, but Sabou stayed with them for another half a year.[2] Afterwards he went to play under the guidance of coach Mircea Lucescu at Dinamo București.[2][3][4] There, he made his only appearance in European competitions, playing in a 3–0 victory against Kuusysi Lahti in the first round of the 1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup.[2][6] On 20 June 1989 he made his last Divizia A appearance in Dinamo's 0–0 home draw against SC Bacău, having a total of 77 games with five goals in the competition.[7]
In 1989, Sabou defected to Spain, signing with Segunda División team Real Madrid Castilla.[2][3][4] Shortly afterwards he moved to Tenerife where on 9 September 1990 under coach Xabier Azkargorta he made his La Liga debut in a 3–1 away loss to Osasuna.[2][3][4][8] In 1991 he went back to Segunda División at Racing Santander, helping the team earn promotion to the first division in his second season spent there.[2][3][4] He then went back to La Liga football, playing for Sporting Gijón, scoring his first goal in the competition on 6 March 1994 in a 2–1 away loss to Rayo Vallecano.[2][3][4][9] In 1995 he scored an important goal in a relegation play-off against Lleida which helped Gijón avoid relegation.[4][10] On 25 February 1996, Sabou made his last La Liga appearance in Gijón's 3–2 home loss to Espanyol, totaling 86 matches with six goals in the competition.[2][11]
Afterwards he went to play for Desportivo Chaves where he was teammates with compatriot Ovidiu Cuc.[2][3][4][12] Sabou made his Primeira Liga debut on 1 September 1996 under coach José Romão in a 3–3 draw against Marítimo.[13][14] On 13 October he netted a brace in a 5–2 victory against Braga.[13] He would score two more doubles in a win against Farense and a loss to Leça, netting a personal record of eight goals until the end of the season.[2][13] On 17 May 1998, Sabou played his last game in the Portuguese league, a 0–0 draw against Académica, totaling 59 games with 10 goals in the competition.[2][15]
International career
Between 1986 and 1987, Sabou made seven appearances for Romania's under-21 squad.[16]
Defection from Communist Romania
Sabou was one of the few footballers who managed to defect from Romania's communist regime, where defection was illegal at the time.[17][18][19] He defected in 1989 while he was playing for Dinamo București in a friendly tournament held in Madrid, Spain.[18] Together with teammate Gheorghe Viscreanu, he sneaked out of the hotel and went to the airport.[19] They bought tickets to Frankfurt where Sabou mentioned a friend who could assist them, but when they arrived they didn't have an entrance visa so they were sent back to Madrid.[18] When they got back at the airport in Madrid, they found out that their visa for Spain was no longer available.[18] A police commissioner from the airport understood their situation and allowed them to stay in the airport for two days and introduced them to some people he knew from Rayo Vallecano.[18] They signed three-year contracts with Rayo, but did not play in the first one due to a rule at the time that mandated a one-year suspension for footballers defecting from the communist bloc before they could play again.[17][18] Viscreanu and Sabou made an agreement that they would not sign a contract unless the other also signed, but Sabou did not respect this pact as he signed with Real Madrid Castilla without considering Viscreanu's situation, a decision that shattered their friendship.[19]
Personal life and death
In 2013 Sabou was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease that causes the death of neurons controlling voluntary muscles.[20]
On 9 June 2025, he died of complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Gijón, Spain, at the age of 59.[21][22]
