Iosif Fabian ( pt, José Fabian; 10 August 1923 – 6 July 2008) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

striker and coach.

Career

Born in

Cluj ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...

, Romania, Fabian started his youth career at Muncitorii Cluj. Then he went to play in the neighborhood country

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

for a few years starting there his senior career. He returned to Romania, at

Ferar Cluj Ferar Cluj ( hu, Kolozsvári Vasas) was a football club from Kolozsvár/Cluj that played both in the Hungarian and the Romanian Championship. History Founded in 1880 as ''Kolozsvári Atlétikai Club'', the football section was founded in 1904 ...

for a short period before joining Carmen București. He made his

Liga I The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It is the country's top ...

debut on 25 August 1946 in a match against

Jiul Petroşani Jiul may refer to these places in Romania: * the River Jiu ( + ) ** Jiul de Vest ** Jiul de Est The Jiul de Est ("Eastern Jiu", previously also known as ) is a headwater of the river Jiu in Romania. Its source is in the Șureanu Mountains. At ...

winning 3–1 and scoring once. During that season he scored 13 goals in 13 matches, and puts his team on the second place in the 1946–47 league table. The same year he leaves Romania, and goes abroad to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and signs for

AC Torino Torino Football Club (), commonly referred to as Torino or simply Toro, is an Italian professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont. They currently play in Serie A. Founded as ''Foot-Ball Club Torino'' in 1906, Torino are among the mo ...

in the

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

, where he met up with the legendary

Valentino Mazzola Valentino Mazzola (; 26 January 1919 – 4 May 1949) was an Italian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. Considered one of the great number 10s in the history of football and, according to some, the best Italian footbal ...

, in his first season on the club Josef won the

Italian League The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...

contributing with 9 goals in 15 appearances, and was the only foreigner on the team. Over the years spent in Italy, he also played for Lucchese and

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

. In 1951 he leaves Italy, and goes to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and signs for two seasons with

AS Cannes Association Sportive de Cannes Football (; commonly referred to as AS Cannes or simply Cannes) is a French association football club based in Cannes. The club was formed 1902 as a sports club and currently plays in the Championnat National 3, ...

, during the 1951–52 season he was loaned out to Roubaix-Tourcoing. During his time in France

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

side

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

put an eye on him and wanted to transfer him to Spain. After his time in France, he went to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

in 1953, and signed for

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

he made there only 6 appearances and scored two goals but won the

Portuguese Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

in 1954. Fabian saw his name linked to several clubs and more in the various echelons of Portuguese football but choose instead Barreirense, he was a player-coach there. After retiring, he started a long career coaching various teams in Portugal and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. His last training job was at Imortal de Albufeira in the 1983–84 season

National team

Fabian made his debut for the national side led by coach

Virgil Economu Virgil Economu (21 November 1896 – 1978) was a Romanian rugby player, football manager, journalist and a writer. Life and career Virgil Economu was born in Bucharest, being half Jewish from his mother's side. He spent his high school years i ...

, on 8 October 1946, in a match against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

ended 2–2, his only goal for Romania was in a 2–1 victory over

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

in the

Balkan Cup The Balkan Cup was an international association football competition contested on and off from 1929 to 1980 by countries from the Balkans region. The most successful team was Romania with four titles. Overview The first edition featured Romania, ...

on 11 October 1946. Retrieved 12 February 2010.

Honours

Club

;Torino: *

: 1947–48 ;Sporting CP: *

: 1953–54 *

Cup of Portugal A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

: 1953–54

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabian, Iosif 1923 births 2008 deaths Romanian footballers Romania international footballers Serie A players Serie B players FC Carmen București players Torino F.C. players S.S.D. Lucchese 1905 players S.S.C. Bari players AS Cannes players Sporting CP footballers Association football forwards Romanian expatriate footballers Romanian expatriate football managers Sportspeople from Cluj-Napoca Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Portugal Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Romanian expatriate sportspeople in France Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Primeira Liga players Romanian football managers S.C. Olhanense managers S.C. Covilhã players Expatriate football managers in Portugal Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Mozambique Expatriate football managers in Mozambique S.C. Covilhã managers CO Roubaix-Tourcoing players