Lucian Bălan (25 June 1959 – 12 November 2015) 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 ...

player and coach, winner of the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

and the

European Supercup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

in 1986 and the

, both with Steaua București and former coach at a football school in Baia Mare.

Career

Lucian Bălan played one friendly game at international level for

, making his appearance on 8 April 1987 when coach

Emerich Jenei Emerich Jenei or Imre Jenei (also known as Emeric Jenei or Ienei; 22 March 1937) is a Romanian former Football (soccer), football player and coach of Hungarians in Romania, Hungarian ethnicity. He is considered one of Romania's best Managers, a ...

sent him on the field at half-time to replace

Gavril Balint Gavril Pele "Gabi" Balint (born 3 January 1963) is a Romanian football manager and former player, who was part of the hugely successful Steaua team of the 1980s. Club career Born in Sângeorz-Băi, Bistrița, Balint made his Divizia A debut wit ...

in a 3–2 home victory against

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. On 25 March 2008, he was decorated by the president of

Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a conservatism, conservative Romanian politician who served as President of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian Minister of Transport on multiple occasions ...

for the winning of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

with Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" — (The Order "The Sportive Merit") class II. Bălan died by

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

on 12 November 2015.Soccer-Former Steaua midfielder Balan commits suicide – club
Reuters (12 November 2015)

Honours

FC Baia Mare *

Divizia B The Liga 2, most often spelled as Liga II, is the second level of the Romanian football league system. The league changed its name from Divizia B just before the start of the 2006–07 Liga II, 2006–07. It is currently Sponsor (commercial), sp ...

: 1981–82 Steaua București *

Divizia A 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 ...

: 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89 *

Romanian Cup Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

: 1986–87, 1988–89 *

: 1985–86 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

Notes

References

External links

* * * 1959 births Footballers from Bucharest Romanian footballers Romania men's international footballers Romanian expatriate footballers Men's association football midfielders AFC Rocar București players CS Minaur Baia Mare (football) players FC Steaua București players K. Beerschot V.A.C. players Liga I players Liga II players Belgian Pro League players Real Murcia players Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in Spain Romanian football managers CS Minaur Baia Mare (football) managers Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Suicides in Romania 2015 suicides 2015 deaths {{Romania-footy-midfielder-stub