Virgil Popescu (1916–1989) 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 ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

and later coach. In Yugoslavia, he was known as Stanislav Popesku.

Career

He was born in 1916 during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, in the

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

n town of

Zlatna Zlatna (german: Klein-Schlatten, Kleinschlatten, Goldenmarkt; hu, Zalatna; la, Ampellum) is a town in Alba County, central Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 7,490. Administration The town administers eighteen villages: Botești ('' ...

,Popescu, românul care a fondat Partizan Belgrad
by Catalin Oprisan taken from Gazeta Sporturilor, 27-2-2011, retrieved 3-1-2014 back then within

Austro-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, nowadays in

. In 1918, at the end of the war, his parents moved to the newly formed

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

, later renamed

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

. He began playing for

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...

club

FK Vojvodina Fudbalski klub Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Војводина), commonly known as Vojvodina and colloquially as Voša ( sr-Cyrl, Воша), is a Serbian professional football club based in Novi Sad, Vojvodina, the second la ...

and was part of Vojvodina's so called ''Millionaires team'' at the beginning of the 1940s. He played with Vojvodina in the Novi Sad subassociation league in the 1938–39 season and then in the

Serbian League The Serbian League () is the third level football league in Serbia. It consists of four groups, namely Belgrade, East, Vojvodina, and West. The winner of each group earns promotion to the Serbian First League. History 1992–1995 In the summer of ...

between 1939 and 1941. The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

started in Yugoslavia in 1941. Popescu was at the time attending the Commercial Academy in Belgrade, and by 6 April 1941, he was a second lieutenant defending the country against German forces. It took four days, on 10 April, when he was captured by Axis forces near

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

and taken to Romania to a concentration camp in

Turnu Măgurele Turnu Măgurele () is a city in Teleorman County, Romania, in the historical region of Muntenia. Developed nearby the site once occupied by the medieval port of Turnu, it is situated north-east of the confluence between the Olt River and the Da ...

. After spending two years in the camp, in 1943 he caught the attention of Juventus Bucharest boss Cezar Popescu who got the news that this 27-year-old defender who had played in Serbia was in the camp 8. By explaining how Virgil Popescu was a Romanian and as such a German ally, he managed to release him from the camp and brought him to the team. He made his debut for

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

side Juventus on 6 October, in a match against Craiova. He made 7 appearances for Juventus in the 1943–44 Romanian

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 ...

. However, not very long afterwards he entered the club offices and said that he had to leave to fight alongside

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...

and

Marshal Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his death ...

in freeing Yugoslavia, and club officials accepted his will, so he returned to Yugoslavia and joined the resistance. He fought the Germans, and at the end of the war, in 1945, he was among the founders of Belgrade-based

FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; en, Partizan Football Club), sometimes known as Partizan Belgrade in English, is a Serbia, Serbian professional football club (association football), football ...

which became one of the major powers of Yugoslav football. His passion for Serbia was such that he adopted a Serbian name, Stanislav. He played with Partizan in the

Yugoslav First League The Yugoslav First Federal Football League ( Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...

for two seasons. He played a total of 65 matches and scored once for Partizan, of which 17 matches were in the league. Earlier, he played with SAP Vojvodina in the 1945 Yugoslav Football Tournament. With Partizan he won the first Yugoslav post-World War II championship. He later became a coach. He coached

Miroslav Blažević Miroslav "Ćiro" Blažević (; born 10 February 1935) is a Croatian former professional football manager and player. His professional playing career spanned from 1954 to 1966, during which he played for Dinamo Zagreb, Lokomotiva Zagreb, FK Saraje ...

at NK Rijeka in the Yugoslav First League. and was the assistant manager to Abdulah Gegić at Partizan when they reached the 1966 European Cup Final. He also coached Polish side Legia Warsaw in the season 1964–65. Popescu then managed

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

team

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website ...

and

Wormatia Worms VfR Wormatia 08 Worms is a German association football club that plays in Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate. The club and its historical predecessors were regular participants in regional first-division football competition until the formation of the ...

in Germany before moving to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

to help develop football in those countries, there he coached the Moroccan Olympic side and

KAC Kénitra Kenitra Athletic Club (KAC) ( ar, النادي القنيطري) is a Moroccan football and basketball club based in the city of Kenitra. History The club, which was founded in 1938, is one of the most famous and popular football clubs in Moro ...

. In the 1972–73 season, he was at the helm of Algerian side

JS Kabylie Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie (in ar, شبيبة القبائل), (Kabyle language, Kabyle: Ilemẓiyen inaddalen n leqbayel, Berber languages, In Tamazight: ⵉⵍⵎⵣⵢⵏ ⵉⵏⴰⴷⴰⵍⴻⵏ ⵏ ⵍⵇⵠⴰⵢⵍ), known as JS Kabyli ...

, with whom he won the championship.Championne d'Algérie
at carfootal.dz, retrieved 3-1-2014

Honours

Player ;Vojvodina * Novi Sad subassociation league: 1939, 1940 ;Partizan *

: 1946–47 *

Yugoslav Cup The Yugoslav Cup ( hr, Pokal Jugoslavije; sr, Куп Југославије; sl, Pokal Jugoslavije, mk, Куп на Југославија), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Kup kralja Aleksandra, ...

: 1947 Manager ;Legia Warsaw *

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in football ( pl, Puchar Polski w piłce nożnej ) is an elimination tournament for Polish football clubs, held continuously from 1950, and is the second most important national title in Polish football after the Ekstraklasa title. ...

: 1964 ;JS Kabylie * Algerian League: 1972–73

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popescu, Virgil 1916 births 1989 deaths People from Zlatna People from the Kingdom of Hungary Romanian footballers Yugoslav footballers Association football defenders FK Vojvodina players FK Partizan players Yugoslav First League players Romanian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Yugoslavia FC Petrolul Ploiești players Romanian football managers Yugoslav football managers HNK Rijeka managers FC St. Gallen managers Wormatia Worms managers JS Kabylie managers Romanian expatriate football managers Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Morocco Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Algeria Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Yugoslavia Expatriate football managers in Yugoslavia Expatriate football managers in Poland Expatriate football managers in Switzerland Expatriate football managers in Germany Expatriate football managers in Morocco Expatriate football managers in Algeria Legia Warsaw managers FK Partizan non-playing staff KAC Kénitra managers