Lucian Bălan (25 June 1959 – 12 November 2015) was a Romanian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and coach, winner of the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

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 originall ...

in 1986 and the

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

Baia Mare Baia Mare ( , ; ; ; ) is a Municipiu, city along the Săsar, Săsar River, in northwestern Romania; it is the capital of Maramureș County. The city lies in the region of Maramureș, a subregion of Transylvania. It is situated about from Buchare ...

Career

Lucian Bălan played one friendly game at international level for

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, making his appearance on 8 April 1987 when coach

Emerich Jenei Emerich Alexandru Jenei (also known as Emeric Jenei or Imre Jenei; 22 March 1937) is a Romanian former football player and manager. He is considered one of Romania's best managers, alongside Ştefan Kovács, Mircea Lucescu, and Anghel Iordăn ...

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, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

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

Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a Romanian politician who served as the president of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian minister of transport on multiple occasions between 1991 and 2000, ...

for the winning of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

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. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

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 commonly 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 football season. It is currently sponsored by Casa Pariu ...

: 1981–82 Steaua București *

Divizia A Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...

: 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 Association football, 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 offic ...

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 en ...

Notes

References

External links

* * * 1959 births Footballers from Bucharest Romanian men's footballers Romania men's international footballers Romanian expatriate men's footballers Men's association football midfielders AFC Rocar București players CS Minaur Baia Mare (football) players FCSB players UEFA Champions League–winning players K. Beerschot V.A.C. players Liga I players Liga II players Belgian Pro League players Real Murcia CF players Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's 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 20th-century Romanian sportsmen {{Romania-footy-midfielder-1950s-stub