Zoltán Ivansuc

Zoltán "Zoli" Ivansuc (12 August 1938 – 27 January 1982) was a Romanian footballer who played mainly as a forward for Universitatea Cluj.

Club career

Zoltán Ivansuc was born on 12 August 1938 in Reșița, Romania, playing junior level football at Electromotor Timișoara from 1952 until 1955, afterwards he started his senior career as he returned to his hometown in order to play for CSM Reșița in Divizia B for a while. Then he moved to Universitatea Cluj, choosing to transfer from Reșița to Cluj-Napoca where he lived with fellow teammate Remus Câmpeanu for six years in a three-room house, provided by the university club.

On 3 May 1959 he made his Divizia A debut under coach Virgil Mărdărescu in a 1–0 home victory against Știința Timișoara and in the following season he scored his first goal from about 30 meters in a 3–2 loss at Constanța in front of Farul. Invansuc would remain in Cluj for almost a decade, making 185 appearances and scoring 41 goals. Zoli's best friend, poet Irimie Negoiță, called him "Hamlet of the green pitch" and his former coach, Constantin Teașcă, described him as "a very great footballer, who does not like football!".

The highlights of Ivansuc's period spent with ''The Red Caps'' were two 4th places in the 1960–61 and 1962–63 seasons, a personal record of 9 goals scored in the 1966–67 season, also being used the whole match by coach Andrei Sepci in the 1965 Cupa României final, managing to score a goal with a free kick from about 25 meters distance in the 2–1 victory over Dinamo Pitești on the Republicii Stadium which brought the club their first trophy. Supporters greeted the players with banners at the Cluj airport.

After winning the Cupa României, "U" Cluj played in the first round of the 1965–66 European Cup Winners' Cup, Ivansuc scoring in both legs of the 3–0 victory on aggregate against Austrian team, Wiener Neustadt, but they were eliminated in the following round by Atlético Madrid. At the second match with the Spaniards, played in Madrid, Ivansuc was approached by Real Madrid's team who came in particular to persuade him to stay in Spain, however he was adamant at remaining in Cluj, and denied any possibility of a move.

Ivansuc's last Divizia A appearance took place on 12 November 1968 playing for "U" Cluj in a 2–0 loss in front of Steaua București, having a total of 185 appearances and 41 goals scored in the competition, ending his career after playing two games for IS Câmpia Turzii in the 1968–69 Divizia B season. His former wife, Sanda Popescu, claimed that Constantin Teașcă's second stint on U's bench meant the end of Ivansuc's career, much to his frustration.

International career

Zoltán Ivansuc made his debut for Romania in 1962 under coach Constantin Teașcă in a friendly against Morocco which ended with a 4–0 victory. His following game was another friendly which ended with a 3–2 loss against East Germany and his last match for the national team was a 6–0 loss against Spain at the 1964 European Nations' Cup qualifiers.

Personal life and death

Ivansuc was married with Sanda Popescu, who divorced in 1975, having a girl together, Barbara Ivansuc. After his departure from "U" Cluj, he began practicing as a doctor at the Câmpia Turzii Factory, with medicine practice being a key reason in wanting to remain at Cluj despite offers from elsewhere during his career.

Ivansuc was found dead in his apartment on 27 January 1982, after suffering a cardiac arrest. Alcoholism was attributed to his death.

Honours

Universitatea Cluj
*Cupa României: 1964–65

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivansuc, Zoltan
1938 births
1982 deaths
Footballers from Reșița
Romanian men's footballers
Men's association football forwards
Liga I players
FC Universitatea Cluj players
Liga II players
CSM Reșița players
CSM Câmpia Turzii players
Romania men's international footballers
20th-century Romanian sportsmen