Aurel Rădulescu

Aurel Rădulescu
Personal information
Date of birth (1953-10-13)13 October 1953[1]
Place of birth Adamclisi, Romania[1]
Date of death 4 July 1979(1979-07-04) (aged 25)[1]
Place of death Hanover, Germany[1]
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Positions
Youth career
1967–1971 Farul Constanța
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1971–1973 Farul Constanța 25 (2)
1973–1979 Sportul Studențesc București 146 (26)
1974 → FC Galați (loan) 4 (0)
Total 175 (28)
International career
1973–1977 Romania U21 4 (0)
1974–1979 Romania Olympic 7 (0)
1978 Romania 6 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19 January 2020

Aurel Rădulescu (13 October 1953 – 4 July 1979) was a Romanian footballer who played as a forward.[1]

Club career

"Aurel Rădulescu was incredibly talented. In terms of talent, he could be compared to any great Romanian footballer, Dobrin, Iordănescu or Hagi"

— Mircea Rădulescu, former Sportul Studențesc București manager[3]

Rădulescu was born on 13 October 1953 in Adamclisi, Romania as the youngest of five boys in a large family, who later settled in Constanța.[4][5][6] He started playing football on a field in the Brătianu neighborhood.[4][5] Afterwards, he played on his school's field, where he was noticed by Farul Constanța's junior coach, Adam Munteanu, who then brought him to the club.[4][5] Rădulescu made his Divizia A debut on 2 April 1972, playing under coach Robert Cosmoc in Farul's 3–0 away loss to Steagul Roșu Brașov.[1][6][7]

After two seasons, Rădulescu joined Sportul Studențesc București for a six-season spell, with a short interruption in 1974 when he was loaned to FC Galați.[1][6] He played three matches in the 1976–77 UEFA Cup as The Students got past Olympiacos in the first round, being eliminated by Schalke 04 in the following one.[1][8] The team reached the 1979 Cupa României final where coach Mircea Rădulescu used him the entire match in the 3–0 loss to Steaua București.[9] They also won the 1979–80 Balkans Cup and reached the final in the 1976 edition.[10] Rădulescu made his last Divizia A appearance on 24 June 1979, playing for Sportul Studențesc in a 1–0 away loss to Olimpia Satu Mare, totaling 171 games with 28 goals in the competition.[1]

International career

Between 1973 and 1979, Rădulescu made several appearances for Romania's under-21 and Olympic teams.[11]

Rădulescu played six games for Romania, making his debut on 5 April 1978 under coach Ștefan Kovacs in a 2–0 friendly loss to Argentina played at Estadio La Bombonera in Buenos Aires.[12][13] He made a good impression in the game, being praised by journalist Marius Popescu in the Sportul newspaper:"The first player that is a win for the national team - Rădulescu, from Sportul Studentesc. He drives the ball excellently, he is combative, he is technical, he is warm-hearted, he wants to become a footballer of international level. If he maintains his seriousness, modesty, and the conscience of a hardworking boy in training and games, he will definitely get there!".[3] He played two matches in the Euro 1980 qualifiers.[12] On 19 December 1978, Rădulescu made his last appearance for the national team in a 1–1 friendly draw against Israel.[12]

Death

He died on 4 July 1979 at age 25 while jumping out of a moving train in Hanover.[3][5][6][14][15] Years after his death, his former Sportul Studențesc colleague, Mircea Sandu said:"If it weren't for the misfortune in Germany, Aurică wouldn't have been the second Hagi, Hagi would have been the second Rădulescu!"[3]

Honours

FC Galați

Sportul Studențesc București

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Aurel Rădulescu at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  2. ↑ Aurel Rădulescu at National-Football-Teams.com
  3. 1 2 3 4 "RETRO GSP. 42 de ani de la debutul în națională al lui Aurel Rădulescu, cel ce trebuia să fie mai bun decât Hagi. Și care a sfârșit stupid, sub roțile trenului, după o șuetă cu o blondă" [GSP RETRO. 42 years since the national debut of Aurel Radulescu, who had to be better than Hagi. And who passed away stupidly, under the wheels of the train, after a whisper with a blonde] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 5 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Au trecut 33 de ani de la decesul legendarului fotbalist Aurică Rădulescu" [33 years have passed since the death of the legendary football player Aurică Rădulescu] (in Romanian). Ziuaconstanta.ro. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Familia legendarului Aurică Rădulescu trăieşte acolo unde el a murit: în Germania" [The family of the legendary Aurică Radulescu lives where he died: in Germany] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 29 October 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "42 de ani de la tragica moarte a lui Aurică Rădulescu" [42 years since the tragic death of Aurică Rădulescu] (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 4 July 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  7. ↑ "FC Brasov vs Farul Constanta 3-0". Labtof. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  8. ↑ "Aurel Rădulescu. UEFA Cup 1976/1977". Worldfootball.met. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
    "Sportul Studențesc – Schalke 0-1 în Cupa UEFA, 20 octombrie 1976" [Sportul Studențesc – Schalke 0-1 in UEFA Cup, 20 October 1976] (in Romanian). Tikitaka.ro. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  9. 1 2 "Romanian Cup - Season 1978 - 1979". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  10. 1 2 "106 ani de la înființarea Sportului Studențesc. Căpitanul istoric Paul Cazan dă verdictul:"Cred că am fost blestemați! Morți, accidente grave, faliment, nicio speranță de înviere!"" [106 years since the establishment of Sportul Studențesc. Historian Captain Paul Cazan gives the verdict:"I think we were cursed! Deaths, serious accidents, bankruptcy, no hope of resurrection!"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  11. ↑ "Aurel Rădulescu profile". 11v11. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  12. 1 2 3 "Aurel Rădulescu". European Football. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  13. ↑ "Argentina - Romania 2:0". European Football. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  14. ↑ "Sfarsitul tragic al fotbalistilor Aurica Radulescu, Mihai Baicu si Andrei Mutulescu toti au jucat si la FC Farul" [The tragic end of footballers Aurica Radulescu, Mihai Baicu and Andrei Mutulescu they all played at FC Farul] (in Romanian). Ziuaconstanta.ro. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  15. ↑ "Povestea tragica a mortii lui Aurica Radulescu, rememorata de fostul sau antrenor, Mircea Radulescu" [The tragic story of Aurica Radulescu's death, recalled by his former coach, Mircea Radulescu] (in Romanian). Sptfm.ro. 4 December 2013. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
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