Alexandru Neagu

Alexandru "Sandu" Neagu (19 July 1948 – 17 April 2010) was a Romanian footballer who played as a striker.

Club career Neagu, nicknamed Cappellini from Giulești by journalist Ioan Chirilă, was born on 19 July 1948 in the Rahova neighborhood of Bucharest, but grew up in the Giulești neighborhood. He began playing football for the junior squads of Giulești-based club, Rapid București, making his Divizia A debut under coach Valentin Stănescu on 31 March 1966 in a 1–0 away loss to Petrolul Ploiești.

Neagu also won two Cupa României trophies, being used the full 90 minutes by coach Bazil Marian in the 1972 final in which he scored the second goal of the 2–0 victory against Jiul Petroșani. He also played the entire game under coach Ion Motroc in the 2–1 win over Universitatea Craiova in the 1975 final. Neagu played in all six matches in the 1971–72 UEFA Cup campaign, helping the team reach the third round by eliminating Napoli and Legia Warsaw, a run highlighted by his two goals against the latter before Rapid was defeated by eventual winners Tottenham. He also appeared in all six games of the 1972–73 European Cup Winners' Cup to help the team reach the quarter-finals, where they knocked out Landskrona BoIS and Rapid Wien—with Neagu scoring once against the latter—before falling to the eventual finalists, Leeds United. At the end of the 1974–75 Divizia A season, Rapid was relegated to Divizia B, but Neagu stayed with the club, contributing with 17 goals, to help it get promoted back to the first division after one year. In his second cap, a 1–1 draw against West Germany, he scored his first international goal. In the 2–1 victory over the Czechoslovaks, he netted a goal and obtained a penalty from which Florea Dumitrache scored the victory goal.

Death Neagu died on 17 April 2010, at the age of 61 after slipping and falling at Giulești stadium while watching a Rapid training session. He was taken to the hospital, where he later died, with cirrhosis also being a contributing factor.

Honours Rapid București Divizia A: 1966–67 Divizia B: 1974–75 Cupa României: 1971–72, 1974–75