Andrei Sepsi

Andrei Sepci (7 October 1911 – 3 December 1992) was a Romanian footballer and manager. He was the manager that guided Știința Cluj in its successful 1964–65 Cupa României campaign.

Club career Sepci was born on 7 October 1911 in Barnabas, Máramaros, Austria-Hungary (now Ukraine), and began playing junior-level football in 1922 at Școala Sportivă Sătmăreană Satu Mare. Subsequently, in 1927 he joined Olimpia Satu Mare where he played in the regional league. Even though he conceded five goals in the first leg of the final against Ripensia, the newspaper Gazeta Sporturilor praised his performance: "He was not to blame for any of the goals scored by Ripensia. If Universitatea still has a chance at a comeback, it is thanks to Sepci". In the following season he helped them reach the 1934 Cupa României final, being used by coach Adalbert Molnar in both games against Ripensia which won the cup. On 8 December 1935, he scored the only goal of his career in a 5–0 win over CFR București. In 1937 he went to play for two seasons in Divizia B at Tricolor Baia Mare. In the following two games, which were during the same competition, he kept two more clean sheets in victories against Greece and Yugoslavia, helping his side win the tournament.

Managerial career Sepci started coaching in 1940 at Minaur Baia Mare where he stayed until 1946. In 1952 he coached Petrolul Ploiești for a short while, then he went to Jiul Petroșani for a few seasons, managing to maintain the club in middle positions, away from relegation. In 1959 Sepci returned to Știința Cluj, leading the team for two seasons, finishing in fifth place in the first season and in fourth in the second. In 1961 he went to coach Dinamo Bacău for one year and a half, then returned for a third spell at Știința, leading the team in the first half of the 1963–64 season, being replaced with Mircea Luca for the second. However, Sepci returned to the club in the following season, winning the Cupa României at the end of it after a 2–1 victory against Dinamo Pitești in the final. He then led the club in the 1965–66 European Cup Winners' Cup, eliminating Austrian team Wiener Neustadt with 3–0 on aggregate in the first round, but got eliminated in the following round by Atlético Madrid. From 1967 he worked at Știința's center for juniors and children, helping it win four junior level national titles. Then he led them for the entire following season when the team finished in 12th place. Sepci has a total of 319 matches as a manager in the Romanian top-division, Divizia A, consisting of 114 victories, 76 draws and 129 losses.

Managing style Remus Câmpeanu, who was coached by Sepci at Știința Cluj described him: "He was a coach who talked a lot with us individually. Before the matches, he would spend half an hour or an hour talking with each one of us. He would talk about our qualities, but also about our flaws, something he never did in full, in front of others. Under his hand, players have grown precisely because of this patience. In the games you could see that the team was playing a certain way. He knew how to ask the players what they could do."

Death Sepci died on 3 December 1992 at the age of 81.

Honours Player Universitatea Cluj Divizia A runner-up: 1932–33 Cupa României runner-up: 1933–34 Romania Balkan Cup: 1933

Manager Universitatea Cluj Cupa României: 1964–65