Marcel Sabou

Marcel Sabou (22 August 1965 – 9 June 2025) was a Romanian footballer who played for Romanian sides Politehnica Timișoara and Dinamo București, Spanish clubs Real Madrid Castilla, Tenerife, Racing Santander and Sporting Gijón and Portuguese team Desportivo Chaves.

Club career Sabou was born on 22 August 1965 in Timișoara, Romania. He began playing football at local club Politehnica, making his Divizia A debut on 14 August 1985 under coach Ion Dumitru in a 1–0 away loss to Petrolul Ploiești. At the end of his first season spent at the club, they were relegated to Divizia B, but Sabou stayed with them for another half a year. On 20 June 1989 he made his last Divizia A appearance in Dinamo's 0–0 home draw against SC Bacău, having a total of 77 games with five goals in the competition.

In 1989, Sabou defected to Spain, signing with Segunda División team Real Madrid Castilla. In 1991 he went back to Segunda División at Racing Santander, helping the team earn promotion to the first division in his second season spent there. In 1995 he scored an important goal in a relegation play-off against Lleida which helped Gijón avoid relegation. On 25 February 1996, Sabou made his last La Liga appearance in Gijón's 3–2 home loss to Espanyol, totaling 86 matches with six goals in the competition.

Afterwards he went to play for Desportivo Chaves where he was teammates with compatriot Ovidiu Cuc. Sabou made his Primeira Liga debut on 1 September 1996 under coach José Romão in a 3–3 draw against Marítimo. On 13 October he netted a brace in a 5–2 victory against Braga.

International career Between 1986 and 1987, Sabou made seven appearances for Romania's under-21 squad.

Defection from Communist Romania Sabou was one of the few footballers who managed to defect from Romania's communist regime, where defection was illegal at the time. He defected in 1989 while he was playing for Dinamo București in a friendly tournament held in Madrid, Spain.

On 9 June 2025, he died of complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Gijón, Spain, at the age of 59.

Honours Politehnica Timișoara Divizia B: 1986–87