Nicolae Simatoc

clubs3 = Nagyváradi AC clubs4 = Vasas clubs5 = Carmen București clubs6 = Inter Milan clubs7 = Brescia clubs8 = Hungaria FbC Roma clubs9 = Barcelona clubs10 = Real Oviedo caps1 = 44 caps2 = 0 caps3 = 32 caps4 = 9 caps5 = 12 caps6 = 17 caps7 = 30 caps8 = caps9 = 34 caps10 = 5 goals1 = 3 goals2 = 0 goals3 = 3 goals4 = 3 goals5 = 0 goals6 = 3 goals7 = 8 goals8 = goals9 = 2 goals10 = 0 totalcaps = 183 totalgoals = 22 nationalyears1 = 1940–1946 nationalteam1 = Romania nationalcaps1 = 8 nationalgoals1 = 0 manageryears1 = 1959–1960 manageryears2 = 1960–1961 manageryears3 = 1962–1963 manageryears4 = 1963–1968 manageryears5 = 1969–1972 managerclubs1 = Lleida managerclubs2 = Sabadell managerclubs3 = AEL Limassol managerclubs4 = Budapest Sydney managerclubs5 = Polonia Western Eagles

Nicolae Simatoc (also known as Nicolae Șmatoc, Miklós Szegedi or Nicholas Sims; 1 May 1920 – 11 December 1979) was a Romanian football player and manager.

Club career Romania and Hungary Simatoc began playing junior-level football at age 14 in 1934 at Ripensia Timișoara. He made his Divizia A debut on 28 May 1939 under coach Sepp Pojar in a 1–0 home loss to Juventus București. In 1941 he went to Carmen București where he spent one and a half seasons. Under the guidance of Rónay, he won the title in his first season, contributing with one goal in 19 matches. Afterwards, Simatoc spent one year at Vasas, making his last Nemzeti Bajnokság I appearance on 13 December 1944 in a 2–0 home victory against BKV Előre SC, totaling 41 matches with six goals in the competition. He scored his first goal in a 4–1 win over Fiorentina, scoring two more until the end of the season in a victory against AS Roma and a loss to Triestina.

Afterwards he went to play for one season at Brescia in Serie B where he scored a personal record of eight goals to help earn a sixth-place finish.

Spain His next spell was at Barcelona where on 10 September 1950 he made his La Liga debut under coach Daučík in a 8–2 win over Real Sociedad, managing to score once and provide three assists.

International career Simatoc played eight games for Romania, making his debut on 22 September 1940 at age 20 under coach Liviu Iuga in a friendly which ended with a 2–1 away victory against Yugoslavia. His last three games for the national team were in the 1946 Balkan Cup, consisting of a draw against Bulgaria, a victory over Yugoslavia and a loss to Albania. Afterwards he coached Sabadell from 1960 until 1961 in the second league. In 1961 he worked as a technical director for Espanyol, then in 1962, Simatoc went to Cyprus to coach AEL Limassol for one year.

Personal life Simatoc was born to Romanian parents on 1 May 1920 in Grimăncăuți, then part of Romania, present-day Moldova. Silvio, born in 1950, had followed his father's footsteps and played for the junior squads of Barcelona and in the first league of Australia at Hakoah Sydney City. After retirement he became a professional poker player and owned a casino in Australia.

A book about him was written in 2013 by Octavian Țîcu and Boris Boguș titled Nicolae Simatoc (1920 – 1979). Legenda unui fotbalist basarabean de la Ripensia la FC Barcelona (Nicolae Simatoc (1920 – 1979). The legend of a Bessarabian footballer from Ripensia to FC Barcelona). A documentary about him called Nicolae Simatoc - variațiuni pe un nume (Nicolae Simatoc - variations on a name) was released in 2017.

Honours Nagyváradi Hungarian League: 1943–44 Barcelona La Liga: 1951–52 Copa del Rey: 1951, 1952