Vasile Deheleanu

Vasile Deheleanu (12 August 1910 – 30 April 2003) was a Romanian footballer who played in midfield and coach.

Club career Deheleanu was born on 12 August 1910 in Temesvár, Austria-Hungary and grew up in the Mehala neighborhood. He began playing junior-level football at local club Unirea. In 1931 he went to play for one season at UD Reșița with whom he reached another championship final which was lost with 3–0 to Venus București.

In 1932, Deheleanu joined Ripensia Timișoara, winning the title in his first season, coach Jenő Konrád using him in eight games in which he scored one goal, including playing in the final against Universitatea Cluj. In the following season he helped the team reach the 1934 Cupa României final, playing in both wins over "U" Cluj, winning the cup. In the 1934–35 season he won another title, coaches Josef Uridil and Rudolf Wetzer giving him 21 appearances in which he scored three goals, also the team reached the Cupa României final where he played the entire match in the 6–5 loss to CFR București. Next season, Deheleanu helped Ripensia win The Double, being given nine appearances by coaches Wetzer and Konrád, but he did not play in the 5–1 win over Unirea Tricolor București in the Cupa României final. In the following Cupa României edition, the team reached another final in which he played the entire match in the 5–1 loss to Rapid București. In the 1937–38 season, Ripensia won another title but coach Sepp Pojar used him in only two matches.

International career Deheleanu played five games for Romania, making his debut on 29 April 1934 under coach Constantin Rădulescu in a 2–1 home win against Yugoslavia in the 1934 World Cup qualifiers. After the game, Deheleanu was named "Man of the match" by the Gazeta Sporturilor newspaper that wrote: "Our opinion is that Deheleanu was indeed the most deserving Romanian in Sunday's game. With his sober but regular game, with his perfect intuition as a midfielder par excellence, Deheleanu richly deserves the title given to him by the public as well as our trophy". He also coached Locomotiva Timișoara and several other teams from the Timiș county.

Style of play Deheleanu was known for his aerial play and the ability to dispossess his opponents through sliding, a rarity at the time.

Balázs Hoksary, a former Ripensia teammate described Dehelanu as a player who worked a lot for the team:"He put a lot of heart into every game. It cannot be said that he did not have a personal style of play, but he was, first of all, extremely useful to the team, he mobilized exemplary and knew how to mobilize the whole team to lead it to victory".

Death Deheleanu died on 30 April 2003 in Timișoara at age 92.

Honours Player România Cluj Divizia A runner-up: 1928–29 UD Reșița Divizia A runner-up: 1931–32 Ripensia Timișoara Divizia A: 1932–33, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1937–38, runner-up 1933–34, 1938–39 Cupa României: 1933–34, 1935–36, runner-up 1934–35, 1936–37