Nicolae Kovács (Hungarian: Kovács Miklós, 29 December 1911 – 7 July 1977)[a][2] was a Romanian-Hungarian football player and coach. He was a dual international football player and played both for Romania and Hungary.[3]
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kovács Miklos/Nicolae Covaci | ||
| Date of birth | 29 December 1911 | ||
| Place of birth |
Plugova, Austria-Hungary (now Mehadia, Romania) | ||
| Date of death | 7 July 1977 (aged 65) | ||
| Place of death | Timișoara, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1924–1928 | Chinezul Timișoara | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1928–1930 | Banatul Timișoara | 43 | (20) |
| 1930–1931 | Ripensia Timișoara | 23 | (8) |
| 1931–1935 | CA Oradea | 47 | (22) |
| 1935 | Ripensia Timișoara | 14 | (4) |
| 1935–1936 | Valenciennes | 24 | (10) |
| 1936–1938 | CA Oradea | 39 | (14) |
| 1938–1940 | Tricolor Ploieşti | 21 | (8) |
| 1941–1942 | Nagyváradi AC | 16 | (3) |
| 1943–1945 | Gamma | 49 | (21) |
| 1945–1947 | Ferar Cluj | 44 | (23) |
| 1947 | Crișana Oradea | 21 | (5) |
| 1948 | Chinezul Timișoara | 14 | (11) |
| Total | 355 | (149) | |
| International career | |||
| 1929–1938[1] | Romania | 37 | (6) |
| 1941[1] | Hungary | 1 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1946–1947 | Universitatea Cluj | ||
| 1947 | Ferar Cluj | ||
| 1948–1949 | ICO Oradea | ||
| 1950–1953 | Politehnica Timișoara | ||
| 1953–1954 | CSM Mediaş | ||
| 1954 | Minerul Petroșani | ||
| 1957–1963 | Minerul Nădrag | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
For the Romania national football team, he won 37 caps and participated in the 1930, 1934 and 1938 World Cups, being one of five players to have appeared in all three of the pre-war World Cups. The other players were Edmond Delfour, Étienne Mattler, Bernard Voorhoof and Rudolf Bürger, according to official FIFA match reports. He represented the Hungary national football team only once, in 1941, also scoring a goal in that game.[4][5]
He was the older brother of Ștefan Kovács, the famous coach who led AFC Ajax to two European Cups in 1972 and 1973.[6]
International goals
editRomania's goal tally first
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 15 September 1929 | Levski Field, Sofia, Bulgaria |  Bulgaria |
2–2 | 3–2 | Friendly |
| 2. | 14 July 1930 | Estadio Pocitos, Montevideo, Uruguay |  Peru |
3–1 | 3–1 | 1930 FIFA World Cup |
| 3. | 28 June 1931 | Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Yugoslavia |  Yugoslavia |
3–1 | 4–2 | 1931 Balkan Cup |
| 4. | 8 May 1932 | Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania |  Austria |
1–1 | 4–1 | 1932 Central European Cup |
| 5. | 3 July 1932 | Avala, Belgrade, Yugoslavia | Yugoslavia |
1–2 | 1–3 | 1932 Balkan Cup |
Honours
editPlayer
edit- Ripensia Timișoara
- Liga I (1): 1935–36
- Cupa României (1): 1935–36
Coach
edit- CA Oradea
- Politehnica Timișoara
References and notes
edit- ^ Kovács' name was sometimes rendered as Nicolae Covaci.
- ^ a b "Nicolae Kovács - International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
- ^ Nicolae Kovacs at fifa.com, www.weltfussball.de Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Ion Văduva-Poenaru Enciclopedia marilor personalități: A-I Contemporanii 1999 - p. 496 "H. a egalat recordul deţinut timp de 60 de ani, de fotbalistul român Nicolae Kovacs, cu 3 participări consecutive la tumeele finale ale CM (1990 -Italia, 1994- SUA şi 1998- Franţa), evoluând în 12 meciuri din faza finală a competiţiei mondiale."
- ^ Players Appearing for Two or More Countries
- ^ ""Doar bunicul și alți 4 fotbaliști din lume au fost la primele 3 Mondiale". Povestea celui mai tânăr român prezent la un turneu final" ["Only my grandfather and 4 other footballers in the world have been to the first 3 World Cups". The story of the youngest Romanian present at a final tournament] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 22 November 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ "Ștefan Kovács, antrenorul timișorean care a cucerit de două ori Cupa Campionilor. Cum a scris istorie la cârma marelui Ajax" [Ștefan Kovács, the coach from Timisoara who won the Champions Cup twice. How he wrote history at the helm of the great Ajax] (in Romanian). Pressalert.ro. 20 January 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
External links
edit- Nicolae Kovács at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
- Nicolae Kovács at National-Football-Teams.com