| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 25 November 1949 | ||
| Place of birth | Vârteju, Romania | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1963–1969 | Steaua București | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1969 | TUG București | 15 | (0) |
| 1970–1988 | ASA Târgu Mureș[a] | 512 | (2) |
| Total | 527 | (2) | |
| International career | |||
| Romania U18 | |||
| Romania B | 3 | (0) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1992–1995 | ASA Târgu Mureș | ||
| 1995–1996 | Gaz Metan Mediaș | ||
| 1997–1998 | Apulum Alba Iulia | ||
| 1999–2000 | Chimica Târnăveni | ||
| 2000–2001 | Gaz Metan Târgu Mureș | ||
| 2001 | ASA Târgu Mureș | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Florea Ispir (born 25 November 1949 in Vârteju, Ilfov County) is a Romanian former football player and coach. As a player, his total of 485 appearances in Liga I for ASA Târgu Mureș place him first in the competition in terms of matches played for a single team.[2]
Club career
[edit]Ispir was born on 25 November 1949 in Vârteju, Romania, growing up as a fan of Rapid București, as he was impressed by players Dan Coe and Ion Motroc, and at one point he went on a trial to play for them but was not offered a contract.[1][2][3][4] He played junior-level football in the early 1960s for Steaua București where he worked with coach Nicolae Tătaru.[1][2][3][5][6][7] Ispir started his senior career when Steaua sent him to play in the 1969–70 Divizia C season for TUG București.[1][2][7] Afterwards he had an offer to play for ASA Târgu Mureș, which he accepted as he thought that it would be hard for him to earn a starting position in the central defense of Steaua in front of internationals Dumitru Nicolae and Bujor Hălmăgeanu.[1][2][3][5] He made his Divizia A debut for ASA on 29 March 1970 under coach Tiberiu Bone in a 2–1 away loss to Universitatea Craiova.[1][2][3][6][7] At the end of the season the team was relegated to Divizia B, but Ispir stayed with the club, helping it gain promotion back to the first league after one year.[1] Ispir spent the rest of his career at ASA which consisted of 19 seasons, playing alongside teammates such as László Bölöni, Nicolae Nagy, Árpád Fazekas, Iuliu Hajnal and Petre Varodi, making 485 Divizia A appearances with two goals scored, receiving only one red card in his entire career during a match against Rapid.[1][2][3][5][6][7] The highlights of this period were a second place in the 1974–75 Divizia A season, reaching the 1973 Balkans Cup final and playing in all six UEFA Cup matches across the three consecutive editions the team participated in.[1][2][3][6][7][8] Around 1975 or 1976 he had offers to play for UTA Arad and CSM Reșița.[2][4][5] He refused to go there even if he could have earned more money because he was attached to the town and loved by the fans who called him Shake-Ispir, a nickname inspired from Shakespeare.[2][4][5] After the team was relegated once more in 1986, he helped it gain promotion again after one year.[1][2] Subsequently, he played four more Divizia A matches, the last one being a 2–1 away loss to Dinamo București that took place on 4 October 1987.[1][2] He had an offer from the team's new coach, Cornel Dinu to play in the final minutes of the games so he can reach 500 Divizia A appearances.[2][3][5][7] However, Ispir declined it, as he was 38 years old and had a hard time recovering after suffering a nasty injury in a match against Victoria București, and also claiming that by playing only in the final minutes of the games he would have made a fool out of himself and tricked football.[2][3][5][7]
International career
[edit]Even though he played for Romania under-18 and Romania B, Ispir never played for Romania's senior team.[6][9] On 13 May 2020, Gazeta Sporturilor included him on a list of best Romanian players who never played for the senior national team.[9]
Managerial career
[edit]Ispir started coaching shortly after ending his playing career, being an assistant of Cornel Dinu at ASA Târgu Mureș.[2] From 1992 until 2001 Ispir worked as head coach for ASA Târgu Mureș, Gaz Metan Mediaș, Apulum Alba Iulia, Chimica Târnăveni and Gaz Metan Târgu Mureș.[2] He claimed that he liked coaching but he made the mistake of not adapting to the newer mentality of the players, talking to them in the same way he communicated when he was a player.[2]
Honours
[edit]Player
[edit]ASA Târgu Mureș
Notes
[edit]- ^ The statistics for the 1986–87 Divizia B season are unavailable.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Florea Ispir at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Povestea senzațională a lui Florea Ispir, jucătorul cu record all-time pentru o singură echipă în Liga 1: de la ore de șah cu Boloni, la sprițuri pe ascuns în cămară, după înfrângeri" [The sensational story of Florea Ispir, the player with an all-time record for a single team in Liga I: from chess lessons with Boloni, to drinking spritz secretly in the pantry, after defeats] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Florea Ispir, după 485 de apariții în tricoul ASA Târgu Mureș: "Am ieșit pe locul 2, am fost vicecampioni, am fost și pe 3, am participat și în Cupa UEFA"" [Florea Ispir, after 485 appearances in the ASA Târgu Mureș shirt: "We came in 2nd place, we were vice-champions, we were also 3rd, we also participated in the UEFA Cup"] (in Romanian). Sptfm.ro. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
- ^ a b c "Poveștile lu' Pilu cu Florea Ispir" [Pilu's stories with Florea Ispir] (in Romanian). Cluj.tvr.ro. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Jucătorul din Liga 1 care deține recordul de meciuri disputate pentru aceeași echipă a povestit pentru Gazetă: "Merg zilnic 60-70 de minute cu bicicleta! Am o bătrâneţe liniştită şi frumoasă"" [The Liga 1 player who holds the record for matches played for the same team told Gazeta: "I ride my bike for 60-70 minutes every day! I have a quiet and beautiful old age"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "O legendă a fotbalului românesc explică: "Ardealu-i fruncea!"" [A Romanian football legend explains: "Transylvania is the leader!"] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Florea Ispir, o legendă vie a clubului ASA Târgu-Mureş, este tranşant:"Nivelul Ligii I e modest. Jucătorii de azi ar fi prins greu banca pe vremea mea"" [Florea Ispir, a living legend of the ASA Târgu-Mureş club, is blunt: "The level of the Liga I is modest. Today's players would have had a hard time getting the bench in my time"] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 16 May 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Stadionul în care Loți Boloni a învăţat ABC-ul fotbalului stă să se prăbușească" [The stadium where Loti Boloni learned the ABC of football is about to collapse] (in Romanian). Jurnalul.ro. 26 February 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Ion Oblemenco ar fi împlinit azi 75 de ani! Legendarul jucător nu a prins niciodată naționala. Care sunt cei mai buni fotbaliști fără vreun minut pentru România" [Ion Oblemenco would have turned 75 today! The legendary player never caught the national team. Who are the best footballers without any minutes for Romania] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 13 May 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
External links
[edit]- Florea Ispir at WorldFootball.net