Viorel Năstase

Viorel Năstase
Năstase Divizia A champion with Steaua București in 1978
Personal information
Date of birth (1953-10-07) 7 October 1953
Place of birth București, Romania
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position Forward
Youth career
Progresul București
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1969–1971 Progresul București 18 (9)
1971–1979 Steaua București 177 (77)
1980–1981 1860 Munich 25 (15)
1981–1984 Catanzaro 31 (3)
1984–1985 SV Salzburg 3 (0)
Total 254 (104)
International career
1971 Romania Olympic 1 (0)
1971–1976 Romania U23 15 (7)
1973 Romania U21 1 (0)
1976 Romania B 1 (0)
1976 Romania 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Viorel Năstase (born 7 October 1953) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a forward.

Club career

Progresul București

Năstase was born on 7 October 1953 in București, Romania.[1][2] He began playing football in the 1969–70 Divizia B season for Progresul București, helping the team finish first and gain promotion to the first league.[1][2] In the following season he made his Divizia A debut on 27 September 1970 under coach Victor Stănculescu in a 2–1 away loss to Farul Constanța.[1][3] He scored a total of nine goals until the end of the season, partnering with Mircea Sandu in the team's offense, but Progresul was relegated back to the second league.[1][2][4]

Steaua București

Afterwards, Năstase joined Steaua București for eight seasons.[1][2][4] He took part in the club's 1971–72 European Cup Winners' Cup campaign, playing five games as the team reached the quarter-finals by eliminating Hibernians and Barcelona, scoring three goals against the latter, being eliminated after 1–1 on aggregate on the away goal rule by Bayern Munich.[5][6][7][8][9] Năstase won two league titles with The Military Men in the 1975–76 and 1977–78 seasons.[1][2][10] He was used by coach Emerich Jenei in 21 matches in which he scored four goals in the first season and in 12 games with six goals in the second.[1][10] He also helped Steaua win two Cupa României, but played only in the 1976 final when Jenei sent him in the 63rd minute to replace Marcel Răducanu in the 1–0 win over CSU Galați.[2][11] In the first round of the 1977–78 UEFA Cup, he scored once again against Barcelona, but the game ended in a 5–1 loss.[5][6][7][8][12] During these years, Năstase also netted three goals in two derby draws against Dinamo București.[13] On 15 September 1979, he made his last Divizia A appearance in a 2–1 away loss to Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea, having a total of 193 matches with 86 goals scored in the competition.[1] Năstase defected from Romania's communist regime to Switzerland where he asked for political asylum in 1979 after a game between Steaua and Young Boys Bern in the 1979–80 European Cup Winners' Cup.[2][4][6][7]

1860 Munich

After being suspended for one year from playing football, which was a rule for players who defect from the Eastern Bloc to the West, Năstase went to play in West Germany at 1860 Munich.[2] Coach Carl-Heinz Rühl wanted to throw him out of the team before the start of the season because of his drunken escapades in bars.[2][6][14] He eventually made his Bundesliga debut on 2 September 1980 as Rühl used him the entire match in a 3–2 away loss to 1. FC Kaiserslautern.[15][16] Năstase netted his first goal on 13 September in a 2–1 away loss to Eintracht Frankfurt, then one month later he scored once in a 3–1 defeat in the Munich derby against Bayern Munich.[15] He would also score a hat-trick in a victory against Bayer Uerdingen and two doubles in a win over Schalke 04 and a loss to Arminia Bielefeld.[15][17] He was the team's top-scorer in the 1980–81 season with 14 goals in 23 matches, partnering in the offense with Rudi Völler.[1][5][17][18] However, in the 33rd round of the season, Năstase missed a penalty in a 0–0 draw against Hamburg, then in the following round he scored a goal in a 7–2 loss to Karlsruher SC after which the club was relegated.[17] In the same season he netted five goals in a 8–0 win over SG 05 Pirmasens in the first round of the 1980–81 DFB-Pokal.[19]

Catanzaro

After playing two more games in the 1981–82 2. Bundesliga for 1860 Munich, he was transferred for 400,000 Italian lire to Serie A club Catanzaro.[2][4][5][6][7] He was brought there to replace Massimo Palanca who had just left to play for Napoli.[2] Năstase made his Serie A debut on 13 September 1981 when coach Bruno Pace sent him at half-time to replace Carlo Borghi in a 1–1 draw against Napoli.[20][21] On 25 October he scored his first goal in a 1–1 draw against Como.[20][2] However, during his three seasons spent at the club, of which the last was in Serie B, Năstase scored only three goals as his performance was affected by his excessive nightlife activity, including heavy alcohol consumption at parties and clubs.[2][4][5][7][8]

SV Salzburg

Năstase went to play for SV Salzburg in the 1984–85 season.[2][5][7][8] He made his Austrian Bundesliga debut on 17 November 1984 under coach Hannes Winklbauer in a 3–1 home loss to VÖEST Linz.[22][23] After only three league appearances for them, Năstase retired from playing football at age 31.[2][7][8][22]

International career

From 1968 until 1972, Năstase made several appearances for Romania's Olympic, under-21, under-23 and B teams.[1][24]

Năstase played one game for Romania on 12 May 1976 under coach Ștefan Kovács in a 1–0 loss to Bulgaria in the 1973–76 Balkan Cup final.[25][26]

Honours

Progresul București

Steaua București

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Viorel Năstase at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Stelistul rebel care a marcat pe Camp Nou: a fugit de Ceaușescu și a ajuns "regele petrecerilor" în Italia" [The rebel star player who scored at Camp Nou: ran away from Ceaușescu and became the "party king" in Italy] (in Romanian). Theplaymaker.ro. 30 December 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Farul Constanța vs Progresul București 2-1". Labtof. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Viorel Năstase - o legendă a Stelei, dispărută în anonimat. "Killer-ul" Barcelonei a împlinit 56 de ani" [Viorel Năstase - a legend of Steaua, disappeared into anonymity. Barcelona's "Killer" turned 56] (in Romanian). Antena3.ro. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Povestea lui Viorel Năstase" [The story of Viorel Năstase] (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 3 November 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Românul care a devenit coșmarul Barcelonei, dispărut de mulți ani. Misterele lui Năstase" [The Romanian who became Barcelona's nightmare, missing for many years. The mysteries of Năstase] (in Romanian). Evz.ro. 9 May 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "Viorel Năstase, fotbalistul care a bătut de unul singur Barcelona, s-ar fi întors în țară: "Așa am auzit!". Au existat și zvonuri că ar fi murit" [Viorel Năstase, the footballer who single-handedly beat Barcelona, would have returned to the country: "That's what I heard!". There were also rumors that he had died] (in Romanian). Libertatea.ro. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Viorel Năstase" (in Romanian). Tikitaka.ro. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  9. ^ "În 1972, Steaua a fost la un pas să o elimine pe Bayern" [In 1972, Steaua was one step away from eliminating Bayern] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
    "Cupa Cupelor, sezonul 1971/72, sferturi: Steaua 1-1 Bayern, 8 martie 1972" [Cup Winners' Cup, season 1971/72, quarter-finals: Steaua 1-1 Bayern, 8 March 1972]. Tikitaka.ro. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
    "Season 1971–72" (in Romanian). Romaniansoccer.ro. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
    "Season 1971–72" (in Romanian). Romaniansoccer.ro. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
    "Viorel Năstase. Cup Winners Cup 1971/1972". WorldFootball. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  11. ^ "Romanian Cup - Season 1975 - 1976". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
    "Romanian Cup - Season 1979 - 1980". Romaniansoccer.ro. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  12. ^ "Season 1977–78" (in Romanian). Romaniansoccer.ro. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  13. ^ "Dinamo Bucuresti in 1976–77". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
    "Dinamo Bucuresti in 1977–78". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  14. ^ "Blick zurück: Saison 1980/1981" [Looking back: Season 1980/1981.] (in German). Tsv1860.de. Archived from the original on 27 October 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  15. ^ a b c "Viorel Năstase. Bundesliga 1980/1981". WorldFootball. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  16. ^ "1. FC Kaiserslautern - TSV 1860 München 3:2". WorldFootball. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  17. ^ a b c "Heute vor 40 Jahren: Drei Tore von Nastase für den TSV 1860" [40 years ago today: Three goals by Nastase for TSV 1860] (in German). Sechzger.de. 21 March 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  18. ^ "La dignità nell'oblio" [Dignity in oblivion] (in Italian). Uscatanzaro.net. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  19. ^ "Viorel Năstase. Viorel Năstase. DFB-Pokal 1980/1981". WorldFootball. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  20. ^ a b "Viorel Năstase. Serie A 1981/1982". WorldFootball. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  21. ^ "SSC Napoli - US Catanzaro 1:1". WorldFootball. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  22. ^ a b "Viorel Năstase. Bundesliga 1984/1985". WorldFootball. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  23. ^ "SV Austria Salzburg - SK VOEST Linz 1:3". WorldFootball. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  24. ^ "Viorel Năstase profile". 11v11. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  25. ^ "Viorel Năstase". European Football. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  26. ^ "Bulgaria – Romania 1:0". European Football. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
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