Mourning in Romanian sport. He coached Steaua in the final of the European Champions Cup

The former men’s volleyball coach Tănase Tănase, with more than 2,400 official games as head coach, of which 239 in European competitions, died at the age of 98, CSA Steaua announced on Wednesday.

“The legendary Tănase Tănase has died! At 98 years old, the greatest coach Romanian volleyball had left us. Tănase Tănase sat on the technical bench in over 2,400 official matches as head coach, of which 205 have former inter-country matches and 239 meetings in European competitions! Nea Tică, as he was known in the volleyball world, led Steaua Bucharest to five national championship titles between 1967 and 1971. He also played with Steaua in the final of the European Champions Cup (1969) and two more semi-finals in the most important interclub competition”, announced the representatives of the CSA Steaua club on the official Facebook page.

In 2022, at the Romanian Cup final, in Braşov, Tănase received the official shirt from the Steaua team before the match with Arcada Galaţi.

“Steaua is my soul team, the club where I won five consecutive championship titles. I remember, in 1967, when we obtained the first championship title in the history of Steaua! That anniversary was truly an unforgettable one, because in that year, all the sections of sports games, volleyball, basketball, handball, football, won the titles of champions!” declared the former coach at the time.

Born on May 28, 1925, Tănase began his career as a coach at Tractorul Braşov in 1951 and knew the consecration at Steaua, where he won the national title 5 times.