Adalbert Deșu (Hungarian: Béla Dezső, Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈbeːlɒ ˈdɛʒøː]; 24 March 1909 – 6 June 1937) was a Romanian football striker. He was a member of Romania national football team which competed at the 1930 FIFA World Cup in Uruguay. Deșu was also the first scorer for Romania at a FIFA World Cup. He scored a goal in the first minute of his team's first group game of the first football world cup.[2]

Béla Dezső / Adalbert Deşu
Personal information
Full name Béla Dezső / Adalbert Deșu
Date of birth (1909-03-24)24 March 1909
Place of birth Gátalja, Austria-Hungary
(now Gătaia, Romania)
Date of death 6 June 1937(1937-06-06) (aged 28)
Place of death Timișoara, Romania
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Inside Left
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1928–1930 UDR Reşiţa 52 (34)
1930–1933 Banatul Timișoara 77 (42)
Total 129 (76)
International career
1929–1930 Romania[1] 6 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Deșu, of Hungarian origin,[3] was born in Gátalja (Gătaia) and started his football career in his hometown. After a while he moved to Reşiţa, playing for two years at UDR. In 1929, he was called up to the Romania national football team for the first time, scoring in a friendly against Bulgaria. He was also picked up for the Romanian team which competed in 1930 FIFA World Cup. The chairman of the club where he played, Wolfgang Auschnit, refused to pay him the salary in the period of the World Cup.[4] After the World Cup, Deșu eventually left the club because of the chairman. Deșu scored Romania's first goal against Peru, and played his last match for the national team in the second match of that World Cup for Romania, against Uruguay. After the World Cup, he signed with Banatul Timișoara, but in 1933 he retired from football because of pneumonia. In 1937, he died of pneumonia, aged 28.

International goals

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Romania's goal tally first

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 15 September 1929 Levski Field, Sofia, Bulgaria   Bulgaria 3–2 3–2 Friendly
2. 4 May 1930 Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, Yugoslavia   Yugoslavia 1–2 1–2 Friendly
3. 14 July 1930 Estadio Pocitos, Montevideo, Uruguay   Peru 1–0 3–1 1930 FIFA World Cup

References and notes

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  1. ^ Evidence of Adalbert Deșu's appearances for Romania national football team Archived 10 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ FIFA World Cup match archive
  3. ^ Gál, László (2010). Montevideótól Johannesburgig – Érdekességek a futball vb-k világából. Budapest: Aposztróf. p. 154. ISBN 9786155056024.
  4. ^ "A story about the players from Timișoara County that played at the FIFA World Cup. The story with Deșu and his chairman is included here (Romanian language)". Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2008.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by Fastest World Cup Goalscorer
50 seconds

14 July 1930 – 7 June 1934
Succeeded by