| Marcel Sabou | |
| Birth Date: | 22 August 1965 |
| Birth Place: | Timișoara, Romania |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Youthclubs1: | Politehnica Timișoara |
| Years1: | 1985–1986 |
| Years2: | 1986–1989 |
| Years3: | 1989–1990 |
| Years4: | 1990–1991 |
| Years5: | 1991–1993 |
| Years6: | 1993–1996 |
| Years7: | 1996–1998 |
| Clubs1: | Politehnica Timișoara |
| Clubs7: | Desportivo Chaves |
| Caps1: | 46 |
| Caps2: | 48 |
| Caps3: | 7 |
| Caps4: | 20 |
| Caps5: | 66 |
| Caps6: | 72 |
| Caps7: | 59 |
| Goals1: | 9 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Goals5: | 9 |
| Goals6: | 6 |
| Goals7: | 10 |
| Totalcaps: | 318 |
| Totalgoals: | 34 |
| Nationalyears1: | 1986–1987 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 7 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
Marcel Sabou (born 22 August 1965) is a Romanian retired footballer who played for amongst others, Romanian side Dinamo București, Spanish sides CD Tenerife, Racing Santander and Sporting de Gijón, and Portuguese side Desportivo Chaves.[1] [2] In 2013 he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease that causes the death of neurons controlling voluntary muscles.[3]
Sabou is one of the few footballers who managed to escape from Romania's communist regime, at that time defection from the country being illegal.[4] [5] [6]
His escape was in 1989 while he was playing for Dinamo București in a friendly tournament held in Madrid, Spain.[5] Together with teammate Gheorghe Viscreanu, he sneaked out of the hotel and went to the airport.[6] They bought tickets to Frankfurt where Sabou said he had a friend who would help them, but when they arrived they didn't have an entrance visa so they were sent back to Madrid.[5] When they got back at the airport from Madrid, they found out that their visa for Spain was no longer available.[5] A police commissioner from the airport understood their situation and allowed them to stay in the airport for two days and introduced them to some people he knew from Rayo Vallecano.[5] They signed three-year contracts with Rayo, but did not play in the first one because in those times there was a rule that every footballer who ran away from the communist bloc would be suspended for one year before being allowed to play again.[4] [5] Viscreanu and Sabou made an agreement that they would not sign a contract one without the other, but Sabou did not respect this pact as he signed with Real Madrid Castilla without thinking of Viscreanu's situation, a fact that ruined their friendship.[6]
Politehnica Timișoara