Ștefan Kovács

Ștefan Kovács
Kovács in 1971
Personal information
Date of birth (1920-10-02)2 October 1920
Place of birth Timișoara, Romania
Date of death 12 May 1995(1995-05-12) (aged 74)
Place of death Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1931–1934 CA Timișoara
1934–1937 CA Oradea
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1937–1938 CA Oradea 9 (0)
1938–1941 Olympique Charleroi 19 (4)
1941 Ripensia Timișoara
1941–1942 CFR Turnu Severin
1942–1947 Kolozsvári AC / Ferar Cluj 93 (8)
1947–1950 CFR Cluj 52 (5)
1950–1953 Universitatea Cluj 31 (6)
Total 204 (23)
Managerial career
1952–1953 Universitatea Cluj (player/coach)
1954–1955 Universitatea Cluj
1956 Universitatea Cluj
1957–1958 Universitatea Cluj
1959–1960 Dermata Cluj
1960–1962 CFR Cluj
1962–1967 Romania (assistant)
1967–1970 Steaua București
1971–1973 Ajax
1973–1975 France
1976–1979 Romania
1980 Romania
1982–1983 Panathinaikos
1986–1987 AS Monaco
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ștefan Kovács (Romanian: Ștefan Covaci; Hungarian: Kovács István; 2 October 1920 – 12 May 1995) was a Romanian football player and coach. Having won two European Cup titles, he is one of the most successful association football coaches in the history of the game. Various football magazines listed him on their list of best football coaches as in 2013 World Soccer put him on the 36th place, France Football ranked him at 43 in 2019, while FourFourTwo in 2023 placed him on the 62nd place.