Sevastian "Bebe" Iovănescu (2 October 1953 – 29 March 2010) was a Romanian football player.

Club career

Sevastian Iovănescu, also known as "Bebe" was born on 2 October 1953 in Ghelmegioaia, Romania, starting to play junior level football in 1968 at CFR Caransebeș, moving two years later at Steaua București. He made his Divizia A debut on 16 May 1973 in a 0–0 with Universitatea Cluj. In 1974 he went for one season at FC Constanța, then moved to Argeș Pitești. In the 1977–78 season he scored a personal record of 12 goals in the league as Argeș finished on the second place. Iovănescu made his debut in European competitions in the 1978–79 UEFA Cup edition when he helped the team eliminate Panathinaikos in the first round with a 5–1 aggregate victory. In the following round they met Valencia led by Mario Kempes, earning a 2–1 win in the first leg, however they lost the second one with 5–2 in which he scored once and provided an assist for Doru Toma's goal, thus the campaign ending. In the same season he helped Argeș win the title, being used by coach Florin Halagian in 32 games in which he scored seven goals. In the following season they passed AEK Athens in the first round of the 1979–80 European Cup, the team being eliminated in the following one by title holders and eventual winners, Nottingham Forest. In 1980 he went to play for Olt Scornicești where he worked once again with Halagian. After two seasons he made a comeback at Argeș Pitești where he would spend three years and a half, then in the middle of the 1985–86 season he went for a second spell at FC Constanța, this time in Divizia B. Iovănescu helped the team promote to the first league in 1988, then in the following year on 17 June he made his last Divizia A appearance in a 1–0 home win over FC Brașov, having a total of 357 appearances with 56 goals scored in the competition, also he played a total of eight games, scoring once in European competitions.

International career

Sevastian Iovănescu made one appearance at international level for Romania, playing on 13 May 1979 under coach Florin Halagian in a 1–1 against Cyprus at the Euro 1980 qualifiers.

After retirement

After he ended his playing career, Iovănescu worked for Farul Constanța in various positions, as assistant coach for the first team, head coach at the satellite team, coach at the team's academy and president of the club. In 2009, he received the Rubin Order of Merit from the Romanian Football Federation, which had previously awarded him the title of Master of Sports.

Death

On 29 March 2010, Iovănescu died from a viral infection in the Constanța County Hospital at the age of 56.

Honours

Argeș Pitești Farul Constanța