József Pecsovszky

Chinezul Timișoara and CAM Timișoara

Pecsovszky, nicknamed Ceala, was born on 2 July 1921 in Timișoara, Romania to a Slovak father and a Romanian mother, being part of a family of ten children and growing up in the Iosefin neighborhood. He began playing junior-level football under coach Carol Vanna at age 13 at local club Chinezul. At age 16, he made his senior debut in a Divizia B match against Ripensia Timișoara. In 1940, he moved to CAM Timișoara, making his Divizia A debut on 2 June 1940 in a 4–1 win over Rapid București. Subsequently, he returned to Chinezul.

Nagyváradi AC, Vasas and CA Cluj

In 1942, Pecsovszky moved to Nagyváradi AC, making his Nemzeti Bajnokság I debut on 22 February under coach Ferenc Rónay in a 7–1 home victory against MÁVAG. He scored his first goal in the competition on 28 March 1943 in a 3–2 win over Kolozsvár AC. During the 1943–44 season, Pecsovszky played 22 matches, scoring two goals in victories against Debrecen and Budapesti Elektromos, which helped Nagyváradi AC win the championship under coach Rónay. In 1944, he went to play for Vasas. There, he made his last Nemzeti Bajnokság I appearance on 13 December 1944 in a 2–0 win over BSZKRT, totaling 78 matches with five goals in the competition. Subsequently, he joined CA Cluj. In 1946, a Hungarian footballer tried to steal Pecsovszky's identity by recommending himself as Pecsovszky in order to sign a contract with RC Strasbourg of France.

UTA Arad and CCA București…

Hungary

Pecsovszky played three friendly games for Hungary, making his debut on 1 November 1942 under coach Kálmán Vághy in a 3–0 home win over Switzerland. His following match was a 3–1 away success against the same opponent. Pecsovszky's last game for The Magyars took place on 6 June 1943 in a 4–2 away victory against Bulgaria.

Romania

Pecsovszky switched allegiance to Romania and made his debut on 30 September 1945 under coach Coloman Braun-Bogdan in a 7–2 friendly loss to his former team Hungary in which he scored once. Subsequently, he played three matches in the 1946 Balkan Cup and two during the 1947 edition, managing to score once in a 3–2 win over Bulgaria in the latter campaign. He also played three matches in the 1948 Balkan Cup, scoring once in a 5–1 loss to Hungary. Pecsovszky was suspended in October 1947 for a period of three months because before an international game between Romania and Poland, he bet on the Polish team. Pecsovszky was selected by coach Gheorghe Popescu to play in the 1952 Summer Olympics, captaining his side in the 2–1 loss in the first round against eventual champions Hungary. Afterwards, he played four matches and netted a brace in a 3–2 win over Bulgaria in the 1954 World Cup qualifiers. During the 1958 World Cup qualifiers, he made three appearances and scored once in a 3–0 victory against Greece. Pecsovszky's last match for Romania took place on 14 September 1958 in a 3–2 friendly loss to East Germany, totaling 32…

Pecsovszky began his coaching career in 1961 at UTA Arad's youth center. One year later, he became the coach of the club's main squad, leading them for a significant period during the 1962–63 Divizia A season. In the following years, he coached teams in the Romanian lower leagues such as AS Cugir and Minerul Ștei. Pecsovszky's last coaching spell was from 1965 to 1967 at UTA's youth center.

Aristide Buhoiu wrote a book about him titled "Petschovschi" in which he described the player's style of play as follows: "He was delightful. He struck the ball flawlessly with both feet, leapt for headers like a high jumper, thought quickly, and whenever he took matters into his own hands, the goalkeeper might as well have written his will."