Florin Răducioiu

Football player infobox| playername= Florin Răducioiu


fullname = Florin Valeriu Răducioiu
nickname = "Radu"
dateofbirth = birth date and age|df=yes|1970|3|17
cityofbirth = Bucharest
countryofbirth = Romania
height = height|m=1.80
currentclub = Retired
position = Striker
clubnumber =
years = 1985–1990 1990–1991 1991–1992 1992–1993 1993–1994 1994–1996 1996–1997 1997 1997–1998 1998–2000 2000–2001 2001–2002 2004
clubs = Dinamo Bucureşti
Bari
Verona
Brescia
AC Milan
RCD Espanyol
West Ham United
RCD Espanyol
VfB Stuttgart
Brescia
Dinamo Bucureşti
AS Monaco FC US Créteil-Lusitanos
caps(goals) = 76 (29) 30 0(5) 30 0(2) 29 (13) 07 0(2) 46 (14) 11 0(2) 10 0(5) 19 0(4) 37 0(5) 08 0(1) 12 0(2) 09 0(1)
nationalyears = 1988–1996
nationalteam = Romania
nationalcaps(goals) = 40 (21)
pcupdate =
ntupdate =

Florin Valeriu Răducioiu (born 17 March 1970 in Bucharest) is a former Romanian football striker, who played for Dinamo Bucureşti, A.C. Milan, Brescia Calcio, West Ham United, RCD Espanyol, VfB Stuttgart and A.S. Monaco.

He is the only footballer to have played in arguably the top five European Leagues: England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France. He played for Romania at the 1990 World Cup hosted by Italy, the 1994 World Cup in the United States, and England's Euro 96.

Club career

Răducioiu was a product of Dinamo Bucureşti. Legendary Mircea Lucescu, former Dinamo coach, saw his skills and, as a feature of his philosophy towards football to promote young players, gave Răducioiu the chance to play at the highest level at the age of 17 years.

It is important to keep in mind that, in the 1980s, the Romanian football clubs were in the elite of European football: Steaua Bucharest won the European Cup in 1986 and were losing finalists in the 1989 competition. By the beginning of 1988–1989, Răducioiu was first-choice in Lucescu's team. He made an impressive debut in European football by reaching the quarterfinals of the 1988-89 Cup Winners' Cup (ousted by U.C. Sampdoria in the quarterfinals, on away goals) and finishing second in the league. By 1989–1990, Răducioiu was one of Romania's finest players, and that year was to be the most significant of his early career. He won the Romanian championship and the cup, reaching the semifinals of the 1989-90 Cup Winners' Cup, where Dinamo was defeated by RSC Anderlecht.

After two seasons in Serie A, Răducioiu joined A.C. Milan in 1993-94, making only 7 appearances and scoring 2 goals, but winning the UEFA Champions League. In 1994 he went to Spain to play for RCD Espanyol.

West Ham United signed him in 1996. Most famously, he scored a goal against Manchester United after being criticized by Harry Redknapp for going shopping with his girlfriend on a previous match day. Despite showing promise, he never adapted to the pace and competitive nature of the English game, making no real impact at Upton Park. After his short underachieving spell at the East London club, he was transferred back to Espanyol, having scored just two goals in the Premier League.

Răducioiu retired in 2004, after a short stint with modest French side US Créteil-Lusitanos.

International career

Răducioiu made his FIFA World Cup debut in 1990, aged 20. Appearing in three games for Romania, he finished without scoring, and Romania fell to the Republic of Ireland in the second round, in a penalty shootout.

In 1994, he fared better, scoring four goals in the tournament as Romania advanced to the quarterfinals. Răducioiu scored two goals against Colombia during the qualifying round, and later plugged two more in a quarterfinal loss to Sweden. Due to rule changes, had the match against Sweden been played two years later, Romania would have advanced to the semifinals; Răducioiu's second goal was the first scored during extra time, and under later rules, this tally would have been considered a golden goal (instead, Kennet Andersson also scored in the additional period, tying the game, and Sweden eventually won 5-4 on penalties, with Răducioiu scored on the first penalty attempt for Romania).

In Euro 1996, as Romania lost all three group stage matches, Răducioiu netted the nation's only goal, in a 1-2 loss against Spain.

External links

* [http://www.florinraducioiu.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.romaniansoccer.ro/players/r/raducioiu.shtml RomanianSoccer.ro profile]