Marius Niculae

Marius Niculae
Marius Niculae
Personal information
Full name Marius Constantin Niculae
Date of birth 16 May 1981 (1981-05-16) (age 30)
Place of birth Bucharest, Romania
Height 1.84 m (6 ft  12 in)
Playing position Centre forward
Club information
Current club Dinamo Bucureşti
Number 9
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–2001 Dinamo Bucureşti 100 (44)
2001–2005 Sporting CP 59 (14)
2005–2006 Standard Liège 26 (4)
2007 Mainz 05 6 (0)
2007–2008 Inverness 35 (8)
2008– Dinamo Bucureşti 74 (31)
2011 Kavala (loan) 12 (4)
National team
2000– Romania 39 (13)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 November 2011.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2011

Marius Constantin Niculae (born 16 May 1981 in Bucharest) is a Romanian footballer who plays for FC Dinamo Bucureşti as a centre forward.

A Romanian international since the age of 19, he participated at Euro 2008.

Contents

Club career

Dinamo Bucharest

Niculae startd his professional career with Dinamo Bucureşti, making his Liga I debut at age 15 (5–2 home win against Farul Constanţa, on 22 November 1996).

During his last two years with the capital side, still not yet 20, he scored 33 league goals combined, and was an essential offensive unit as the club won the double in the 1999–2000 season (Dinamo also had two other runner-up league positions and won another domestic cup in his spell with the team).

Sporting

In 2001, Niculae joined Portuguese giants Sporting Clube de Portugal on a four-year contract, where he failed to settle during his four-season spell, barred by then-in form Mário Jardel, the 2003 signing of his compatriot Liédson and injuries.[1][2][3]

His best output happened in his debut season, as the Lions won the double, with the player contributing with seven goals in 16 matches in the league. However, on 22 December 2001, in a game against Vitória de Setúbal, after a dangerous challenge by Ico, he suffered a career-threatening knee injury. After a long recovery, Niculae was able to return to pre-season matches, only to break a toe in practice on 10 December 2002, this injury too leading to a long recovery with a series of relapses.[4] By the time the player was once again fully fit, he struggled to regain his previous form.

As Sporting reached the UEFA Cup final on its home ground, the player contributed with three games and one goal, in the 4–1 home win against Newcastle United in the quarterfinals (4–2 on aggregate).[5]

Scotland

After unassuming spells with Standard de Liège in Belgium and 1. FSV Mainz 05 in Germany - only six Bundesliga games for the latter - Niculae moved, on a two-year contract, to Scottish Premier League's Inverness Caledonian Thistle, following a brief trial in July 2007. His first application for a work permit was rejected, but Inverness appealed and asked fans to sign a petition to have the player's permit granted. After his appeal, Niculae was granted a work permit and became eligible. He was awarded the Clydesdale Bank Player of the Month award for his performances in the season in December.

Niculae became very popular with the fans, and was booked during a 3–0 home victory over Kilmarnock,[6] after leaving the pitch to celebrate with the fans in the stand after scoring the final goal. After the resignation of chairman Alan Savage, it became clear Inverness could not afford Niculae's wages,[7][8] and the club accepted an offer of 500,000 from Dinamo Bucharest, in the summer of 2008.[9] Niculae left Inverness with a record of 10 goals in 38 games in all competitions.

Return home

Niculae started his second spell at Dinamo with 12 goals in his first season, but could not reproduce that form in the following years. In January 2011, he was loaned to Kavala F.C. in the Greek top division.

International career

A Romanian international since 2 February 2000 - aged 18 years and 9 months - in a friendly 2–0 win with Latvia, Niculae was part of the nation's squad in UEFA Euro 2008, appearing in two group stage matches.

International goals

Scores and results table. Romania's goal tally first:
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 2 February 2000 Pafiako Stadium, Paphos, Cyprus  Latvia 1–0 2–0 Friendly
2 5 December 2000 Stade 19 Mai 1956, Annaba, Algeria  Algeria 1–0 2–3 Friendly
3 5 December 2000 Stade 19 Mai 1956, Annaba, Algeria  Algeria 2–3 2–3 Friendly
4 8 December 2000 Stade 19 Mai 1956, Annaba, Algeria  Algeria 2–0 3–2 Friendly
5 8 December 2000 Stade 19 Mai 1956, Annaba, Algeria  Algeria 3–1 3–2 Friendly
6 2 June 2001 Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania  Hungary 1–0 2–0 2002 World Cup qualification
7 2 June 2001 Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania  Hungary 2–0 2–0 2002 World Cup qualification
8 15 August 2001 Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia  Slovenia 1–0 2–2 Friendly
9 5 September 2001 Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary  Hungary 2–0 2–0 2002 World Cup qualification
10 10 November 2001 Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia  Slovenia 1–0 1–2 2002 World Cup qualification - Playoffs
11 8 September 2004 Estadi Comunal d'Aixovall, Andorra la Vella, Andorra  Andorra 3–0 5–1 2006 World Cup qualification
12 8 September 2004 Estadi Communal d'Aixovall, Andorra la Vella, Andorra  Andorra 4–1 5–1 2006 World Cup qualification
13 26 March 2008 Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania  Russia 3–0 3–0 Friendly

Honours

Team

  • Sporting:
    • Portuguese League: 2001–02
    • Portuguese Cup: 2001–02
    • Portuguese Supercup: 2002
    • UEFA Cup: Runner-up 2004–05

Individual

  • Romanian League: Top scorer 2000–01 (20 goals)

References

External links

Soccer ball.svg Romanian football portal

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