Sergiu Radu

Sergiu Radu

Sergiu Radu at VfL Wolfsburg in June, 2007
Personal information
Full name	Sergiu Marian Radu
Date of birth	(1977-08-10) 10 August 1977 (age 46)
Place of birth	Râmnicu Vâlcea, Vâlcea County, Romania
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
	Petrolul Drăgășani
0000–1995	FC Vâlcea
1995–1996	Viitorul Oradea
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1996–1998	Jiul Petroșani	14	(0)
1997–1998	→ Olimpia Satu Mare (loan)	23	(12)
1998–2001	Rapid București	54	(14)
2001–2003	Național București	68	(24)
2003–2004	Le Mans	13	(0)
2005	Național București	15	(7)
2005–2007	Energie Cottbus	67	(26)
2007–2009	VfL Wolfsburg	11	(2)
2008	→ VfB Stuttgart (loan)	2	(0)
2008–2009	→ 1. FC Köln (loan)	16	(2)
2009–2010	Energie Cottbus	30	(3)
2011–2012	Alemannia Aachen	41	(5)
Total		354	(95)
International career
2007	Romania	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Sergiu Marian Radu (born 10 August 1977) is a former Romanian professional footballer who played as forward in Romania, France, and Germany at top tier level (i.e. Liga I, Ligue 1, and Bundesliga respectively). He had also earned one cap for Romania's national team in 2007 in a match against Belarus. During the late part of his career, he also played in 2. Bundesliga.

He was champion with Rapid Bucharest at the end of the 1990s, having won a Liga I (then known as Divizia A) title by the end of the 1998–99 season and a Supercupa României with the same Romanian side.

Club career

Sergiu Radu was born on 10 August 1977 in Râmnicu Vâlcea and started playing junior level football in his native Romania at Petrolul Drăgășani, afterwards moving to FC Vâlcea, ending his junior period at Viitorul Oradea. ^{[1] [2]} He started his senior career at Jiul Petroșani where he made his Divizia A debut on 25 August 1996 in a 1–0 victory against Dinamo București. ^{[1] [3] [2]} In the following season Radu played for Olimpia Satu Mare in Divizia B, scoring 12 goals that helped the team finish the championship on the first place and gain promotion to Divizia A. ^{[1] [4]} He was transferred by coach Mircea Lucescu at Rapid București where in his first season he scored two goals in 15 appearances which helped the club win the 1998–99 Divizia A title and helped the club reach the Cupa României final in which he was not used by Lucescu as the team lost with 3–2 in front of Steaua București, also assistant coach Nicolae Manea gave him the nickname "Schijă" (The Shrapnel) after he described Radu's style of play as "quick and penetrating like a shrapnel bouncing off a bomb". ^{[1] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]} In the following season he scored a hat-trick against Steaua in the 5–0 victory from the Supercupa României and 11 league goals as the team finished on the second place, while in the middle of the 2000–01 season he went to play for Național București, the highlights of this period being a runner-up position with Cosmin Olăroiu coach in the 2001–02 season and in the following one when the team was coached by Walter Zenga he scored 12 goals in the league, played from halftime when he replaced Stelian Carabaș in the 1–0 loss in front of Dinamo from the Cupa României final and appeared in all six matches from the UEFA Cup campaign as the team eliminated Tirana against whom he scored two goals, Heerenveen, being defeated with 3–0 on aggregate by Ronaldinho's Paris Saint-Germain. ^{[1] [5] [6] [7] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]}

In 2003 Radu made his first move to a foreign club, Le Mans in France, however this was not a successful period and after 13 Ligue 1 goalless matches he returned to Național where he made his last Divizia A appearance on 11 June 2005 in a 2–1 victory in which he scored a goal against FCM Bacău, having a total of 151 matches played with 45 goals scored in the competition, also during his spells with Rapid and Național he played the only 14 games in European competitions of his career in which he scored two goals. ^{[1] [2] [5] [22] [23]} He moved to Germany in 2005 to join Energie Cottbus in 2. Bundesliga, the club won promotion in 2006, with Radu's contribution being 12 goals in 33 games. ^{[1] [2] [23] [24]} In the following season he made a couple in the team's offence with fellow Romanian Vlad Munteanu, they were nicknamed by the German press "The Twins of the Goal" as through the season Radu was the team's top-goalscorer by scoring a personal record of 14 goals while Munteanu netted the goal 11 times which together are over half of the total 38 goals scored by the team that helped it avoid relegation. ^{[1] [2] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31]} In the summer of 2007 he and Vlad Munteanu were transferred by VfL Wolfsburg who paid 4.5 million€ for them of which 3 were for Radu. ^{[25] [26] [27] [29] [30]} After in the first half of the 2007–08 Bundesliga season he was used by coach Felix Magath in 11 matches in which he scored two goals, Radu was sent for the second half on loan at fellow Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart where he hoped that if he would be seen playing alongside Romanian international Ciprian Marica he would have more chances of being called-up at the national team by coach Victor Pițurcă but the spell ended being unsuccessful as he made only two league appearances, coach Armin Veh preferring to use Cacau or Mario Gómez instead of him. ^{[1] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42]} After not being part of Magath's plans for The Wolves in the 2008–09 season he was loaned again this time at 1. FC Köln where coach Christoph Daum gave him his last 16 Bundesliga appearances in which he scored two goals, one of them being in a 1–1 against Wolfsburg, earning a total of 63 games with 18 goals scored in the competition. ^{[1] [32] [43] [44] [45] [46]}

He returned to Energie Cottbus in 2. Bundesliga when on 17 July 2009 he signed a three-year contract but ended up spending only one and a half years, having fellow Romanians Emil Jula and Ovidiu Burcă as teammates. ^{[1] [32] [47] [48] [49]} In the middle of the 2010–11 2. Bundesliga season Radu signed with Alemannia Aachen and scored on his debut in the 4–2 win against Karlsruher but decided to end his career at the end of the following season as the team relegated to 3. Liga, having a career total of 104 2. Bundesliga appearances with 19 goals scored. ^{[1] [47] [50] [51] [52]}

International career

In 2007, during his prolific season spent at Energie Cottbus together with Vlad Munteanu, the Romanian press insisted that they should be called-up for the national team but coach Victor Pițurcă did not accept saying about the Bundesliga championship:"It's not what it once was! The clubs are at a low level and the players are of average value." ^{[24] [30] [31] [28] [53] [54]} However later that year, in September after he was transferred at VfL Wolfsburg, Radu was called-up by Pițurcă to play for Romania as a starter until he was replaced in the 57th minute with Florentin Petre in a 3–1 away victory against Belarus at the Euro 2008 qualifiers. ^{[31] [55] [56] [57] [58] [59] [60]}

Honours

Olimpia Satu Mare

• Divizia B: 1997–98 ^[1]

Rapid București

• Divizia A: 1998–99 ^[1]
• Supercupa României: 1999 ^[1]

References

1. Sergiu Radu at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
2. "Ex-internationalul Sergiu Radu nu a uitat de unde a plecat" [Ex-international Sergiu Radu has not forgotten where he came from] (in Romanian). Arenavalceana.ro. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
3. "Sergiu Radu despre Bundesliga" [Sergiu Radu about Bundesliga] (in Romanian). Gddhd.ro. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
4. "Sergiu Radu: Pentru mine Olimpia Satu Mare a fost rampa de lansare!" [Sergiu Radu: For me, Olimpia Satu Mare was a launching pad!] (in Romanian). Gazetanord-vest.ro. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
5. "Stabilit de ani buni în Vest, Sergiu Radu oferă un ghid practic conaționalilor care vor să se realizeze în străinătate: "Dragi români, s-a terminat cu cocoloșeala!"" [Established for many years in the West, Sergiu Radu offers a practical guide to compatriots who want to achieve themselves abroad: "Dear Romanians, the hump is over!"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
6. "Sergiu Radu a urmărit Rapid - Dinamo în Germania, alături de echipa Dolce Sport. Cu cine a ținut și analiza sa" [Sergiu Radu watched Rapid - Dinamo in Germany, with the Dolce Sport team. Whom he wanted to win and his analysis] (in Romanian). Orangesport.ro. 4 March 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
7. ""Olăroiu e cel mai bun antrenor din această generație". Românul care a făcut senzație în Bundesliga îl descrie şi pe Şumudică: "Îi place încă să creeze conflicte"" ["Olăroiu is the best coach of this generation". The Romanian who made a sensation in the Bundesliga also describes Şumudica: "He still likes to create conflicts"] (in Romanian). Orangesport.ro. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
8. "Românul antrenat de "Il Luce" și Christoph Daum: "Pe nea Mircea Lucescu l-aș pune pe primul loc"" [The Romanian coached by "Il Luce" and Christoph Daum: "I would put Mircea Lucescu first"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
9. "Sergiu Radu a fost antrenat de Daum şi Mircea Lucescu. De ce îl consideră pe tehnicianul român mai bun" [Sergiu Radu was trained by Daum and Mircea Lucescu. Why he considers the Romanian coach better] (in Romanian). Orangesport.ro. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
10. "Dezvăluiri uluitoare ale lui Sergiu Radu: "Eu și fata am avut gripa porcină. Eu am luat și citomegalovirus. Poate și coronavirus". Ce spune despre pandemia din Germania" [Surprising revelations of Sergiu Radu: "Me and the girl had swine flu. I also got cytomegalovirus. Maybe also coronavirus". What does he say about the pandemic in Germany?] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
11. "Mărturia unui român din Spania, una dintre cele mai afectate țări de COVID-19: "România a făcut lucruri mai bune decât s-au făcut aici"" [The testimony of a Romanian from Spain, one of the countries most affected by COVID-19: "Romania has done better things than what was done here"] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 29 March 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
12. "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
13. "Romanian Cup – Season 1998–19999". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
14. "Sergiu Radu este dispus să vină în ajutorul lui Rapid: "Nu mă duc doar de dragul de a fi acolo!"" [Sergiu Radu is willing to come to Rapid's aid: "I'm not going just for the sake of being there!"] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
15. "Olăroiu pierdea în ultima etapă campionatul cu FC Național" [Olăroiu lost the championship with FC Național in the last stage] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 7 July 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
16. "Victorii pentru Rapid si FC National" [Victories for Rapid and FC National] (in Romanian). Gds.ro. 17 August 2002. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
17. "Rapid si National au inceput cu dreptul Cupa UEFA" [Rapid and National started the UEFA Cup right] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 17 August 2002. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
18. "National scrape past plucky Tirana" (in Romanian). Uefa.com. 29 August 2002. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
19. "20 de ani de la ultimul meci al lui FC Național pe teren propriu în Europa" [20 years since FC Național's last match at home in Europe] (in Romanian). Cazino365.ro. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
20. "Romanian Cup – Season 2003–2004". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
21. "Romanian Super Cup – Season 1999". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
22. "National scrape past plucky Tirana" (in Romanian). Uefa.com. 29 August 2002. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
23. "Sergiu Radu, oficial la Energie Cottbus" [Sergiu Radu, official at Energie Cottbus] (in Romanian). Romanialibera.ro. 17 June 2005. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
24. "Sergiu Radu: "Am marcat cat Mutu. Vreau la nationala!"" [Sergiu Radu: "I scored as much as Mutu. I want to be at the national team!"] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 22 May 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
25. "La pachet" [Package deal] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 25 May 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
26. ""Gemenii golului", la Wolfsburg pentru 4,5 milioane de euro!" ["The twins of the goal", in Wolfsburg for 4.5 million euros!] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 26 May 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
27. "Vlad Munteanu si Sergiu Radu - La Wolfsburg" [Vlad Munteanu and Sergiu Radu - At Wolfsburg] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 25 May 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
28. "Vlad Munteanu: "Piturca poate sa nu ma cheme la nationala, nu ma mai intereseaza"" [Vlad Munteanu: "Piturca may not call me to the national team, I'm not interested anymore"] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 18 June 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
29. ""Gemenii golului" s-au transferat la Wolfsburg" [The "twins of the goal" transferred to Wolfsburg] (in Romanian). Crisana.ro. 26 May 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
30. "Sergiu Radu si Vlad Munteanu, la VfL Wolfsburg" [Sergiu Radu and Vlad Munteanu, at VfL Wolfsburg] (in Romanian). Evz.ro. 26 May 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
31. "Piturca si-a calcat pe inima si l-a convocat pe "Schija"" [Piturca stepped on his heart and summoned "Schija"] (in Romanian). Evz.ro. 25 August 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
32. "Sergiu Radu în liga a doua" [Sergiu Radu in the second league] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 17 July 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
33. "Sergiu Radu in pericol" [Sergiu Radu in danger] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 4 August 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
34. "Sergiu Radu va fi imprumutat la Stuttgart" [Sergiu Radu will be loaned to Stuttgart] (in Romanian). Hotnews.ro. 15 December 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
35. "Managerul lui Stuttgart spune că Sergiu Radu va ajuta echipa" [Stuttgart's manager says Sergiu Radu will help the team] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 30 January 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
36. "Marica, aliat de conjunctură pentru Sergiu Radu" [Marica, conjuncture ally for Sergiu Radu] (in Romanian). Monitorulsv.ro. 19 December 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
37. "A jucat la Stuttgart și știe să le depisteze căderea:"Profitați de forma lor slabă!" Sergiu Radu are sfaturi pentru steliști" [He played in Stuttgart and knows how to spot their downfall: "Take advantage of their poor form!" Sergiu Radu has advice for the Steaua players] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
38. "Sergiu Radu: "Plecarea mea la Stuttgart a fost o greșeală"" [Sergiu Radu: "My departure to Stuttgart was a mistake"] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 4 July 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
39. ""Schijă" regretă transferul la Stuttgart" ["Schijă" regrets the transfer to Stuttgart] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 5 July 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
40. "Sergiu Radu: A fost o greseala ca am mers la Stuttgart" [Sergiu Radu: It was a mistake that I went to Stuttgart] (in Romanian). Romaniansoccer.ro. 4 July 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
41. "Radu on the way". vfb.de. 16 December 2007. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2007.
42. "All clear for Radu". vfb.de. 21 December 2007. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2007.
43. ""Magath nu ma prea inghite"" ["Magath doesn't really swallow me"] (in Romanian). Libertatea.ro. 5 July 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
44. "Sergiu Radu: "Îmi pare bine că am ajuns la Koln"" [Sergiu Radu: "I feel good that I arrived in Koln"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
45. "Sergiu Radu nu-l uită și nu-l iartă pe Magath" [Sergiu Radu does not forget or forgive Magath] (in Romanian). Gds.ro. 19 August 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
46. ""Vampirul" Sergiu Radu" ["The Vampire" Sergiu Radu] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 2 February 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
47. "Sergiu Radu a semnat cu Alemannia Aachen" [Sergiu Radu signed with Alemannia Aachen] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 21 January 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
48. "Sergiu Radu a semnat un contract pe trei ani cu Energie Cottbus" [Sergiu Radu signed a three-year contract with Energie Cottbus] (in Romanian). Romaniansoccer.ro. 18 July 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
49. "Burcă, Jula şi Sergiu Radu n-au avut Energie" [Burcă, Jula and Sergiu Radu did not have Energy] (in Romanian). Evz.ro. 1 November 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
50. "Sergiu Radu a debutat cu gol la Aachen impotriva echipei lui Andrei Cristea" [Sergiu Radu made his debut in Aachen with a goal against Andrei Cristea's team] (in Romanian). Ziare.com. 22 January 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
51. "Încă un român OUT din fotbalul german! Sergiu Radu, pe urmele lui Cristea și Rada" [Another Romanian OUT from German football! Sergiu Radu, on the footsteps of Cristea and Rada] (in Romanian). Digisport.ro. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
52. "Sergiu Radu: Unterschrift und erstes Training" (in German). alemannia-aachen.de. 21 January 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
53. "Piturca: "Bundesliga este un campionat slab, cu jucatori mediocri"" [Piturca: "Bundesliga is a weak championship, with mediocre players"] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 22 May 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
54. "Piţurcă: "Privesc fiecare etapă din Bundesliga"" [Pițurcă: "I watch every round of the Bundesliga"] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 3 February 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
55. "Sergiu Radu: "Probabil ca acum s-a considerat ca e momentul sa fiu chemat"" [Sergiu Radu: "Probably now it was considered the right time for me to be called"] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 24 August 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
56. "Sergiu Radu, surpriza lui Pițurcă" [Sergiu Radu, Pițurcă's surprise] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 25 August 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
57. "Piturca l-a convocat pe Sergiu Radu pentru meciul din Belarus" [Piturca called-up Sergiu Radu for the match in Belarus] (in Romanian). Hotnews.ro. 24 August 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
58. "Fotbal: Victor Pițurcă explică selecţionarea jucătorilor Sergiu Radu, Dan Matei şi Eugen Trică" [Football: Victor Pițurcă explains the selection of players Sergiu Radu, Dan Matei and Eugen Trică] (in Romanian). Gds.ro. 3 September 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
59. "Sergiu Radu profile". European Football. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
60. "Belarus 1-3 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 27 August 2023.

External links

• Sergiu Radu at fussballdaten.de (in German)
• Sergiu Radu at WorldFootball.net
• Sergiu Radu at National-Football-Teams.com