Famous Romanian Football Players

Known to fans as The Maradona of the Carpathians, Gheorghe Hagi is considered the most successful Romanian footballer of all time. An attacking midfielder, he began his career with FC Constanța, before playing for teams such as Real Madrid, Brescia, and Barcelona. Post-retirement, he managed the Romanian team.

Romanian former footballer Mircea Lucescu is known for his successful stint in the Romanian First League, having won 6 titles. He also led the Romanian team in the 1970 FIFA World Cup. Post-retirement, he had a successful stint as a manager, especially with the Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv.

Known for his “bad boy” image, Romanian former footballer Adrian Mutu has played for teams such as Inter Milan, Chelsea, and Juventus. Controversy’s favorite child, he was once banned by Chelsea for consuming cocaine. He also made headlines for drinking the blood of porn star Laura Andresan.

Dan Petrescu is a Romanian former football player best known for winning the 1998 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup for Chelsea. He also earned 95 caps for his national team between 1989 and 2000. Since his retirement, Dan Petrescu has worked as a manager and is currently managing CFR Cluj. Petrescu is the second-most successful Romanian manager.

Cristian Chivu is a Romanian retired football player who earned 75 caps for his national team between 1999 and 2010. He also represented popular clubs like Inter Milan, winning the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Champions League for the team. Cristian Chivu is currently serving as the head coach of Internazionale's Primavera side.

Costel Pantilimon is a Romanian football player who plays as a goalkeeper. Currently a free agent, Pantilimon has represented popular clubs like Manchester City and Nottingham Forest in the past. He was part of the Manchester City team that won the Premier League and the Football League Cup in 2014. Pantilimon also represented his national team from 2008 to 2017.

Romanian retired footballer Gheorghe Popescu, known to his fans as Gica, was known as a successful defender and midfielder. Apart from winning honors such as the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup with Barcelona, he has also been a 6-time Romanian Footballer of the Year.

Răzvan Lucescu is a Romanian former football player who played as a goalkeeper. Although he did not achieve much popularity as a player, Lucescu is renowned for his coaching career. In 2018 and 2020, Răzvan Lucescu was named Romania Coach of the Year by Gazeta Sporturilor.             

Romanian footballer Ștefan Radu, best known as a left-back or centre-back for the Italian club Lazio, with whom he has won the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana thrice each. His achievements earned him many honors, such as the Meritul Sportiv from the president of Romania.

Romanian professional football-coach and former-goalkeeper Bogdan Lobonț serves as head-coach of Romania national under-20 football team. As footballer, Lobonț was part of the Romania national team during two European Championships. He won Liga I (1998–99) and Cupa României (1997–98) with Rapid București; Eredivisie (2003–04) with Ajax; and Liga I ( 2001–02, 2006–07) with Dinamo București.

Bogdan Stancu is a Romanian football player who represented his national team from 2010 to 2017. He has also played for popular clubs like Orduspor, Bursaspor, and Gençlerbirliği. Bogdan Stancu is currently playing for the Turkish professional football club, Eyüpspor.

Romanian retired footballer Dorinel Munteanu is best known as a midfielder for clubs such as 1. FC Köln and VfL Wolfsburg. Now a manager for the club Oțelul Galati, he has led them to win a Liga I, a Liga III, and a Supercupa României title.

Claudiu Keșerü is a Romanian football player who plays for the Romania national team. Over the years, he has also played for popular clubs like FC Oradea, Angers, and Ludogorets Razgrad. Claudiu Keșerü is currently signed to UTA Arad.

Miodrag Belodedici is a Romanian retired football player known for his elegant tackles, which earned him the nickname the deer. He represented his national team from 1984 to 2000, during which he played in two European Championships and at the 1994 World Cup. Belodedici also played for clubs and won the European Cup with Steaua București and Red Star Belgrade.

Romanian former footballer Cosmin Olăroiu started his youth career with Steaua București and later has a successful senior career, mainly with Suwon Samsung Bluewings, winning titles such as the Korean Super Cup. He later coached Arabian and Chinese clubs, and now trains the Emirati club Sharjah.

Starting his youth career with FC Teleșpan, Romanian footballer Raul Rusescu later played for clubs such as Steaua București and Lamezia Terme. He was scouted at a trial at age 7. He won 2 Liga I titles with Steaua București, along with a Cupa României and a Cupa Ligii.

Cristian Ganea is a Romanian football player who plays as a defender for the Panathinaikos Football Club. Over the course of his career, Ganea has also represented other clubs like Viitorul Constanța with which he won the Superliga in 2017. Cristian Ganea also plays for his national team. 

Romanian footballer Alexandru Maxim started his youth career with Olimpia Piatra Neamț at age 7. He later began his senior career with Espanyol and went on to represent teams such as Mainz 05 and Gaziantep. He even won a 2. Bundesliga with VfB Stuttgart. A polyglot, he can speak English, German, and Spanish.

Gabriel Torje is a Romanian football player who plays as a midfielder. He represented his national team from 2010 to 2017, during which he made 56 appearances and scored 11 goals. In 2011, he was adjudged Romanian Footballer of the Year. Gabriel Torje currently plays for the professional football club, Farul Constanța.

Ciprian Marica is a Romanian retired football player who played as a forward for his national team from 2003 to 2014, during which he won 72 caps and scored 25 goals. He also played for popular clubs like Shakhtar Donetsk with which he won the 2005 and 2006 Ukrainian Premier League and the Ukrainian Supercup in 2005.

Laurențiu Reghecampf is a former footballer who played for clubs like Steaua București, winning the Cupa României in 1997 and the Supercupa României in 1998. He has also had success as a coach and was named the Romania Coach of the Year by Gazeta Sporturilor in 2013. Reghecampf is also credited with founding the Reghecampf Soccer Academy in the USA.

Once the captain of the Romanian national team, former footballer Mirel Rădoi later served as its head coach. A skilled defensive midfielder and center-back, he had a successful career with Steaua București, winning the Liga I thrice, and later also played for Middle-Eastern clubs such as Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli.

Nicolae Dobrin, who played in the position of attacking-midfielder and later became a manager, is remembered as one of the greatest footballers of Romania. Known for his dribbling ability, Dobrin became first recipient of the Romanian Footballer of the Year award and went on to win it two-more times. The award is presently named after him as Nicolae Dobrin Trophy.

Romanian footballer Dragoș Grigore began his youth career with the club LPS Vaslui and later played for clubs from Qatar, Bulgaria, and France, too. He now represents the Romanian club Rapid București as a central defender. The sports star is also popular for his philanthropic work.

Romanian former football-midfielder Dănuț Lupu began his professional football career in 1985 joining Dunarea Galati in the Romanian second league. Over the years, Lupu played with several professional football clubs. His achievements include winning Divizia A with Dinamo București (1989–90) and Rapid București (1998–99). He also played 14 matches for Romania including two at the 1990 World Cup.

Romanian former football right back Ştefan Iovan, who presently serves as manager of the Romanian professional football club Steaua București, had a successful career with the club winning Divizia A six times, the Romanian Cup thrice, the European Cup once and the UEFA Super Cup once with them. He also played for several other clubs and represented Romania 34 times.   

Former Romanian football centre-midfielder Cătălin Munteanu made his first-team debut with Steaua București in 1997 in a Liga I match. He has won two Liga I and one Cupa României with them. Following his stint with Steaua, Munteanu played with other clubs which included Dinamo București with whom he won a Liga I, a Cupa României and a Supercupa României.

Romanian former football-goalkeeper Daniel Coman played with several clubs and post-retirement served as chairman of Astra Giurgiu. He presently serves as chairman of Hermannstadt. He won Cupa României (2005–06, 2006–07) and Supercupa României (2007) with Rapid București and Cupa României (2013–14) with Astra Giurgiu as a player; and Liga I (2015–16) as president of Astra Giurgiu.