Mirel Rădoi

Mirel Rădoi

Personal information
Full name	Mirel Matei Rădoi
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder / Centre back
Team information
Current team	Al Ain S.C.C.
Number	6
Youth career
1991–1999	CS Turnu Severin
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1999–2000	Extensiv Craiova	14	(0)
2000–2009	Steaua Bucureşti	186	(12)
2009–2011	Al-Hilal	49	(10)
2011–	Al Ain	0	(0)
International career‡
1998–2000	Romania U–21	3	(0)
2000–2010	Romania	67	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of June 2, 2011 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:00, October 9, 2010

Mirel Rădoi, (born March 22, 1981 in Drobeta-Turnu Severin), is a Romanian football midfielder, who can also play as center back, who currently plays for Al Ain in Saudi Professional League. He is considered a symbolic player for Steaua Bucureşti, along with Marius Lăcătuş. He became also a symbolic player for Al-Hilal and in Saudi Arabia and he received in June 2010 the award for the Player of the Year of the Saudi Professional League. His main nickname at Steaua was "The Godson", being the Godson of FC Steaua's owner, Gigi Becali. Other nicknames: "Zorro"; "The Captain"; "The Warrior".

Club career

Extensiv Craiova

Mirel Rădoi started to play football aged 8 years old, first as a goalkeeper and then as a defender. At Steaua, he moved to central midfield. His career started at FC Drobeta Turnu Severin and there he was spotted by Sorin Cârţu, the coach of FC Extensiv Craiova, who purchased Rădoi in 1999. Cartu financed the transfer with his own money because he was so impressed with Rădoi's ability. Sorin Cartu noted Rădoi's potential to play at a higher level during his time at FC Extensiv Craiova. He made his professional debut 1999 for FC Extensiv Craiova on March 4, 2000 in a defeat against Dinamo Bucureşti. Just one year later he signed for Steaua Bucureşti, the club he played for between 2000 and 2009.

Steaua Bucureşti

Steaua paid €110,000 for Mirel. In his first match for Steaua, Mirel played very well. He scored a goal at the Ghencea football stadium, when the score was 4-3 (against FCM Bacău), Mirel equalled the score in the 9th minute after Cătălin Cursaru opened the score in the 8th. His new coach at Steaua was Victor Piţurcă, the former Romanian national team coach, who promoted him to the Steaua first team. Rădoi then became one of Steaua's most important players. Rădoi describing the first day at Steaua: "It was like a positive shock for me. Suddenly I was in the same place with players like Iulian Miu, Marius Baciu and Miodrag Belodedici, players I saw on TV. It was like a dream." In 2001 he helped Steaua win the championship of the Romanian league, and after this he won the Romanian Supercup against rival Dinamo Bucureşti.In 2005 Rădoi won a second championship title with Steaua and in 2006 won the 23rd championship title for Steaua and his 3rd personal title. On February 24, 2005 he won an important match in the UEFA Cup against holder Valencia and in 2006 Steaua (with Rădoi as captain) played a UEFA Cup semifinal against Middlesbrough but lost after 2 games with the final score 4-3. In 2006 Steaua qualified after a 10 year absence for the UEFA Champions League in a group with Real Madrid, Olympique Lyonnais and Dinamo Kiev but Rădoi did not play in the first games because he was injured. During the last six years, Rădoi had been targeted by some of the biggest European football clubs, such as Real Madrid F.C., Liverpool F.C. and Portsmouth F.C.. However, he preferred to stay with Steaua Bucureşti instead and help the team play in UEFA Champions League. In the summer of 2006 rumour was that Rădoi would be signed by Portsmouth F.C. as soon as the transfer window would open in England. The transfer fee was said to be around 11 million dollars and it would have been the biggest transfer fee ever spent on a player playing for a Romanian football club. However, the transfer did not occur, many believing that the 11 million offer from Portsmouth F.C. was no more than a mediatic attempt to rise the player's potential transfer fee. In the end, Gigi Becali stated that he would no longer sell Rădoi. Being injured, Rădoi only played his first official game in the 2006-07 season on November 12, when Steaua won 6-0 against FC Naţional Bucureşti. Although he had been absent for a period of five months, he scored a penalty for Steaua with his first touch of the ball. He was a key player for Steaua Bucureşti, the club he joined in 2000,and was the team's captain. Rădoi is well known for his leadership and tackling. He also has the ability to drive forward, where his technical skills come into use.

Al-Hilal

On January 2009 he signed a three-year that will earn him €1,400,000, Al-Hilal has paid €6,000,000 to Steaua Bucureşti. Rădoi made his debut for Al-Hilal in the local derby against Al-Nassr. Al-Hilal won the game with 2-0 and Rădoi scored the second goal. After the sixth game against Al Shabab, he won the Prince Cup with Al Hilal. He is nicknamed "The Warrior" among his fans in Saudi Arabia.

Statistics

Club	Season	Domestic League		Domestic Cups		Continental games		Total
		App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
Al-Hilal
	10-11	21	6	2	0	4	0	27	6
	09-10	23	2	12	0	10	0	45	2
	08-09	5	2	0	0	0	0	5	2
	Total	49	10	14	0	14	0	77	10
Steaua Bucureşti
	08-09	13	1	0	0	7	0	20	1
	07-08	16	0	0	0	3	0	19	0
	06-07	14	1	1	0	4	0	19	1
	05-06	24	4	1	0	17	3	42	7
	04-05	20	1	0	0	8	0	28	1
	03-04	29	2	2	1	6	0	37	3
	02-03	23	1	2	0	0	0	25	1
	01-02	22	1	0	0	3	0	25	1
	00-01	25	1	0	0	0	0	25	1
	Total	186	12	6	1	48	3	240	16
FC Extensiv Craiova	99-00	14	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
	Total	14	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
Career Totals		241	20	20	1	62	3	323	24
Last updated 15:12, April 21, 2010 (UTC)

International career

Rădoi at Steaua

• For the Romania national team, Rădoi has been capped 67 times, scoring twice.
• In 2005 he was suspended by the coach of Romania national football team, Victor Piţurcă, for leaving the national team training camp without permission, before matches against the Netherlands and Armenia. Coach Piţurcă recalled him back in February 2006 to play for the national team in a friendly tournament in Cyprus after Rădoi apologised for his behaviour.
• He was included in Romania's squad for the 2008 European Championships. However, he suffered a head injury in the second group game versus Italy after a clash of heads with team-mate Răzvan Raţ, who emerged unscathed. It was revealed that he would require eye surgery, and also suffered a broken nose and could therefore play no further part in the championships.
• After a confrontation with Răzvan Lucescu in 2010, Radoi declared that he will retire from the national team.

International goals

Mirel Rădoi: International Goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition
1	October 16, 2002	Luxembourg, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	7-0	UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.
2	June 5, 2010	Sankt Veit an der Glan, Carinthia, Austria	Honduras	3-0	Friendly

Trivia

• Rădoi has a very strong personality and acted as adviser to Gigi Becali, Steaua's owner and chairman. Becali is also his godfather, and it is alleged that the choice of coach at Steaua has been influenced by Rădoi. It is rumored that the former Steaua coach, Cosmin Olăroiu, was brought to the club by Rădoi.

• In a 2006 poll conducted by Romanian Television to identify the "greatest Romanians of all time", Rădoi came in 21st.

Honours

Club

• Steaua
  • Liga I (3): 2000–01, 2004–05, 2005–06
  • Supercupa României (2): 2001, 2006
• Al-Hilal
  • Saudi Professional League (2): 2009–2010, 2010-2011
  • Crown Prince Cup (3): 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
  • 2011 Match World Cup (1): 2010-11

Individual

• Saudi Professional League Player of the Year: 2010

External links

• The Leader Mirel Radoi Template:En icon Template:Ar icon
• Mirel Rădoi at National-Football-Teams.com
• Profile on RomanianSoccer
• Profile on Transfermarkt