Marcel Răducanu (born 21 October 1954) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.

Marcel Răducanu
Răducanu in 2014
Personal information
Date of birth (1954-10-21) 21 October 1954 (age 70)
Place of birth Bucharest, Romania
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1962–1964 Progresul București
1964–1972 Steaua București
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1972–1981 Steaua București 229 (94)
1982–1988 Borussia Dortmund 163 (31)
1988–1990 FC Zürich 47 (12)
Total 439 (137)
International career
1976–1981 Romania[a] 21 (3)
Managerial career
1992–1993 Türkgücü München
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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"Răducanu had an exceptional left foot, practically a feast for the viewer's eye. Making a comparison over time, we can put him on the same value scale as Hagi."

Marcel Răducanu was born in Bucharest on 21 October 1954.[4] He grew up in the Pantelimon neighborhood and started to play organised football at the age of 7 at Progresul București, after which at the age of 9 and a half he moved at Steaua București's youth center where he was coached by Francisc Fabian.[3][5][6] Răducanu made his Divizia A debut on 22 April 1973, playing for Steaua in a 2–0 loss against CSM Reșița.[4][5] He helped The Military Men win The Double in the 1975–76 season, contributing with 17 goals in the 31 Divizia A matches he was used by coach Emerich Jenei who also used him until the 63rd minute when he replaced him with Viorel Năstase in the 1–0 victory against CSU Galați from the 1976 Cupa României final.[4][5][7][8] He won another title under the guidance of Jenei in the 1977–78 season for which he contributed with 18 goals in 31 matches and a cup in 1979 in which he was used by coach Gheorghe Constantin in all the minutes from the final, managing to score two goals in the 3–0 against Sportul Studențesc București.[4][5][7][9] Răducanu also played 11 matches in which he scored 5 goals in European competitions for Steaua and in the 6–0 victory against Young Boys from the 1979–80 European Cup Winners' Cup, Răducanu scored one of his most beautiful goals after showing his dribbling abilities in front of Young Boys' defense, the Swiss goalkeeper, Walter Eichenberger saying in an interview years later after that match:"He humiliated us and laughed at us".[4][10][11] Răducanu has a total of 229 Divizia A appearances in which he scored 94 goals and in 1980 he was the Romanian Footballer of the Year, also in the same year he was nominated for the Ballon d'Or.[4][6][12][13] In the summer of 1981 he defected following a match in Dortmund, West Germany.[4][6][14][15][16] In his native Romania this act was considered a desertion, as he was a captain in the Army, therefore he was sentenced to nearly six years in prison in his absence.[14][15][16][17][18] Once in West Germany he signed with both Hannover 96 and Borussia Dortmund clubs, and as a result was suspended by UEFA for one year.[6][15][16][19] In order to have his services, Borussia Dortmund paid half a million deutschmarks to the Hannover club, and Răducanu made his debut in Bundesliga on 20 August 1982 under coach Karl-Heinz Feldkamp in a 1–1 against VfB Stuttgart.[6][16][17] In his first season, Răducanu scored 9 goals in 26 matches, including two goals, one from a free kick and one after a series of dribbles in a 4–4 against Bayern Munich, these performances made sports magazine Kicker include him in the team of the 1982–83 Bundesliga season.[4][6][5][15][16][17][18] Between 1982 and 1988, he played a total of 163 games in Bundesliga, scoring 31 goals and made 5 appearances in European competitions.[16][20] In 1988 Răducanu signed a contract in Switzerland with FC Zürich where he played 47 matches, scoring 12 goals and won the promotion to the top league Nationalliga A via the playoffs with FC Zürich.[4][6][5][16][21] In 2022, the German newspaper, Bild included Răducanu in Borussia Dortmund's best 50 players of all time, placing him on the 50th position.[16][22] A book about him was written by George Coca Lob, called Marcel Răducanu. Talent, fenomen și legendă (Marcel Răducanu. Talent, phenomenon and legend).[3]

International career

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Marcel Răducanu played 18 games and scored 3 goals for Romania, making his debut on 13 May 1979 when coach Florin Halagian sent him on the field in the 65th minute in order to replace Constantin Stan in a 1–1 against Cyprus at the Euro 1980 qualifiers.[1][23][24] He played another two games at the Euro 1980 qualifiers scoring a goal in each of them, a 2–1 loss against Yugoslavia and a 2–0 victory in the second leg against Cyprus.[1] He played both games of the 1977–80 Balkan Cup final which was won with 4–3 on aggregate against Yugoslavia.[1] Marcel Răducanu played four games at the 1982 World Cup qualifiers, including a 2–1 victory against England in which he opened the score.[1]

International goals

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Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Răducanu goal.[1]
List of international goals scored by Marcel Răducanu
# Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 31 October 1979 Stadion Trepča, Mitrovica, Kosovo, Yugoslavia 4   Yugoslavia 1–2 1–2 Euro 1980 qualifiers
2 18 November 1979 Stadionul Dinamo, Bucharest, Romania 5   Cyprus 2–0 2–0 Euro 1980 qualifiers
3 15 October 1980 Stadionul 23 August, Bucharest, Romania 13   England 1–0 2–1 1982 World Cup qualifiers

Coaching career

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Marcel Răducanu coached Türkgücü München in the 1992–93 Landesliga Bayern-Süd season.[25] Since 1994, he has run a football school in Dortmund and Mario Götze trained at his academy when he was 10 years old.[26]

Personal life

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His uncle, Marin Voinea was also a footballer.[3][6]

Honours

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Club

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Steaua București

Romania

FC Zürich

  • Promotion Nationalliga A: 1988-89

Individual

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Notes

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  1. ^ Including three appearances for Romania's Olympic team.[1][2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Marcel Răducanu". European Football. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  2. ^ Marcel Răducanu at National-Football-Teams.com
  3. ^ a b c d "10 pasaje tari din noua carte a lui "Iosefini" Marcel Răducanu. Turnători, mașina de fițe nemaivăzută în București și marea lui plăcere: "Să îi dau gol lui Dinamo după ce îl driblez pe Dinu"" [10 great passages from the new book by "Iosefini" Marcel Răducanu. Turnători, the face machine never seen in Bucharest and his great pleasure: "To score a goal for Dinamo after I dribble Dinu"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Marcel Răducanu at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Povești neștiute din cariera lui Marcel Răducanu: farsa care i-a pus cariera în pericol, profesoara de astrologie care l-a salvat de la arest și cum s-a integrat la Steaua" [Unknown stories from Marcel Răducanu's career: the farce that endangered his career, the astrology teacher who saved him from arrest and how he integrated into Steaua] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "Marcel Răducanu, artistul-fotbalist fugit în Germania pe timpul lui Ceaușescu: dribla tot ce-i ieșea în cale!" [Marcel Răducanu, the footballing artist who fled to Germany during Ceausescu's time: he dribbled everything that came his way!] (in Romanian). Elitaromaniei.ro. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  8. ^ "Romanian Cup – Season 1975–1976". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  9. ^ "Romanian Cup – Season 1978–1979". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Povestea savuroasă a unui dribling care nu se uită nici după 32 de ani! "Ne-a umilit şi a rîs de noi!"" [The delicious story of a dribble that is not forgotten even after 32 years! "He humiliated us and laughed at us!"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Romanul care i-a facut old-boys pe cei de la Young Boys: "Am ras inainte sa marchez in poarta goala"" [The Romanian that made the Young Boys old-boys:"I laughed before I scored in the empty net"] (in Romanian). Ultimafaza.ro. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  12. ^ a b Pierrend, José Luis (1 February 2006). "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or") 1980". RSSSF. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Dumitru Macri, primul fotbalist român nominalizat la Balonul de Aur! Gică Hagi, aproape de succes în 1994" [Dumitru Macri, the first Romanian footballer nominated for the Golden Ball! Gica Hagi, almost successful in 1994] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  14. ^ a b Gieselmann, Dirk (2 April 2008). "Wir kriegen dich, Verbrecher!" (in German). Der Westen. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  15. ^ a b c d "Marcel Răducanu își spune oful în premieră: "Hagi și alți jucători nu m-au vrut la Mondialul din 1990!"" [Marcel Răducanu tells his story for the first time: "Hagi and other players didn't want me at the 1990 World Cup!"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h "Furia Zidului Galben, cea mai celebră peluză din lume, care dă putere Borussiei Dortmund. Marcel Răducanu a fost inclus de Bild în topul celor mai mari jucători din istoria clubului" [The fury of the Yellow Wall, the world's most famous stand, which powers Borussia Dortmund. Marcel Răducanu was included by Bild in the list of the greatest players in the history of the club] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 24 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  17. ^ a b c "Marcel Raducanu. Copilul sufletului de stelist" [Marcel Raducanu. The child of the Steaua soul] (in Romanian). Fcsteaua.ro. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  18. ^ a b ""Der Klassiker" din '83 decis de dubla lui Răducanu" ["Der Klassiker" from '83 decided by Răducanu's double] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Marcel Raducan" (in German). bvb-freunde.de. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  20. ^ "Marcel Raducanu" (in German). fussballdaten.de. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  21. ^ "Marcel Raducanu" (in German). dbFCZ. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  22. ^ "Bild nu l-a uitat pe Marcel Răducanu: "Maradona din Balcani!"" [Bild did not forget Marcel Răducanu: "Maradona from the Balkans!"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  23. ^ "Cyprus 1-1 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  24. ^ Siminiceanu, Radu (6 April 2003). "Romania National Team 1980–1989 – Details". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  25. ^ "Marcel Răducanu". Fupa.net. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  26. ^ "Die Dortmund-Legende über seine Entdeckung" (in German). Bild.de. 8 October 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.