Marius Predatu

Marius Predatu (born 15 August 1967) is a Romanian former footballer who played as a striker.^[2][3]

Marius Predatu

Personal information
Date of birth	(1967-08-15) 15 August 1967 (age 58)[1]
Place of birth	Sibiu, Romania[1]
Position	Striker[1]
Youth career
	Inter Sibiu
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1989–1990	Inter Sibiu	40	(6)
1991–1992	Argeș Pitești	36	(3)
1992–1995	Universitatea Cluj	94	(36)
1995–1996	Panionios	28	(8)
1996	Universitatea Cluj	7	(2)
1997	Gloria Bistrița	20	(10)
1997–1999	Universitatea Cluj	40	(7)
1999–2000	Gloria Bistrița	16	(3)
2000–2001	Universitatea Cluj	10	(3)
Total		291	(78)
International career
1993	Romania	1	(0)
Managerial career
2021	Arieșul Mihai Viteazu
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Predatu was born on 15 August 1967 in Sibiu, Romania and began playing junior-level football at local club Inter.^[1][4] In the 1989–90 season he started his senior career, playing 26 Divizia A games in which he scored six goals for Inter.^[1] In the middle of the following season he went to play for Argeș Pitești for one and a half years.^[1]

In 1992 he signed with Universitatea Cluj where in his first season under the guidance of coach Remus Vlad he scored a personal record of 14 goals.^[1][4][5] Among these were four in a 5–0 win against Rapid București which earned him the nickname "Ïl Principe", and he also became a fan-favorite, the team's gallery chanting:Marius Predatu, va băga patru (Marius Predatu, will give four).^[6][7] In the following two seasons he appeared and scored regularly for "U".^[1][4] Subsequently, he went to play for the 1995–96 season in the Greek first league at Panionios, alongside fellow Romanians Marian Ivan and coach Emerich Jenei, scoring eight goals in 28 matches.^[1][4][8]

In 1997, Predatu returned for a short while at Universitatea Cluj, but spent the rest of the season at Gloria Bistrița.^[1][4] Afterwards he went for a third spell at "U" Cluj, staying two seasons.^[1][4] Then he signed for a second spell at Bistrița where he stayed one year, making his last Divizia A appearances, having a total of 253 games with 67 goals in the competition.^[1][4]

In the 2000–01 season, Predatu played for the last time for Universitatea Cluj, on this occasion in Divizia C, under player-coach Ioan Sabău, helping the team win promotion to Divizia B.^[4][9]

International career

Predatu played one game for Romania, when on 14 April 1993, coach Cornel Dinu sent him in the 64th minute to replace Gheorghe Ceaușilă in a 2–1 victory against Cyprus in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers.^[10]

Coaching career

After he ended his playing career, Predatu worked as a youth coach for Universitatea Cluj.^[6] He coached the senior side of Arieșul Mihai Viteazu in the 2021–22 Liga IV season, but resigned after a loss in the first round.^[11]

Honours

Universitatea Cluj

• Divizia C: 2000–01^[9]