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Mirel Rădoi
Romanian association football manager and former player From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Mirel Matei Rădoi (born 22 March 1981) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently in charge of Liga I club Universitatea Craiova.
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A defensive midfielder or a centre-back, Rădoi began his playing career at Extensiv Craiova in 1999, before signing for Steaua București one year later. Following eight-and-a-half seasons in the capital, he spent his later career with Al-Hilal, Al-Ain, Al-Ahli and Al-Arabi. Internationally, Rădoi was capped 68 times by Romania, which he represented at the UEFA Euro 2008.
Rădoi's first stint as a head coach was Steaua București in 2015, where he stayed for six months. Three years later, he was appointed at the helm of the Romania under-21 national team, which he led to the semi-finals of the 2019 UEFA European Championship. This resulted in his promotion to the senior team in November 2019, but left after two years with less success.
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Club career
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Extensiv Craiova
Rădoi started to play football at the age of eight, first as a goalkeeper and then as a defender. He started his youth career at Turnu Severin and there he was spotted by Sorin Cârțu, the coach of Extensiv Craiova, who was so impressed by him that he purchased Rădoi in 1999, financing the transfer with his own money. Rădoi made his professional debut in Divizia A, in a defeat against Dinamo București on 4 March 2000.
Steaua București
Just one year later, in the summer of 2000, Rădoi joined Steaua București for a fee of €110,000. Describing his first day at Steaua, he said, "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."
His coach at Steaua was Victor Pițurcă, the former Romania national team coach, who promoted him to the Steaua first team. He then became one of Steaua's most important players. In his first match for the club, a 4–3 victory over FCM Bacău at the Ghencea football stadium, Rădoi scored the equalizer in the ninth minute after Cătălin Cursaru had opened the scoring for Bacău less than a minute before.
Steaua went on to win the Romanian league championship that year, as well as the Supercupa României against rivals Dinamo.
In 2005, Rădoi won his second league title with the club, followed by a third in 2006. On 24 February 2005, he helped Steaua defeat defending champions Valencia in the UEFA Cup. In 2006, Rădoi captained the team in the UEFA Cup semi-finals against Middlesbrough, which Steaua lost 4–3 on aggregate.
In the summer of 2006, a rumour circulated that Rădoi would sign for Premier League club Portsmouth as soon as the transfer window opened in England, with the transfer fee estimated at £11 million. The transfer did not materialize, however, and many speculated that the £11 million offer was no more than a ploy to jack up the player's potential transfer value before a move elsewhere. In the end, Steaua's owner Gigi Becali stated that he would not be selling Rădoi after all.
Due to injury, he only played his first official game in the 2006–07 season on 12 November, a 6–0 victory against Național București.
Later career in the Middle East
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In January 2009, Rădoi signed a three-year contract with Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal which earned him €1.4 million annually. The transfer fee Steaua București received was in the region of €6 million.[2] Rădoi made his debut for Al-Hilal in the local derby against Al-Nassr, which Al-Hilal won 2–0 with Rădoi scoring the second goal.
In his sixth match with the club, he won the Prince's Cup, defeating Al-Shabab in the final. Nicknamed "The Warrior" by Al-Hilal fans, he was voted Saudi Professional League Player of the Year in 2010.[3] Rădoi spent three years at the club, serving as captain and helping the team win two consecutive league titles.[4]
In June 2011, Rădoi signed with UAE Pro League club Al-Ain for a reported fee of €4.2 million.[5] He agreed to a two-year contract worth €2.5 million per year.[6] In April 2013, he extended his contract by one year, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2014. During his three seasons at Al-Ain, he won several domestic honours, including two consecutive league titles, as well as the UAE President's Cup in 2013–14 and the UAE Super Cup in 2012.
In July 2014, Rădoi signed a two-year contract with Al-Ahli Dubai of the UAE Arabian Gulf League, reuniting with manager Cosmin Olăroiu. He made seven league appearances during the 2014–15 season.
In early 2015, he joined Al-Arabi in the Qatar Stars League. He made six league appearances before announcing his retirement from professional football later that year.
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International career
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Rădoi made his senior debut in a friendly match against Algeria on 5 December 2000. He has been capped 68 times for Romania, scoring two goals. In 2005, Romanian team manager Victor Pițurcă suspended him for leaving training camp without permission before matches against the Netherlands and Armenia. Coach Pițurcă recalled him in February 2006 for a friendly tournament in Cyprus after Rădoi apologised for his behaviour.
Although he was included in Romania's squad for UEFA Euro 2008, he suffered an eye injury and broken nose during the second group game against Italy after clashing heads with team-mate Răzvan Raț, who emerged unscathed. Rădoi played no further part in the tournament.[7] After a confrontation with Răzvan Lucescu in 2010, Rădoi declared that he would retire from the national team.
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Coaching career
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He began his managerial career in 2015 with former club Steaua București, where he served as head coach for six months.
In 2018, he was appointed as the head coach of the Romania U21 national team. Under his guidance, the team achieved significant success, notably reaching the semi-finals of the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, making Romania's best performance in the tournament's history.
Rădoi became the head coach of the Romania national team after the resignation of Cosmin Contra in November 2019.[8][9][10]
On 22 January 2023, Rădoi was appointed as manager of Saudi Pro League club Al-Tai.[11] He was sacked by the club on 18 May 2023.[12] He coached Emirati club Al Jazira for three months in 2024.[13]
Rădoi was re-appointed as head coach of Universitatea Craiova on 28 January 2025, marking his second tenure at the club. His return came after a brief managerial hiatus and he took over the club during the latter half of the 2024–25 season.[14] His first match back resulted in a 4–1 home victory against Politehnica Iași in Liga I.[15]
In European competition, Craiova entered the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League qualifying rounds, defeating FK Sarajevo 4–0 in the second qualifying round, Spartak Trnava 3–0 in the third qualifying round, and İstanbul Başakşehir 2–1 away and 3–1 at home in the play-off round, advancing to the group stage with a 5–2 aggregate score.[16]
Career statistics
Club
International
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Managerial statistics
- As of match played 29 October 2025
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Honours
Player
Steaua București
Al-Hilal
- Saudi Professional League: 2009–10, 2010–11
- Crown Prince Cup: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
Al-Ain
Individual
- Gazeta Sporturilor Romanian Footballer of the Year runner-up: 2005
- Saudi Professional League Player of the Year: 2010
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References
External links
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