Marin Radu

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Not to be confused with Maria Radu or Marina Radu.

Marin Radu
Personal information
Date of birth (1956-03-15) 15 March 1956 (age 69)
Place of birth Mareș, Argeș County, Romania
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position Striker
Youth career
1968–1974 Argeș Pitești
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1974–1983 Argeș Pitești 260 (148)
1983–1984 Olt Scornicești 16 (8)
1984–1986 Steaua București 44 (11)
1986–1987 Argeș Pitești 33 (8)
1988–1990 Inter Sibiu[a] 32 (16)
1990–1991 Șoimii IPA Sibiu
Total 385 (191)
International career
1976–1982 Romania 7 (0)
Managerial career
1998–? Cimentul Fieni
2007–2008 Buftea
2008–2010 FC Cisnădie
2010–? Petrolul Videle
* Club domestic league appearances and goals
Marin Radu
Medal record
Representing Steaua București
European Cup
Gold medal – first place Seville 1986

Marin Radu (born 15 March 1956) is a retired Romanian football striker and manager, best known for his playing stints with Argeș Pitești and Steaua București.[2]

Club career

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Radu was born on 15 March 1956 in Mareș, Argeș County, Romania.[1][3] He began playing junior-level football at Argeș Pitești in 1968.[1] Radu made his Divizia A debut on 11 August 1974 under coach Florin Halagian in a 3–1 away loss to FC Constanța in which he scored his side's goal.[1][3][4] In the 1978–79 UEFA Cup edition, he helped them eliminate Panathinaikos in the first round, scoring a goal in the 5–1 aggregate victory.[1][5] In the following round they met Valencia led by Mario Kempes, earning a 2–1 win in the first leg, but they lost the second one with 5–2, thus the campaign ending.[1][5][6] In the same season, Radu formed a successful trio in the offence with Nicolae Dobrin and Doru Nicolae, being used by coach Halagian in 29 games in which he scored 22 goals.[1][7] He netted a brace in the final game of the season against Dinamo București, which ended with a 4–3 victory that helped Argeș win the title, and made him the top-scorer of the season.[1][3][7][8] In the following season he scored a goal in the 3–2 victory on aggregate against AEK Athens in the first round of the 1979–80 European Cup, the team being eliminated in the following round by title holders and eventual winners, Nottingham Forest.[1][9] He scored a personal record of 28 goals in the 1980–81 season that earned him his second top-scorer title.[1][3] In the 1981–82 UEFA Cup edition, after scoring a goal for Argeș in a 2–2 draw against Aberdeen, he was wanted by the opponent's coach, Alex Ferguson.[10] However, during that time, the communist regime did not allow players to transfer outside the country.[10]

After nine seasons spent at Argeș, Radu went to play for one season at Olt Scornicești where he worked once again with Halagian.[1][3][11] Afterwards, he joined Steaua București, reuniting for a while with Halagian.[1][11] There, in the first season he helped the team win The Double, being used by coaches Halagian and Emerich Jenei in 23 league games in which he scored seven goals.[1][3][7] He also played in the Cupa României final when he was sent in the 73rd minute to replace Mihail Majearu in the 2–1 victory against Universitatea Craiova.[1][12] In his second season spent with The Military Men he won another title, contributing with four goals in 21 appearances given to him by Jenei.[1][7] The coach also used him in eight games in the historical 1985–86 European Cup campaign in which Radu scored one goal in the first round against Vejle.[1][3][13][14] He then entered the field in the 112th minute to replace Victor Pițurcă in the 2–0 victory after the penalty shoot-out in the final against Barcelona.[10][15]

Afterwards, Radu returned to play for Argeș Pitești for one and a half seasons.[1] Subsequently, he switched teams again, this time going to Divizia B club Inter Sibiu, helping them get promoted to the first league.[1] He made his last Divizia A appearance on 22 October 1989 in Inter's 3–0 away loss to Jiul Petroșani, having a total of 385 matches with 191 goals in the competition, also totaling 23 games with four goals in European competitions.[1] Radu retired after spending the 1990–91 Divizia B season at Șoimii IPA Sibiu.[1] His career was affected by injuries, as he suffered three major ones which kept him off the field for about one and a half years.[10][16] One of them occurred while he was playing for Argeș and the other two while being at Steaua.[10][16] All of these incidents happened in games against Dinamo București and were caused by collisions with Alexandru Nicolae.[10][16]

On 25 March 2008, he was decorated by the president of Romania, Traian Băsescu for the winning of the 1985–86 European Cup with Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" — (The Order "The Sportive Merit") class II.[17]

International career

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Radu played seven games for Romania, making his debut on 12 May 1976 when coach Ștefan Kovács sent him in the 60th minute to replace Stelian Anghel in a 1–0 away loss to Bulgaria in the 1973–76 Balkan Cup first leg final.[18][19] He also appearing in the 3–2 home victory in the second leg of the final.[18][20] His third game was also against Bulgaria, a 2–0 home victory in the successful 1977–80 Balkan Cup.[18][21] Radu played in a 1–1 draw against Cyprus during the Euro 1980 qualifiers.[18][22] His last appearance for the national team was in a 1982 friendly against East Germany which ended with a 4–1 loss.[18][23]

Personal life

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His brother, Nicolae, was also a footballer who played for Argeș Pitești, and together they won the 1978–79 Divizia A championship.[24]

Honours

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Club

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Argeș Pitești

Steaua București

Inter Sibiu

International

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Romania

Individual

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Notes

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  1. ^ The statistics for the 1987–88 Divizia B season are unavailable.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Marin Radu at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  2. ^ "Radu II contraatacă: "Era mai greu pe vremea mea"" [Radu II counterattacks: "It was harder in my time"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "La mulți ani, Radu II! Astăzi este ziua de naştere a fostului mare fotbalist argeșean" [Happy birthday, Radu II! Today is the birthday of the former great footballer from Argeș] (in Romanian). Universulargesean.ro. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  4. ^ "FC Constanța vs. Argeș Pitești". Labtof. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Marin Radu. Europa League 1978/1979". WorldFootball. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  6. ^ "Ziua în care Kempes s-a înclinat în fața lui Dobrin" [The day Kempes bowed to Dobrin] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Povestea celui mai frumos meci din istoria campionatului României. Cum a învins FC Argeş pe Dinamo la Bucureşti acum 40 de ani" [The story of the most beautiful match in the history of the Romanian championship. How FC Argeş defeated Dinamo in Bucharest 40 years ago] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  9. ^ "43 de ani de la meciul dintre FC Argeș și Nottingham Forest" [43 years since the match between FC Argeș and Nottingham Forest] (in Romanian). Jurnaluldearges.ro. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
    "24 octombrie 1979: Argeşul a dat piept cu Nottingham Forest, campioana Europei" [October 24, 1979: Arges played against Nottingham Forest, the European champions] (in Romanian). Romaniansoccer.ro. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
    "FC Argeș – Nottingham Forest 1-2 (Cupa Campionilor Europeni, 7 noiembrie 1979)" [FC Arges – Nottingham Forest 1-2 (European Champions Cup, November 7, 1979)] (in Romanian). Tikitaka.ro. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
    "Marin Radu. Champions League 1979/1980". WorldFootball. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e f "Unul dintre eroii de la Sevilla a dezvăluit de ce nu a bătut penalty în Barcelona – Steaua: "Mi s-au blocat mușchii". Exclusiv" [One of Sevilla's heroes revealed why he didn't take a penalty in Barcelona - Steaua: "My muscles got stuck". Exclusive] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Memorialul durerii, episodul 1: FC Olt" [Memorial of pain, episode 1: FC Olt] (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Romanian Cup – Season 1984–1985". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  13. ^ "Mesajul puternic transmis către tinerii fotbaliști de Radu II, fostul golgheter al României" [The strong message sent to the young footballers by Radu II, Romania's former top scorer] (in Romanian). Digisport.ro. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  14. ^ "Marin Radu. Champions League 1985/1986". WorldFootball. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  15. ^ "Episodul 4: Steaua a avut 4-0 la posesie contra Barcelonei, echipa care a inventat tiki-taka!" [Episode 4: Steaua had 4-0 possession against Barcelona, the team that invented tiki-taka!] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  16. ^ a b c "Marin Radu II, la 65 de ani. Cum l-a "blestemat" Dinamo după ce a luat titlul cu FC Argeș: "M-a băgat în gips de trei ori!" Exclusiv" [Marin Radu II, at 65 years old. How Dinamo "cursed" him after winning the title with FC Argeș: "He put me in plaster three times!" Exclusive] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 15 March 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  17. ^ "DECRET privind conferirea Ordinului și Medaliei Meritul Sportiv" (PDF). Monitorul Oficial al României Nr. 241. 28 March 2008. p. 3. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  18. ^ a b c d e f "Marin Radu". European Football. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  19. ^ "Bulgaria 1-0 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  20. ^ "Romania 3-2 Bulgaria". European Football. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  21. ^ "Romania 2-0 Bulgaria". European Football. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Cyprus 1-1 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  23. ^ "East Germany 4-1 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Interviu la agățat cu Radu III" [Interview at fishing with Radu III] (in Romanian). Arenavalceana.ro. 8 August 2006. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
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