Dennis Man (born 26 August 1998) is a Romanian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays mainly as a winger for

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...

club

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

and the

Romania national team Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and t ...

. Man began his senior career in the

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

with

UTA Arad Uta or UTA may refer to: Universities *University of Texas at Arlington, in the United States * University of Tarapacá, in Chile *University of Tampere, in Finland Sports * FC UTA Arad, a Romanian football club based in the town of Arad * A ...

in 2015, and one year later signed for

FCSB Fotbal Club FCSB (), commonly known as FCSB, is a Romanian professional Association football, football club based in Bucharest. It has spent its entire history in the top flight of the Romanian football league system, Romanian league system, t ...

. He became an undisputed starter at the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

-based club, being named to the

Liga I The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It is the country's top ...

Team of the Year in the 2018–19 season and winning the

Cupa României The Cupa României ( en, Romanian Cup) is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. I ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

. Man joined

in Italy at short notice after receiving the 2020

Romanian Footballer of the Year The Romanian Footballer of the Year ( ro, Fotbalistul român al anului), also known as the Nicolae Dobrin Trophy ( ro, Trofeul Nicolae Dobrin), is an annual association football award given by the ''Gazeta Sporturilor'' newspaper to the Romanian ...

award, with the move making him the most expensive sale of the Romanian championship. Internationally, Man made his senior debut for

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

in March 2018 after being previously

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

at under-19 and under-21 levels. He represented the latter side in the 2019 UEFA European Championship.

Club career

Early career

While a junior at Atletico Arad, Man traveled to English club

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

for several trials, however nothing came out of it and later joined

. Man was promoted from the UTA academy in the summer of 2015, aged 17, and made his senior debut on 29 August in a 2–1 loss to

Gaz Metan Mediaș GAZ or Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (russian: ГАЗ or Го́рьковский автомоби́льный заво́д, , Gorky Automobile Plant) is a Russian automotive manufacturer located in Nizhny Novgorod, formerly known as Gorky (Го� ...

for the

Liga II The Liga 2, most often spelled as Liga II, is the second level of the Romanian football league system. The league changed its name from Divizia B just before the start of the 2006–07 Liga II, 2006–07. It is currently Sponsor (commercial), sp ...

championship. On 25 October, he scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 away win over Bihor Oradea.

FCSB

On 6 September 2016,

FC Steaua București FC Steaua București was a Romanian professional football club of which two current entities are claiming the records. The original ''FC Steaua București'' team was part of the namesake CSA Steaua București sports club and belonged to the Ministry ...

transferred Man for an undisclosed fee, with the player penning a one-year deal with the option of another five years. Man made his debut for the ''Roș-albaștrii'' on 2 October 2016 against Universitatea Craiova, coming on as a substitute for injured

Florin Tănase Florin Lucian Tănase (; born 30 December 1994) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a forward for UAE Pro League club Al Jazira. He started out as a senior in the third league at Voluntari, where he wa ...

in the first half of the game; he himself was replaced in the 66th minute by

Ovidiu Popescu Ovidiu Marian Popescu (; born 27 February 1994) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or a defender for Liga I club FCSB. Club career FCSB In June 2016, FCSB transferred Popescu for undisclosed fee, with the ...

, as his team eventually won 2–1. Later that month he netted his first Steaua—and

—goal in a 2–0 victory over Politehnica Iași. On 16 July 2017, Man scored an injury-time winner against

Voluntari Voluntari () is a town in Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania. It is located at a distance of 1 km from the northern border of Bucharest (on the DN2 road towards Urziceni) and is thus frequently viewed as a suburb of Bucharest. The population i ...

in the campaign's opener. He recorded his first

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

appearance in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

third qualifying round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

4–1 away win against

Viktoria Plzeň Viktoria usually refers to Viktoria, a name which is the same as Victoria (name), but may also refer to: Places * FK Viktoria Stadion, stadium of Viktoria Žižkov * Viktoria-Luise-Platz, building in Berlin * Viktoriastadt, now known as Victoria ...

, on 2 August. On 25 October, he contributed with two goals and two assists in the 6–1 thrashing of Sănătatea Cluj for the

, and on 17 December, Man opened the scoring in a 2–0 success over defending champions Viitorul Constanța. In January 2018, he was included by ''UEFA.com'' in a list of the 50 best young footballers to watch for that year. On 18 February, Man scored the first of his team in a 2–2 draw to

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

Dinamo București A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterinbu ...

after appearing as a half-time substitute. In July, he was nominated along with compatriot

Ianis Hagi Ianis Hagi (; born 22 October 1998) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a forward for Scottish Premiership club Rangers and the Romania national team. He made his professional debut for Viitorul Cons ...

for the 2018 Golden Boy award. On the 25th that month, he scored his first European goal in a UEFA Europa League second qualifying round 2–0 away win over

Rudar Velenje Nogometni klub Rudar Velenje ( en, Rudar Velenje Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Rudar Velenje or simply Rudar Velenje, is a Slovenian football club from Velenje which competes in the Slovenian Second League. History The club was fo ...

. Man won his first career trophy on 22 July 2020, after scoring the only goal of the Cupa României final played against Sepsi OSK. On 17 September, he scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in a Europa League second qualifying round away draw with Serbian team

TSC Bačka Topola TSC may refer to: Organizations * Technology Service Corporation, a US engineering company * Terrorist Screening Center, a division of the National Security Branch of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation * The Shopping Channel, a Canadian televis ...

. The match ended 6–6 after

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

, and Man converted the winning penalty in the eventual shoot-out. Three days later on his centesimal Liga I appearance, he again scored a hat-trick in a 3–0 defeat of

FC Argeș FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...

. Man scored the opener and refused to celebrate in a 3–0 home win against former club UTA Arad on 5 December 2020, which took his tally in the league championship to ten goals. Two fixtures later on the 18th, he netted twice for a 2–0 away victory over title contenders Universitatea Craiova. Shortly after, he was revealed as the winner of the 2020

award by the ''

Gazeta Sporturilor ''Gazeta Sporturilor'' ( en, The Sports Gazette) is a daily Romanian newspaper, and the country's largest and most read sports-related publication. It is owned by Ringier Sportal S.R.L—a joint venture of Ringier Romania S.R.L. and the Bulgarian ...

'' newspaper.

Parma

On 26 January 2021, FCSB owner

Gigi Becali George "Gigi" Becali (; born 25 June 1958) is a Romanian businessman and former politician, mostly known for his ownership of the FCSB football club. Becali was a Member of the European Parliament between June 2009 and December 2012, and a Memb ...

announced that

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

club

submitted a bid for the transfer of Man, worth €11 million plus €2 million in add-ons; he accepted the offer the next day. Parma officialised the move on the 29th, after Man penned a -year contract. The transfer fee made him the most expensive sale of the Romanian championship, as per FCSB's official website. In spite of some Romanian reports giving out the actual fee as being lower, the rumoured figures would still surpass the transfer fee of former record holder Nicolae Stanciu from 2016. Man made his debut on 31 January 2021, after coming on in the 80th minute of a 2–0 Serie A loss to

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

at the

Stadio San Paolo Stadio Diego Armando Maradona (formerly known as Stadio San Paolo) is a stadium in the western Fuorigrotta suburb of Naples, Italy. It is the third largest football stadium in Italy, after Milan's San Siro and Rome's Stadio Olimpico, as well as ...

. A substitute in his first five matches, he was handed his first start by manager

Roberto D'Aversa Roberto D'Aversa (born 12 August 1975) is an Italian association football, football manager and former player, who played as a midfielder and most recently . Playing career A A.C. Milan, Milan youth product, D'Aversa spent most of his playing ca ...

in a 2–1 home defeat to

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...

on 4 March. Ten days later, he assisted

Valentin Mihăilă Valentin Mihai Mihăilă (; born 2 February 2000) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Serie B club Parma and the Romania national team. He began his professional career at Universitatea Craiova in 2017, appearing in ...

's opening goal in an eventual 2–0 victory over

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

. On 3 April, Man scored his first Serie A goal in a 2–2 away draw with

Benevento Benevento (, , ; la, Beneventum) is a city and ''comune'' of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the ...

. An injury effectively ended his season at Parma with two goals in 14 appearances, as the club got relegated to the

. Man netted his first goal of the 2021–22 campaign on 20 August, in a 2–2 league draw at

Frosinone Frosinone (, local dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is located about south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of the Va ...

. On 15 March 2022, he wore the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

armband for the first time in a 1–0 win over

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...

, as

Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...

and

Franco Vázquez Franco Damián Vázquez (; born 22 February 1989) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie B club Parma and the Argentina national team. Beginning his career with Argentine club Belgrano in 2007, V� ...

were unavailable for the match.

International career

Man was selected for the Romania under-21 team and scored on debut in a 3–1 away victory over

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, on 1 September 2017. Senior manager

Cosmin Contra Cosmin Marius Contra (; born 15 December 1975) is a Romanian football manager and former player. Primarily an attacking-minded right-back, he was also deployed as a midfielder. He played professionally in three countries his own notwithstanding, ...

gave Man his first

call-up for the

friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

with

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

in March 2018. He made his debut in the latter game, replacing Nicolae Stanciu in 87th minute as his side won 1–0 at the

Stadionul Ion Oblemenco The Stadionul Ion Oblemenco is a football stadium in Craiova, Romania. The all-seater stadium opened in 2017 and has a capacity of 30,983, the fourth largest football ground in Romania. It is in the immediate vicinity of the new Sala Polivalent ...

Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...

. On 11 June 2019, he netted the last of his team in a 4–0 defeat of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

counting for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers. Later that month, he joined up with the under-21 side for the UEFA Euro 2019, making three appearances as Romania was eliminated by

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in the

semi-finals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

Style of play

In his beginnings at UTA Arad, Man was mainly deployed as a

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, but after his transfer to FCSB he eventually evolved into a winger on the right flank. He has been described as versatile, being able to occupy almost all attacking positions when needed, with his Parma manager

Giuseppe Iachini Giuseppe Iachini (; born 7 May 1964) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who most recently managed Serie B club Parma. He played as a midfielder. Club career Iachini was born in Ascoli Piceno. He started his playing car ...

urging him to do so in order to develop further. In December 2018,

Mirel Rădoi Mirel Matei Rădoi (born 22 March 1981) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Saudi Arabian club Al-Tai. A defensive midfielder or a centre-back, Rădoi began his playing career at Extensiv ...

, his under-21 national team coach, stated that when referring to the younger players in the Romanian top flight, Man is "the most complete footballer"; his " technical ability, pace, physical power,

work rate In association football, work rate refers to the extent to which a player contributes to running and chasing in a match while not in possession of the ball. Work rate is generally indicated by the distance covered by a player during a match. An ex ...

mental toughness Mental toughness is a measure of individual resilience and confidence that may predict success in sport, education and the workplace. As a broad concept, it emerged in the context of sports training, in the context of a set of attributes that allow ...

" bring him the closest to "the full package".

Personal life

Man's father, Cristian, is a football coach and former player in the

Divizia B The Liga 2, most often spelled as Liga II, is the second level of the Romanian football league system. The league changed its name from Divizia B just before the start of the 2006–07 Liga II, 2006–07. It is currently Sponsor (commercial), sp ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Man goal''.

Honours

FCSB *

: 2019–20 Individual *''

: 2020 *

Team of the Season: 2018–19

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Man, Dennis 1998 births Living people Sportspeople from Arad, Romania Romanian footballers Association football forwards Association football wingers Liga I players Liga II players FC UTA Arad players FC Steaua București players Serie A players Serie B players Parma Calcio 1913 players Romania youth international footballers Romania under-21 international footballers Romania international footballers Romanian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Italy