Nicolae Claudiu Stanciu (; born 7 May 1993) 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 as an
attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...
or a
winger for
Chinese Super League
The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...
club
Wuhan Three Towns 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 ...
.
He began his career with
Unirea Alba Iulia
Clubul Sportiv Municipal Unirea Alba Iulia, commonly known as Unirea Alba Iulia (), is a Romanian professional football club based in Alba Iulia, Alba County, founded in 1924 and currently playing in the Liga III.
Among the greatest achievemen ...
and went on to represent
Vaslui and
Steaua București in his country, winning six domestic honours and making a name for himself with the latter.
He moved abroad to
Anderlecht
Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...
in August 2016, becoming the then-most expensive signing made by a Belgian club and later, after bonuses, the then-biggest sale of the
Romanian championship.
Stanciu transferred to
Sparta Prague one and a half-year later for another internal record fee. He left the Czech Republic at the start of 2019 to sign for
Al-Ahli, only to return in that summer to the country with former
rival club Slavia Prague, where he helped to back-to-back league titles in his first two seasons.
Stanciu made his senior international 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 2016,
after having previously represented it at
under-19 and
under-21 levels.
He participated with the nation at
UEFA Euro 2016
The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...
.
Early life
Stanciu was born in the village of Craiva from
Cricău
Cricău ( hu, Boroskrakkó; german: Krakau) is a commune located in the central part of Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 2,097 and is composed of three villages: Craiva (''Királypataka''), Cricău and Tibru (''Tibor'') ...
,
Alba County. He was raised mainly by his grandmother, who died in 2007 when he was only 14 years old. He dedicated his first senior national team goal to her.
Club career
Unirea Alba Iulia
Stanciu joined
Unirea Alba Iulia
Clubul Sportiv Municipal Unirea Alba Iulia, commonly known as Unirea Alba Iulia (), is a Romanian professional football club based in Alba Iulia, Alba County, founded in 1924 and currently playing in the Liga III.
Among the greatest achievemen ...
's youth system at the age of 11. On 25 May 2008, aged just 15 years and 18 days, he made his senior debut for the team, coming
off the bench in a 4–1 victory over
Corvinul Hunedoara
Clubul Sportiv Corvinul 1921 Hunedoara, commonly known as Corvinul Hunedoara or simply as Corvinul, is a Romanian football club based in Hunedoara, Hunedoara County, currently playing in the Liga III. Founded in 1921 under the name of ''Fero Spo ...
in 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. He spent the vast majority of the
2008–09 season on the sidelines, after suffering a long-term injury. On 1 May 2010, 17-year-old Stanciu made his
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 ...
debut under manager
Blaž Slišković
Blaž "Baka" Slišković (; born 30 May 1959) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the most successful Bosnian football managers.
As a player, Slišković was capped 26 times for Yugoslavia in th ...
, playing 20 minutes in a 2–1 home win against
Steaua București. In June, he was on trial with
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB Stu ...
, but the economic discrepancies between the two clubs made the transaction collapse.
On 20 March 2011, Stanciu scored his first goal for Unirea in a 3–0 success over
Petrolul Ploiești, and he also wore the
captain's armband in the closing stages of the match following Adrian Câmpeanu's substitution. His last came on 20 August with the side
again in the second division, in the campaign opener against
CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea
CSM may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Cantigas de Santa Maria'', a collection of medieval Galician-Portuguese vernacular songs and poems in praise of the Virgin Mary
* Chaos Space Marines, in the ''Warhammer 40,000'' fictional universe
* C ...
; during his spell, other than Stuttgart, he was tracked by various European clubs, including
Brescia
Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...
,
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
and
1899 Hoffenheim
Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V., or simply TSG 1899 Hoffenheim or just Hoffenheim () is a German professional football club based in Hoffenheim, a village of Sinsheim municipality, Baden-Württemberg.
Originally founded in 1899 ...
.
Vaslui
On 9 September 2011,
FC Vaslui
CS Sporting Juniorul Vaslui (), commonly known as Sporting Vaslui, Juniorul Vaslui or simply as Vaslui, is a Romanian professional football club based in Vaslui, Vaslui County, founded in 2002 and re-founded in 2014. The club is currently playin ...
paid Stanciu's
release clause A buyout clause or release clause refers to a clause in a contract that imposes an obligation on another organisation wishing to acquire the services of the employee under contract to pay the (usually substantial) fee of the clause to the organisati ...
. Due to a
transfer ban, "the Yellow-Greens" were initially unable to register the player and fellow league teams
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 ...
and
Astra Ploiești
Asociația Fotbal Club Astra Giurgiu (), commonly known as Astra Giurgiu or simply Astra, was a Romanian football club based in the city of Giurgiu, Giurgiu County. Founded in 1921 in Ploiești as ''Clubul Sportiv Astra-Română'', it spent the m ...
tried to sign him. On 4 March 2012, in his competitive debut for his new club, he scored the 2–1 winner at Petrolul Ploiești. In May 2012, after a series of good performances, Stanciu was included by
Sport.ro in a Top 10 list of Romanian youths to watch. On 30 August, he netted from the
penalty spot
The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it.
Wit ...
in a 2–2 away draw against
Internazionale in the
play-off round of the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
, but his side had lost 0–2 in the first leg.
FCSB
On 27 March 2013,
FCSB announced the signing of Stanciu for an undisclosed fee, with the player agreeing to a five-year deal with a €20 million buyout clause. He played all twelve matches in the
2013–14 edition of 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 ...
, scoring in the 2–2 away draw against
Legia Warsaw
Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning record 15 Ekstraklasa champions titles, a ...
in the play-off round which assured qualification to the group stage.
After the departure of
Cristian Tănase
Cristian Tănase (; born 18 February 1987) is a Romanian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, winger or an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder.
He spent most of his years in Romania wi ...
in the summer of 2015, Stanciu took over his
number 10 jersey
Squad numbers are used in association football to identify and distinguish players that are on the field. Numbers very soon became a way to also indicate position, with starting players being assigned numbers 1–11, although in the modern ga ...
, also extending his contract in February 2016 until 2021.
2015–16 was his most prolific season individually, as he netted 14 times in 39 competitive games. On 3 August 2016, Stanciu scored twice against
Sparta Prague in the
Champions League third qualifying round's second leg. He also found the net in the first match, in an eventual 3–1 aggregate triumph.
Anderlecht
On 29 August 2016, amid interest from various European sides including
Chelsea, Stanciu travelled to
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
to sign a five-year contract with
Anderlecht
Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...
. The latter agreed to pay an initial
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
7.8 million for his transfer, with bonus clauses taking the potential fee to €9.8 million. Therefore, he became the then-most expensive player bought by a Belgian club, ahead of former record holder
Steven Defour
Steven Arnold Defour (born 15 April 1988) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, currently manager of Mechelen.
In his senior career he played for Genk, Standard Liège, Porto, Anderlecht, Burnley, Antwerp and ...
(€6 million, from
Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
to Anderlecht in 2014)– in November 2017, his agent confirmed that the additional €2 million had been paid, which also made him
the Romanian championship's most expensive sale after surpassing the €9.5 million move of
Vlad Chiricheș
Vlad Iulian Chiricheș (; born 14 November 1989) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays for club Cremonese and captains the Romania national team. Primarily a centre-back, he can also be deployed as a right-back or a defensive midfield ...
to
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
in 2013.
Stanciu made his debut in the
Belgian Pro League
The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 team ...
on 11 September 2016, starting in a 3–2 home victory over
Charleroi
Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. and receiving a standing ovation as he was substituted in the 85th minute by
Olivier Deschacht
Olivier Deschacht (born 16 February 1981) is a Belgian professional football coach and a former player who played as a left-back or centre-back. He is an assistant coach for the Belgium national under-21 football team.
Career
Early career
At ...
. His first goals for the club came on 3 November in a
Europa League group stage match against
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
, when he netted twice for a 6–1 win. On 5 December, he was
sent off for the first time in his career after receiving a second
yellow card while playing against
Kortrijk
Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Regio ...
, having previously scored in the first half of the game which Anderlecht won 3–1.
Stanciu netted his first goal of 2017 in a league game against
Sint-Truiden on 22 January, with his performance also earning him a
man of the match
In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
award. On 9 March, he scored the winner against
APOEL
APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...
in the
Europa League round of 16's first leg. He ended his first season in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
with eight goals and eight
assists in all competitions, as the team won the
national championship
A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
and subsequently
qualified for the Champions League group stage. At the beginning of
the following campaign, Stanciu changed his squad number from 73 to 10. He was a starter in the
2–1 win in the
Belgian Super Cup against
Zulte Waregem
Sportvereniging Zulte Waregem (), commonly known as Zulte Waregem or by their nickname Essevee (), is a Belgian professional football club based in Waregem, West Flanders. Zulte Waregem plays in the Belgian First Division A. Their highest finish a ...
, on 22 July 2017.
Sparta Prague
On 18 January 2018, Stanciu underwent a medical with Sparta Prague. The transfer was confirmed five days later, with the player penning a three-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be around €4.5 million which would be a
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
record. According to the press, Anderlecht could also receive another €4.5 million in add-ons. On his competitive debut on 18 February 2018, Stanciu helped to a 2–0 win against
Slovan Liberec
FC Slovan Liberec (), commonly referred to as Slovan Liberec or simply Slovan, is a Czech football club based in the city of Liberec. The club is one of the most successful in the Czech Republic, having won three league titles and the domesti ...
after scoring in the fifth minute. On 17 March, he netted twice before half-time in a
derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
with
Slavia Prague which ended 3–3. He finished the
2017–18 campaign with six goals in fourteen appearances, all in the
Czech First League.
Stanciu played in both legs of the
2018–19 Europa League second qualifying round against
Spartak Subotica, as his team was eliminated prematurely after 3–2 on
aggregate
Aggregate or aggregates may refer to:
Computing and mathematics
* collection of objects that are bound together by a root entity, otherwise known as an aggregate root. The aggregate root guarantees the consistency of changes being made within the ...
. He netted his first goal of the
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
on 12 August 2018, converting a
free kick in a 4–0 away victory over
Teplice
Teplice () (until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; german: Teplitz-Schönau or ''Teplitz'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest Czech spa town, after Karlovy Vary. The his ...
. In early December, after a series of poor results for Sparta, he was supposedly among the eleven players who refused to train under coach
Zdeněk Ščasný
Zdeněk Ščasný (born 9 August 1957) is a Czech football manager and former player.
Ščasný has won the Czech league championship five timesthree times as a player and twice as a coachand the Czech Cup three timestwice as a player and once ...
.
Al-Ahli
On 28 January 2019, Stanciu was transferred for a €10 million fee to Saudi Arabian club
Al-Ahli. He recorded his debut in the
Saudi Professional League on 7 February, in a 4–2 away win over
Al-Hazem, and scored his first goal nine days later in an
Arab Club Champions Cup
The Arab Club Champions Cup ( ar, كأس العرب للأندية الأبطال, french: Ligue des Champions Arabe) is an annual regional club football competition organised by the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) and contested by eli ...
2–2 draw with
Al-Wasl.
Slavia Prague
Following financial issues at Al-Ahli, in July 2019
Slavia Prague acquired a reported 65% of Stanciu's economic rights for €4 million, with the player signing a four-year contract.
Wuhan Three Towns
On 15 February 2022, Stanciu joined
Chinese Super League
The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...
club
Wuhan Three Towns.
International career
Stanciu was selected in
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 ...
's squad for the
2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship
The 2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the tenth edition of UEFA's European Under-19 Championship since it was renamed from the original under-18 event, in 2001. The tournament took place in Romania from 20 July to 1 August 2011. France ...
.
In the tournament opener, he featured the full 90 minutes against the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
, scoring in a 3–1 loss in an eventual group stage exit.
Stanciu earned his first
cap for
the full side on 23 March 2016, playing the second half of a
friendly
Friendly may refer to:
Places
* Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England
* Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States
* Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States
* ...
with
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
and netting the game's only goal at the
Stadionul Marin Anastasovici
Marin Anastasovici Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in Giurgiu, Romania. It is built on the site of the former stadium. The venue was opened in 2014 and formerly served as the home for Astra Giurgiu until they folded in 2022. It has a seat cap ...
.
On 17 May, he was picked by manager
Anghel Iordănescu
Anghel Iordănescu (; born 4 May 1950), also known as "Tata Puiu", is a Romanian former footballer and former manager of the Romania national team, who played as a forward. In 2007, Iordănescu retired from football, and the following February ...
for his preliminary 28-man
UEFA Euro 2016
The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...
squad, and eventually made it to the final list after scoring four goals in only five friendly games.
He was awarded the number 10 shirt at the tournament in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, and started in the opener against
the hosts, gaining a second-half penalty that was converted by
Bogdan Stancu
Bogdan Sorin Stancu (; born 28 June 1987) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a forward.
Stancu started his professional career at Argeș Pitești, and had a brief loan spell at Mioveni. Due to an irregularity in his contract he ...
in an eventual 2–1 loss; his other appearance was against
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
(90 minutes), the 0–1 defeat leading to group phase elimination.
On 4 September 2016, Stanciu assisted
Adrian Popa as Romania scored their first goal of the
2018 FIFA World Cup
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...
qualifiers, in a 1–1 home draw to
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
where he also missed a late penalty. He made nine appearances and netted once, as the country finished fourth in the
group phase
A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.
Groups of people
* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...
. In June 2021, Stanciu was one of two Romanian players who refused to
take the knee before a friendly match away to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. He said he was protesting against a ten-match ban given to his Slavia Prague teammate
Ondřej Kúdela
Ondřej Kúdela (; born 26 March 1987) is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga 1 club Persija Jakarta and the Czech Republic national team. He previously played for Slovácko, Sparta Prague, Mlada Boleslav and Sl ...
, who reportedly racially insulted
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
'
Glen Kamara
Glen Adjei Kamara (born 28 October 1995) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Rangers and the Finland national team.
He began his senior career at Arsenal, where he made one substitute appearance in the Foo ...
; Stanciu believed evidence was insufficient.
Style of play
Stanciu, who is predominantly right-footed but is good with both legs, primarily plays as an
attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...
but can also be used as a
winger, and is known for his
playmaking skills.
He was described as having "good technique, a great shot and vision of play."
During the time after his national team debut, Romanian press drew comparisons between him and former internationals
Gheorghe Hagi and
Adrian Mutu, both of which were highly regarded by Stanciu.
Personal life
In 2012, Stanciu began a relationship with Andreea Beldean, a native of
Alba Iulia. They married in 2018 and the
wedding
A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...
took place the following year. Their daughter was born in November 2020.
Career statistics
Club
International
:''Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Stanciu goal''.
Honours
Unirea Alba Iulia
*
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 ...
:
2008–09
Steaua București
*
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 ...
:
2013–14,
2014–15
*
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 ...
:
2014–15
*
Cupa Ligii:
2014–15,
2015–16
*
Supercupa României
The Supercupa României ( en, Romanian Supercup) is a Romanian football championship contested by the winners of the Liga I and the Cupa României. It is usually played at the Arena Națională in Bucharest.
The competition started off in 1994, ...
:
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
Anderlecht
*
Belgian First Division A
The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 team ...
:
2016–17
*
Belgian Super Cup:
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
Slavia Prague
*
Czech First League:
2019–20,
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
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Czech Cup:
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
Wuhan Three Towns
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Chinese Super League
The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...
:
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
Individual
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Czech First League Foreign Player of the Year:
2019–20,
2020–21
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Czech First League Midfielder of the Year:
2019–20
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Czech First League Fans' Player of the Year:
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
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Czech First League Player of the Month:
March 2021
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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 ...
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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 ...
2022; runner-up: 2016, 2021; third place: 2019, 2020
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Digi Sport Liga I Player of the Month:
November 2015,
March 2016
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanciu, Nicolae
1993 births
Living people
People from Alba County
Romanian footballers
Association football midfielders
Liga I players
Liga II players
CSM Unirea Alba Iulia players
FC Vaslui players
FC Steaua București players
Belgian First Division A players
R.S.C. Anderlecht players
Czech First League players
AC Sparta Prague players
Saudi Professional League players
Al-Ahli Saudi FC players
SK Slavia Prague players
Chinese Super League players
Wuhan Three Towns F.C. players
Romania youth international footballers
Romania under-21 international footballers
Romania international footballers
UEFA Euro 2016 players
Romanian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Belgium
Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Expatriate footballers in the Czech Republic
Romanian expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic
Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia
Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia
Expatriate footballers in China
Romanian expatriate sportspeople in China