Dănuț Lupu (born 27 February 1967) is a Romanian former 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 lea ...

who played as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Club career

Dănuț Lupu was born on 27 February 1967 in

Galați Galați ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the river Danube. and the sixth-larges ...

, Romania, starting as a child to play football and

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

simultaneously until the age of 14, when he decided to concentrate exclusively on his football career. He started to play professional football in 1985 at Dunărea Galați in the Romanian second league. In 1987 he was transferred at Dinamo București where he was wanted by coach

Mircea Lucescu Mircea Lucescu (; born 29 July 1945) is a Romanian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, currently the head coach of the Romania national football team, Romania national team. He i ...

, playing his first

Divizia A Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...

match on 8 March 1987 which ended with a 2–0 win against FC Brașov. In his first two seasons at Dinamo, the club finished runner-up in the championship but succeeded to win in the 1989–90 season the Divizia A title, with Lupu contributing with six goals scored in the 22 league matches that Lucescu used him, also winning the cup in which he scored one goal in the 6–4 victory from the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

against Steaua București. He also made some performances in European competitions, helping '' The Red Dogs'' reach the quarter-finals in the

1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1988–89 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won for the third time by Barcelona in the final against Italian entrants Sampdoria. The two sides would meet again in the 1992 European Cup Final, which Barcelona also won. Wimbledon did ...

where they were eliminated on the

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

after 1–1 on aggregate by Sampdoria. In the following edition of the same competition Dinamo reached the semi-finals where they were eliminated after 2–0 on aggregate by

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 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, B ...

with Lupu playing seven games in the campaign. After the fall of

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

in December 1989, Lupu moved to Greece and signed with Panathinaikos who paid Dinamo a transfer fee estimated between 1.2 and 2 million $, winning with ''The Greens'' the championship, although he played there only 10 league games in which he scored one goal. During his time in Greece, he also had spells at Korinthos and

OFI Crete OFI Football Club (, ''Heraklion Sportsmen Club 1925 FC''), commonly referred to as OFI, is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in Heraklion, on the island of Crete. It is part of the O.F.I. (sports club), OFI mul ...

, gaining a total of 66 appearances with five goals scored in the

Alpha Ethniki The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

competition. With OFI he also reached the eight-finals of the 1993–94 UEFA Cup edition, eliminating

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

in the process. In 1994, he came back in Romania at

Rapid București Rapid(s) or RAPID may refer to: Hydrological features * Rapids, sections of a river with turbulent water flow * Rapid Creek (Iowa River tributary), Iowa, United States * Rapid Creek (South Dakota), United States, namesake of Rapid City Sport ...

, but after only two Divizia A games played he went to play for Lucescu's "

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

Romena" as during around that period his fellow Romanians

Gheorghe Hagi Gheorghe Hagi (; born 5 February 1965) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the owner of Liga I club Farul Constanța. Deployed as an attacking midfielder, Hagi was considered one of the best players in ...

Florin Răducioiu Florin Valeriu Răducioiu (born 17 March 1970) is a Romanian former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker, currently television pundit for Orange Sport (Romania), Orange Sport. He ...

, Ioan Sabău and Dorin Mateuț also played for the club. He made 15

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

appearances in which he scored one goal in a 1–0 home victory against Reggiana. Then Lupu returned to play for a short while at Rapid, afterwards spending the next two seasons with Dinamo. In 1997, when his former coach from Dinamo and Brescia, Mircea Lucescu became Rapid's coach, Lupu returned for a third spell and after finishing runner-up in the first season, he won the championship in the following one, contributing with five goals scored in 28 matches. In 2000 he returned for a third spell at Dinamo just for a short time in which he made his last Divizia A appearance on 27 August in a 2–1 loss in front of Oțelul Galați, having a total of 228 matches with 44 goals scored in the competition. Afterwards he played for Laminorul Roman in the Romanian second league and ended his career in Israel at Hapoel Tzafririm. In the European Cups, Lupu played for Dinamo București, Panathinaikos, OFI and Rapid a total of 39 matches in which he scored three goals (including seven appearances in the

Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was discon ...

International career

Dănuț Lupu played 14 matches without scoring for

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, making his debut on 11 October 1989 when coach Emerich Jenei sent him on the field in the 64th minute in order to replace Ioan Sabău in a 1990 World Cup qualifiers match which ended with a 3–0 loss to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, also appearing in the second leg which ended with a 3–1 victory. He appeared in two games at the 1990 World Cup final tournament, a 1–1 in the group stage against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and a 0–0 (5–4, after penalty kicks) loss against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in the round of 16. Lupu played four games at the successful Euro 1996 qualifiers, but was not part of the team's squad at the final tournament. He made his last appearance for the national team on 18 March 1998 in a friendly which ended with a 1–0 loss against

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

International stats

Style of play

Dănuț Lupu was a player known for his dribbling and passing abilities. When his former coach,

was asked "What did Lupu lack to be at Hagi's level?", Lucescu answered:"He didn't lack talent, especially since he also played hockey and had very strong legs, which enabled him to balance well on the field. I did not see him fall on the field. I remember a match at Brescia against Desailly (n.a.

Marcel Desailly Marcel David Desailly (; 7 September 1968) is a French former professional Association football, footballer, who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. During a successful career at club level, lasting from 1986 to 2006, Desailly won se ...

, ex-

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

defender and world champion with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

), he crushed him in a one-on-one contest. He was lacking Gică Hagi's ambition. Perhaps, if he had been more ambitious, he would have taken football more seriously. He didn't take it very seriously. He loved football, but he did not respect it. I would tell him what to do and he would understand immediately, very intelligently. I remember that cube appeared (the Rubik's Cube)... no one could do it. He did it immediately. He had an extraordinary memory. He lacked that basic education."

Controversies

During Dinamo's stay in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

for a game against

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

in the

, Dănuț Lupu was arrested for shoplifting, but was released after coach

went to the police station and convinced the prosecutor to not make him a criminal record. While playing for Panathinaikos, Lupu was arrested in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and spent two months and a half in jail, being accused of being the leader of a gang of Romanian thieves who had stolen cars in Greece. Lupu claims he was arrested because Panathinaikos's president

Yiorgos Vardinogiannis Yiorgos Vardinogiannis (; born 7 April 1936) is a Greek businessman and a shipping magnate, former owner and president of the Panathinaikos football club. He was born in Episkopi, Rethymno. He is the brother of oil and shipping tycoon Vardis ...

wanted him to sign the termination of the contract and to give up insisting to receive his unpaid salaries. In 2005 he was caught at an airport from

București Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater metropolitan area of 2. ...

with 79,000 undeclared

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

s stashed in shoe boxes; also, in the same year he was caught driving an unregistered car. In early October 2023, the

Bucharest Court of Appeal Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

sentenced Lupu to seven months and 10 days in jail for driving repeatedly without a

driver's license A driver's license, driving licence, or driving permit is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, ca ...

, being released after six months in early April 2024.

Personal life

His nephew,

Valentin Balint Valentin Daniel Balint (born 7 February 1994) is a Romanian footballer who plays as a striker. He started his professional career at Dinamo București. He is the nephew of former Romanian International footballer Dănuț Lupu Dănuț Lupu (bo ...

is also a footballer who started his career at Dinamo București.

Honours

Dinamo București *

: 1989–90 *

Cupa României The Cupa României () 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. It is the Romania ...

: 1989–90 Panathinaikos *

: 1990–91 *

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

: 1990–91 Rapid București *

: 1998–99 *

: 1997–98 *

Supercupa României The Supercupa României () is a Romanian football (soccer), 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 Supe ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lupu, Danut 1967 births Living people Footballers from Galați Romanian men's footballers Romania men's international footballers Romanian expatriate men's footballers FCM Dunărea Galați players FC Dinamo București players FC Rapid București players CSM Roman (football) players Panathinaikos F.C. players P.A.S. Korinthos players OFI Crete F.C. players Brescia Calcio players Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Serie A players Liga I players Liga II players Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Super League Greece players Israeli Premier League players Hapoel Tzafririm Holon F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Israel 1990 FIFA World Cup players Men's association football midfielders Romanian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Romania 20th-century Romanian sportsmen