Florin Răducioiu

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

He is known as the first footballer to play and score at least one goal in each of the Big Five leagues.

He played for Romania at the 1990 World Cup, the 1994 World Cup and Euro 1996.

Club career

Dinamo București

Florin Răducioiu, nicknamed ''Minunea blondă'' ("The Blonde Wonder") was born on 17 March 1970 in Bucharest, Romania, starting to play junior level football in 1978 at local club, Dinamo where he worked with Iosif Varga. Coach Mircea Lucescu gave 16-year old Răducioiu his Divizia A debut on 10 May 1986 in a 2–1 home victory against Politehnica Timișoara. His first performance was playing five games and scoring one goal against Kuusysi Lahti in the 1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup, reaching the quarter-finals where they were eliminated on the away goals rule after 1–1 on aggregate by Sampdoria.

In the following season, Dinamo won The Double with Răducioiu playing 24 Divizia A games in which he scored 14 goals, including one in a 2–2 draw against rivals Steaua București. He also scored a hat-trick in the 6–4 victory against them in the Cupa României final. Additionally, the club reached the 1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals, where they were eliminated 2–0 on aggregate by Anderlecht. Răducioiu playing eight games in the campaign, scoring once against Panathinaikos and three times against Partizan Belgrade. In the 85th minute of the second leg from the semi-final with Anderlecht, Răducioiu received a red card after fighting with an opponent and quarreled with the referee, Lucescu giving him a slap for that, however he appreciated the coach, praising him years later after he ended his career:"He was my mentor, teacher, everything! Without him, I would never have become a footballer. He believed in me and gave me the opportunity to play. He showed me what football is all about, but I also learned a lot of other things."

Bari

In the summer of 1990, Italian club, Bari transferred Răducioiu after paying Dinamo three million$. He made his Serie A debut on 9 September as coach Gaetano Salvemini used him as a starter in a 2–0 away loss to Atalanta. One week later he scored his first goal in a 2–1 home victory against Torino. Until the end of the season he found the net four more times, scoring against Lazio Roma and Sampdoria as both games ended 1–1, opening the score in a 2–0 over Pisa and his last goal was in a 5–1 away loss in front of Inter Milan.

Hellas Verona

In 1991 he went to play for Hellas Verona, making his league debut on 1 September under coach Eugenio Fascetti who used him all the minutes in a 1–0 home loss in front of AS Roma. He scored his first goal for ''The Mastiffs'' on 16 November in a 2–1 victory against Genoa, then being unable to score until 11 April 1992 in a 2–1 loss with Torino, these being his only goals in his 30 appearances during this season in which the team relegated. Years later after ending his career, Răducioiu claimed that his poor performances during this period were influenced by the love relationship he had with fashion model Eugenia "Janine" Ștefan:"I had a nightmare season at Verona, 1991–92. I had fallen head over heels in love with Janine, a famous fashion model of those years. My whole being was connected during that period to this girl (...) I had fallen at matches, during training, the supporters attacked us when we were coming from away games, they also attacked me once. We relegated that season, the fans rightly blamed me, and years later I publicly apologized for my disastrous year's performances".

Brescia

Răducioiu went to play for the 1992–93 season at Mircea Lucescu's "Brescia Romena" as during around that period his fellow Romanians Gheorghe Hagi, Ioan Sabău, Dorin Mateuț and Dănuț Lupu also played for the club. He made his debut on 5 September 1992 in a 0–0 draw against Napoli, two weeks later scoring his first goal in a 1–0 with Pescara, by the end of the year managing a brace in a 2–2 draw with Genoa. In the second half of the season he scored goals in victories over Napoli and Juventus and in May 1993 he managed two doubles, first in the 2–0 victory against Atalanta and then in the 2–2 draw with Udinese, gaining a total of 13 goals until the end of the season in which however the team relegated to Serie B.

AC Milan

After three seasons in Serie A, Răducioiu joined AC Milan who paid Brescia 2.75 million€ for his transfer. His first game played for the club was in the 1993 Supercoppa Italiana when coach Fabio Capello sent him on the field at half-time in order to replace Marco Simone who was the only scorer in the victory against Torino. He made his Serie A debut for ''The Devil'' on 12 September 1993, managing to close the score in a 2–0 home win with Atalanta, afterwards on 4 December he netted the only goal in a home win over Torino. On 11 December, he was used by Capello as a starter in the 3–2 loss in front of São Paulo from the 1993 Intercontinental Cup. Răducioiu also played two games in the Champions League group stage, scoring once in a 3–0 over Porto which was the 300th goal of the club in European competitions. In his single season spent with Milan he scored only four goals in 14 appearances across all competitions, having to compete for a place in the offence with players like Jean-Pierre Papin, Daniele Massaro, Dejan Savićević and Marco Simone but still managed to win the league title and the Champions League. He would describe his opportunity to play for Milan as "a dream come true".

Espanyol and loans

In 1994, he went in Spain to play for Espanyol who paid Milan 2.4 million€ for his transfer, making his Primera División debut under coach José Antonio Camacho on 4 September, opening the score in a 4–2 home win over Real Oviedo. One week later he scored again in a 4–0 away victory against Real Valladolid, managing to score nine goals until the end of the season, including a brace in a 2–0 over Atlético Madrid. For the way he played in 1983, Răducioiu was placed second in the ranking for the Romanian Footballer of the Year award, only behind Gheorghe Hagi. He started the following season strong by scoring a brace in the first round and one goal in the second in victories against Salamanca and Tenerife respectively but he scored only two more goals in wins with Real Sociedad and Real Oviedo until the end of the season.

Having scored his country's only goal at Euro 1996, manager Harry Redknapp signed him for West Ham United in 1996. Most famously, he scored a goal in a 2–2 with Manchester United after being criticized by Redknapp for going shopping with his wife at Harvey Nichols on a previous match day, a claim Răducioiu denied. Despite showing promise, he never adapted to the pace and competitive nature of the English game, making no real impact at Upton Park. He scored three goals during his spell with the Hammers, in addition to his goal against Manchester United, he scored against Stockport County in the League Cup and Sunderland in the league. Having fallen out with manager Redknapp at the East London club, he was transferred back to Espanyol after his short underachieving spell, having scored just two goals in the Premier League.

In the second half of the 1996–97 season, Răducioiu scored two doubles for Espanyol, one in a loss with Sporting Gijón and the other in a 2–0 over Barcelona in the Derbi Barceloní.

In the summer of 1997 he went to play for VfB Stuttgart, making his Bundesliga debut on 23 August when coach Joachim Löw sent him on the field at half-time to replace Jonathan Akpoborie in a 3–1 away win against MSV Duisburg in which he closed the score. He played for them in three games in the early stages from the 1997–98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup campaign in which Stuttgart reached the final.

Comebacks to Brescia and Dinamo

In 1998, Răducioiu made a comeback at Brescia, this time playing for two years in Serie B. Afterwards he returned to his country at Dinamo where he stayed only for the first half of the 2000–01 season. He scored his only goal during this second spell at ''The Red Dogs'' in a 3–2 loss with Petrolul Ploiești, then he made his last Divizia A appearance on 24 November 2000 in a 3–2 win with Astra Ploiești, having a total of 84 matches with 30 goals in the competition.

AS Monaco and Créteil

In early 2001, Răducioiu went to play for AS Monaco, making his Ligue 1 debut on 13 January against Sedan when coach Claude Puel sent him on the field in the 66th minute in order to replace the only goalscorer of the game Shabani Nonda. He netted for the first time on 3 February in a 6–1 over Metz, then on 17 March he opened the score in a 4–3 home win with Troyes.

He retired in 2004, after a short stint with French Ligue 2 side Créteil.

Răducioiu is the first professional footballer that played and also scored in the top five European leagues (England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France).

International career

Early years and 1990 World Cup

Florin Răducioiu played 40 games and scored 21 goals for Romania, making his debut under coach Emerich Jenei in a friendly game against Israel on 25 April 1990 which ended with a 4–1 win, being on the field for the first 58 minutes before he was replaced with Gabi Balint.

Răducioiu was taken by Jenei to be part of the 1990 World Cup squad where he made his debut in the 2–1 victory against the Soviet Union at the Stadio San Nicola in Bari, aged 20. Appearing in three games for Romania, he finished the tournament without scoring and Romania fell to the Republic of Ireland in the round of 16, in a penalty shootout.

Răducioiu scored his first goal in a 6–0 victory over San Marino at the Euro 1992 qualifiers, only to double his account in the next game in San Marino, as the Romanians won 3–1.

1994 World Cup

The 1994 World Cup qualifiers were very successful for Răducioiu, firstly as he scored two goals against Czechoslovakia in Košice, even though Romania lost 5–2. An even greater success for Răducioiu would come three months later when in Toftir, he managed to score all four of Romania's goals against the Faroe Islands. Răducioiu also scored a penalty kick and provided an assist for Ilie Dumitrescu in a 2–1 victory against Belgium. In the last group game of the qualifiers, he scored a goal against Wales, finishing a nice team effort after a pass from Ilie Dumitrescu. This late goal, coming in the 83rd minute, earned Romania a 2–1 win and thus the mathematical qualification to the 1994 World Cup, also this game is considered by Romanian journalists as the birth of Romania's "Golden Generation". With nine goals scored, Răducioiu was the top-goalscorer of the 1994 World Cup qualifiers from the UEFA zone.

At the World Cup finals, Răducioiu scored two goals in the victory against Colombia during the group stage. Coach Anghel Iordănescu could not use him in the historical victory against Argentina from the round of 16 as he was suspended after receiving two yellow cards in the group stage. In the quarterfinal against Sweden, he first equalized Sweden's 0–1 lead in the 88th minute of regular time, taking the game to extra time, then put Romania ahead 2–1 in the first period. Shortly thereafter, Sweden's Stefan Schwarz was sent off after his second yellow card, but despite this Kennet Andersson tied the game in the 115th minute, leading to a shootout. Răducioiu scored Romania's first penalty attempt after Sweden had missed its first, but Romania was eliminated after missing two attempts out of six. Still, Răducioiu's four tournament goals helped Romania to its most successful World Cup campaign ever.

Euro 1996

At the successful Euro 1996 qualifiers he scored five goals, including a hat-trick against Azerbaijan, being his side's top-goalscorer. At the final tournament, coach Iordănescu used him in all the games as Romania lost all three group stage matches, Răducioiu netting the nation's only goal after a pass from Ovidiu Stîngă in the 2–1 loss against Spain.

Retirement

Afterwards, Răducioiu decided to retire from the national team even do he was only 26 years old, a decision he would regret, years later saying in an interview:"Disappointed with the European Championship... I felt that I could no longer be useful to the national team. What nonsense I could think then! I felt like I was probably losing my place in the team and... It was probably wrong, for sure!"

For representing his country at two final tournaments, Răducioiu was decorated by President of Romania Traian Băsescu on 25 March 2008 with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" – (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III.

After retirement

In 2005 he had a short spell as a sports agent, then in 2007 he worked as a sporting director for Dinamo București.

In 2012 he was hired by the Romanian Football Federation to be the head coach of Romania's under-15 national team, in the following years working at Romania U16 and Romania U17, teaching and forming players like Ianis Hagi and Florinel Coman.

In 2017, Răducioiu was hired by Regal Sport București as a technical director, working there with a 15-year-old Radu Drăgușin. In 2022 he worked as a team manager for a few months at Dinamo București.

Career statistics

International

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

Honours

Dinamo București
*Divizia A: 1989–90
*Cupa României: 1985–86, 1989–90
AC Milan
*Serie A: 1993–94
*Supercoppa Italiana: 1993
* Champions League: 1993–94
* Intercontinental Cup runner-up: 1993
VfB Stuttgart
*UEFA Cup Winners' Cup runner-up: 1997–98
Individual
*'' Gazeta Sporturilor'' Romanian Footballer of the Year runner-up: 1994

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Raducioiu, Florin
1970 births
Living people
Romanian men's footballers
Footballers from Bucharest
Men's association football forwards
Romania men's international footballers
UEFA Champions League–winning players
Liga I players
Serie A players
Serie B players
La Liga players
Premier League players
Bundesliga players
Ligue 1 players
Ligue 2 players
FC Dinamo București players
SSC Bari players
Hellas Verona FC players
Brescia Calcio players
AC Milan players
RCD Espanyol footballers
West Ham United F.C. players
VfB Stuttgart players
AS Monaco FC players
US Créteil-Lusitanos players
1990 FIFA World Cup players
1994 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 1996 players
Naturalised citizens of Italy
Romanian football managers
Romanian expatriate men's footballers
Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Expatriate men's footballers in Spain
Romanian expatriate sportspeople in England
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Monaco
Expatriate men's footballers in Monaco
Romanian expatriate sportspeople in France
Expatriate men's footballers in France
Romanian sports executives and administrators
20th-century Romanian sportsmen
Association football agents