Mirel Matei Rădoi (born 22 March 1981) is a Romanian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and former player, who is currently in charge of

Liga I 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 ...

club Universitatea Craiova. A

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

or a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

, Rădoi began his playing career at

Extensiv Craiova Fotbal Club Caracal was a Romanian professional football club from Caracal, Olt County. The club's best period was in the early 90s when Electroputere Craiova, as it was called then, played four consecutive seasons in the Romanian first league. ...

in 1999, before signing for Steaua București one year later. Following eight-and-a-half seasons in the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

, he spent his later career with Al-Hilal,

Al-Ain Al Ain () is a city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the seat of the administrative division of the Al Ain Region. The city is bordered to the east by the Omani town of Al-Buraimi. Al Ain is the largest inland city in ...

, Al-Ahli and Al-Arabi. Internationally, Rădoi was

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 e ...

68 times by

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 ...

, which he represented at the

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...

. Rădoi's first stint as a head coach was Steaua București in 2015, where he stayed for six months. Three years later, he was appointed at the helm of the Romania under-21 national team, which he led to the

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

of the 2019 UEFA European Championship. This resulted in his promotion to the senior team in November 2019, but left after two years with less success.

Playing career

Extensiv Craiova

Rădoi started to play football at the age of eight, first as a goalkeeper and then as a defender. He started his youth career at

Turnu Severin Drobeta-Turnu Severin (), colloquially Severin, is a city in Mehedinți County, Oltenia, Romania, on the northern bank of the Danube, close to the Iron Gates. It is one of six Romanian county seats lying on the river Danube. "Drobeta" is the name ...

and there he was spotted by

Sorin Cârțu Sorin Cârțu (born 12 November 1955) is a former football striker and football coach, currently honorary president at Liga I club Universitatea Craiova. Cârțu won two Romanian Championships and four Romanian Cups with Universitatea Craiov ...

, the coach of

, who was so impressed by him that he purchased Rădoi in 1999, financing the transfer with his own money. Rădoi made his professional debut in 1999, in a defeat against

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 Yekaterin ...

on 4 March 2000. he left the club.

Steaua București

Just one year later, in the summer of 2000, Rădoi joined Steaua București for a fee of €110,000. Describing his first day at Steaua, he said, "It was like a positive shock for me. Suddenly I was in the same place with players like

Iulian Miu Iulian Ilie Miu (born 21 January 1976 in Roşiorii de Vede, Teleorman County) is a Romanian former football player. He played for Liga I clubs such as Steaua București, and abroad in Turkey at Bursaspor. Honours Club ;Steaua București * Di ...

, Marius Baciu and

Miodrag Belodedici Miodrag Belodedici (; ; born 20 May 1964) is a Romanian former professional association football, footballer who played as a sweeper (association football), sweeper. Nicknamed ''The Deer'' due to his elegant Tackle (football move), tackles, he ...

, players I saw on TV. It was like a dream." His coach at Steaua was

Victor Pițurcă Victor Pițurcă (; born 8 May 1956) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player. Club career Victor Pițurcă was born on 8 May 1956 in Orodel, Dolj County, Romania, starting to play football in 1964 at the youth center of U ...

, the former Romania national team coach, who promoted him to the Steaua first team. He then became one of Steaua's most important players. In his first match for the club, a 4–3 victory over

FCM Bacău Asociația Sportivă a Suporterilor FCM 1950 Bacău (also known as ASS FCM 1950 Bacău, FCM 1950 Bacău or FCM Bacău) was a Romanian association football, football football team, club based in Bacău, Bacău County, Moldavia. Founded in 1950 a ...

at the Ghencea football stadium, Rădoi scored the equalizer in the ninth minute after

Cătălin Cursaru Cătălin Marcel Cursaru (born 29 March 1978) is a retired Romanian footballer. Over the course of seven Liga I seasons, Cursaru amassed totals of 167 games and 51 goals. Club career Born in Ploieşti, Prahova, Cursaru came through the youth ...

had opened the scoring for Bacău less than a minute before. Steaua would go on to win the championship of the Romanian league that year, as well as the

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 ...

against rivals Dinamo. In 2005, Rădoi won a second championship title; and in 2006, yet another: his third. On 24 February 2005, he won an important match in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

against holder

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. In 2006 Rădoi captained the team in the UEFA Cup semi-final against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

which Steaua lost 4–3 on aggregate. In the summer of 2006, a rumour circulated that Rădoi would sign for

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

as soon as the transfer window opened in England, with the transfer fee estimated at £11 million. The transfer did not materialize, however, and many speculated that the £11 million offer was no more than a ploy to jack up the player's potential transfer value before a move elsewhere. In the end, Steaua's owner

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

stated that he would not be selling Rădoi after all. Due to injury, he only played his first official game in the 2006–07 season on 12 November, a 6–0 victory against Național București.

Later career

In January 2009, Rădoi signed a three-year contract with Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal which earned him

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

1.4 million annually. The transfer fee Steaua București received was in the region of €6 million. Rădoi made his debut for Al-Hilal in the local derby against

Al-Nassr Al-Nassr Football Club () is a professional football club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The club competes in the Saudi Pro League, the top tier of the Saudi football league system. Al-Nassr is one of only three clubs to have participated ...

, which Al-Hilal won 2–0 with Rădoi scoring the second goal. In his sixth game with the club, he won the Prince's Cup, defeating Al-Shabab in the final. Nicknamed "The Warrior" by his fans in Saudi Arabia, he was voted

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

Player of the Year in 2010. They even made a complete book about his career and has been published online with official website MRadoi.com. Rădoi spent three years at the club, becoming a legend, and the team's captain, before he was reunited with ex-Al-Hilal and Steaua manager

Cosmin Olăroiu Cosmin Aurelian Olăroiu (born 10 June 1969) is a Romanian football manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of United Arab Emirates national team. As a manager, he guided Steaua București to the Divizia A title and Romani ...

Al Ain Al Ain () is a city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the seat of the administrative division of the Al Ain Region. The city is Oman–United Arab Emirates border, bordered to the east by the Omani town of Al-Buraimi. Al A ...

. In June 2011, Rădoi was transferred to Al Ain for a fee of €4.2 million. He signed a two-year deal worth €2.5 million annually.

International

Rădoi has been capped 67 times for the

, scoring two goals. In 2005, Romanian team manager Victor Pițurcă suspended him for leaving training camp without permission before matches against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. Coach Pițurcă recalled him in February 2006 for a friendly tournament in Cyprus after Rădoi apologised for his behaviour. Although he was included in Romania's squad for

, he suffered an eye injury and broken nose during the second group game against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

after clashing heads with team-mate

Răzvan Raț Răzvan Dincă Raț (; born 26 May 1981) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a left-back. He made a name for himself in Romania at Rapid București, with whom he won two national titles, one national cup and one supercup ...

, who emerged unscathed. Rădoi played no further part in the tournament. After a confrontation with

Răzvan Lucescu Răzvan Lucescu (; born 17 February 1969) is a Romanian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently managing Super League Greece, Greek Super League club PAOK FC, PAOK. ...

in 2010, Rădoi declared that he would retire from the national team.

Coaching career

Rădoi became the head coach of the Romania national team after resignation of

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 ...

in November 2019. On 22 January 2023, Rădoi was appointed as manager of Saudi Pro League club Al-Tai. He was sacked by the club on 18 May 2023. He coached Emirati club Al Jazira for three months in 2024.

Playing statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Steaua București *

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 ...

: 2000–01, 2004–05, 2005–06 *

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Al-Hilal *

: 2009–10,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Crown Prince Cup The Saudi Crown Prince's Cup () was the oldest Saudi Arabian annual cup competition. History The cup was the oldest and first domestic football competition in Saudi Arabia; the first edition was held in 1956–57; five editions were played betwe ...

: 2008–09, 2009–10,

Al-Ain *

UAE Pro-League The UAE Pro League (), also known as the ADNOC Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the highest level of the Emirati football league system. The first team to w ...

: 2011–12,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

UAE Super Cup The UAE Super Cup () and Charity Champions Cup in the first edition (1989–90), is the curtain raiser of the United Arab Emirates football season. It is played between the previous season's UAE League, Pro-League winners and UAE President's Cup, P ...

: 2012 *

UAE President's Cup The UAE President's Cup, or simply the President Cup, is a association football, football tournament that takes place in United Arab Emirates, between Football team, clubs in the UAE Pro League and the UAE First Division League. The winner qualifi ...

: 2013–14 Individual *''

Gazeta Sporturilor Gazeta Sporturilor () is a Romanian sports website, originally founded in 1924 as a daily newspaper. It was the third-oldest daily newspaper in Europe, with 99 years of uninterrupted publication, before issuing its last edition on 31 October 2023. ...

Romanian Footballer of the Year The Romanian Footballer of the Year (), also known as the Nicolae Dobrin Trophy (), is an annual association football award given by the ''Gazeta Sporturilor'' newspaper to the Romanian player adjudged to have been the best during a calendar yea ...

runner-up: 2005 *Saudi Professional League Player of the Year: 2010

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Radoi, Mirel 1981 births Living people Romanian men's footballers Romania men's international footballers Romanian expatriate men's footballers FC Drobeta-Turnu Severin players FCSB players Men's association football fullbacks UEFA Euro 2008 players Liga I players Liga II players Saudi Pro League players UAE Pro League players Qatar Stars League players Al-Hilal Saudi FC players Al Ain FC players Shabab Al Ahli Club players Al-Arabi SC (Qatar) players Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar Romanian football managers Liga I managers Saudi Pro League managers UAE Pro League managers FCSB managers CS Universitatea Craiova managers Al-Tai FC managers Al Bataeh Club managers Al Jazira Club managers Romania national football team managers Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Romanian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate football managers in the United Arab Emirates Footballers from Drobeta-Turnu Severin 21st-century Romanian sportsmen