Mirel Rădoi

Mirel Rădoi

Mirel Rădoi during a game at Al-Hilal
Personal information
Full name	Mirel Matei Rădoi
Date of birth	(1981-03-22) 22 March 1981
Place of birth	Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Romania
Height
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder / Centre back
Team information
Current team	Steaua București (Technical Director)
Youth career
1991–1999	Drobeta-Turnu Severin
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1999–2000	Extensiv Craiova	14	(0)
2000–2008	Steaua București	186	(12)
2009–2011	Al-Hilal	52	(10)
2011–2014	Al-Ain	53	(2)
2014–2015	Al-Ahli	7	(0)
2015	Al-Arabi	6	(0)
Total		318	(24)
International career‡
1998–2000	Romania U–21	3	(0)
2000–2010	Romania	67	(2)
Managerial career
2015	Steaua București (technical director)
2015-	SCM Pitești (technical director)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 May 2015 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8 November 2011

Mirel Matei Rădoi (born 22 March 1981 in Drobeta-Turnu Severin) is a former Romanian football midfielder who also played as a center back. He was technical director of Liga I club Steaua București.

Radoi is considered a symbolic player for Steaua București. He became also a symbolic player for Al-Hilal FC and in Saudi Arabia, he received in June 2010 the award for the Player of the Year of the Saudi Professional League. His main nickname at Steaua was "The Godson", being the Godson of Steaua's owner, Gigi Becali. Other nicknames: "Zorro"; "The Captain"; "The Warrior". Rădoi is well known for his leadership and tackling. He also has the ability to drive forward, where his technical skills come into use.

Club 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 CS Turnu Severin and there he was spotted by Sorin Cârţu, the coach of Extensiv Craiova, who purchased Rădoi in 1999. Cârțu financed the transfer with his own money because he was so impressed with his ability. He noted Rădoi's potential to play at a higher level during his time at Extensiv Craiova. He made his professional debut in 1999, in a defeat against Dinamo Bucureşti on 4 March 2000. Just one year later he left for Bucharest.

Steaua București

Mirel Rădoi joined Steaua București in the summer of 2000, for a fee of €110,000. Whilst 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, Marius Baciu and Miodrag Belodedici, players I saw on TV. It was like a dream."

Rădoi with Steaua in 2007

His coach at Steaua was Victor Piţurcă, the former Romanian 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, Rădoi played very well. He scored a goal at the Ghencea football stadium, when the score was 4–3 (against FCM Bacău), Rădoi equalled the score in the 9th minute after Cătălin Cursaru opened the score less than a minute before.

In 2001, at the end of the first season at the club, he helped Steaua win the championship of the Romanian league, and later the Romanian Supercup against rivals Dinamo Bucureşti.

In 2005, Rădoi won a second championship title, and in 2006 the 23rd championship title for Steaua and his 3rd personal. On 24 February 2005, he won an important match in the UEFA Cup against holder Valencia, and in 2006 (with Rădoi as captain) the team had played the UEFA Cup semifinal against Middlesbrough but lost 4–3 on aggregate.

In 2006, Steaua qualified after a 10-year absence for the UEFA Champions League in a group with Real Madrid, Olympique Lyonnais and Dinamo Kiev but Rădoi did not play in the first games because he was injured.

In the summer of 2006 rumour was that Rădoi would be signed by Premier League club Portsmouth as soon as the transfer window would open in England. The transfer fee was said to be around 11 million dollars. However, the transfer did not occur, many believing that the 11 million offer from Portsmouth was no more than a mediatic attempt to rise the player's potential transfer fee. In the end, Gigi Becali stated that he would no longer sell Rădoi.

Being injured, he only played his first official game in the 2006–07 season on 12 November, when Steaua won 6–0 against Naţional Bucureşti. Although he had been absent for a period of five months, he scored a penalty for Steaua with his first touch of the ball. He was a key player for Steaua București in his nine seasons, and captained the team for many years.

Al-Hilal

In January 2009, Rădoi signed a three-year contract with Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal, that will earn him €1,4m per year. The transfer fee Steaua Bucureşti received was in the region of €6m.

Rădoi made his debut for Al-Hilal in the local derby against Al-Nassr. Al-Hilal won the game with 2–0 and Rădoi scored the second goal. After the sixth game against Al-Shabab, he won the Prince Cup with Al-Hilal. He was nicknamed "The Warrior" among his fans in Saudi Arabia. While at Al-Hilal, he was voted Saudi Professional League:Player of the year. 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 teams captain, before he was reunited with ex Al-Hilal and Steaua București manager Cosmin Olăroiu, at Al Ain.

Al Ain

In June 2011. Rădoi was transferred to Al Ain for a fee of €4,2m. He put pen to paper for a two-year contract worth €2,5m per year.

International career

Rădoi playing for Romania in 2009

For the Romania national team, Rădoi has been capped 67 times, in which he scored two goals. In 2005, he was suspended by the coach of Romania, Victor Piţurcă, for leaving the national team training camp without permission, before matches against the Netherlands and Armenia. Coach Pițurcă recalled him back in February 2006 to play in a friendly tournament in Cyprus after Rădoi apologised for his behaviour. He was included in Romania's squad for the 2008 European Championships. However, he suffered a head injury in the second group game versus Italy after a clash of heads with team-mate Răzvan Raţ, who emerged unscathed. It was revealed that he would require eye surgery, and also suffered a broken nose and could therefore play no further part in the championships. After a confrontation with Răzvan Lucescu in 2010, Radoi declared that he will retire from the national team.

International goals

Mirel Rădoi: International Goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition
1	16 October 2002	Luxembourg, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	7–0	UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.
2	5 June 2010	Sankt Veit an der Glan, Carinthia, Austria	Honduras	3–0	Friendly

Trivia

Rădoi has a very strong personality and acted as adviser to Gigi Becali, Steaua's owner and chairman. Becali is also his godfather, and it is alleged that the choice of coach at Steaua has been influenced by Rădoi. It is rumored that the former Steaua coach, Cosmin Olăroiu, was brought to the club by Rădoi. In a 2006 poll conducted by Romanian Television to identify the "greatest Romanians of all time", Rădoi came in 21st.

Career statistics

Club

(Correct as of 24 May 2015)

Club	Season	League		Cup		Continental		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Extensiv Craiova
	1999–00	14	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
Total		14	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
Steaua
	2000–01	25	1	3	0	0	0	28	1
	2001–02	22	1	5	1	3	0	30	2
	2002–03	23	1	2	0	0	0	25	1
	2003–04	29	2	2	1	6	0	37	3
	2004–05	20	1	0	0	8	0	28	1
	2005–06	24	4	1	0	17	3	42	7
	2006–07	14	1	1	0	4	0	19	1
	2007–08	16	0	0	0	3	0	19	0
	2008–09	13	1	0	0	7	0	20	1
Total		186	12	14	2	48	3	248	17
Al-Hilal
	2008–09	13	2	0	0	6	3	19	5
	2009–10	19	2	10	2	8	0	37	4
	2010–11	20	6	7	4	7	1	34	11
Total		52	10	17	6	21	4	90	20
Al Ain
	2011–12	19	0	10	3	0	0	29	3
	2012–13	20	2	5	0	6	0	31	2
	2013–14	14	0	5	1	6	0	25	1
Total		53	2	20	4	12	0	85	6
Al-Ahli
	2014–15	7	0	3	0	0	0	10	0
Total		7	0	3	0	0	0	10	0
Al-Arabi
	2014–15	6	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
Total		6	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
Career total		318	24	53	12	81	7	453	43

Honours

Club

• Steaua
  • Romanian League (3): 2000–01, 2004–05, 2005–06
  • Romanian Super Cup (2): 2001, 2006
  • UEFA Cup semi-finalist: 2005–06

• Al-Hilal
  • Saudi Professional League (2): 2009–2010, 2010–11
  • Crown Prince Cup (3): 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11

• Al Ain
  • UAE Pro-League (2): 2011–12, 2012–13
  • UAE Super Cup (1): 2012
  • UAE President's Cup (1): 2013–14

Individual

• Saudi Professional League Player of the Year: 2010
• Romanian Footballer of the Year: 2005 (Runner-Up)

External links

• The Leader Mirel Radoi (English) (Arabic)
• Mirel Rădoi at National-Football-Teams.com
• Profile on RomanianSoccer

Sporting positions
Preceded by Marius Baciu	Steaua captain 2002–2009	Succeeded by Sorin Ghionea