Daniel Niculae

{{Short description|Romanian footballer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Daniel Niculae | image = 12-06-05-aut-rom-freundschaftsspiel-208.jpg | image_size = 200 | caption = Niculae with Romania in 2012 | fullname = Daniel George Niculae | height = 1.85m | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1982|10|6}} | birth_place = Bucharest, Romania | currentclub = Hermannstadt (president) | position = Forward | youthyears1 = 1992–1995 | youthclubs1 = Dinamo București | youthyears2 = 1996–2001 | youthclubs2 = Rapid București | years1 = 2001–2006 | clubs1 = Rapid București | caps1 = 107 | goals1 = 33 | years2 = 2001 | clubs2 = Electromagnetica București | caps2 = 7 | goals2 = 0 | years3 = 2006–2010 | clubs3 = Auxerre | caps3 = 130 | goals3 = 19 | years4 = 2010–2012 | clubs4 = Monaco | caps4 = 17 | goals4 = 4 | years5 = 2011–2012 | clubs5 = → Nancy (loan) | caps5 = 31 | goals5 = 6 | years6 = 2012–2013 | clubs6 = Kuban Krasnodar | caps6 = 11 | goals6 = 2 | years7 = 2014 | clubs7 = Rapid București | caps7 = 15 | goals7 = 7 | years8 = 2015 | clubs8 = Rapid București | caps8 = 14 | goals8 = 3 | years9 = 2015–2017 | clubs9 = Astra Giurgiu | caps9 = 41 | goals9 = 8 | years10 = 2017–2018 | clubs10 = Rapid București | caps10 = 31 | goals10 = 40 | totalcaps = 404 | totalgoals = 122 | nationalyears1 = 2002–2003 | nationalteam1 = Romania U21 | nationalcaps1 = 4 | nationalgoals1 = 0 | nationalyears2 = 2003–2012 | nationalteam2 = Romania | nationalcaps2 = 39 | nationalgoals2 = 9 | club-update = | nationalteam-update = | manageryears1 = 2021–2024 | managerclubs1 = Rapid București (president) | manageryears2 = 2024– | managerclubs2 = Hermannstadt (president) }}

'''Daniel George Niculae''' ({{IPA|ro|daniˈel ˈdʒe̯ordʒe nikuˈla.e}}; born 6 October 1982) is a former Romanian professional footballer who played mainly as a striker, currently he is the president of Liga I club Hermannstadt.

He has made 39 appearances for Romania since his debut in 2003.<ref name=EU>{{cite web|url=https://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=15004|title=Daniel Niculae|publisher=European Football|access-date=13 November 2019}}</ref>

==Club career==

===Rapid București=== Daniel Niculae started his professional career at Rapid București in 2000. Despite a period playing for the B team in 2001, Nico proved he is one of the most gifted players of the club, and helped his club to win the championship in the 2002–03 season – his first as a first-team regular.

Niculae was Rapid's leading scorer in the 2004–05 season, with 14 goals – the third highest total in Romania's Liga 1.

In the 2005–06 UEFA Cup campaign, he and Mugurel Buga formed one of the most powerful striker pairs of the competition, with Niculae scoring 8 goals, as Rapid reached the Quarter-Finals of the competition. The season also saw Rapid claim the 2006 Romanian Cup, with Niculae scoring the winning goal in the first minute of extra-time, against Național București.

===Auxerre=== Niculae was transferred to French club AJ Auxerre in the summer of 2006, for €3.3 million. His first season with the club saw him score 4 goals in the UEFA Cup, but he struggled for goals in Ligue 1. However, the following season his form improved, as he scored 11 goals to help keep the club in Ligue 1.

The 2008–09 season was one to forget for Niculae. He was deeply affected by the loss of his father, and despite threatening to score on several occasions, he failed to find the net in 32 games.

Things got back on track in 2009–10 however. Jean Fernandez initially wanted to loan out Niculae for the season, but the latest signing Alexandre Licata was ruled out for most of the season with a serious ankle injury. Daniel Niculae found a new role in the Auxerre side, as a creator of goals rather than a scorer of them. As of April 2010, he lies third in the table for assists in Ligue 1 with a total of 8. He has a brilliant entente with Polish goalscorer Ireneusz Jeleń and has helped the Burgundian side to reach second in the table and to thus push for the Champions League places.

===Monaco=== After the expiration of his contract with AJ Auxerre on 15 June 2010, Niculae signed a three-year deal with Ligue 1 rivals AS Monaco.<ref>[http://www.asm-fc.com/article.aspx?id=11776 Daniel Niculae s’engage avec l’AS Monaco FC] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726012755/http://www.asm-fc.com/article.aspx?id=11776 |date=26 July 2011 }}</ref>

On 31 August 2011, Niculae signed for French side AS Nancy on a season-long loan. In a game against his former club, AJ Auxerre, on 30 January 2012, Nicuale scored a double giving his team the win.<ref>[http://www.gsp.ro/international/stranieri/video-daniel-niculae-si-el-dubla-seara-lui-nico-301798.html Niculae dubla]</ref> Although, before the game started, Auxerre's supporters booed him, at the end he got a standing ovation for his impressive performance.<ref>[http://www.digisport.ro/niculae-laudat-in-franta/ Niculae aplaudat]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

===Kuban Krasnodar=== On 6 June 2012, he joined the Russian club Kuban Krasnodar, on a two-year contract. Here he will be coached by Yuri Krasnozhan.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fckuban.ru/news/3942/ |title=Niculae becomes Kuban |access-date=6 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709023803/http://www.fckuban.ru/news/3942 |archive-date=9 July 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==International career== Niculae won his first international cap for Romania in 2003, but did not become a regular squad member until the 2005–06 season.<ref name=EU/>

He was selected for Romania's Euro 2008 squad, and started his country's first two matches. He came on as a substitute for their final group game against the Netherlands, but could not help Romania to a win, which would have taken the country into the Quarter-Finals.<ref name=EU/><ref name="nft">{{NFT player|5382}}</ref>

Other than the fact that they share birthplace, he has no connection with namesake and fellow international Marius Niculae.

==Career statistics== ===Club=== {|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition |- !rowspan="2"|Club !rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|National Cup{{efn|Includes Cupa României, Coupe de France, Russian Cup}} !colspan="2"|League Cup{{efn|Includes Cupa României, Coupe de la Ligue}} !colspan="2"|Europe !colspan="2"|Other !colspan="2"|Total |- !Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals |- |rowspan="7"|Rapid București |2000–01 | rowspan="6" |Divizia A |1||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||1||0 |- |2001–02 |4||1||0||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0||colspan="2"|–||4||1 |- |2002–03 |29||6||1||0||colspan="2"|–||4{{efn|name=UEF|Appearances in UEFA Cup}}||0||1{{efn|name=SCR|Appearance in Supercupa României}}||0||35||6 |- |2003–04 |24||4||2||0||colspan="2"|–||2{{efn|name=UCL|Appearances in UEFA Champions League}}||0||1{{efn|name=SCR}}||0||29||4 |- |2004–05 |20||14||0||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||20||14 |- |2005–06 |29||8||6||3||colspan="2"|–||14{{efn|name=UEF}}||8||colspan="2"|–||49||19 |- !colspan="2"|Total !107!!33!!9!!3!!colspan="2"|–!!20!!8!!2!!0!!138!!44 |- |rowspan="1"|Electromagnetica București |2001–02 | rowspan="1" |Divizia B |7||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||7||0 |- |rowspan="5"|Auxerre |2006–07 | rowspan="4" |Ligue 1 |30||4||0||0||2||0||10{{efn|Two appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup, eight appearances and four goals in UEFA Cup}}||4||colspan="2"|–||42||8 |- |2007–08 |35||11||2||1||4||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||41||12 |- |2008–09 |32||0||1||0||2||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||35||0 |- |2009–10 |33||4||4||0||1||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||38||4 |- !colspan="2"|Total !130!!19!!7!!1!!9!!0!!10!!4!!colspan="2"|–!!156!!24 |- |rowspan="3"|Monaco |2010–11 | rowspan="1" |Ligue 1 |17||4||1||0||1||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||19||4 |- |2011–12 | rowspan="1" |Ligue 2 |0||0||colspan="2"|–||1||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||1||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !17!!4!!1!!0!!2!!0!!colspan="2"|–!!colspan="2"|–!!20!!4 |- |rowspan="1"|Nancy (loan) |2011–12 | rowspan="1" |Ligue 1 |31||6||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||31||6 |- |rowspan="1"|Kuban Krasnodar |2012–13 | rowspan="1" |Russian Premier League |11||2||2||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||13||2 |- |rowspan="1"|Rapid București |2013–14 | rowspan="1" |Liga II |15||7||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||15||7 |- |rowspan="1"|Rapid București |2014–15 | rowspan="1" |Liga I |14||3||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||14||3 |- |rowspan="3"|Astra Giurgiu |2015–16 | rowspan="2" |Liga I |19||2||1||0||1||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||21||1 |- |2016–17 |22||6||2||1||0||0||10{{efn|Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances in UEFA Europa League}}||0||0||0||0||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !41!!8!!3!!1!!1!!0!!10!!0!!0!!0!!55!!9 |- |rowspan="1"|Rapid București |2017–18 | rowspan="1" |Liga IV |31||40||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||31||40 |- ! colspan="3" |Career total !404||122||22||5||12||0||40||12||2||0||480||139 |} {{notelist}}

===International=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+ Appearances and goals by national team and year |- !National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals |- |rowspan="10"|Romania |2003||1||0 |- |2004||1||0 |- |2005||4||1 |- |2006||7||1 |- |2007||7||2 |- |2008||6||1 |- |2009||1||1 |- |2010||8||2 |- |2011||1||1 |- |2012||3||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total!!39!!9 |}

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

{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ List of international goals scored by Daniel Niculae<ref name=EU/><ref name="nft"/> |- !scope="col"|No. !scope="col"|Date !scope="col"|Venue !scope="col"|Opponent !scope="col"|Score !scope="col"|Result !scope="col"|Competition |- | style="text-align:center"|1 || 16 November 2005 || Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania || {{fb|Nigeria}} || style="text-align:center"|1–0 || style="text-align:center"|3–0 || Friendly |- | style="text-align:center"|2 || 26 May 2006 || Soldier Field, Chicago, United States || {{fb|Northern Ireland}} || style="text-align:center"|2–0 || style="text-align:center"|2–0 || Friendly |- | style="text-align:center"|3 || rowspan="2"|21 November 2007 || rowspan="2"|Stadionul Lia Manoliu, Bucharest, Romania || rowspan="2"|{{fb|Albania}} || style="text-align:center"|3–0 || rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"|6–1 || rowspan="2"|UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |- | style="text-align:center"|4 || style="text-align:center"|4–0 |- | style="text-align:center"|5 || 26 March 2008 || Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania || {{fb|Russia}} || style="text-align:center"|2–0 || style="text-align:center"|3–0 || Friendly |- | style="text-align:center"|6 || 14 November 2009 || Stadion Wojska Polskiego, Warsaw, Poland || {{fb|Poland}} || style="text-align:center"|1–0 || style="text-align:center"|1–0 || Friendly |- | style="text-align:center"|7 || 29 May 2010 || Ukraina Stadium, Lviv, Ukraine || {{fb|Ukraine}} || style="text-align:center"|2–1 || style="text-align:center"|2–3 || Friendly |- | style="text-align:center"|8 || 5 June 2010 || Jacques Lemans Arena, Sankt Veit an der Glan, Carinthia, Austria || {{fb|Honduras}} || style="text-align:center"|1–0 || style="text-align:center"|3–0 || Friendly |- | style="text-align:center"|9 || 11 November 2011 || Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège, Belgium || {{fb|Belgium}} || style="text-align:center"|1–2 || style="text-align:center"|1–2 || Friendly |}

==Honours== '''Rapid București''' *Divizia A: 2002–03 *Cupa României: 2001–02, 2005–06 *Supercupa României: 2002, 2003 *Liga IV – Bucharest: 2017–18

'''Auxerre''' *UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2006

'''Astra Giurgiu''' *Liga I: 2015–16 *Cupa României runner-up: 2016–17 *Supercupa României: 2016

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{RomanianSoccer|1400/daniel-george-niculae}} * {{NFT}} * {{FIFA}} * {{ESPN FC|25116}} * {{Soccerway}}

{{Romania Squad 2008 UEFA Euro}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Niculae, Daniel}} Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:Romania men's under-21 international footballers Category:Romania men's international footballers Category:Footballers from Bucharest Category:Romanian men's footballers Category:Men's association football forwards Category:FC Rapid București players Category:AJ Auxerre players Category:AS Monaco FC players Category:AS Nancy Lorraine players Category:FC Kuban Krasnodar players Category:FC Astra Giurgiu players Category:Liga I players Category:Liga II players Category:Ligue 1 players Category:Russian Premier League players Category:Romanian expatriate men's footballers Category:Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Category:Romanian expatriate sportspeople in France Category:Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Category:Expatriate men's footballers in France Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Monaco Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Category:UEFA Euro 2008 players Category:FC Rapid București presidents Category:Romanian sports executives and administrators Category:21st-century Romanian sportsmen