# Daniel Pancu

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**Daniel Gabriel Pancu** (daniˈel gabriˈel– ˈpaŋku; born 17 August 1977) is a Romanian professional [football](/source/Association_football) [manager](/source/Manager_(association_football)) and former player, who is currently in charge of [Liga I](/source/Liga_I) club [Rapid București](/source/FC_Rapid_Bucure%C8%99ti).

## Club career

Pancu began his playing career at [Politehnica Iași](/source/FC_Politehnica_Ia%C8%99i_(1945)). He made his debut in [Divizia A](/source/Liga_I) in 1995. In the winter of 1996 he was transferred to Rapid București for the sum of US$200,000. This was, at that time, the highest fee ever paid for a Iași player. After two and a half seasons, he moved to [A.C. Cesena](/source/A.C._Cesena), in the Italian [Serie B](/source/Serie_B), for US$1,200,000. After a year, Cesena was relegated from the Serie B and Pancu returned to Rapid for US$800,000, where he stayed for two seasons. During this tenure he gained the nickname "the [Giulești](/source/Stadionul_Giule%C8%99ti-Valentin_St%C4%83nescu_(1939)) [Ronaldo](/source/Ronaldo_(Brazilian_footballer))".

In 2002, he was bought by Beşiktaş, at the request of the manager who discovered him, [Mircea Lucescu](/source/Mircea_Lucescu), for a fee of US$2,250,000.[1] It was at Beşiktaş that Lucescu turned Pancu from striker into central midfielder with impressive results. In the winter of 2005/2006, he returned to Rapid on loan with the possibility of becoming a permanent transfer in the summer. He was then bought by [Bursaspor](/source/Bursaspor), but returned to Rapid again in the spring of 2008, scoring on his first appearance. In July 2008 he moved to [FC Terek Grozny](/source/FC_Terek_Grozny) and left the club on 30 November 2009.[2]

On 11 December 2009, it was announced in the Bulgarian media that [CSKA Sofia](/source/CSKA_Sofia) had an interest in signing the midfielder. On 12 January 2010, CSKA signed Pancu on a one-a-half-year deal.[3] Pancu made his official debut for CSKA Sofia in the 3–2 win against [Lokomotiv Plovdiv](/source/Lokomotiv_Plovdiv) in [Sofia](/source/Sofia), again scoring on his debut.

After a short spell in Bulgaria at [CSKA Sofia](/source/CSKA_Sofia), Pancu returned to Romanian football later in 2010 to play for [FC Vaslui](/source/FC_Vaslui), but had a difficult time breaking into the first eleven with strong competition from [Wesley](/source/Wesley_Lopes_da_Silva) and [Mike Temwanjera](/source/Mike_Temwanjera). During the summer transfer window of 2011 he re-signed yet again for Rapid București.

### Curiosity

On the 28th gameweek of the [2004/05 Süper Lig season](/source/2004%E2%80%9305_S%C3%BCper_Lig), during a derby match against [Fenerbahçe](/source/Fenerbah%C3%A7e_S.K.), with the score at 2–3, Pancu replaced [Óscar Córdoba](/source/%C3%93scar_C%C3%B3rdoba), after the goalkeeper received a red card and Beşiktaş had already used all their substitutes. After conceding a penalty, Pancu kept Fenerbahçe at bay until [Koray](/source/Koray_Avc%C4%B1_(footballer)) scored the fourth goal for Beşiktaş in the fifth minute of added time. Beşiktaş thus sealed a sensational away win over their rivals at [Kadiköy Stadium](/source/%C5%9E%C3%BCkr%C3%BC_Saraco%C4%9Flu_Stadium). Pancu was given the nickname "Kadıköy Panteri" (the panther of [Kadıköy](/source/Kad%C4%B1k%C3%B6y)) and dressed in a regular goalkeeper's jersey with the number "1" the following season.[4][5][6] He later stated that he felt uncomfortable being labelled as a goalkeeper, as his native playing position was a forward.[7]

### Managerial career

On 2 October 2018, Daniel Pancu was appointed as [Rapid](/source/Rapid_Bucuresti)’s new manager. He obtained the promotion from [Liga III](/source/Liga_III) to [Liga II](/source/Liga_II) after losing only 1 game. In 2020, he was named President of [Rapid București](/source/FC_Rapid_Bucure%C8%99ti).[8]

## Career statistics

### International

[9]

Appearances and goals by national team and year National team Year Apps Goals Romania 2001 3 0 2002 6 2 2003 9 2 2004 5 4 2005 4 1 Total 27 9

- *Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pancu goal*.[9]

List of international goals scored by Daniel Pancu No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 27 March 2002 Stadionul Gheorghe Hagi, Constanța, Romania Ukraine 2–0 4–1 Friendly 2 3–0 3 6 September 2003 Stadionul Astra, Ploiești, Romania Luxembourg 2–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying 4 10 September 2003 Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark Denmark 2–1 2–2 UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying 5 31 March 2004 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland Scotland 2–0 2–1 Friendly 6 4 September 2004 Stadionul Ion Oblemenco, Craiova, Romania North Macedonia 1–0 2–1 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification 7 8 September 2004 Estadi Comunal d'Andorra la Vella, Andorra la Vella, Andorra AND 2–0 5–1 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification 8 5–1 9 9 February 2005 GSZ Stadium, Larnaca, Cyprus Slovakia 1–1 2–2 Friendly

## Managerial statistics

Managerial record by team and tenure Team From To Record G W D L GF GA GD Win % Rapid Bucuresti 2 October 2018 10 March 2020 Politehnica Iași 10 August 2020 28 January 2021 Romania U20 16 August 2022 25 July 2023 Romania U21 25 July 2023 30 June 2025 CFR Cluj 1 November 2025 27 May 2026 Rapid Bucuresti 27 May 2026 present Total

## Honours

### Player

**Rapid București**

- [Divizia A](/source/Liga_I): [1998–99](/source/1998%E2%80%9399_Divizia_A)
- [Cupa României](/source/Cupa_Rom%C3%A2niei): [1997–98](/source/1997%E2%80%9398_Cupa_Rom%C3%A2niei), [2001–02](/source/2001%E2%80%9302_Cupa_Rom%C3%A2niei), [2005–06](/source/2005%E2%80%9306_Cupa_Rom%C3%A2niei)
- [Supercupa României](/source/Supercupa_Rom%C3%A2niei) runner-up: [1998](/source/1998_Supercupa_Rom%C3%A2niei)
- [Liga IV – Bucharest](/source/Liga_IV_Bucharest): [2017–18](/source/2017%E2%80%9318_Liga_IV)

**Beşiktaş**

- [Süper Lig](/source/S%C3%BCper_Lig): [2002–03](/source/2002%E2%80%9303_S%C3%BCper_Lig)

### Coach

**Rapid București**

- [Liga III](/source/Liga_III): [2018–19](/source/2018%E2%80%9319_Liga_III)

## References

1. ["DANIEL GABRIEL PANCU"](http://www.tff.org.tr/Default.aspx?pageId=526&kisiId=29901). [TFF](/source/Turkish_Football_Federation). Retrieved 30 April 2009.

1. [""Терек" расстался с шестью легионерами."](https://web.archive.org/web/20160303165028/http://fc-terek.ru/content/view/1015/9/). Archived from [the original](http://fc-terek.ru/content/view/1015/9/) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2009.

1. ["Панку официално е играч на ЦСКА"](https://topsport.bg/cska/panku-ofitsialno-e-igrach-na-tsska.html) (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. 12 January 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2016.

1. [""Kadıköy Panteri" UEFA'da"](https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/spor/kadikoy-panteri-uefada/183040). *[Anadolu Agency](/source/Anadolu_Agency)*. Retrieved 2023-12-08.

1. ["ÖZEL | 'Kadıköy Panteri' Pancu: Gerçek bir kaleci gibi kurtarışlar yapmıştım | Goal.com Türkçe"](https://www.goal.com/tr/haber/%C3%B6zel-kad%C4%B1k%C3%B6y-panteri-pancu-ger%C3%A7ek-bir-kaleci-gibi/blt25e8f3493e6f5f3d) (in Turkish). *[Goal](/source/Goal_(website))*. 2016-12-03. Retrieved 2023-12-08.

1. Er, İsmail (2005-07-26). ["Pancu 1 numara"](https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/pancu-1-numara-337460) (in Turkish). *[Hürriyet](/source/H%C3%BCrriyet)*. Retrieved 2023-12-08.

1. [""Kadıköy panteri" Pancu'nun, 10 dakika rahatsızlığı!"](https://www.ntvspor.net/futbol/kadikoy-panteri-pancu-nun-10-dakika-rahatsizligi-63bfd7f9df2383db1033dfb7) (in Turkish). *[NTV Spor](/source/NTV_Spor)*. Retrieved 2023-12-08.

1. [Constanttin Schumacher a fost inlocuit de Daniel Pancu](https://fcrapid.ro/constantin-schumacher-a-fost-inlocuit-de-daniel-pancu/). fcrapid.ro (in Romanian)

1. ["Daniel Pancu"](https://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=15933). *EU-Football.info*. Retrieved 11 September 2024.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Daniel Pancu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Pancu) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Pancu?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.