Marcel Răducanu

Marcel Răducanu

Răducanu in 2014
Personal information
Date of birth	(1954-10-21) 21 October 1954
Place of birth	Bucharest, Romania
Height
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Youth career
	Steaua Bucureşti
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1972–1981	Steaua Bucureşti	229	(94)
1982–1988	Borussia Dortmund	163	(31)
1988–1990	FC Zürich	47	(12)
Total		439	(137)
International career
1976–1981	Romania	21	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Marcel Răducanu (born 21 October 1954 in Bucharest) is a Romanian former footballer who played for Steaua Bucureşti, Borussia Dortmund, FC Zürich and the Romanian national team.

Between 1976 and 1981, he played 21 games for Romanian national team, during which he scored three goals. He played nearly 80 matches scoring many goals for Romania's Under-16, U-18, national youth sides, respectively for the U-21 and U-23, being the team's best all-around player and also made two appearances for the Olympic team.

Răducanu was honoured as Romanian Footballer of the Year in 1980.

After playing for Steaua Bucureşti in the 1970s, where he won two championships and also two Romanian Cups, Răducanu defected following a match in Dortmund, West Germany in 1981. In his native Romania this act was considered a desertion, as he was a Captain in the Romanian army. Therefore he was sentenced to nearly six years in prison in his absence.

Once in West Germany he signed with both Hannover 96 and Borussia Dortmund clubs, and as a result was suspended by UEFA for one year. In order to have his services, Borussia Dortmund paid half a million deutschmarks to the Hannover club, and Răducanu made his debut in Bundesliga in 1982. Between 1982 and 1988, he played a total of 163 games in the German federal league and scored 31 goals. He also spent time in Switzerland at FC Zürich where he played until his retirement.

Răducanu retired from football in 1990. Since 1994, he has run a football school in Dortmund. Mario Götze trained at his academy whe he was 10 years old.

Honours

Club

Steaua Bucureşti

• Romanian League: 1975–76, 1977–78
• Cupa României: 1975–76, 1978–79

Romania

• Balkan Cup: 1980

Individual

• Romanian Footballer of the Year: 1980

References

Sporting positions
Preceded by Anghel Iordănescu	Steaua Top Scorer 1978–1979 1979–1980 1980–1981	Succeeded by Anghel Iordănescu