Daniel Niculae

Daniel Niculae
	Niculae with Romania in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Daniel George Niculae
Date of birth	6 October 1982 (age 42)
Place of birth	Bucharest, Romania
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Hermannstadt (president)
Youth career
1992–1995	Dinamo București
1996–2001	Rapid București
Senior career*
Years	Team
2001–2006	Rapid București
2001	→ Electromagnetica București (loan)
2006–2010	Auxerre
2010–2012	Monaco
2011–2012	→ Nancy (loan)
2012–2013	Kuban Krasnodar
2014	Rapid București
2015	Rapid București
2015–2017	Astra Giurgiu
2017–2018	Rapid București
Total
International career
2002–2003	Romania U21
2003–2012	Romania
Managerial career
2021–2024	Rapid București (president)
2024–	Hermannstadt (president)
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Daniel George Niculae (Romanian pronunciation: [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.^[1]

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.^[2]

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.^[3] Although, before the game started, Auxerre's supporters booed him, at the end he got a standing ovation for his impressive performance.^[4]

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.^[5]

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.^[1]

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.^[1]^[6]

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

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
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
Total		39	9

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

List of international goals scored by Daniel Niculae^[1]^[6]
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	16 November 2005	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Nigeria	1–0	3–0	Friendly
2	26 May 2006	Soldier Field, Chicago, United States	Northern Ireland	2–0	2–0	Friendly
3	21 November 2007	Stadionul Lia Manoliu, Bucharest, Romania	Albania	3–0	6–1	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
4	21 November 2007	Stadionul Lia Manoliu, Bucharest, Romania	Albania	4–0	6–1	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
5	26 March 2008	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Russia	2–0	3–0	Friendly
6	14 November 2009	Stadion Wojska Polskiego, Warsaw, Poland	Poland	1–0	1–0	Friendly
7	29 May 2010	Ukraina Stadium, Lviv, Ukraine	Ukraine	2–1	2–3	Friendly
8	5 June 2010	Jacques Lemans Arena, Sankt Veit an der Glan, Carinthia, Austria	Honduras	1–0	3–0	Friendly
9	11 November 2011	Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège, Belgium	Belgium	1–2	1–2	Friendly