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Mirel Rădoi

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Mirel Rădoi
Rădoi head coach of U Craiova in 2025.
Personal information
Full name Mirel Matei Rădoi
Date of birth (1981-03-22) 22 March 1981 (age 44)
Place of birth Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Romania
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder, centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Universitatea Craiova
(head coach)
Youth career
1989–1998 CSȘ Turnu-Severin
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–1999 Drobeta-Turnu Severin
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 U21 3 (0)
2000–2010[1] Romania 68 (2)
Managerial career
2015 Steaua București
2018 Romania U21 (sporting director)
2018–2019 Romania U21
2019–2021 Romania
2021 Romania Olympic
2022 Universitatea Craiova
2023 Al-Tai
2023 Al Bataeh
2024 Al Jazira
2025– Universitatea Craiova
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mirel Matei Rădoi (born 22 March 1981) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently in charge of Liga I club Universitatea Craiova.

A defensive midfielder or a centre-back, Rădoi began his playing career at Extensiv Craiova in 1999, before signing for Steaua București one year later. Following eight-and-a-half seasons in the capital, he spent his later career with Al-Hilal, Al-Ain, Al-Ahli and Al-Arabi. Internationally, Rădoi was capped 68 times by Romania, which he represented at the UEFA Euro 2008.

Rădoi's first stint as a head coach was Steaua București in 2015, where he stayed for six months. Three years later, he was appointed at the helm of the Romania under-21 national team, which he led to the semi-finals of the 2019 UEFA European Championship. This resulted in his promotion to the senior team in November 2019, but left after two years with less success.

Club career

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Extensiv Craiova

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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 Turnu Severin and there he was spotted by Sorin Cârțu, the coach of Extensiv Craiova, who was so impressed by him that he purchased Rădoi in 1999, financing the transfer with his own money. Rădoi made his professional debut in Divizia A, in a defeat against Dinamo București on 4 March 2000.

Steaua București

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Rădoi with Steaua București in 2007.

Just one year later, in the summer of 2000, Rădoi joined Steaua București for a fee of €110,000. 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."

His coach at Steaua was Victor Pițurcă, the former Romania 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, a 4–3 victory over FCM Bacău at the Ghencea football stadium, Rădoi scored the equalizer in the ninth minute after Cătălin Cursaru had opened the scoring for Bacău less than a minute before.

Steaua went on to win the Romanian league championship that year, as well as the Supercupa României against rivals Dinamo.

In 2005, Rădoi won his second league title with the club, followed by a third in 2006. On 24 February 2005, he helped Steaua defeat defending champions Valencia in the UEFA Cup. In 2006, Rădoi captained the team in the UEFA Cup semi-finals against Middlesbrough, which Steaua lost 4–3 on aggregate.

In the summer of 2006, a rumour circulated that Rădoi would sign for Premier League club Portsmouth as soon as the transfer window opened in England, with the transfer fee estimated at £11 million. The transfer did not materialize, however, and many speculated that the £11 million offer was no more than a ploy to jack up the player's potential transfer value before a move elsewhere. In the end, Steaua's owner Gigi Becali stated that he would not be selling Rădoi after all.

Due to injury, he only played his first official game in the 2006–07 season on 12 November, a 6–0 victory against Național București.

Later career in the Middle East

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Rădoi with Saudi club Al-Hilal in December 2009

In January 2009, Rădoi signed a three-year contract with Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal which earned him €1.4 million annually. The transfer fee Steaua București received was in the region of €6 million.[2] Rădoi made his debut for Al-Hilal in the local derby against Al-Nassr, which Al-Hilal won 2–0 with Rădoi scoring the second goal.

In his sixth match with the club, he won the Prince's Cup, defeating Al-Shabab in the final. Nicknamed "The Warrior" by Al-Hilal fans, he was voted Saudi Professional League Player of the Year in 2010.[3] Rădoi spent three years at the club, serving as captain and helping the team win two consecutive league titles.[4]

In June 2011, Rădoi signed with UAE Pro League club Al-Ain for a reported fee of €4.2 million.[5] He agreed to a two-year contract worth €2.5 million per year.[6] In April 2013, he extended his contract by one year, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2014. During his three seasons at Al-Ain, he won several domestic honours, including two consecutive league titles, as well as the UAE President's Cup in 2013–14 and the UAE Super Cup in 2012.

In July 2014, Rădoi signed a two-year contract with Al-Ahli Dubai of the UAE Arabian Gulf League, reuniting with manager Cosmin Olăroiu. He made seven league appearances during the 2014–15 season.

In early 2015, he joined Al-Arabi in the Qatar Stars League. He made six league appearances before announcing his retirement from professional football later that year.

International career

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Rădoi with Romania in 2009

Rădoi made his senior debut in a friendly match against Algeria on 5 December 2000. He has been capped 68 times for Romania, scoring two goals. In 2005, Romanian team manager Victor Pițurcă suspended him for leaving training camp without permission before matches against the Netherlands and Armenia. Coach Pițurcă recalled him in February 2006 for a friendly tournament in Cyprus after Rădoi apologised for his behaviour.

Although he was included in Romania's squad for UEFA Euro 2008, he suffered an eye injury and broken nose during the second group game against Italy after clashing heads with team-mate Răzvan Raț, who emerged unscathed. Rădoi played no further part in the tournament.[7] After a confrontation with Răzvan Lucescu in 2010, Rădoi declared that he would retire from the national team.

Coaching career

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Rădoi, head coach of Universitatea Craiova, during the UEFA Conference League play-off match against İstanbul Başakşehir in August 2025.

He began his managerial career in 2015 with former club Steaua București, where he served as head coach for six months.

In 2018, he was appointed as the head coach of the Romania U21 national team. Under his guidance, the team achieved significant success, notably reaching the semi-finals of the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, making Romania's best performance in the tournament's history.

Rădoi became the head coach of the Romania national team after the resignation of Cosmin Contra in November 2019.[8][9][10]

On 22 January 2023, Rădoi was appointed as manager of Saudi Pro League club Al-Tai.[11] He was sacked by the club on 18 May 2023.[12] He coached Emirati club Al Jazira for three months in 2024.[13]

Rădoi was re-appointed as head coach of Universitatea Craiova on 28 January 2025, marking his second tenure at the club. His return came after a brief managerial hiatus and he took over the club during the latter half of the 2024–25 season.[14] His first match back resulted in a 4–1 home victory against Politehnica Iași in Liga I.[15]

In European competition, Craiova entered the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League qualifying rounds, defeating FK Sarajevo 4–0 in the second qualifying round, Spartak Trnava 3–0 in the third qualifying round, and İstanbul Başakşehir 2–1 away and 3–1 at home in the play-off round, advancing to the group stage with a 5–2 aggregate score.[16]

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Extensiv Craiova 1999–2000 14 0 — — — 14 0
Steaua București 2000–01 25 1 3 0 — — 28 1
2001–02 22 1 5 1 3 0 1 0 31 2
2002–03 23 1 2 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 0 0 42 7
2006–07 14 1 1 0 4 0 0 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 1 0 249 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 0 0 90 20
Al Ain 2011–12 19 0 9 3 0 0 0 0 28 3
2012–13 20 2 5 0 6 0 4 0 35 2
2013–14 14 0 5 1 6 0 3 0 28 1
Total 53 2 19 4 12 0 7 0 91 6
Al-Ahli 2014–15 7 0 3 0 — — 10 0
Al-Arabi 2014–15 6 0 — — — 6 0
Career total 318 24 53 12 81 7 8 0 460 43

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Romania 2000 2 0
2001 9 0
2002 7 1
2003 10 0
2004 3 0
2005 3 0
2006 5 0
2007 3 0
2008 8 0
2009 10 0
2010 8 1
Total 68 2
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 16 October 2002 Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg  Luxembourg 3–0 7–0 UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.
2 5 June 2010 Sankt Veit an der Glan, Carinthia, Austria  Honduras 3–0 3–0 Friendly

Managerial statistics

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As of match played 29 October 2025
Team From To Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Romania Steaua București 1 June 2015 30 November 2015 29 13 7 9 39 33 +6 044.83
Romania Romania U21 3 August 2018 26 November 2019 16 10 3 3 35 15 +20 062.50
Romania Romania 26 November 2019 30 November 2021 20 8 4 8 28 25 +3 040.00
Romania Romania Olympic 1 July 2021 7 August 2021 3 1 1 1 1 4 −3 033.33
Romania Universitatea Craiova 9 August 2022 7 December 2022 21 10 6 5 27 21 +6 047.62
Saudi Arabia Al-Tai 22 January 2023 18 May 2023 13 4 4 5 21 23 −2 030.77
United Arab Emirates Al Bataeh 25 May 2023 25 December 2023 14 4 4 6 17 26 −9 028.57
United Arab Emirates Al Jazira 5 January 2024 9 April 2024 7 1 1 5 11 17 −6 014.29
Romania Universitatea Craiova 28 January 2025 present 41 22 9 10 70 43 +27 053.66
Total 164 73 39 52 249 207 +42 044.51

Honours

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Player

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Steaua București

Al-Hilal

Al-Ain

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Mirel Radoi - International Appearances". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
  2. ^ "Ever-ready Rădoi to kiss Steaua goodbye". UEFA. 16 January 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
  3. ^ "Realitatea .net". Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2012. Radoi votat cel mai bun jucator din Arabia Saudita
  4. ^ "Al Ain sign Romanian midfielder". Gulf News. 6 July 2011.
  5. ^ "Mirel Radoi, transferat de Olaroiu la Al Ain/ 5 milioane de euro va incasa fostul stelist" (in Romanian). sport.hotnews.ro. 25 June 2011.
  6. ^ "Realitatea .net". Archived from the original on 28 August 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2012. Radoi s-a transferat la Al Ain
  7. ^ "Radoi to have eye surgery". FIFA. 13 June 2008. Archived from the original on 15 June 2008.
  8. ^ "Cosmin Contra nu va mai antrena echipa nationala. Anuntul a fost facut de FRF" [Cosmin Contra will no longer coach the national team. RFF made the announcement] (in Romanian). Digi FM. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  9. ^ Pop, Alexandru (6 December 2019). "Fostul selecționer Cosmin Contra își cere scuze pentru că a ratat calificarea la Euro 2020" [Former coach Cosmin Contra apologises for missing qualification for Euro 2020]. Newsweek (in Romanian). Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Fotbal: Mirel Rădoi este noul manager sportiv al echipei naţionale U21 a României". Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  11. ^ "الطائي ينهي تعاقده مع بيبا ويعلن التوقيع مع الروماني ميريل رادوي لتدريب الفريق الأول" (in Arabic). alriyadh.com. 23 January 2023.
  12. ^ "النتائج تقيل رادوي من الطائي" (in Arabic). arriyadiyah.com. 19 May 2023.
  13. ^ "OFICIAL Mirel Rădoi, dat afară după doar 3 luni! Bilanț dezastruos pentru antrenorul român" (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 9 April 2024.
  14. ^ Ivan, Alex (28 January 2025). "OFICIAL Mirel Rădoi a semnat cu Universitatea Craiova: "Back in business". iAMsport.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  15. ^ Georgescu, Daniel (2 February 2025). "Universitatea Craiova – Poli Iaşi, scor 4-1. Mirel Rădoi, victorie la debut". Gandul.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  16. ^ Dincă, Florin (28 August 2025). "Craiova în Conference League!". Golazo.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 29 August 2025.
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