Daniel Niculae

Daniel Niculae

Personal information
Full name	Daniel George Niculae
Date of birth	6 October 1982 (1982-10-06) (age 29)
Place of birth	Bucureşti, Romania
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Second striker
Club information
Current club	Nancy
Number	20
Youth career
1996–2001	Rapid Bucureşti
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2001–2006	Rapid Bucureşti	107	(33)
2006–2010	Auxerre	130	(19)
2010–	Monaco	17	(4)
2011–	→ Nancy (loan)	9	(2)
National team‡
2003–	Romania	36	(9)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 November 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 November 2011

Daniel George Niculae (born 6 October 1982 in Bucureşti, Romania) is a football striker who currently plays for Nancy. He is usually holder at the Romanian national team.

Club career

Rapid Bucureşti

Daniel "Nico" Niculae started his professional career at Rapid Bucureşti in 2000. Despite a period playing for the B team in 2001, Nico proved he is one of 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 2003–04 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 Naţional Bucureşti.

Auxerre

Niculae was transferred to French club AJ Auxerre in the summer of 2006, for 3.3 million Euros. 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 creater 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 expiring of his contract with AJ Auxerre on 15 June 2010, Niculae signed a three-year-deal with Ligue 1 rivals AS Monaco.^[1]

Nancy (loan)

On 31 August 2011, Niculae signed for French side AS Nancy on a season long loan.

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.

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.

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

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	16 November 2005	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	Lia Manoliu, Bucharest, Romania	Albania	3–0	6–1	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
4	21 November 2007	Lia Manoliu, Bucharest, Romania	Albania	4–0	6–1	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
5	26 March 2008	Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Russia	2–0	3–0	Friendly
6	14 November 2009	Polish Army Stadium, 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	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
Correct as of 11 November 2011

References

1. ^ Daniel Niculae s’engage avec l’AS Monaco FC

External links

• Daniel Niculae at National Soccer Teams
• Daniel Niculae career stats RomanianSoccer.ro
• Daniel Niculae – FIFA competition record
• ESPN Profile

Romanian football portal

Persondata
Name	Niculae, Daniel
Alternative names
Short description	footballer
Date of birth	6 October 1982
Place of birth	Bucureşti, Romania
Date of death
Place of death