Marius Lăcătuş

Infobox Football biography
playername = Marius Lăcătuş


fullname = Marius Mihai Lăcătuş
nickname = "The Beast"
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|df=yes|1964|4|5
cityofbirth = Braşov
countryofbirth = Romania
currentclub = FC Steaua Bucureşti
position = Inside-forward
youthyears = 1977–1981
youthclubs = FC Braşov
years = 1981–1983 1983–1989 1990–1991 1991–1993 1993–2000 2000
clubs = FC Braşov Steaua Bucureşti ACF Fiorentina Real Oviedo Steaua Bucureşti FC Naţional Bucureşti
caps(goals) = 045 0(5) 200 (59) 021 0(3) 051 0(7) 157 (39) 012 0(0)
nationalyears = 1984–1998
nationalteam = Romania
nationalcaps(goals) = 084 (13)
manageryears = 2000–2001 2001 2001–2002 2002–2003 2003 2004 2005 2006–2007 2007–
managerclubs = FC Naţional Bucureşti Panama (assistant coach) FC Oţelul Galaţi FC Braşov Romania (assistant coach) Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ Inter Gaz Bucureşti UT Arad FC Steaua Bucureşti

Marius Mihai Lăcătuş (nickname: „Fiara”/„The Beast”), (born 5 April 1964 in Braşov) is a Romanian retired football player and current coach of FC Steaua Bucureşti.

Club career

He played as a deep lying striker or inside forward for Steaua Bucureşti most of his career, being the team's captain between 1994 and 1999. He also played for AC Fiorentina of Italy and Real Oviedo of Spain. Currently, he is the team coach of Steaua Bucureşti, the team that made him who he is.

Lăcătuş was an iconic player for Steaua Bucureşti's supporters. Even now, seven years after leaving the club as a player, the supporters shout his name at each game. The supportes loved him for his spectacular way of playing football, as well as for his commitment during the games. He was nicknamed "Fiara" (The Beast).

He was the first player to score in the penalty shoot-out of the 1986 European Cup final against FC Barcelona, won by Steaua Bucureşti. After 1990 World Cup in Italy, where he scored two goals against USSR, Lăcătuş was signed by the Italian team ACF Fiorentina and then moved to Real Oviedo in Spain. In 1994 he returned to Steaua Bucureşti and played for the team until 1999, when he finally signed for FC Naţional Bucureşti, where he played only for half a season before retiring. However, in October 2006 he decided to enroll himself as part of UT Arad team were he was also coach until 2007 before he joined Steaua Bucureşti.

His sister, is a renowned piano cafe concert player in Romania.

On 25 March 2008 he was decorated by the president of România, Traian Băsescu with Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" — (The Order "The Sportive Merit") class II for his part in winning the of 1986 European Cup Final.

International career

Lăcătuş played a total of 414 games in the Romanian Divizia A (now Liga I), scoring 103 goals; 21 games in the Italian Serie A where he scored three times and also 51 games in the Spanish La Liga, scoring 7 goals. He also made appearances 72 games in the European Cup, Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Cup, scoring 16 goals.

Lăcătuş was capped 84 times, scoring 13 goals for the Romanian national team, and played for his country in the 1990 World Cup, Euro 1996 and 1998 World Cup. He scored the 700th goal for the national team of Romania.

As a player he won the Romanian football championship ten times and the Romanian Cup seven times, as well as the European Cup in 1986 and the European Supercup in 1987, all with Steaua Bucureşti

Honours

*Lăcătuş is currently the most domestically decorated player of all time.

References

External links

*en icon [http://www.romaniansoccer.ro/players/l/lacatus_marius.shtml Marius Lăcătuş (Statistics as player)]
*ro icon [http://www.labtof.ro/diviziaa/antrenor/Marius_Lacatus Marius Lăcătuş (Statistics as coach)]