Marius Constantin Niculae was born on 16 May 1981 and is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a striker.
69 Facts About Marius Niculae
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Marius Niculae made his first team debut in 1996 while he was still 15 years old and finished his time at the club having scored 44 goals in 100 Divizia A appearances.
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Marius Niculae joined Primeira Liga club Sporting CP in 2001 after signing for a reported transfer fee of $3,000,000.
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Marius Niculae's spell in Portugal is marked by many injuries netting only 14 goals in 59 league appearances, before leaving the club in 2005.
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Marius Niculae subsequently played for Standard Liege, Mainz 05 and Inverness, before returning to Dinamo in July 2008.
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Marius Niculae's honours include two league titles, three Romanian Cups, one UEFA Cup runner-up, one Romanian Super Cup and one Portuguese Supercup.
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In 2001, Marius Niculae won Divizia A Golden Boot netting 20 times.
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Marius Niculae first captained his country in 2012, in the friendly match against Turkmenistan in the absence of regular captain Razvan Rat.
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Marius Niculae managed 44 caps for Romania, scoring 15 goals.
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Marius Niculae's father Constantin Marius Niculae is a former judoka, who worked for Dinamo Bucuresti as a Fitness Coach since 1996 until his departure in 2006.
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Marius Niculae began judo at the age of five, and had attained a black belt while he was trained by his father.
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Marius Niculae began his football career in 1990, playing for Dinamo under the guidance of Gheorghe Timar.
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Marius Niculae spent six years at Dinamo's youth academy, before he was promoted by Cornel Dinu at the first team squad.
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Marius Niculae scored four goals in 12 appearances, in his second season as a professional.
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Marius Niculae ended up second in the league with Dinamo, netting seven times in 28 appearances.
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Marius Niculae reached Romanian Cup semi-finals, scoring twice for his team.
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Marius Niculae managed to score in six consecutive games in all competitions, after he netted two more goals against Astra Ploiesti and Rocar Bucuresti, netting eight times overall.
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Marius Niculae won his first major trophy of his career as Dinamo bagged their first top-flight title in eight years, by a twelve-point margin, contributing with 13 goals in 27 appearances.
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Since Marius Niculae was not included in the squad for the Euro 2000 final tournament, he was selected for Romania U21 as they were allowed to participate in the League Cup.
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Marius Niculae scored a hat-trick against Rocar Bucuresti and a brace against FC National for Romania U21, before he was allowed to return to Dinamo for the final match of the South Group against Steaua Bucuresti.
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In March 2001, Marius Niculae continued where he left off the previous year, netting against FC National and Rapid Bucuresti from the penalty spot.
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Marius Niculae ended up second in the league with Dinamo, managing to play in 27 games.
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Marius Niculae dedicated his goals to former team captain Catalin Hildan, who died on the pitch in a friendly match against Santierul Naval Oltenita on 5 October 2000.
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Marius Niculae was selected player of the season by Radio Romania Actualitati, being rewarded with a Dacia SupeRNova, which he later gave to his father.
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On 7 July 2001, Marius Niculae completed his move to Primeira Liga side Sporting Lisboa, signing a three-year contract with the option of a further two seasons for a reported fee of $3,000,000, despite it is believed that the real transfer fee is estimated around $4,500,000.
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Marius Niculae was handed the number 7 shirt, previously worn by Ivaylo Yordanov.
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Marius Niculae ended third in the league with his team, netting three goals in 17 appearances.
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Marius Niculae played with shirt number 9, switching his old squad number 7.
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Marius Niculae ended for the second year in a row on the third place in the league, netting three goals in 14 appearances, most of them as a substitute.
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The start of the new season found Marius Niculae continuing to struggle to find his spot in the first team squad.
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Marius Niculae came back on the field after a five-month break on 19 February 2005, in a goalless draw with Leiria, coming as a substitute for Ricardo Sa Pinto in the 81st minute.
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Marius Niculae ended up his four-year spell in Portugal, scoring 14 goals in 59 appearances in the league.
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On 31 August 2005, Marius Niculae signed a one-year deal with Belgian First Division side Standard Liege, being given the number 9 shirt.
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Marius Niculae managed to reach the semi-finals in the Belgian Cup with Standard while in the league he finished second.
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Marius Niculae failed to settle in the first team, leaving Bundesliga after just 162 minutes of league football without scoring a goal.
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Marius Niculae left Inverness with a record of ten goals in 38 games in all competitions.
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Marius Niculae later became involved in a dispute with the club over a share of the transfer fee that was not paid to him when he left.
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On 24 July 2008, Marius Niculae signed a four-year contract with his former club Dinamo Bucuresti.
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Marius Niculae ended his first season since his return scoring 12 times in Liga I, and 14 overall.
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In July 2009, Marius Niculae was close to a move to Terek Grozny, but the transfer collapsed since the Russians refused to pay the VAT.
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Marius Niculae suffered an injury, but since he was misdiagnosed by doctor Liviu Batineanu, Niculae was sidelined for nearly three months.
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Marius Niculae ended sixth with his team in Liga I, netting four times in the championship, and eight overall.
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On 19 January 2011, it was confirmed that Marius Niculae had joined Kavala on a six-month loan deal.
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Marius Niculae's goal was selected by EPAE as the Goal of the Round.
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Marius Niculae ended his spell in Superleague Greece, having four goals in 12 appearances.
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Marius Niculae was selected four times in the Team of the Week, after only eight rounds.
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On 12 February 2012, Marius Niculae signed a new deal with Dinamo, extending his contract until 2014.
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Later that month, Marius Niculae has been appointed team captain, taking over the leadership from Danciulescu.
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Marius Niculae scored in three matches in a row against Pandurii, Sportul Studentesc and Otelul Galati, continuing his quest for the Golden Boot.
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Marius Niculae received his first red card from Liga I against Otelul, ending a 182 matches run without being sent-off.
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Marius Niculae ended fifth in Liga I with Dinamo, netting 19 times in the league and 20 overall.
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In February 2013, Marius Niculae started negotiations with the Chinese squad Shandong Luneng and on 19 February, the Asian club announced that the player was officially signed.
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However, only one month later, without playing a single game, he and the club ended their collaboration, Marius Niculae claiming it was a problem of financial order as he did not receive all the money promised from them.
54.
In January 2015, Marius Niculae returned for a third spell at Dinamo Bucuresti.
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Since he was still eligible to play for Romania U18, Marius Niculae was called up by coach Gheorghe Cristoloveanu for the 2000 European Under-18 Championship qualifiers.
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On 21 January 2000, Marius Niculae was called up to Romania's senior team for the first time.
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On 2 September, Marius Niculae scored a brace for Romania U21 against Lithuania in the first match from the 2002 European Championship qualifiers, counting his first goals in an official match.
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On 20 August 2002, Marius Niculae was recalled for Romania, ending a nine-month absence caused by a long-term injury.
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On 8 September, Marius Niculae scored a brace in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match against Andorra, ending a nearly three-year goalless strike for Romania.
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On 12 March 2008, Marius Niculae was recalled to play for Romania following a two-year break, last playing against Colombia in May 2006.
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Marius Niculae was kept for the final 23-man squad, for Euro 2008, where he wore the number 18 shirt.
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Marius Niculae played his first match from the "Group of Death" in a goalless draw against France, coming in as a substitute for Adrian Mutu in the second half.
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On 27 January 2012, Marius Niculae was handed the captaincy for the first time in a friendly against Turkmenistan, becoming the 89th captain for Romania of all-time.
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Marius Niculae has a total of 44 games with 15 goals scored for Romania.
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On 29 June 2008, Marius Niculae married Cristina Vasilescu after eight years of dating.
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Marius Niculae gave birth to their daughter, Raisa Elena Niculae, on 24 August 2011.
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Marius Niculae had a conflict with his father for many years due to his relationship with Cristina.
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Marius Niculae is well known for his friendship with former Dinamo captain Catalin Hildan, who died on the pitch in a friendly match against Santierul Naval Oltenita on 5 October 2000.
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Marius Niculae dedicated his first league goal against Steaua to Hildan.