Marius Croitoru

Marius Marian Croitoru (born 2 October 1980) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player.

Marius Croitoru

Croitoru after a game with Steaua București
Personal information
Full name	Marius Marian Croitoru
Date of birth	(1980-10-02) 2 October 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth	Giurgiu, Romania
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Right winger
Youth career
0000–1998	Dunărea Giurgiu
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998–1999	Dunărea Giurgiu
1999–2000	Turistul București	23	(2)
2000–2005	FCM Bacău	111	(7)
2006	Vaslui	32	(6)
2007–2008	Steaua București	22	(0)
2008	→ Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț (loan)	14	(0)
2009	FCM Bacău	3	(1)
2009	Politehnica Iași	1	(0)
2010	Atyrau	27	(4)
2011	Astra Ploiești	8	(0)
2012	FCM Bacău	11	(1)
2012–2015	Botoșani	86	(8)
2015–2018	ACS Poli Timișoara	64	(2)
2018	Pașcani	1	(0)
Total		403	(31)
International career
2001	Romania U21	1	(0)
Managerial career
2019–2022	Botoșani
2022	FC U Craiova
2022–2023	Argeș Pitești
2023	Botoșani
2024	FC U Craiova
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He played as a right winger and possessed a powerful shot and good ball technique.

Club career

Croitoru made his professional debut in a second division game for Turistul București. In 2000, he moved to Liga I club FCM Bacău.^[1]

After six seasons with FCM Bacău, Croitoru moved to fellow first league club FC Vaslui, where he impressed alongside Viorel Frunză.^[2]

In January 2007, after some impressive displays for Vaslui, he was transferred by Steaua București. After only one season, he was loaned to Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț.^[3]

Managerial career

Botoșani

In the summer of 2019, although still not in possession of a UEFA Pro Licence, Croitoru was appointed as head coach of Liga I club Botoșani.^[4] In his third game in charge, he managed a historic 2–0 away win against FCSB.^[5]

FC U Craiova

On 23 June 2022, Croitoru was appointed as head coach of Liga I club FC U Craiova, agreeing to a two-year contract.^[6] On 10 October 2022, Croitoru was released of duty from FC U Craiova, after losing 0-1 against Chindia Târgoviște on the same day.^[7]

Argeș Pitești

On 26 October 2022, Croitoru was appointed as head coach of Liga I club Argeș Pitești, agreeing to a one-and-a-half-year contract.^[8]

Personal life

His son, David Croitoru is a football player who made his debut in professional football for Botoșani under the guidance of Marius.^[9][10]

Career statistics

Club

^[11][12][13]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
FCM Bacău	2000–01	Divizia A	19	0	1	0	–		–		20	0
	2001–02	Divizia A	11	2	0	0	–		–		11	2
	2002–03	Divizia A	16	3	1	0	–		–		17	3
	2003–04	Divizia A	25	0	0	0	–		–		25	0
	2004–05	Divizia A	25	0	2	0	–		–		27	0
	2005–06	Divizia A	15	2	2	1	–		–		17	3
	Total		111	7	6	1	0	0	0	0	117	8
Vaslui	2005–06	Divizia A	14	2	0	0	–		–		14	2
	2006–07	Liga I	18	4	1	0	–		–		19	4
	Total		32	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	33	6
Steaua București	2006–07	Liga I	10	0	0	0	–		2	0	12	0
	2007–08	Liga I	12	0	1	0	–		8	0	21	0
	Total		22	0	1	0	0	0	10	0	33	0
Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț (loan)	2007–08	Liga I	14	0	0	0	–		–		14	0
Politehnica Iași	2009–10	Liga I	1	0	1	0	–		–		2	0
Atyrau	2010	Kazakhstan Premier League	27	4	1	0	–		1	0	29	4
Astra Ploiești	2010–11	Liga I	8	0	0	0	–		–		8	0
FCM Bacău	2011–12	Liga II	11	1	0	0	–		–		11	1
Botoșani	2012–13	Liga II	21	2	2	0	–		–		23	2
	2013–14	Liga I	30	1	0	0	–		–		30	1
	2014–15	Liga I	31	3	0	0	1	0	–		32	3
	2015–16	Liga I	4	2	0	0	0	0	4	0	8	0
	Total		86	8	2	0	1	0	4	0	93	8
ACS Poli Timișoara	2014–15	Liga I	13	0	2	0	1	0	–		16	0
	2015–16	Liga I	35	2	2	0	4	2	–		41	4
	2016–17	Liga I	16	0	1	0	–		–		17	0
	Total		64	2	5	0	5	2	0	0	74	4
CSM Pașcani	2018–19	Liga III	1	0	0	0	–		–		1	0
Career total			377	28	17	1	6	2	15	0	414	31

Managerial statistics

As of 21 October 2024

Team	From	To	Record
			G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Botoșani	4 June 2019	14 June 2022	124	48	37	39	159	141	+18	038.71
FC U Craiova	23 June 2022	10 October 2022	14	5	3	6	18	14	+4	035.71
Argeș Pitești	26 October 2022	7 March 2023	16	2	8	6	12	22	−10	012.50
Botoșani	16 June 2023	17 August 2023	5	0	2	3	4	7	−3	000.00
FC U Craiova	28 May 2024	22 October 2024	11	3	6	2	9	10	−1	027.27
Total			170	58	56	56	202	194	+8	034.12

Honours

Player

Botoșani

• Liga II: 2012–13^[12]

ACS Poli Timișoara

• Cupa Ligii runner-up: 2016–17

References

1. "Marius Croitoru, noul antrenor de la FC Botoșani" [Marius Croitoru, new coach at FC Botoșani]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 4 June 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
2. "Fostul președinte al Vasluiului, Ciprian Damian, executat silit" [Former Vaslui president, Ciprian Damian, goes into forced repossession]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 3 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
3. "Steaua si Ceahlaul au ajuns la un acord pentru imprumutul lui Croitoru la Piatra Neamt". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2008.
4. "Marius Croitoru, prezentat ca antrenor principal la FC Botoşani" [Marius Croitoru, announced as manager of FC Botoşani]. Antena 1 (in Romanian). 10 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
5. "Detaliul neștiut despre Marius Croitoru" [Unknown detail about Marius Croitoru]. Digi Sport (in Romanian). 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
6. Mihaitalazarica (23 June 2022). "Marius Croitoru a semnat cu U Craiova 1948! Durata contractului" (in Romanian). Digi Sport. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
7. Mihaitalazarica (10 October 2022). "OFICIAL | Marius Croitoru, OUT de la U Craiova 1948! Comunicatul clubului oltean" (in Romanian). Digi Sport. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
8. "Marius Croitoru, noul antrenor al echipei FC Argeș!" (in Romanian). FC Argeș Pitești. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
9. "Ce decizie a luat Marius Croitoru după ce fiul său a jucat titular contra campioanei CFR" [What decision did Marius Croitoru make after his son played as a starter against the CFR champion] (in Romanian). Digiport.ro. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
10. "Moment unic în fotbal. Marius Croitoru şi-a schimbat fiul în timpul meciului cu CFR Cluj, din cauza regulii U21. Reacţia antrenorului lui FC Botoşani" [Unique moment in football. Marius Croitoru substituted his son during the match against CFR Cluj, because of the U21 rule. The reaction of FC Botoșani's coach] (in Romanian). Telekomsport.ro. 18 October 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
11. Marius Croitoru at WorldFootball.net
12. Marius Croitoru at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
13. Marius Croitoru at Soccerway

External links

• Marius Croitoru at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
• Marius Croitoru at Soccerway