Bogdan Vătăjelu
Romanian footballer (born 1993)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bogdan Ilie Vătăjelu (born 24 April 1993) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Liga I club Sepsi OSK.[1]
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Vătăjelu captaining Universitatea Craiova in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bogdan Ilie Vătăjelu | ||
| Date of birth | 24 April 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Ostroveni, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position | Left-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Sepsi OSK | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2007 | Sporting Râmnicu Vâlcea | ||
| 2007–2009 | Steaua București | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2009–2011 | Steaua II București | 35 | (0) |
| 2011–2013 | CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea | 44 | (1) |
| 2013 | Metalul Reșița | 14 | (0) |
| 2014–2016 | Universitatea Craiova | 104 | (8) |
| 2017–2019 | Sparta Prague | 34 | (0) |
| 2019 | → Jablonec (loan) | 14 | (2) |
| 2019–2023 | Universitatea Craiova | 100 | (3) |
| 2023–2024 | Universitatea Cluj | 22 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | Aktobe | 42 | (1) |
| 2026 | Bihor Oradea | 6 | (2) |
| 2026– | Sepsi OSK | 6 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2009–2010 | Romania U17 | 6 | (3) |
| 2011–2012 | Romania U19 | 4 | (0) |
| 2014–2022 | Romania | 3 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18 September 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 17 November 2022 | |||
Club career
Early career
Vătăjelu is a product of the Steaua București youth academy and made his professional debut with the reserves in 2010.[2] Making 25 appearances for the reserves, he joined CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea in 2011 playing there until 2013 in Liga II.[3]
In 2013, he signed for Metalul Reșița where he had a brief spell playing in 14 outings. He was named the captain after playing just two matches.[3] During his time in the club, it was reported that Premier League club Sunderland, Championship club Watford and even Spanish club RCD Mallorca showed their interest in signing him.[4]
Universitatea Craiova
In January 2014, Vătăjelu penned a three-year deal with CS Universitatea Craiova, who were playing in the second league at that time.[5] He made 14 appearances in the remainder of the season and helped his team achieve promotion to the Liga I.
Vătăjelu was Universitatea's most featured player in the 2014–15 season and in 2016 he eventually gained team captaincy.[6] On 2 October 2016, he scored from action in a 1–2 loss against his former club Steaua București.[7]
Sparta Prague
On 27 December 2016, Vătăjelu signed a 3+1⁄2-year contract with Czech club Sparta Prague for an undisclosed transfer fee,[8] rumoured to be around €1.4 million.[9]
Return to Universitatea Craiova
On 26 June 2019, Vătăjelu rejoined Universitatea Craiova by signing a four-year contract.[10]
Universitatea Cluj
On 24 June 2023, Universitatea Cluj announced the signing of Bogdan Vătăjelu as a free agent, following his departure from CS Universitatea Craiova.[11]
During the 2023–24 season, Vătăjelu made several appearances for the club. In February 2024, his contract with Universitatea Cluj was terminated by mutual consent.[12]
FC Aktobe
Shortly after leaving the club, he signed with FC Aktobe in Kazakhstan, marking his first experience playing outside Romania.[13]
His contract with Aktobe expired at the end of 2025, and the club confirmed that he would not continue with the team for the 2026 season.[14]
International career
Between 2011 and 2012, he played for Romania under-19 team on four occasions. On 25 May 2014, while still in the second division, he was called to the senior national team for the friendlies against Algeria and Albania.[3]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 18 September 2026[15]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Steaua II București | 2009–10 | Liga II | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| 2010–11 | 25 | 0 | — | — | — | 25 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 35 | 0 | — | — | — | 35 | 0 | |||||
| CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea | 2011–12 | Liga II | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 1 | ||
| 2012–13 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 44 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 44 | 1 | ||||
| Metalul Reșița | 2013–14 | Liga II | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| Universitatea Craiova | 2013–14 | Liga II | 14 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | Liga I | 33 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 36 | 1 | ||
| 2015–16 | 36 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 38 | 5 | |||
| 2016–17 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 23 | 2 | |||
| Total | 104 | 8 | 5 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 111 | 8 | |||
| Sparta Prague | 2016–17 | Czech First League | 6 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1[c] | 0 | — | 22 | 1 | |||
| 2018–19 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Total | 34 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 39 | 1 | |||
| Jablonec (loan) | 2018–19 | Czech First League | 14 | 2 | — | — | — | 14 | 2 | |||
| Universitatea Craiova | 2019–20 | Liga I | 23 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6[c] | 1 | — | 31 | 2 | |
| 2020–21 | 28 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | — | 34 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | 24 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2[d] | 0 | — | 29 | 2 | |||
| Total | 100 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 126 | 5 | ||
| Universitatea Cluj | 2023–24 | Liga I | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 0 | ||
| Aktobe | 2024 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 24 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 2[f] | 0 | 33 | 1 |
| 2025 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[g] | 0 | 1[h] | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||
| Total | 42 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 56 | 1 | ||
| Bihor Oradea | 2025–26 | Liga II | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | 6 | 2 | |||
| Sepsi OSK | 2026–27 | Liga I | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 421 | 17 | 33 | 2 | 18 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 479 | 21 | ||
- Includes Cupa României, Czech Cup, Kazakhstan Cup
- Appearances in Cupa Ligii
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Conference League
- One appearance in Supercupa României, one appearance in Liga I European play-offs
- Appearance in Kazakhstan League Cup
- Two appearances in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Conference League
- Appearance in Kazakhstan Super Cup
International
- As of match played 17 November 2022[16]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | 2015 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 3 | 0 | |