Ciprian Marica
Romanian footballer (born 1985)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ciprian Andrei Marica (Romanian pronunciation: [tʃipriˈan anˈdrej ˈmarika]; born 2 October 1985) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a forward.
|
Marica with Schalke 04 in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ciprian Andrei Marica[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 2 October 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Bucharest, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Farul Constanța (minority shareholder) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1996–2002 | Dinamo București | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001–2003 | Dinamo București | 22 | (4) |
| 2004–2007 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 75 | (15) |
| 2007–2011 | VfB Stuttgart | 93 | (19) |
| 2011–2013 | Schalke 04 | 34 | (5) |
| 2013–2014 | Getafe | 27 | (6) |
| 2014–2015 | Konyaspor | 7 | (1) |
| 2016 | Steaua București | 7 | (0) |
| Total | 266 | (52) | |
| International career | |||
| 2001 | Romania U17 | 2 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | Romania U19 | 3 | (1) |
| 2003–2006 | Romania U21 | 10 | (4) |
| 2003–2014 | Romania | 72 | (25) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
He played for clubs in five countries, managing to win the most league and cup titles at his childhood club Dinamo București (two league and two cup titles) and Shakhtar Donetsk (three league and one cup titles). For the Romanian national team he scored 25 goals in 72 appearances, participating at the UEFA Euro 2008. He is a minority shareholder of Liga I club Farul Constanța.
Club career
Dinamo București
Marica, nicknamed "The Samurai", was born on 2 October 1985 in Bucharest, Romania.[3][4][5] He began playing junior-level football at age 11 in 1996 at local club Dinamo under coach Emil Ursu.[3][4][6] At age 16, he made his Divizia A debut on 4 May 2002 when coaches Cornel Dinu and Marin Ion sent him in the 84th minute to replace Claudiu Drăgan in a 1–0 loss to Național București.[3][4][7] Marica made another appearance before the end of the season as the team won the title.[3][4][8]
In the last round of the following season, he scored his first league goal in a 3–1 away loss to Universitatea Craiova.[3][9] Dinamo won the 2002–03 Cupa României, but Marica was not played by coach Ioan Andone in the 2–0 win over Oțelul Galați in the final.[3][10] He helped the club eliminate Shakhtar Donetsk in the 2003–04 UEFA Cup, scoring once against them.[3][4][11] In the first half of that season, Marica made 10 league appearances and scored three goals.[3] Subsequently, he was transferred in the middle of the season to Shakhtar, but Dinamo still managed to win The Double at the end of the season without him.[3][4][8][12]
Shakhtar Donetsk
Marica joined Shakhtar Donetsk for a $1.8 million fee paid to Dinamo, where he became teammates with fellow Romanians Flavius Stoican, Daniel Florea, Cosmin Bărcăuan and Răzvan Raț.[3][11] He made his Vyshcha Liha debut on 14 March 2004 when coach Bernd Schuster sent him in the 65th minute to replace Brandão in a 2–0 home win over Metalurh Donetsk.[3][13][14] He scored his first goal in the competition on 22 May in a 5–0 home victory against Karpaty Lviv.[13] He finished his first season by winning the 2003–04 Ukrainian Cup, as new coach Mircea Lucescu sent him in the 90th minute to replace Zvonimir Vukić in the 2–0 win against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the final.[3][15]
Marica started the following season by playing in the Champions League qualifying rounds, scoring two goals against Pyunik and one against Club Brugge, as his side eliminated those teams and reached the group stage.[3][16] There, he made five appearances without scoring.[3][17] He finished the season by winning the league championship, contributing with two goals netted in 16 matches.[3]
Marica began the 2005–06 season by winning the Ukrainian Super Cup, as Lucescu sent him in the 69th minute to replace Andriy Vorobey in the eventual penalty shoot-out victory against rivals Dynamo Kyiv.[3][18] Afterwards, he helped the team get past the 2005–06 UEFA Cup group stage, scoring a goal in a 2–0 victory against VfB Stuttgart.[3][19] The campaign ended in the round of 32 where they lost 3–2 on aggregate to Lille with Marica netting one of his side's goals.[19] In the league, he scored four goals in 21 matches as Shakhtar finished equal on 75 points with Dinamo Kiev.[3][20][21] Eventually they faced each other in a play-off match in which Marica opened the scoring in the 2–1 win that helped them secure the title.[20]
Marica started the 2006–07 season strongly by netting three goals in the first three rounds, which were victories against Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih, Zorya Luhansk and Metalist Kharkiv.[22] He also scored a brace in the second leg of the Champions League third qualifying round in the 4–2 aggregate victory over Legia Warsaw.[4][23] Marica continued his scoring in the competition's group stage, finding the net once in a 2–2 draw against Olympiacos and netting the only goal of a 1–0 win over AS Roma with a header.[4][24] Subsequently, The Miners continued their European campaign in the UEFA Cup, reaching the round of 16 where they were defeated by title holders and eventual winners, Sevilla.[4][25] In the first round of the 2007–08 season, Marica made his last Vyshcha Liha appearance in a 1–1 derby draw against Dynamo Kiev.[3][26] Afterwards, he joined VfB Stuttgart, but Shakhtar succeeded in winning The Double at the end of the season without him.[3][12]
VfB Stuttgart
On 23 July 2007, Marica was transferred from Shakhtar to Bundesliga champions VfB Stuttgart for an €8 million fee.[27][28] Marica signed a five-year contract and Stuttgart's sporting director Horst Heldt said: "Ciprian is a very flexible forward, and a permanent thorn in the side of any opposition defense, who fits outstandingly into our team. He wanted to join us desperately."[27][29]
He made his Bundesliga debut under coach Armin Veh on 12 August 2007, playing as a starter in a 2–2 home draw against Schalke 04.[30][31] Until the end of the season, he scored two league goals in victories over Eintracht Frankfurt and VfL Wolfsburg.[3][30] He also netted the winning goal in a 3–2 victory against Rangers in the Champions League group stage.[3][32][33] It was a spectacular goal, as Marica was in the penalty area with an opponent behind him and with his back to the goal when he received a pass from Ludovic Magnin and flicked the ball with his calf to score.[32][33] The Bild tabloid praised his performance: "Marica scored a sugar goal".[32] During the second half of the season, he had compatriot Sergiu Radu as one of his teammates.[34]
Marica started the following season by scoring in the first round in a 3–1 away victory against Borussia Mönchengladbach.[35] Until season's end, he found the net three more times in victories over Karlsruher SC, Mönchengladbach once again and Schalke 04.[35] He also scored a brace as his side defeated Saturn Moscow Oblast in the last round of the 2008 Intertoto Cup.[3][36] Subsequently, The Reds continued their European campaign in the UEFA Cup —with Marica scoring two goals in the group stage in a draw against Sampdoria and a win over Standard Liège— the club reaching the round of 32 where they were defeated by Zenit Saint Petersburg.[3][37]
In the 2009–10 season, Marica scored a career-best 10 league goals.[3] Among these were the winning goal with a header from Cacau's pass in a 2–1 away victory against Bayern Munich and two doubles in a 2–0 win over Hannover 96 and a 2–2 draw against Mainz 05.[38] In the first leg of the Champions League play-off, he earned a penalty for his side which was scored by Timo Gebhart in the eventual 2–0 aggregate success over Politehnica Timișoara.[39] Thus they reached the group stage where he scored once in a 3–1 victory against Unirea Urziceni.[3][40] Stuttgart advanced to the round of 16 where Marica played in both legs of the 5–1 aggregate loss to Barcelona.[41]
In his last season at VfB, he scored three league goals in wins over Borussia Mönchengladbach and Werder Bremen, but also in a loss to Hamburg.[3][42] Marica also netted three goals in the Europa League group stage: one in each of the two victories against Getafe and one in a 5–1 success over Odense to help his side reach the round of 32.[3][43] However, in February 2011, following an interview for the Gazeta Sporturilor newspaper in which he criticized coach Bruno Labbadia, Marica was excluded from Stuttgart's squad.[44] On 12 July 2011, Marica was released from his contract at Stuttgart.[45]
Schalke 04
On 28 July 2011, Marica signed a two-year contract with German club Schalke 04, worth €5 million.[46] He chose to remain in Germany, despite having offers from Premier League club Blackburn Rovers, and two French clubs, Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain.[47]
He made his Bundesliga debut for Schalke on 13 August 2011 when coach Ralf Rangnick sent him in the 82nd minute to replace Raúl in a 5–1 home win over 1. FC Köln.[48][49] Marica scored his first two goals in the 4–1 victory against the same opponent in the second half of the season.[3][48][50] He also netted a goal in a 3–0 success over Maccabi Haifa in the 2011–12 Europa League group stage.[3][51][52] The team reached the quarter-finals of the competition where they were defeated 6–4 on aggregate by Athletic Bilbao.[51][53]
Marica scored his first goal in the 2012–13 season on 8 December 2012 in a 3–1 away loss to his former team, VfB Stuttgart.[54][55] Until the end of the season, he would score two more goals in victories against Hannover 96 and Werder Bremen.[54][56] He also made three appearances in the Champions League group stage.[3][57] Marica played his last Bundesliga match on 20 April 2013 in a 1–0 away loss to Eintracht Frankfurt, totaling 124 matches with 24 goals in the competition.[3][54]
Getafe
On 27 September 2013, Marica signed a contract with Spanish La Liga side Getafe.[58] He made his league debut on 6 October, as coach Luis García sent him in the 69th minute to replace Adrián Colunga in a 3–1 win against Betis Sevilla.[59] On 31 October, Marica scored his first goal in a 2–0 away victory over Villarreal.[60] In May 2014, during the last round of the season, he scored twice in a 2–1 win against Rayo Vallecano, thus helping Getafe avoid relegation.[61]
Konyaspor
In the summer of 2014, Marica signed a two-year contract with Turkish side Konyaspor where he was teammates with compatriot Gabriel Torje.[62] He made his Süper Lig debut on 30 August under coach Mesut Bakkal in a 2–1 away loss to Eskişehirspor.[63][64] On 28 September, he scored his only league goal in a 1–0 win over Kayseri Erciyesspor.[63][65] Marica was released by Konyaspor on 15 October 2015, having played only seven games in 14 months for the Turkish side, mainly because of his injuries.[3][66]
Steaua București
On 14 January 2016, Marica reached an agreement with Steaua București, thus returning to Romania after twelve years.[3] He became the 59th footballer to play for both big Bucharest rivals, Dinamo and Steaua București.[67] In his first match with Steaua, a 2–0 victory against Concordia Chiajna, he was played by coach Laurențiu Reghecampf from the start and was replaced after 84 minutes by Tha'er Bawab.[68] His performance was deemed weak and conservative, as he only managed to get two opportunities in a game in which he was otherwise unremarkable.[69] He made only seven goalless appearances for Steaua in the league, with the last one taking place on 10 May 2016 in a 4–1 victory against ASA Târgu Mureș.[3][70] Marica also played in a 2–0 win over Astra Giurgiu in the 2015–16 Cupa Ligii semi-finals, a competition which Steaua won, but he did not play in the 2–1 victory against Chiajna in the final.[71][72]
International career
Marica scored 25 goals in 72 caps for Romania, making his debut on 16 November 2003, as coach Anghel Iordănescu sent him in the 81st minute to replace Daniel Pancu in a 1–0 friendly loss to Italy.[73][74] He played four matches during the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, scoring his first goal for the national team in a 1–1 draw against Armenia.[73]
Marica played 11 matches and scored five goals in the successful Euro 2008 qualifiers.[73] On 25 March 2008, he was decorated by the president of Romania, Traian Băsescu with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" – (The Medal of "Sportive Merit") Class III for his performance in those qualifiers.[75][76] Marica was called by Victor Pițurcă in the squad for the Euro 2008 final tournament, but did not get an opportunity to play.[77]
He played nine matches in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, scoring two goals: one in a 3–2 loss to Serbia and one in a 1–0 win over Lithuania.[73] Subsequently, he played 10 matches during the Euro 2012 qualifiers and netted three goals against Bosnia and Herzegovina, including one in a 2–1 loss and two in a 3–0 win.[73][78]
Marica made 10 appearances and scored five goals during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, including opening the scoring in a 3–0 home win over rivals Hungary.[73][79] He scored his only hat-trick for Romania on 4 June 2013 in a 4–0 friendly victory against Trinidad and Tobago.[73][80] Marica's last match for the national team took place on 7 September 2014 during the Euro 2016 qualifiers in a 1–0 away win over Greece in which he served as captain, scored the goal from a penalty kick, but also received a red card in the 53rd minute of the game.[73][81]
After retirement
In September 2018, Marica became the owner of Farul Constanța.[82] At a press conference from 21 June 2021, Marica, together with Viitorul Constanța's owner Gheorghe Hagi and president Gheorghe Popescu announced that Viitorul and Farul had merged into one team which would have the name of the latter and Marica would be a minority shareholder.[83]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Dinamo București | 2001–02 | Divizia A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | ||
| 2003–04 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5[b] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 6 | ||
| Total | 23 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 7 | ||
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 2003–04 | Vyscha Liha | 13 | 4 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 15 | 4 | ||
| 2004–05 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 9[c] | 3 | 1[d] | 0 | 32 | 5 | ||
| 2005–06 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 9[e] | 2 | 1[d] | 0 | 33 | 7 | ||
| 2006–07 | 23 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 11[f] | 4 | 1[d] | 0 | 37 | 10 | ||
| 2007–08 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 75 | 17 | 11 | 0 | 29 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 118 | 26 | ||
| VfB Stuttgart | 2007–08 | Bundesliga | 28 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4[c] | 1 | – | 35 | 3 | |
| 2008–09 | 27 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11[g] | 5 | – | 41 | 10 | |||
| 2009–10 | 25 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 6[c] | 1 | – | 33 | 11 | |||
| 2010–11 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 9[h] | 3 | – | 24 | 6 | |||
| Total | 93 | 19 | 10 | 1 | 30 | 10 | – | 132 | 30 | |||
| Schalke 04 | 2011–12 | Bundesliga | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11[h] | 1 | – | 33 | 3 | |
| 2012–13 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3[c] | 0 | – | 19 | 6 | |||
| Total | 34 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 1 | – | 52 | 9 | |||
| Getafe | 2013–14 | La Liga | 27 | 6 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 29 | 7 | ||
| Konyaspor | 2014–15 | Süper Lig | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 8 | 2 | ||
| 2015–16 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 9 | 2 | ||||
| Steaua București | 2015–16 | Liga I | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 1[i] | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Career total | 266 | 52 | 34 | 8 | 78 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 382 | 81 | ||
- Includes Cupa României, Ukrainian Cup, DFB-Pokal, Copa del Rey, Turkish Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearance in Ukrainian Super Cup
- Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, seven appearances and two goals in UEFA Cup
- Eight appearances and four goals in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Cup
- Two appearances and two goals in UEFA Intertoto Cup, nine appearances and three goals in UEFA Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in Cupa Ligii
International
- Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Marica goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 November 2004 | Hanrapetakan Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia |  Armenia | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualification |
| 2 | 2 September 2006 | Stadionul Farul, Constanța, Romania |  Bulgaria | 2–0 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
| 3 | 7 October 2006 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania |  Belarus | 2–0 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
| 4 | 15 November 2006 | Estadio Ramón de Carranza, Cádiz, Spain |  Spain | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 5 | 28 March 2007 | Ceahlăul Stadium, Piatra Neamț, Romania |  Luxembourg | 3–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
| 6 | 17 October 2007 | Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg | Luxembourg | 2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
| 7 | 21 November 2007 | Național Stadium, Bucharest, Romania |  Albania | 5–1 | 6–1 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
| 8 | 26 March 2008 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania |  Russia | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 9 | 19 November 2008 | Stadionul Dinamo, Bucharest, Romania |  Georgia | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 10 | 11 February 2009 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania |  Croatia | 1–0 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 11 | 28 March 2009 | Stadionul Farul, Constanța, Romania |  Serbia | 1–2 | 2–3 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 12 | 6 June 2009 | Sūduva Stadium, Marijampolė, Lithuania |  Lithuania | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 13 | 17 November 2010 | Hypo-Arena, Klagenfurt, Austria |  Italy | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 14 | 26 March 2011 | Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1–0 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 15 | 3 June 2011 | Giulești-Valentin Stănescu, Bucharest, Romania | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 16 | 3–0 | |||||
| 17 | 7 September 2012 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia |  Estonia | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 18 | 16 October 2012 | Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania |  Netherlands | 1–2 | 1–4 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 19 | 4 June 2013 | Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania |  Trinidad and Tobago | 1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 20 | 2–0 | |||||
| 21 | 4–0 | |||||
| 22 | 6 September 2013 | Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania |  Hungary | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 23 | 15 October 2013 | Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania | Estonia | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 24 | 2–0 | |||||
| 25 | 7 September 2014 | Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece |  Greece | 1–0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualification |
Honours
Dinamo București
Shakhtar Donetsk
- Vyshcha Liha: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08[3][12]
- Ukrainian Cup: 2003–04[3]
- Ukrainian Supercup: 2005[3]
VfB Stuttgart
Steaua București
