Marius Croitoru
Romanian footballer (born 1980)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marius Marian Croitoru (born 2 October 1980) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently in charge of Liga I club Botoșani.
|
Croitoru after a game with Steaua București | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marius Marian Croitoru | ||
| Date of birth | 2 October 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Giurgiu, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Right winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Botoșani (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1998 | Inter Dunărea Giurgiu | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–1999 | Inter Dunărea Giurgiu | ||
| 1999–2000 | Turistul Pantelimon | 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 | CSM 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 | ||
| 2026– | Botoșani | ||
| * 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
| Club | Season | League | National Cup[a] | League Cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Dunărea Giurgiu | 1998–99 | Divizia C | ? | ? | ? | ? | – | – | – | ? | ? | |||
| Turistul Pantelimon | 1999–00 | Divizia C | 23 | 2 | ? | ? | – | – | – | 23 | 2 | |||
| 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 | – | – | – | 117 | 8 | |||||
| Vaslui | 2005–06 | Divizia A | 14 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 14 | 2 | ||||
| 2006–07 | Liga I | 18 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 19 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 32 | 6 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 33 | 6 | |||||
| Steaua București | 2006–07 | Liga I | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 2[c] | 0 | – | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | Liga I | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 8[d] | 0 | – | 21 | 0 | |||
| 2008–09 | Liga I | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 10 | 0 | – | 33 | 0 | ||||
| Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț (loan) | 2007–08 | Liga I | 14 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 14 | 0 | ||||
| FCM Bacău | 2008–09 | Liga II | 3 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 3 | 1 | ||||
| Politehnica Iași | 2009–10 | Liga I | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | |||
| Atyrau | 2010 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 27 | 4 | 2 | 1 | – | 1[e] | 0 | – | 30 | 5 | ||
| Astra Ploiești | 2010–11 | Liga I | 8 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 8 | 0 | ||||
| FCM Bacău | 2011–12 | Liga II | 11 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 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 | – | – | 4[e] | 0 | – | 8 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 86 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 93 | 8 | |||
| ACS Poli Timișoara | 2015–16 | Liga I | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | Liga I | 35 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | – | 2[f] | 0 | 43 | 4 | ||
| 2017–18 | Liga I | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 17 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 64 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 2 | – | 2 | 0 | 76 | 4 | |||
| CSM Pașcani | 2018–19 | Liga III | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 403 | 31 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 444 | 35 | ||
- Includes Cupa României, Kazakhstan Cup
- Includes Cupa Ligii
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in relegation/promotion play-offs
Managerial statistics
- As of 16 March 2026
| 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 | 38.71 |
| FC U Craiova |
23 June 2022 | 10 October 2022 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 18 | 14 | +4 | 35.71 |
| Argeș Pitești |
26 October 2022 | 7 March 2023 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 22 | −10 | 12.50 |
| Botoșani |
16 June 2023 | 17 August 2023 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 0.00 |
| FC U Craiova |
28 May 2024 | 22 October 2024 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 27.27 |
| Botoșani |
10 March 2026 | present | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 100.00 |
| Total | 171 | 59 | 56 | 56 | 205 | 196 | +9 | 34.50 | ||
Honours
Player
Botoșani
ACS Poli Timișoara
- Cupa Ligii runner-up: 2016–17