Lucian Sânmărtean
Sânmărtean in 2007
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lucian Iulian Sânmărtean | ||
| Date of birth | 13 March 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Bistrița, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
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Current team
|
Al-Taawoun | ||
| Number | 29 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1987–1998 | Gloria Bistrița | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2003 | Gloria Bistrița | 89 | (12) |
| 2003–2007 | Panathinaikos | 24 | (1) |
| 2007–2008 | Utrecht | 16 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Gloria Bistrița | 26 | (1) |
| 2010–2014 | Vaslui | 121 | (11) |
| 2014–2015 | Steaua București | 26 | (5) |
| 2015–2016 | Al-Ittihad | 31 | (6) |
| 2016–2017 | Pandurii Târgu Jiu | 17 | (2) |
| 2017– | Al-Taawoun | 0 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2000–2002 | Romania U-21 | 12 | (1) |
| 2002–2016 | Romania | 21 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 January 2017. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 June 2016 |
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Lucian Iulian Sânmărtean (born 13 March 1980) is a Romanian professional football player who plays for Al-Taawoun. Although he is right footed, he plays on the left side. He is regarded for his exceptional passes, as well for his exceptional dribbling ability. Sânmărtean is also regarded by coach Ioan Sabău as Romania's most talented player since Hagi. However, much of his career was marked by injury.
Born in Bistrița, Sânmărtean started out playing for hometown side Gloria Bistrița, after he was noticed by Constantin Sava. He joined the Vampires' youth academy at the age of six.
Sănmărtean made his Gloria Bistrița first-team debut on 24 April 1999 in a 3–1 win against FC Onești as a substitute. He immediately established himself as one of the most talented young players in Romania. He helped his team, winning the last League Cup ever in 2000, scoring in the penalty shootout. He also contributed to his team finishing 3rd in Divizia A, highest rank ever, for Gloria Bistriţa.
On 7 January 2003, the 23-year-old was seen as a straight replacement for former Rapid București captain Constantin Schumacher after his departure, media reports suggesting a fee of €250,000 being paid for Sânmărtean. Sânmărtean joined Rapid at their winter training camp in Antalya, Turkey, but for reasons which seemed mysterious at the time, he was prevented from playing more than 60 minutes of Rapid's friendly fixtures. On 2 February, he was diagnosed as suffering from type B and type D hepatitis at the Sports Medicine Institute in Bucharest. However, after his return in Bistriţa, his medical file came clean, the disease being invented, to cover the money disagreement between the two chairmen.
On 16 July 2003, Panathinaikos confirmed the €900,000 signing of Romanian international playmaker. The former Romania Under-21 captain signed a three-year contract with the option of a further two years with the Athens club. Sânmărtean became the fifth Romanian at Panathinaikos, after Doru Nicolae, Dănuț Lupu, Erik Lincar and Dumitru Mitu. He made his debut for the Greek team on 24 August in a 1–0 win against Skoda Xanthi. His first goal came in the Greek Cup, on 17 December against OFI Crete. On 14 March, he scored his first and only goal in the Alpha Ethniki, against Panionios. In his first season, he won the championship, and the Greek fans called him "Sânmărtean – The little magician". Later he had a conflict with Alberto Malesani and after no matches in more than two years, Sânmărtean was released from his Panathinaikos deal in December 2006.
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