STATS BY JEANMARC & EL MAGO 10

Name: Marcel Răducanu

Nickname: "Balkan-Maradona"



Country: Romania
Clubs: FC Steaua București (1978-1981), Borussia Dortmund (1981-1983)
Position: *AMF, CMF, SS
Number: 10
Side: RF/BS
Age: 24-29 years (21/10/1954)

Height: 178 cm
Weight: 74 kg

Attack: 85
Defence: 51
Balance: 79
Stamina: 80
Top Speed: 78
Acceleration: 83
Response: 75
Agility: 83
Dribble Accuracy: 96
Dribble Speed: 82
Short Pass Accuracy: 91
Short Pass Speed: 81
Long Pass Accuracy: 90
Long Pass Speed: 82
Shot Accuracy: 82
Shot Power: 82
Shot Technique: 85
Free Kick Accuracy: 83
Curling: 90
Header: 74
Jump: 73
Technique: 92
Aggression: 79
Mentality: 75
Keeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 78

Injury Tolerance: B
Condition/Fitness: 6
Weak Foot Accuracy: 5
Weak Foot Frequency: 5
Growth Type: Standard Lasting


CARDS:
P03: Classic NO.10
P05: Trickster
P07: Mazing Run
P08: Pinpoint Pass
P20: Talisman
S02: Passer
S05: 1-touch Play
S06: Outside Curve
S16: 1-footed Roulette
S17: Elastico
S18: Cross Over Turn

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Dribbling - Tactical Dribble - Playmaking - Passing - 1 touch Pass - Outside

Attack / Defence Awareness Card: Attack Minded


INFO:

One of the best technicians in the history of Bundesliga, if not the best one. And surely the best dribbler of all times to play in Germany. Raducanu was classic playmaker, not too fast but with excellent ball control, good passing and shot but he was very selfish and always exaggerated with his neverending dribblings. After playing for Steaua Bucureşti in the '70s, when he won two championships and also two Romanian Cups, Răducanu defected following a match in Dortmund, West Germany in 1981. The finest hour of Raducanu’s all too short senior international career arrived with the World Cup qualification game from UEFA Group IV contested at the Stadionul National in Bucharest on October 15, 1980. After completely deceiving the England defender with a fake left-footed shot, Raducanu deftly cut the ball back and rifled a low drive past the diving FC Liverpool goalkeeper RAY CLEMENCE for the game’s first goal in the 35th minute as Romania went on to claim a memorable 2-1 win. Raducanu, who had been named his country’s Footballer of the Year in 1980, soon became disillusioned after not getting on the field for the return game with England at Wembley, a goalless draw, in April of 1981. Apparently, the Steaua Bucharest midfielder, who earned 21 caps and scored three goals in all for Romania, had the opportunity to defect in May following the World Cup Group IV 1-0 loss to Hungary in Budapest but did not take advantage of the situation. Raducanu later admitted to regretting that decision; the playmaker would not let the next lucky break pass him by. In the summer of 1981, Steaua Bucharest went on tour in West Germany to prepare for the upcoming season. An old friend of Raducanu, a Romanian expatriate living in Hannover, contacted the footballer where the army club were staying near Kassel. After learning of the player’s desire to defect, the old friend immediately offered to help and a plan was hatched. For Steaua Bucharest’s next Testspiel versus Borussia Dortmund, Raducanu would play his best to impress potential Bundesliga employers, then inform the coach at halftime of an imaginary injury. The scheme worked to perfection, and the midfielder was left all alone with a heavily-bandaged knee after the break in the visitors’ locker room. Raducanu then packed a quick bag and simply strolled out to the stadium parking lot, where his old friend was waiting with a car to whisk away to Hannover. As was order of the day with all Eastern Bloc defectors, the Romania international midfielder was suspended from all football competition for one year by Union of European Football Associations and, so, Raducanu was forced to sit out the 1981-82 season. There were no shortage of Bundesliga suitors, though, and a dispute errupted between Borussia Dortmund and Hannover 96 over the player’s contract status. The problem was solved when Borussia Dortmund paid Hannover 96 half a million marks, a considerable sum at the time. Raducanu made his Bundesliga debut in late August of 1982 in a 1-1 draw with Vfb Stuttgart; operating in the role of an attacking midfielder, the Romanian recorded nine goals in 26 Bundesliga games and added another pair in five DFB Pokal matches for Borussia Dortmund his first campaign in West Germany. In all, MARCEL RADUCANU spent six seasons with Borussia Dortmund (above) and contested 163 career Bundesliga games scoring 31 goals. Including DFB Pokal and UEFA Cup matches, the Romania international midfielder appeared 178 times and totaled 34 goals for die Schwarzgelben. At the age of 33, Raducanu transferred to FC Zurich in Switzerland to start the 1988-89 campaign.