Dorinel Ionel Munteanu (; born 25 June 1968 in
Grădinari) is a
Romanian former
football midfielder, and current
manager of
Oţelul Galaţi.
Club career
During his long career, Munteanu was always seen as a player capable of making big efforts. A pure professional footballer, an example for others, he stayed away from drinking and night clubs, thus he suffered very few injuries.
Munteanu started to play football for Metalul Bocşa, a team which offered him the first chance to play in
Divizia B in 1986. After one year he went to play for
FCM Reşiţa and then in 1988 for FC Olt, while 1989 found him at FC Inter Sibiu.
Dinamo Bucharest bought him from Sibiu in 1991 only to sell him to
Cercle Brugge two years later. After two years in
Belgium he moved to
Germany to play for
1. FC Köln and
VfL Wolfsburg between 1995 and 2003.
In 2003, aged 35, he was released from his contract by
VfL Wolfsburg and signed with
Steaua Bucureşti as a free agent, only to leave the club in 2005 after a conflict with the club's
Chief Executive Mihai Stoica and join the squad of
CFR Cluj Napoca.
International career
Dorinel won his first cap for
Romania in 1991 while still at FC Inter Sibiu. Since then he was a very important part of the national team of Romania, playing in various positions such as left back, left midfielder and playmaker.
In 2001 he won his 100th cap in a game against
Hungary in
Budapest and four years later he won the 126th cap, making him the most capped Romanian
footballer. He...
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