Unirea Alba Iulias
Nicolae Stanciu (footballer, born 1993) played for which team from 2008 to Sep 2011?
Nicolae Stanciu ( footballer , born 1993 ) Nicolae Claudiu Stanciu ( ; born 7 May 1993 ) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a winger for Czech club Slavia Prague and the Romania national team . He began his career with Unirea Alba Iulia and went on to represent Vaslui and Steaua București in his country , winning six domestic honours and making a name for himself with the latter . He moved abroad to Anderlecht in August 2016 , becoming the then-most expensive signing made by a Belgian club and later , after bonuses , the then-biggest sale of the Romanian championship . Stanciu transferred to Sparta Prague one and a half-year later for another internal record fee . He left the Czech Republic at the start of 2019 to sign for Al-Ahli , only to return in that summer to the country with former rival club Slavia Prague , where he helped to back-to-back league titles in his two first seasons . Stanciu made his senior international debut for Romania in March 2016 , after having previously represented it at under-19 and under-21 levels . He participated with the nation at the UEFA Euro 2016 . Early life . Stanciu was born in the village of Craiva from Cricău , Alba County . He was raised mainly by his grandmother , who died in 2007 when he was only 14 years old . He dedicated his first senior national team goal to her . Club career . Unirea Alba Iulia . Stanciu joined Unirea Alba Iulias youth system at the age of 11 . On 25 May 2008 , aged just 15 years and 18 days , he made his senior debut for the team , coming off the bench in a 4–1 victory over Corvinul Hunedoara in the Liga II championship . He spent the vast majority of the 2008–09 season on the sidelines , after suffering a long-term injury . On 1 May 2010 , 17-year-old Stanciu made his Liga I debut under manager Blaž Slišković , playing 20 minutes in a 2–1 home win against Steaua București . In June , he was on trial with VfB Stuttgart , but the economic discrepancies between the two clubs made the transaction collapse . On 20 March 2011 , Stanciu scored his first goal for Unirea in a 3–0 success over Petrolul Ploiești , and he also wore the captains armband in the closing stages of the match following Adrian Câmpeanus substitution . His last came on 20 August with the side again in the second division , in the campaign opener against CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea ; during his spell , other than Stuttgart , he was tracked by various European clubs , including Brescia , Celtic and 1899 Hoffenheim . Vaslui . On 9 September 2011 , FC Vaslui paid Stancius release clause . Due to a transfer ban , the Yellow-Greens were initially unable to register the player and fellow league teams Dinamo București and Astra Ploiești tried to sign him . On 4 March 2012 , in his competitive debut for his new club , he scored the 2–1 winner at Petrolul Ploiești . In May 2012 , after a series of good performances , Stanciu was included by Sport.ro in a Top 10 list of Romanian youths to watch . On 30 August , he netted from the penalty spot in a 2–2 away draw against Internazionale in the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League , but his side had lost 0–2 in the first leg . Steaua București . On 27 March 2013 , Steaua București announced the signing of Stanciu for an undisclosed fee , with the player agreeing to a five-year deal with a €20 million buyout clause . He played all twelve matches in the 2013–14 edition of the UEFA Champions League , scoring in the 2–2 away draw against Legia Warsaw in the play-off round which assured qualification to the group stage . After the departure of Cristian Tănase in the summer of 2015 , Stanciu took over his number 10 jersey , also extending his contract in February 2016 until 2021 . 2015–16 was his most prolific season individually , as he netted 14 times in 39 competitive games . On 3 August 2016 , Stanciu scored twice against Sparta Prague in the Champions League third qualifying rounds second leg . He also found the net in the first match , in an eventual 3–1 aggregate triumph . Anderlecht . On 29 August 2016 , amid interest from various European sides including Chelsea , Stanciu travelled to Belgium to sign a five-year contract with Anderlecht . The latter agreed to pay an initial €7.8 million for his transfer , with bonus clauses taking the potential fee to €9.8 million . Therefore , he became the then-most expensive player bought by a Belgian club , ahead of former record holder Steven Defour ( €6 million , from Porto to Anderlecht in 2014 ) – in November 2017 , his agent confirmed that the additional €2 million had been paid , which also made him the Romanian championships most expensive sale after surpassing the €9.5 million move of Vlad Chiricheș to Tottenham Hotspur in 2013 . Stanciu made his debut in the Belgian Pro League on 11 September 2016 , starting in a 3–2 home victory over Charleroi and receiving a standing ovation as he was substituted in the 85th minute by Olivier Deschacht . His first goals for the club came on 3 November in a Europa League group stage match against Mainz , when he netted twice for a 6–1 win . On 5 December , he was sent off for the first time in his career after receiving a second yellow card while playing against Kortrijk , having previously scored in the first half of the game which Anderlecht won 3–1 . Stanciu netted his first goal of 2017 in a league game against Sint-Truiden on 22 January , with his performance also earning him a man of the match award . On 9 March , he scored the winner against APOEL in the Europa League round of 16s first leg . He ended his first season in Brussels with eight goals and eight assists in all competitions , as the team won the national championship and subsequently qualified for the Champions League group stage . At the beginning of the following campaign , Stanciu changed his squad number from 73 to 10 . He was a starter in the 2–1 win in the Belgian Super Cup against Zulte Waregem , on 22 July 2017 . Sparta Prague . On 18 January 2018 , Stanciu underwent a medical with Sparta Prague . The transfer was confirmed five days later , with the player penning a three-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee , rumoured to be around €4.5 million which would be a Czech Republic record . According to the press , Anderlecht could also receive another €4.5 million in add-ons . On his competitive debut on 18 February 2018 , Stanciu helped to a 2–0 win against Slovan Liberec after scoring in the fifth minute . On 17 March , he netted twice before half-time in a derby with Slavia Prague which ended 3–3 . He finished the 2017–18 campaign with six goals in fourteen appearances , all in the Czech First League . Stanciu played in both legs of the 2018–19 Europa League second qualifying round against Spartak Subotica , as his team was eliminated prematurely after 3–2 on aggregate . He netted his first goal of the season on 12 August 2018 , converting a free kick in a 4–0 away victory over Teplice . In early December , after a series of poor results for Sparta , he was supposedly among the eleven players who refused to train under coach Zdeněk Ščasný . Al-Ahli . On 28 January 2019 , Stanciu was transferred for €10 million fee to Al-Ahli Saudi FC . He recorded his debut in the Saudi Professional League on 7 February , in a 4–2 away win over Al-Hazem , and scored his first goal nine days later in an Arab Club Champions Cup 2–2 draw with Al-Wasl . Slavia Prague . Following the financial problems of Al-Ahli , Slavia Prague acquired a reported 65% of Stancius economic rights for €4 million with the player signing a four-year contract in July 2019 . International career . Stanciu was selected in Romanias squad for the 2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship . In the tournament opener , he featured the full 90 minutes against the Czech Republic , scoring in a 1–3 loss in an eventual group stage exit . Stanciu earned his first cap for the full side on 23 March 2016 , playing the second half of a friendly with Lithuania and netting the games only goal at the Stadionul Marin Anastasovici . On 17 May , he was picked by manager Anghel Iordănescu for his preliminary 28-man UEFA Euro 2016 squad , and eventually made it to the final list after scoring four goals in only five friendly games . He was awarded the number 10 shirt at the tournament in France , and started in the opener against the hosts , gaining a second-half penalty that was converted by Bogdan Stancu in an eventual 1–2 loss ; his other appearance was against Albania ( 90 minutes ) , the 0–1 defeat leading to group phase elimination . On 4 September 2016 , Stanciu assisted Adrian Popa as Romania scored their first goal of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers , in a 1–1 home draw to Montenegro where he also missed a late penalty . He made nine appearances and netted once , as the country finished fourth in the group phase . Style of play . Stanciu , who is predominantly right-footed but is good with both legs , primarily plays as an attacking midfielder but can also be used as a winger , and is known for his playmaking skills . He was described as having good technique , a great shot and vision of play . During the time after his national team debut , Romanian press drew comparisons between him and former internationals Gheorghe Hagi and Adrian Mutu , both of which were highly regarded by Stanciu . Personal life . In 2012 , Stanciu began a relationship with Andreea Beldean , a native of Alba Iulia . They married in 2018 and the wedding took place the following year . In November 2020 , he became father of a newborn baby girl . Honours . Club . Unirea Alba Iulia - Liga II : 2008–09 Steaua București - Liga I : 2013–14 , 2014–15 - Cupa României : 2014–15 - Cupa Ligii : 2014–15 , 2015–16 - Supercupa României : 2013 Anderlecht - Belgian First Division A : 2016–17 - Belgian Super Cup : 2017 Slavia Prague - Czech First League : 2019–20 , 2020-21 - Czech Cup : 2020–21 Individual . - Gazeta Sporturilor Romanian Footballer of the Year : Runner-up 2016 ; Third place 2019 , 2020 - DigiSport Liga I Player of the Month : November 2015 , March 2016