Dorin Rotariu
Dorin Rotariu (; born 29 July 1995) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays for Super League Greece club Atromitos, on loan from Bulgarian First League team Ludogorets Razgrad. Primarily a winger, he can also be deployed as a second striker. Rotariu moved from boyhood club Politehnica Timișoara to Dinamo București in 2012, aged 17. He amassed 122 Liga I appearances for "the White and Reds" over the course of several seasons, and in 2017 earned a transfer abroad to Club Brugge in Belgium. Two years later, after being loaned out to Mouscron and AZ Alkmaar, Rotariu joined Kazakh  team Astana with which he won three domestic honours. Internationally, he made his full debut for Romania in October 2016, and scored his first goal in a 1–0 friendly win over Sweden in March 2018. Club career. Early years / Dinamo București. Rotariu played as a youngster for FC Politehnica Timișoara's academy, and in September 2012 was loaned to top-flight club Dinamo București. Several other teams had previously wished to sign him, including ACS Poli Timișoara—the supposed successor of FC Politehnica which was dissolved during the same month of the player's transfer. Rotariu chose to join Dinamo  București in order to play alongside teammates from the national under-19 squad. He stayed with the reserve team before making his Liga I debut against Concordia Chiajna in March 2013, aged only 17 years and eight months. After his loan expired in the summer of 2013, Dinamo București reached a full transfer agreement with the owner of the defunct FC Politehnica society, Marian Iancu, despite interest from fellow league side FC Vaslui. Rotariu was signed as a free agent, but the capital-based club promised to pay 50% of a future transfer fee to the businessman. On the eve of  his 18th birthday, Rotariu recorded his first goal in a match against FC Vaslui, which ended 2–0. On 11 August 2013, he netted in a derby against FC Steaua București. Twelve days later, he scored again in a 6–0 victory over Universitatea Cluj. Rotariu was the most efficient young player in the first part of the 2016–17 Liga I campaign, having scored six goals and offering one assist. Club Brugge. On 31 January 2017, the last day of the winter transfer window in Belgium, it was announced that Rotariu signed a three-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed  fee with defending champions Club Brugge. He made his Belgian Pro League debut five days later, entering the pitch as an 80th-minute substitute in a 1–0 home victory over Charleroi at the Jan Breydel Stadium. His first goal came in a 2–1 home success over Zulte Waregem, on 1 May. Rotariu agreed to a season-long loan deal with Royal Excel Mouscron on 31 August 2017, rejoining his former Dinamo București coach Mircea Rednic. He recorded his first goals in a Belgian Cup match with Tubize on 20 September, netting twice in the 3–1 win. Rotariu was again loaned  for the following campaign, this time to Dutch club AZ Alkmaar. Astana. After a move to 2. Bundesliga side Arminia Bielefeld fell through, Kazakh team FC Astana announced the transfer of Rotariu on a four-year contract on 26 February 2019. He made his competitive debut on 3 March, as Astana won 2–0 over Kairat in the Kazakhstan Super Cup. Ludogorets Razgrad. On 17 June 2021, Bulgarian club Ludogorets Razgrad announced the signing of Rotariu. International career. Rotariu was called up to the senior Romania squad to face Montenegro in September 2016. He earned his first cap on 8 October  in a 5–0 win over Armenia, replacing Alexandru Chipciu in the 67th minute. Rotariu scored his first goal for the full side on 27 March 2018, coming on as a 53rd-minute substitute for Alexandru Mitriță and netting the only goal in the friendly against Sweden. Style of play. Cristian Dulca, Rotariu's coach at the under-21 national team, said that ball control is the player's best quality, and that he advances well while looking for spaces. Personal life. Rotariu's father Ilie was a footballer who totalled two games in the Romanian top tier, and has an identical  twin named Iosif. The latter also played for Politehnica Timișoara and the Romania national team among others. Honours. Dinamo București Astana Individual