Cătălin Cursaru
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cătălin Marcel Cursaru | ||
| Date of birth | 29 March 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Ploiești, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Petrolul Ploiești | |||
| Astra Ploiești | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–2000 | Astra Ploiești | ||
| 1999 | → Chimia Brazi (loan) | ||
| 2000–2005 | FCM Bacău | 130 | (49) |
| 2005–2006 | FC Vaslui | 11 | (0) |
| 2006–2008 | Progresul București | 40 | (5) |
| 2008 | Aerostar Bacău | 8 | (2) |
| 2009 | Tricolorul Breaza | 7 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Prahova Tomșani | ||
| 2012 | AFC Filipeștii de Pădure | ||
| Total | 196 | (56) | |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2002 | Romania B | 2 | (1) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15 October 2009 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 22 January 2002 | |||
Cătălin Marcel Cursaru (born 29 March 1978) is a retired Romanian footballer.
Over the course of seven Divizia A seasons, Cursaru amassed totals of 167 games and 51 goals.[1]
Club career
Early career
Cursaru was born on 29 March 1978 in Ploiești, Romania and began playing junior-level football at local club Petrolul at the age of 11.[1][2] A few years later, he joined the junior center of Astra Ploiești.[2] For the 1999–2000 season, he was sent on loan to Divizia C club Chimia Brazi at his request.[1][2]
FCM Bacău
On 26 January 2000, Cursaru signed for FCM Bacău, but he played no matches for more than six months because he was the subject of a dispute between Bacău and his former club Astra.[2][3] Eventually, he became eligible to play and made his Divizia A debut on 7 August 2000 under coach Gheorghe Poenaru, scoring a brace in a 4–3 loss to Steaua București.[2][3][4] He finished his first top-flight season with 15 goals, which made him the league's second-highest scorer behind only Dinamo București's Marius Niculae.[1][2][5]
In his second season, Cursaru formed an offensive partnership with Cristian Ciocoiu and netted a career-best 17 goals to become the league's top scorer.[1][2][5][6] One of these goals was a scissors kick in a 4–2 victory against Dinamo București, a goal that was selected "Play of the Day" by CNN.[2][7][8] At the end of the season, the media reported that German side Hertha Berlin had offered $1.8 million for Cursaru, but Bacău's owner Dumitru Sechelariu asked for $300,000 more, and the negotiations collapsed.[2][9] To avoid being criticized by Cursaru, Sechelariu raised his wage to $10,000 per month.[9] However, after the transfer failure, the player never regained his form and confidence.[3] In the next three years, he scored only 17 goals in 75 matches.[1] In 2003, he impressed in a trial for the Norwegian side SK Brann, but once again, Sechelariu's demands made the transaction collapse.[2][10]
In total, Cursaru scored 49 league goals for FCM Bacău over five seasons, eventually departing the club in July 2005 after declining a contract extension.[1][11]
Late career
Cursaru signed a two-year contract with Divizia A side FC Vaslui on 11 October 2005, but he failed to impress, scoring no goals during the 2005–06 season.[1][2][12] He terminated his contract in late April.[13] Following his unsuccessful spell at Vaslui, he signed with Progresul București in June 2006.[1][2][14] Although he played for The Bankers for a year and a half, he was ultimately released due to a low goal-per-match rate; furthermore, the team was relegated at the end of the 2006–07 season.[1][2] Afterwards, he played in the Romanian lower leagues at Aerostar Bacău, Tricolorul Breaza, Prahova Tomșani and AFC Filipeștii de Pădure, retiring in 2012.[1][2][15]
International career
Cursaru played two games for Romania B, making his debut on 22 January 2002 in a 2–1 loss against Greece in which he scored a goal.[2] His second appearance took place on 24 January 2002 in a 2–2 (1–4, after penalty kicks) defeat to Norway.[2][16] However, he never played for Romania's senior team and on 13 May 2020, Gazeta Sporturilor included him on a list of best Romanian players who never played for the senior national team.[17]
Club statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bacău | 2000–01 | 26 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 28 | 16 |
| 2001–02 | 29 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 31 | 19 | |
| 2002–03 | 25 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 28 | 6 | |
| 2003–04 | 27 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 7 | |
| 2004–05 | 23 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 4 | |
| Total | 130 | 49 | 10 | 3 | 140 | 52 | |
| Vaslui | 2005–06 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| Total | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| Progresul | 2006–07 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 3 |
| 2007–08 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 3 | |
| Total | 40 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 42 | 6 | |
| Aerostar | 2008–09 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
| Total | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | |
| Breaza | 2009–10 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Total | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Career total | 196 | 56 | 14 | 4 | 210 | 60 | |
Honours
Prahova Tomșani
Individual
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Cătălin Cursaru at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "Cătălin Cursaru, gol de CNN cu Dinamo și două "boabe" la debut împotriva Stelei: "România se poate califica la Euro". "Didi Prodan, cel mai tare fundaș"" (in Romanian). Pariurix.ro. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Marire si decadere" (in Romanian). Desteptarea. 19 August 2009. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012.
- ↑ "Steaua București vs FCM Bacău 4-3". Labtof. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Topscorers of Liga 1". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
- ↑ "Ciocoiu vechi si nou" (in Romanian). Apropo.ro. 15 April 2002. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
"Trezirea din vis" (in Romanian). Apropo.ro. 7 May 2002. Retrieved 19 July 2026. - ↑ "Cum arată şi cu ce se ocupă Cătălin Cursaru! Fostul golgheter al României, apariție rară în spaţiul public" (in Romanian). As.ro. 12 March 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
"Golgheterii-minune din Liga 1: de la muncă în Italia la anti-carantina din Belarus" (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 1 April 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2026. - ↑ "Tun de 1.8 milioane de dolari ratat" (in Romanian). Cancan. 2 May 2007.
- 1 2 "Oficialii Hethei erau dispusi sa dea 1.800.000$ pe Cursaru" (in Romanian). Prosport. 6 July 2008.
- ↑ "Cheta pentru Cursaru" (in Romanian). 9AM. 16 September 2005.
- ↑ "Ca la Calugareni" (in Romanian). 9AM. 9 May 2005.
- ↑ "Cursaru e gras" (in Romanian). News Pad. 13 November 2005. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
- ↑ "Cursaru a parasit Vasluiul" (in Romanian). Evenimentul. 13 April 2006. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012.
- ↑ "RoMercato vara 2006" (in Romanian). Onlinesport. Archived from the original on 10 December 2006.
- ↑ "Inca o aventura ratata" (in Romanian). Ziarulprahova.ro. 7 November 2008. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012.
"Cursaru dat afara de la Breaza" (in Romanian). Liga2.prosport.ro. 15 October 2009.
"De la "Play of the Day" la "End of Play"" (in Romanian). Liga2.prosport.ro. 3 January 2011.
"Prahova Tomșani a devenit Dinamo Moreni" (in Romanian). Liga2.prosport.ro. 6 August 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
"Credeați că s-au retras? Ionel Ganea și Cătălin Cursaru au promovat în Liga a III-a!" (in Romanian). Libertatea.ro. 16 June 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
"Fostul golgheter al Ligii I, Cătălin Cursaru, va juca din retur la AFC Filipeştii de Pădure" (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 21 February 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2026. - ↑ "Cătălin Cursaru". 11v11.com. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
- ↑ "Ion Oblemenco ar fi împlinit azi 75 de ani! Legendarul jucător nu a prins niciodată naționala. Care sunt cei mai buni fotbaliști fără vreun minut pentru România" (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 13 May 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
- ↑ "Cătălin Cursaru profile". Labtof.ro. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
External links
- Cătălin Cursaru at WorldFootball.net