Dănuț Lupu

Dănuț Lupu (born 27 February 1967) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder.

Club career Lupu was born on 27 February 1967 in Galați, Romania and began simultaneously practicing football and ice hockey as a child, when he decided to concentrate exclusively on his football career. In 1985 he started to play professional football for Dunărea Galați in Divizia B. Two years later he was transferred to Dinamo București where he was wanted by coach Mircea Lucescu, playing his first Divizia A match on 8 March 1987 in a 2–0 win against FC Brașov. He also made some performances in European competitions, helping The Red Dogs reach the quarter-finals in the 1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup where they were eliminated on the away goals rule after 1–1 on aggregate by Sampdoria. In the following edition of the same competition, Dinamo reached the semi-finals where they were eliminated after a 2–0 aggregate loss to Anderlecht with Lupu playing seven games in the campaign.

After the fall of communism in December 1989, Lupu moved to Greece and signed with Panathinaikos which paid Dinamo a transfer fee estimated between $1.2 – 2 million. He won the championship with The Greens, although he played there only 10 league games in which he scored one goal.

In 1994, Lupu returned to Romania at Rapid București, but after only two league games played, he joined Lucescu's "Brescia Romena", as around that period, his fellow Romanians Gheorghe Hagi, Florin Răducioiu, Ioan Sabău and Dorin Mateuț also played for the club. He made his Serie A debut on 4 September 1994, playing as a starter in a 1–1 draw against Juventus. He played a total of 15 matches in the Italian league, scoring one goal in a 1–0 home victory against Reggiana. He then played the entire match in the 5–0 win over Steaua in the 1999 Supercupa României. In 2000 he returned for a third spell at Dinamo in which he made his last Divizia A appearance on 27 August in a 2–1 loss to Oțelul Galați, totaling 228 matches with 44 goals in the competition.

International career Lupu played 14 matches without scoring for Romania, making his debut on 11 October 1989 when coach Emerich Jenei sent him in the 64th minute to replace Ioan Sabău in a 1990 World Cup qualification match that ended with a 3–0 loss to Denmark. He also appeared in the 3–1 victory in the second leg against the Danes. Lupu played four games in the successful Euro 1996 qualifiers, but was not part of the squad that went to the final tournament.

Controversies During Dinamo's stay in Dundee for a game against Dundee United in the 1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup, Lupu was arrested for shoplifting, but was released after coach Mircea Lucescu went to the police station and convinced the prosecutor to not give him a criminal record.

While playing for Panathinaikos, Lupu was arrested in Athens and spent two and a half months in jail, being accused of being the leader of a gang of Romanian thieves who had stolen cars in Greece. Lupu claims he was arrested because Panathinaikos's president Yiorgos Vardinogiannis wanted him to sign the termination of the contract and to give up insisting to receive his unpaid salaries.

In early October 2023, the Bucharest Court of Appeal sentenced Lupu to seven months and 10 days in jail for repeated driving without a license. He was released after six months in early April 2024.

Personal life His nephew, Valentin Balint, was also a footballer who started his career at Dinamo București.

Career statistics

Honours Dinamo București Divizia A: 1989–90 Cupa României: 1989–90 Panathinaikos Alpha Ethniki: 1990–91 Greek Cup: 1990–91 Rapid București Divizia A: 1998–99 Cupa României: 1997–98 Supercupa României: 1999