Nicolae Stanciu

Nicolae "Nae" Stanciu (born 13 November 1973) is a former Romanian professional footballer who played as a defender.

He spent most of his career with Rapid București, which he captained, and had two brief spells with Anzhi Makhachkala and FC Oradea before retiring in 2004.

Club career Stanciu was born on 13 November 1973 in Bucharest, Romania, growing up in the Giulești neighborhood. He began playing junior-level football at local club Rapid at age 10. His first performance with The White-Burgundies was winning the 1997–98 Cupa României, being used by coach Mircea Lucescu the entire match in the 1–0 win over Universitatea Craiova in the final. In the following season he helped the club win the league title, appearing in 28 games in which he scored one goal. Stanciu then won the 1999 Supercupa României, Lucescu using him the full 90 minutes in the 5–0 victory against rivals Steaua București. Stanciu's last trophy won with The Railwaymen was the 2001–02 Cupa României, playing the entire match under coach Mircea Rednic in the 2–1 win over Dinamo București in the final. During his years spent with Rapid, he also made 29 appearances with one goal in European competitions (including four matches in the Intertoto Cup). Afterwards he returned to Romania, signing with FC Oradea, making his last Divizia A appearance on 12 May 2004 in a 1–1 draw against Oțelul Galați, totaling 345 matches with 13 goals in the competition. However, he never played for Romania's senior team and on 13 May 2020, Gazeta Sporturilor included him in a first XI of best Romanian players who never played for the senior national team.

Executive career In September 2014, Stanciu was appointed president at Rapid București, a position he held until December.

Honours Rapid București Divizia A: 1998–99 Cupa României: 1997–98, 2001–02 Supercupa României: 1999