Mirel Matei Rădoi, (born March 22, 1981 in Drobeta Turnu-Severin), is a Romanian football Midfielder, who can also play as center back and rightback.
He is a key part of Steaua Bucureşti, the club he joined in 2000, currently being the team’s captain.
He is well known for his leadership and tackling. He also has the ability to drive forward where his technical skills come into use.
Club career
FC Extensiv Craiova (1999-00)
Mirel Radoi started to play football at 8 years old first as a goalkeeper and after this as a defender. Now at Steaua is a central back midfielder. His first team was FC Drobeta Turnu Severin and there was remarked by Sorin Cartu, the coach of FC Extensiv Craiova and was transferred in 1999 to that team. Because was impressed by Radoi’s skills Cartu paid from his own pocket the money for transfer. Sorin Cartu said that this player is a big talent and he was right.
Mirel Matei made his professional debut 1999 for FC Extensiv Craiova on 4 March 2000 in a defeat against Dinamo Bucuresti. Just one year later he is signed by Steaua Bucureşti, the club he has been playing for since 2000.
Steaua Bucuresti (2000-present)
His new coach became Victor Piturca, the actual Romanian national team’s coach who promoted him and in a few years became the best and the most important player for Steaua.
About the first day at Steaua Radoi say that: ” It was like a positive shock for me. Suddenly I was in the same place with players like Iulian Miu, Marius Baciu and Miodrag Belodedici, players I saw at TV. It was like a dream…”.
In 2001 he helped Steaua to became the champion team in Romania and after this he won the Romanian Supercup against great rival Dinamo Bucuresti.
In 2005 won the second champion title with Steaua and after one year, in 2006 won the 23th champion title for Steaua and his 3rd personal title.
On 24 February 2005 he won an important match in UEFA Cup against en-titre champion Valencia and in 2006 Steaua with Radoi as a leader played UEFA Cup semifinal against Middlesbrough but unfortunately lost after 2 terrible games with final score 4-3.
In 2006 Steaua succeed to qualify after 10 years in UEFA Champions League in a group with Real Madrid, Olympique Lyonnais and Dinamo Kiev but Radoi didn’t play in first games because was injured.
During the last six years, Radoi was made a target by few of the biggest European football clubs such as Real Madrid F.C.,Liverpool F.C. and Portsmouth F.C. however he preferred to stay with Steaua instead and help the team play in UEFA Champions League.
In the summer of 2006 rumours suggested that Rădoi would be signed by Portsmouth F.C. as soon as the transfer window opened in England. The transfer fee was around 11 million dollars and it would have been the biggest transfer fee ever spent on a player playing for a Romanian football club. However the transfer did not occur, many believing that the 11 million offer from Portsmouth F.C. was no more than a mediatic attempt to rise the player’s potential transfer fee. In the end, Gigi Becali stated that he would no longer sell Mirel Rădoi.
Being injured, Rădoi has only played his first official game in the 2006-07 season on the 12th of November, when Steaua won 6-0 against FC Naţional Bucureşti. Although he has been absent for a period of five months, he scored the 6-0 penalty for Steaua on his first touch of the ball.
International career
For Romania national team, Rădoi was capped 41 times, scoring once.
In 2005 he was suspended by the coach of Romania national football team, Victor Piţurcă, for leaving the national team training camp without permission, before the matches against The Netherlands and Armenia. Coach Piţurcă called him back February 2006 to play for the national team in a friendly tournament in Cyprus after Rădoi appologised for his behaviour.
MIREL RADOI IS SET TO MISS THE REST OF EURO 2008
Painful collision 
