Summary
Daniel Claudiu Prodan (23 March 1972 – 16 November 2016) was a Romanian professional footballer who played mainly as a central defender.
 Prodan with Romania at the 1994 World Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel Claudiu Prodan | ||
| Date of birth | 23 March 1972 | ||
| Place of birth | Satu Mare, Romania | ||
| Date of death | 16 November 2016 (aged 44) | ||
| Place of death | Voluntari, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Olimpia Satu Mare | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1991–1992 | Olimpia Satu Mare | 43 | (3) |
| 1992–1996 | Steaua București | 121 | (10) |
| 1997–1998 | Atlético Madrid | 34 | (4) |
| 1998–2001 | Rangers | 0 | (0) |
| 2000 | → Steaua București (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | → Rocar București (loan) | 15 | (3) |
| 2001 | Naţional București | 5 | (0) |
| 2002 | Messina | 5 | (1) |
| 2002–2003 | Naţional București | 7 | (0) |
| Total | 231 | (21) | |
| International career | |||
| 1992–1993 | Romania U21 | 10 | (0) |
| 1993–2001 | Romania | 54 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2006 | Romania U21 | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
In a career marred by injuries, he played mainly for Steaua București and represented the Romania national team in one World Cup and one European Championship.
Club career edit
Born in Satu Mare, Prodan came to prominence with national giants FC Steaua București, having signed in late 1992 from his hometown side FC Olimpia Satu Mare. With the capital club, he won five consecutive Liga I titles, almost always featuring as a starter; his debut in the league came on 8 November in a 3–1 win at FC Farul Constanța, aged 20.[1]
In January 1997, Prodan moved to Spain with Atlético Madrid.[2] He scored four La Liga goals in only half a season in 1996–97 (17 matches), and appeared in the same number of games in the next.[1] However, it was noted that his disciplinary record was poor, including two red cards.[3]
In the summer of 1998, Prodan joined Rangers (a club against which he had scored a memorable goal for Steaua in the UEFA Champions League in 1995)[4][5] for £2.2 million, but made no first-team appearances in two-and-a-half years in Scotland due to a serious knee injury, which he sustained whilst with the Colchoneros.[6][7] Rangers' doctor, Stewart Hillis, later revealed that no medical had been conducted, and the transfer was rushed to completion on the strength of falsified documents;[8] the Glasgow club threatened to sue Atlético Madrid, but backed down and released the player in January 2001.[9]
During the last five years of his career – Rangers included – Prodan only appeared in 33 matches combined while representing four teams, retiring at the age of 31 with FC Progresul București.
International career edit
Prodan won 54 caps for Romania between 1993 and 2001,[10] and was in the squads for the 1994 FIFA World Cup (playing every minute at the tournament as the team reached the quarter-finals)[11] and UEFA Euro 1996. His only international goal arrived on 12 November 1994, as he contributed with the winner in a 3–2 victory against Slovakia for the latter competition's qualifiers in Bucharest,[12] with the points helping Romania qualify for the finals.[1]
Personal life edit
Prodan's younger brother, Ciprian, was also a footballer.[13] On 16 November 2016, Daniel died of a heart attack at the age of 44.[14][15][4] The stadium from Satu Mare known as Stadionul Olimpia was renamed in February 2017 as Stadionul Daniel Prodan in his honor.[16]
References edit
- ^ a b c Daniel Prodan şi "golul de aur". Are în palmares cinci titluri şi o Cupă a României cu Steaua (Daniel Prodan and the "golden goal". He also won five titles and one Romanian Cup with Steaua); Adevărul, 10 June 2013 (in Romanian)
- ^ El rumano Prodan confirma su fichaje (Romanian Prodan confirms his signing); El País, 23 December 1996 (in Spanish)
- ^ "I made a mistake – Hillis". The Herald. 26 September 1998. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ a b Stephen Halliday: The tragic death of Daniel Prodan, the Scotsman, 18 November 2016
- ^ Gol Prodan, in Steaua-Glasgow Rangers 1-0 (1995)
- ^ Prodan pleads for Ibrox debut; BBC Sport, 13 December 2000
- ^ Rangers release Prodan; BBC Sport, 1 February 2001
- ^ Scotland doctor Professor Stewart Hillis has spent 40 years in the game, but knows he will always be remembered for Daniel Prodan's transfer Archived 5 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine; Herald Scotland, 23 July 2010
- ^ The longest wait for a new signing's debut; The Guardian, 17 August 2005
- ^ "Daniel Claudiu Prodan – International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
- ^ Daniel Prodan – FIFA competition record (archived)
- ^ Romania 3–2 Slovakia; UEFA, 12 November 1994
- ^ "Fraţii Prodan îşi comemorează tatăl cu un turneu de fotbal" [The Prodan brothers commemorate their father with a football tournament] (in Romanian). Informația Zilei. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
- ^ "Veste tragică pentru fotbalul românesc. Didi Prodan a decedat la numai 44 de ani, după un infarct" [Tragic news for Romanian football. Didi Prodan died at only 44 years after a heart attack] (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
- ^ "Rangers signing who never played for first team dies, aged 44". BBC Sport. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ "Stadionul din Satu Mare se va numi Daniel Prodan. Decizia a fost luată cu unanimitate de voturi" [The stadium in Satu Mare will be called Daniel Prodan. The decision was taken by unanimous vote] (in Romanian). Liga2.prosport.ro. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
External links edit
- Daniel Prodan at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
- Daniel Prodan at BDFutbol
- Daniel Prodan at Soccerbase
- Daniel Prodan at National-Football-Teams.com
- Daniel Prodan at EU-Football.info
