Florin Daniel Bratu (born 2 January 1980) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, currently in charge of Liga I club Metaloglobus BucureÃÂti.
Bratu was born on 2 January 1980 in Bucharest, Romania where in 1986 he started to play tennis for a year and a half, afterwards switching to football, playing a few years with the junior squads of VoinÃÂa BucureÃÂti. Then he moved for about one year at his childhood favorite team, Dinamo BucureÃÂti where he was coached by Iosif Varga. As he was unsatisfied with the poor training conditions that were at Dinamo during that time, in 1992 after seeing an article in Gazeta Sporturilor that Rapid BucureÃÂti was organizing trials, he went there and got accepted after impressing the coach with his speeding ability.
Shortly after joining Rapid's senior squad, Bratu was loaned to Divizia B club Tractorul BraÃÂov in 2000 where, in his only season spent at the club, he scored eight goals in 27 league games. He then returned to Rapid, and on 5 August 2001, made his Divizia A debut under coach Viorel Hizo in a 3âÂÂ0 away victory against UM TimiÃÂoara. By the end of the season he won the first trophy of his career, the 2001âÂÂ02 Cupa României where in the 2âÂÂ1 victory against Dinamo in the final, coach Mircea Rednic used him as a starter until the 68th minute when he replaced him with Dennis ÃÂerban.
In the following season, Rednic had Bratu form a partnership in the offence with Daniel Niculae, and the team started the season by winning the 2002 Supercupa României with Bratu opening the score in the 2âÂÂ1 victory against Dinamo. They finished the season champions, and Bratu was the team's top-scorer with 11 goals in 27 matches. In 2003, Bratu started the season at Rapid, winning another Supercupa României as Rednic used him until the 68th minute when he replaced him with Robert NiÃÂàwho scored the goal in the 1âÂÂ0 win over Dinamo. He also scored a goal against Anderlecht in the second leg of the 2003âÂÂ04 Champions League second qualifying round, having a 2âÂÂ0 advantage by halftime, but they did not qualify further, eventually losing 3âÂÂ2.
In September 2003, Turkish club Galatasaray announced they had reached an agreement with Rapid for the transfer of Bratu, who agreed to a four-year deal, with Galatasaray paying Rapid $2.75 million. He eventually spent only one season alongside compatriots Gabriel TamaÃÂ and Ovidiu Petre with the Cim Bom Bom side, being used regularly by coach Fatih Terim, but when fellow Romanian Gheorghe Hagi came as head coach to the club, he played less frequently.
In July 2004, Galatasaray sold him to French side Nantes for â¬2.5 million, signing a four-year contract. Bratu made his Ligue 1 debut on 7 August, as coach Loïc Amisse used him as a starter in a 1âÂÂ0 away loss to Metz. Until the end of the season, he netted two league goals in two away losses to AS Monaco and Caen. He spent only one season with The Canaries, claiming he had problems adapting to French football's reliance on physical strength.
In 2005 Nantes wanted to loan him to Romania, so Bratu went to train with his former club Rapid BucureÃÂti for a few weeks, but they did not want to keep him because they considered they had enough forwards in the squad. Thus he went to play for Dinamo BucureÃÂti where in his first game, coach Ioan Andone used him as a starter and he scored a goal in the 3âÂÂ2 victory against rivals Steaua BucureÃÂti which helped the club earn its first Supercupa României. He also played in eight games in the 2005âÂÂ06 UEFA Cup campaign when the team eliminated Everton against whom he scored a double in a historical 5âÂÂ2 win on aggregate, reaching the group stage.
In 2006 Bratu returned to Ligue 1 football, playing one season for Valenciennes on loan from Nantes, scoring his only goal for them in the last round of the season, a 3âÂÂ1 loss to Auxerre. He has a total of 35 appearances with three goals netted in the French league.
In June 2007, he was signed by Dinamo BucureÃÂti from Nantes for a â¬700,000 fee, reuniting with his former coach from Rapid, Mircea Rednic with the objective of reaching the Champions League group stage. He scored a goal in the second leg of the third qualifying round against Lazio after a prolonged sprint, leaving his opponent Guglielmo Stendardo behind and defeating Marco Ballotta with a precise shot, but they failed to qualify, losing 4âÂÂ2 on aggregate. Bratu formed a partnership in Dinamo's offence with Ionel DÃÂnciulescu, and the Romanian press called them "BD in action", a nickname inspired by the first letters of their family names and the Romanian movie "BD in action". By the end of the 2007âÂÂ08 season, the team had no chance of winning the title, but rivals Steaua were in first position, having scheduled a match on Dinamo's ground. The match ended with a 2âÂÂ1 victory for Dinamo with Bratu scoring a goal and providing an assist to the one netted by DÃÂnciulescu. After Bratu scored his goal from a penalty, he celebrated by taking the corner flag and "machine-gunning" Steaua's fans with it, thus earning the nickname "Mitraliera" (the machine gun). That victory helped CFR Cluj advance to the first position and become champions after the final round of the season.
In the following season, after 10 games Dinamo was in first position, with Bratu in good shape, as he scored six goals. However, in the 32nd minute of a match against CFR Cluj, due to the difficult terrain and after a duel with the strong ÃÂlvaro Pereira, Bratu suffered a sprained knee, with damage to the cruciate ligaments which kept him off the field for about one year. He was unable to fully recover after that, and Dinamo eventually lost the title that season.
In the summer of 2010 Bratu joined Litex Lovech on loan from Dinamo where he stayed until December of the same year, winning a Bulgarian Supercup.
In January 2011, he signed for Liga I team Gaz Metan Mediaàwhere he spent a year and a half, playing only 11 league games there, scoring one goal in August 2011 against VoinÃÂa Sibiu. In the summer of 2012, Bratu signed a one-year contract with Gloria BistriÃÂa. He made his last Liga I appearance on 2 November 2012 in Gloria's 1âÂÂ1 draw against Viitorul ConstanÃÂa, totaling 135 matches with 45 goals in the competition and 29 games with seven goals in European competitions.
Bratu played 14 games and scored two goals for Romania, making his debut on 12 February 2003 when coach Anghel IordÃÂnescu sent him in the 90+2nd minute to replace Adrian Mutu in a 2âÂÂ1 friendly victory against Slovakia. He scored his first goal in a friendly which ended in a 1âÂÂ0 win over Lithuania. Bratu appeared in four games and scored one goal in a 4âÂÂ0 victory against Luxembourg in the Euro 2004 qualifiers. He also played one game in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, one in the Euro 2008 qualifiers and two during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.
Since retiring from football in the middle of the 2012âÂÂ13 season, Bratu has gone into punditry and worked for a while as a commentator for Digi Sport.
In March 2014, Bratu became the head of the scouting department at his former club Dinamo BucureÃÂti.
In August 2014, Bratu started his coaching career as head coach of the second team at Dinamo II BucureÃÂti. On 25 February 2018, he was appointed head coach of Dinamo BucureÃÂti. He was sacked in September 2018.
On 9 August 2021, he was named the head coach of Romania U-21.
Rapid BucureÃÂti
Dinamo BucureÃÂti
Litex Lovech
CS Dinamo BucureÃÂti