Lucian Iulian SânmÃÂrtean (born 13 March 1980) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or a left winger, currently he is the assistant coach of the Romania national under-21 team.
Regarded by coach Ioan SabÃÂu as the country's most talented player after Gheorghe Hagi, he was awarded Romanian Footballer of the Year in 2014. SânmÃÂrtean was often praised for his exceptional passing and uncommon dribbling ability, however much of his career was marked by injuries.
SânmÃÂrtean gained his first cap for the Romania national team in November 2002. He amassed 21 games for the nation and represented it at the UEFA Euro 2016.
Born in BistriÃÂa, SânmÃÂrtean started out playing for hometown side Gloria BistriÃÂa, after he was noticed by Constantin Sava. He joined the Vampires' youth academy at the age of six.
SÃÂnmÃÂrtean made his Gloria BistriÃÂa first-team debut on 24 April 1999 in a 3âÂÂ1 win against FC OneÃÂti as a substitute. He immediately established himself as one of the most talented young players in Romania. He helped his team, winning the last League Cup ever in 2000, scoring in the penalty shootout. He also contributed to his team finishing 3rd in Divizia A, highest rank ever, for Gloria Bistrià £a.
On 7 January 2003, the 23-year-old was seen as a straight replacement for former Rapid BucureÃÂti captain Constantin Schumacher after his departure, media reports suggesting a fee of â¬250,000 being paid for SânmÃÂrtean. SânmÃÂrtean joined Rapid at their winter training camp in Antalya, Turkey, but for reasons which seemed mysterious at the time, he was prevented from playing more than 60 minutes of Rapid's friendly fixtures. On 2 February, he was diagnosed as suffering from type B and type D hepatitis at the Sports Medicine Institute in Bucharest. However, after his return in Bistrià £a, his medical file came clean, the disease being invented, to cover the money disagreement between the two chairmen.
On 16 July 2003, Panathinaikos confirmed the â¬900,000 signing of SânmÃÂrtean. He signed a three-year contract with the option of a further two years with the Athens club. SânmÃÂrtean became the fifth Romanian at Panathinaikos, after Doru Nicolae, DÃÂnuàLupu, Erik Lincar and Dumitru Mitu. He made his debut for the Greek team on 24 August in a 1âÂÂ0 win against Skoda Xanthi. His first goal came in the Greek Cup, on 17 December against OFI. On 14 March, he scored his first and only goal in the Alpha Ethniki, against Panionios. In his first season, he won the championship, and the Greek fans called him "SânmÃÂrtean â The little magician". Later he had a conflict with Alberto Malesani and after no matches in more than two years, SânmÃÂrtean was released from his Panathinaikos deal in December 2006.
On 15 February 2007, Utrecht signed SânmÃÂrtean on a short-term contract with the option of a further two years with the Eredivisie club. The Romanian had been expected to undergo a trial with AZ Alkmaar, but he opted for Utrecht. On completion of the deal, then Utrecht technical director Piet Buter said of SânmÃÂrtean: "We got ourselves a gold mine. He is a Champions League player, I don't think we'll be able to keep him too long for our team." On 26 March, he made his unofficial debut, in the David Di Tommaso Memorial, against AS Monaco, being handed the no. 12 shirt. On 8 April, he was in the startup team against Willem II, counting his Eredivisie debut. On 31 August 2008, Utrecht and SânmÃÂrtean decided to end their cooperation, because of his injuries.
After SânmÃÂrtean became a free agent, SânmÃÂrtean started training by himself in BistriÃÂa. On 8 January 2009, he began training with Gloria BistriÃÂa's first team and on 25 February, he signed a short-term contract with his former team. He made his first appearance in his second spell for the club in a league match against Rapid BucureÃÂti on 1 March, coming on as a substitute and being handed the no. 10 shirt. On 10 April, SânmÃÂrtean assisted Gloria's first, in a 2âÂÂ2 draw against CFR Cluj. It was his first assist, since his return to Gloria. On 23 May, he played his 100 match in Liga I for Gloria Bistrià £a. In July, Steaua expressed its interest in the Romanian playmaker, but the disagreement over the player's wage, persuaded him to extend his contract with Gloria.
On 19 September, SÃÂnmÃÂrtean scored his first goal since December 2004, in a league match against CeahlÃÂul Piatra NeamÃÂ. Following Florin Halagian's appointment, he was given the captain's armband. On 4 October, he obtained his first point since his captain appointment, leading his team to a 1âÂÂ1 draw against Steaua BucureÃÂti. On 3 December, following a conflict with the team's manager Halagian, Gloria Bistrià £a released SÃÂnmÃÂrtean.
Shortly after, SÃÂnmÃÂrtean signed a 2.5-year contract with the Moldavian team FC Vaslui. On 11 February, Vaslui signed his brother, Dinu SânmÃÂrtean. On 21 February, he made his league debut, against Gaz Metan Mediaà Â, being handed the no. 18 shirt. On 18 March, he provided his first assist, assisting Carlo Costly for 2âÂÂ1 against Poli IaÃÂi, from a corner kick. Four days later, he played for 19 minutes for the first time alongside his brother for Vaslui, Dinu coming in as a substitute for Hugo Luz in the 53rd minute, and SÃÂnmÃÂrtean being substitute out in the 72nd minute. On 15 April, he scored for the first time for his new team, against FC Braà Âov in the Romanian Cup, scoring Vaslui's third from a 27-yard free kick. Vaslui went on to win 4âÂÂ0, and secured a spot in the Romanian Cup Final. He helped his team finishing third in Liga I, the highest rank ever for Vaslui. On 26 May, he was in the startup team against CFR Cluj, in the Romanian Cup Final, but he was substituted at half time, due to a minor injury. Vaslui eventually lost the cup in the penalty shootout. The 2009âÂÂ10 campaign, represented SÃÂnmÃÂrtean's first season, from the past six years, without any major injury.
The 2010âÂÂ11 season started with Vaslui's failed attempt to qualify for the first time in Europa League's Group Stages after being defeated 0âÂÂ2 by French side Lille OSC in the play-off stage. On 23 September, he received his first red card since his arrival at the club, in a cup match against ALRO Slatina. He scored his first league goal, with a close range shot against CFR Cluj. His second goal came on 1 April 2011, in a 2âÂÂ0 win against Unirea Urziceni. He scored Vaslui's first with a 17-yard shot just outside the box, maintaining his team in the title chase. On 15 May, he captained Vaslui for the first time, leading his team to a 4âÂÂ2 win in a league match against Sportul Studenà £esc. In his second year at the club, he managed to finish third in Liga I for the second year in a row. SÃÂnmÃÂrtean was the top assister in Liga I, providing 10 assists for his team.
Although he missed the entire pre-season due to an injury, he was a starter against Rapid BucureÃÂti, in Vaslui's opening match. On 18 August, in the 2âÂÂ0 victory against Sparta Prague, he created the first goal and assisted the second, leading his team to a historical qualification in Europa League's Group Stages. On 11 September, SânmÃÂrtean scored his club's third goal in a 3âÂÂ1 home league victory over Dinamo Bucuresti. On 18 November, SânmÃÂrtean signed a new three-year contract with SC Vaslui. On 8 December, he received his first personal award, lifting the Midfielder of the Year Award at the Fanatik Awards Ceremony. On 19 December, he was awarded the Liga I Footballer of The Year award from LPF and FRF at the Romanian Football Ceremony. On 22 December, he finished second on the vote for Gazeta Sporturilor's Romanian Footballer of the Year Award, behind Gabriel Torje. He was also voted The Best Romanian Footballer in Liga I by readers of ProSport. On 9 March 2012, he closed the scoreboard in the 4âÂÂ0 home league win against Concordia Chiajna, scoring the fourth goal. On 15 March, he assisted three times in the 3âÂÂ2 away victory against Oà £elul Galaà £i, helping his team qualifying in the Romanian Cup semi-finals, for the third time in the last four years.
In February 2014, SÃÂnmÃÂrtean signed a one-year and a half deal with Liga I champions Steaua BucureÃÂti. He scored on his club debut from a penalty kick in the 44th minute as Steaua won 4âÂÂ0 over Concordia Chiajna. He won his first domestic league title in Romania under the management of LaurenÃÂiu Reghecampf during his first season at the club.
On 3 January 2015, SânmÃÂrtean signed a contract with Al-Ittihad, when he entered his final six months of the deal with Steaua. The two clubs reached an agreement to release the player before his contract with Steaua ended, thus he joined Al-Ittihad in January 2015.
On 22 November 2017, SânmÃÂrtean announced his football return after signing with FC Voluntari. He retired from football in July 2018, after one season Voluntari.
A former Romania U-21 captain, SânmÃÂrtean earned his first cap in an exhibition match against Croatia on 20 November 2002. Because of the hepatitis rumours he lost for a few months the national team, but he was recalled for the friendly against Lithuania. On 23 May 2011, he was recalled for the Euro 2012 qualifying match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, following Victor Piturca's appointment as Romanian national team's coach, SânmÃÂrtean was not called for the friendly against San Marino, despite his good shape. The Romanian fans started a petition called "SânmÃÂrtean at the National team" on Facebook but it had no effect because he was not included in the squad once again. Nevertheless, Lucian was called up for the qualifying matches vs. Belarus and Albania in October 2011. He was also called up for Euro 2016 in France, making one appearance as Romania were eliminated in the group stage.
He officially announced his retirement from the national team on 13 June 2017 before Romania's match against Chile.
In 2010, he married Romanian sprinter and breast cancer survivor Maria Rus, with whom he has a daughter.
His younger brother Dinu was also a professional footballer. They have played together for both Gloria Bistrià £a and Vaslui.
After his retirement, he became a football pundit, joining Eurosport Romania's Premier League Show, a program that covers the top English football league matches.
Gloria Bistrita
Panathinaikos
Vaslui
Steaua BucureÃÂti
Individual