Marius Ninel ÃÂumudicÃÂ (born 4 March 1971) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player.
ÃÂumudicàplayed as a striker and started out at Sportul StudenÃÂesc in 1989, going on to represent five other teams in his native country, as well as MarÃÂtimo, Debrecen, and Omonia abroad. In the 1998âÂÂ99 season, he was part of Mircea Lucescu's Rapid BucureÃÂti squad that won the national title, scoring 17 goals in the process. He also claimed two Cupa României trophies with "the White-Burgundies".
After retiring as a player, ÃÂumudicàreturned to Rapid BucureÃÂti as an assistant coach in 2005. He went on to manage numerous sides both home and abroad, notably bringing Astra Giurgiu its first Liga I title in the 2015âÂÂ16 season at his third stint with the club. As a result, ÃÂumudicàwas named the 2016 Romania Coach of the Year by the Gazeta Sporturilor newspaper. Apart from his time in Romania, he has coached teams in Greece, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.
On 28 April 2015, ÃÂumudicÃÂ was appointed as manager of Astra Giurgiu, following Dorinel Munteanu's resignation. It was his third term at the club, after two short spells in 2009 and 2011. He led the team to a 4th-place finish, qualifying them for the UEFA Europa League. The European campaign was almost a success, as Astra stopped short of reaching the Europa League group stages after knocking out West Ham United in the third round, but lost to AZ Alkmaar in the play-offs.
Domestically, despite the poor start which saw Astra losing 1âÂÂ5 to previous runner-ups ASA Targu Mures, Astra managed to finish the regular season on first place, 3 points above Dinamo BucureÃÂti. However, ÃÂumudicàwas suspended 6 months by the Romanian FA on charges of betting on football matches. He later managed to have his sentence reduced to 2 months by appeal. Despite his suspension, Astra kept their momentum during the play-offs, ending up in them being crowned Liga I champions for the first time in their history, also marking ÃÂumudicÃÂ's first domestic title as manager.
After a quick exit to Danish champions Copenhagen in the UEFA Champions League, ÃÂumudicàmanaged to guide Astra to 2016âÂÂ17 UEFA Europa League group stage eliminating West Ham â for the second time in a row â along the way, after a 1âÂÂ0 win in London. In the group stages, he faced Roma, Viktoria Plzeà  and Austria Wien. Despite losing the first two games of the group with Austria Wien (2âÂÂ3 at Giurgiu) and Roma (0âÂÂ4 in Italy), Astra managed two 2âÂÂ1 away wins at Plzeà  and Wien (along with a home draw with Viktoria) to stay in the race for a place in the knock-out stages. In the end, Astra's 0âÂÂ0 draw with Roma and Austria Wien's failure against Plzeà  in the last matchday secured Astra's place in the tournament's round of 32. There, they were eliminated by Belgian side Genk after a 2âÂÂ2 draw at Giurgiu followed by 0âÂÂ1 defeat in Belgium.
Astra's campaign in the league, meanwhile, was disappointing, with the team finishing 5th and losing the Romanian Cup final to FC Voluntari. However, due to Astra's position in the league and Voluntari not applying for a European license, the vacant spot was given to Astra, thus qualifying yet again in Europe.
On 14 June 2019, ÃÂumudicàwas appointed as manager of Turkish club Gaziantep. In January 2021, following an away defeat in the Süper Lig against Sivasspor, the club announced that they had parted ways with the Romanian manager, following a few weeks of tension and public discussion about his contract.
On 28 August 2021, CFR Cluj terminated the contract of ÃÂumudicÃÂ, ending his 3-month stint in charge after a disappointing campaign for Europe.
On 23 March 2022, ÃÂumudicàreturned to manage Al-Shabab until the end of the 2021âÂÂ22 season.
On 30 June 2022, ÃÂumudicÃÂ was appointed as manager of Al-Raed.
Rapid BucureÃÂti
MarÃÂtimo
Astra Giurgiu
CFR Cluj
Individual