Cătălin Munteanu

Steaua București

Munteanu, nicknamed "Cap de Zmeu" (Head of Zmeu), was born on 26 January 1979 in Bucharest, Romania. He began playing senior-football at Steaua București, making his Divizia A debut under coach Dumitru Dumitriu on 16 March 1997 in a 3–1 victory against Rapid București. In his first season at the club, Munteanu helped the team win The Double with 12 league appearances and five goals, and Dumitriu also sent him in the 84th minute to replace Sabin Ilie in the 4–2 victory against Național București in the Cupa României final. In the following season he helped Steaua win another title, this time under the guidance of coach Mihai Stoichiță, being the team's top-scorer with 17 goals in 33 matches, including one goal in a 3–1 win over rivals Dinamo București. Munteanu also started to play in European competitions, in his debut, scoring one goal in the first leg of the 5–3 aggregate victory against CSKA Sofia in the 1997–98 Champions League first qualifying round. Then he scored two goals that helped the team get past Bastia on the away goals rule after the 3–3 on aggregate in the second round of the 1997–98 UEFA Cup.

Career in Spain

Salamanca paid €3.6 million for Munteanu's transfer from Steaua in 1998. He made his La Liga debut on 30 August under coach Miguel Ángel Russo in a 0–0 draw against Mallorca. He scored his first goal in the competition in a 2–1 home loss to Real Zaragoza. The team was relegated at the end of his first season, but…

Munteanu was part of Romania's under-21 side that managed a first-ever qualification to a European Championship in 1998, which Romania subsequently hosted. In the final tournament that was composed of eight teams, coach Victor Pițurcă used him in all three games which were losses to Netherlands, Germany and Russia, as they finished in last place. Munteanu played 17 matches and scored one goal for Romania, making his debut on 19 November 1997, when coach Anghel Iordănescu sent him at half-time to replace Viorel Moldovan in a 1–1 friendly draw against Spain played at Lluís Sitjar Stadium in Palma de Mallorca. He made four appearances and scored one goal in the successful Euro 2000 qualifiers, though he was not part of the squad that went to the final tournament. Munteanu played five games during the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, including his last appearance for the national team which took place on 2 June 2001 in a 2–0 victory against rivals Hungary.

Club

International

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Munteanu goal.

Steaua București

Divizia A: 1996–97, 1997–98 Cupa României: 1996–97 Dinamo București

Liga I: 2006–07 Cupa României: 2011–12 Supercupa României: 2012