Ianis Zicu

Early career, Dinamo București and loans

Zicu was born on 23 October 1983 in Constanța, Romania and began playing junior-level football at local club Farul, under the guidance of coach Iosif Bükössy. In 2000, Zicu joined Dinamo București, making his Divizia A debut at the age of 17, under coach Cornel Dinu on 14 April 2001 in a 4–2 win over Gaz Metan Mediaș. He scored his first goal in a 4–3 loss to Astra Ploiești in the same season. He won his first trophy when coach Dinu sent him in the 90th minute to replace Marius Niculae in the 4–2 victory against Rocar București in the 2001 Cupa României final. In the following season, Zicu helped the team win the title by scoring two goals in the 16 appearances given to him by coaches Dinu and Marin Ion. During the same season he also played a few games in Divizia B for Poiana Câmpina, then a satellite team of Dinamo. He made his debut in European competitions when he replaced Claudiu Niculescu in the 63rd minute of a 3–1 home loss to Grasshopper Zürich in the first round of the 2001–02 UEFA Cup. Zicu returned to Farul for the 2002–03 season, being loaned there by Dinamo to play more and gain experience. He came back to The Red Dogs for the first half of the 2003–04 season, performing well by scoring six goals in the 13 league matches coach Ioan Andone used him. He also helped the team eliminate Liepājas Metalurgs and Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Cup by scoring his first two goals in European competitions against each of them.…

Between 2000 and 2005, Zicu made several appearances for Romania's under-18, under-19 and under-21 sides. He was banned alongside teammate Lucian Goian from representing his country at any level for two years in 2004, because the Romanian Football Federation considered they had a "defiant attitude" during a 4–1 loss against Czech Republic U21. Zicu played 12 games and scored one goal for Romania, making his debut on 11 October 2003 when coach Anghel Iordănescu sent him in the 82nd minute to replace Daniel Pancu in a 1–1 friendly draw against Japan. He made three appearances in three victories during the successful Euro 2008 qualifiers. Coach Victor Pițurcă considered selecting him for the final tournament squad, but could not as Zicu was injured. He also played three games in the Euro 2012 qualifiers, scoring the last goal in a 3–1 win over Luxembourg. Zicu made his last appearance for the national team on 11 June 2011 in a 2–0 friendly loss to Paraguay, played at Estadio Defensores del Chaco in Asunción.

Zicu began coaching in January 2019, when he took over Voluntari's under-18 team. He started coaching a senior team in July 2019, as he was named the head coach of Farul Constanța, a position he held until May 2021. Subsequently, he continued to work for second-tier teams such as Unirea Constanța, Concordia Chiajna and Metaloglobus București. Zicu helped the latter earn promotion to Liga I at the end of the 2024–25 season. Afterwards, he was appointed head coach at Farul in the first league. However, in April 2026, after a 1–0 loss to Hermannstadt, Zicu decided to resign.

Zicu is an ethnic Aromanian.