Darius Olaru
![]() Olaru with FCSB in 2022 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Darius Dumitru Olaru | ||
Date of birth | 3 March 1998 | ||
Place of birth | Mediaș, Romania | ||
Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Attacking midfielder, winger | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | FCSB | ||
Number | 27 | ||
Youth career | |||
2008–2011 | CSȘ Mediaș | ||
2011–2015 | Gaz Metan Mediaș | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2015–2019 | Gaz Metan Mediaș | 113 | (11) |
2020– | FCSB | 69 | (11) |
National team‡ | |||
2018–2021 | Romania U21 | 17 | (2) |
2021– | Romania | 2 | (0) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 March 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 5 September 2021 |
Darius Dumitru Olaru (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈdari.us oˈlaru]; born 3 March 1998) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a winger for Liga I club FCSB.
After starting out at hometown side Gaz Metan Mediaș and amassing over 100 appearances in the Romanian top flight, he transferred to FCSB in 2020.
Internationally, Olaru represented Romania under-21 in two editions of the UEFA European Championship. He registered his full debut for the country in June 2021, in a 1–2 loss to Georgia.
Club career[]
Gaz Metan Mediaș[]
Olaru made his senior debut for Gaz Metan Mediaș on 29 August 2015, appearing in a second division 2–1 away win over UTA Arad.[2] He amassed twelve games and scored two goals in that season, as his hometown club returned to the Liga I after just one year of absence.[3] He recorded his debut in the latter competition on 19 September 2016, in a 2–0 victory against defending champions Astra Giurgiu. On 23 May 2017, Olaru scored his first league goal from the penalty spot in a 3–0 defeat of Concordia Chiajna.[4]
In early 2018, he signed a precontract with fellow Liga I side FCSB, but the move initially fell through after a transfer fee could not be agreed upon.[5] In May the following year, FCSB reinstated its interest and signed Olaru for an undisclosed sum, with the deal seeing him join up with the squad at the start of 2020.[6][7] The Bucharest-based club reportedly outbid rival side CFR Cluj for the transfer of the player, where he was highly regarded by manager Dan Petrescu.[8]
FCSB[]
Olaru was officially unveiled as a FCSB player on 7 January 2020, and was assigned the number 27 jersey.[9] He made his first appearance for the Roș-albaștrii on 2 February, in a 0–1 loss to CFR Cluj, and four days later scored the opener in a 2–1 win over FC Voluntari.[10]
Following the conclusion of his first full season at the club, during which he played 30 matches and netted seven times in the league, Olaru was named to the 2020–21 Liga I Team of the Season by Liga Profesionistă de Fotbal.[11]
International career[]
Olaru received his first call-up for the Romania national under-21 team in September 2018,[12] and on 15 November that year scored in a 3–3 friendly draw with Belgium in Cluj-Napoca.[13] He was subsequently selected by Mirel Rădoi in Romania's squad for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, where he played two matches in the group stage and was an unused substitute as his nation exited the competition after a 2–4 defeat to Germany in the semi-finals.[14]
Olaru's age also made him eligible for the 2021 edition of the competition, with head coach Adrian Mutu choosing him in the starting eleven in all three group fixtures of the final tournament. Romania finished with the same number of points as the Netherlands and Germany, but could not progress to the knockout stage.[15] Following Olaru's good display throughout the season, Rădoi—who was meanwhile promoted to the senior national team—handed him his full debut on 2 June 2021, in a friendly 1–2 loss to Georgia.[16]
Personal life[]
Olaru's parents left Romania in order to work abroad and got divorced at some point during his childhood, leaving him mainly in the care of his grandparents. He stated that he was an ardent supporter of Dinamo București growing up.[17]
Career statistics[]
Club[]
- As of match played 14 March 2022[18]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
Gaz Metan Mediaș | 2015–16 | Liga II | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 2 | ||||
2016–17 | Liga I | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||||
2017–18 | Liga I | 36 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 40 | 1 | |||||
2018–19 | Liga I | 34 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 35 | 4 | |||||
2019–20 | Liga I | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 21 | 3 | |||||
Total | 113 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 120 | 11 | |||||
FCSB | 2019–20 | Liga I | 12 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | 16 | 3 | ||||
2020–21 | Liga I | 30 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 8 | |||
2021–22 | Liga I | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 2 | |||
Total | 69 | 11 | 6 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 13 | ||||
Career total | 182 | 22 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 196 | 24 |
- ^ Appearance in UEFA Europa League
International[]
- As of match played 5 September 2021[19]
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Romania | |||
2021 | 2 | 0 | |
Total | 2 | 0 |
Honours[]
Gaz Metan Mediaș[18]
FCSB[18]
- Cupa României: 2019–20
- Supercupa României runner-up: 2020
Individual
References[]
- ^ "OLARU DARIUS DUMITRU" (in Romanian). Liga Profesionistă de Fotbal. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
- ^ "Medieşanul component al naţionalei României U18, Darius Olaru : "Cu fiecare evoluție pe care o am simt că mi se împlinește visul sa devin fotbalist"" [The Mediaș native who is part of the Romania national U18 squad, Darius Olaru: "With every match I play I feel closer to fulfilling my dream of becoming a footballer"] (in Romanian). Sibiu 100%. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
- ^ "Gaz Metan Mediaş a obţinut promovarea în Liga I în ultima etapă a play-off-ului eşalonului secund" [Gaz Metan Mediaș obtained the Liga I promotion in the last fixture of the second division's play-off round] (in Romanian). News.ro. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
- ^ "Gaz Metan - Concordia Chiajna 3-0 și ilfovenii au tot mai mari emoții cu retrogradarea" [Gaz Metan - Concordia Chiajna 3–0 and "the Ilfov people" are close to relegation]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 23 May 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
- ^ "Încă o lovitură pentru Gigi Becali! Darius Olaru: "E adevărat că am semnat un precontract cu FCSB!"" [Another hit for Gigi Becali! Darius Olaru: "It's true that I've signed a precontract with FCSB!"] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 3 October 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- ^ "FCSB a transferat un fotbalist din lotul convocat de Rădoi la Euro 2019" [FCSB transferred a player that is selected in Rădoi's Euro 2019 squad]. ProSport (in Romanian). 20 May 2019.
- ^ "Gaz Metan a dezvăluit contractul cu Gigi Becali: "Am făcut un "deal" bun"" [Gaz Metan revealed the contract it made with Gigi Becali: "It was a good deal"]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 22 May 2019.
- ^ "Lovitura pe care FCSB i-a dat-o lui CFR Cluj! Dan Petrescu: "Este jucătorul pe care-l doream cel mai mult!"" [The hit that CFR Cluj got from FCSB! Dan Petrescu: "He is the player I wanted the most!"] (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ "Bine ai venit, Darius Olaru!" [Welcome, Darius Olaru!] (in Romanian). FCSB. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- ^ "Golazo Darius Olaru la primul meci ca titular la FCSB! Mijlocaşul a prins un voleu de senzaţie" [Golazo from Darius Olaru on his first start at FCSB! The midfielder scored an amazing volley] (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 6 February 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ a b "LPF a ales "echipa ideală" a sezonului din Liga 1! Care echipă a oferit cei mai mulți jucători" [LPF has chosen the "ideal team" of the Liga 1 season! Which team offers the most players] (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
- ^ "INTERVIU cu Darius Olaru: "Regula U21 m-a ajutat să ajung la națională"" [INTERVIEW of Darius Olaru: "The under-21 rule helped me to get convoked to the national team"] (in Romanian). Romanian Football Federation. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
- ^ "ROMÂNIA U21 - BELGIA U21 3-3 // Darius Olaru, eroul revenirii "tricolorilor": "E cel mai bun grup în care am fost vreodată. Vreau să rămân în el"" [ROMANIA U21 - BELGIUM U21 3–3 // Darius Olaru, the comeback hero of "the Tricolours": "It's the best group I was ever in. I want to stay"]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 15 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
- ^ "Germany 4–2 Romania". UEFA.com. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- ^ "Prima reacție a lui Adi Mutu, după eliminarea de la EURO 2021: "Băieții trebuie felicitați". Cum a explicat schimbările" [Adi Mutu's first reaction, after the elimination from EURO 2021: "The boys must be congratulated". How he explained the changes] (in Romanian). DigiSport. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ "Romania vs. Georgia - Football Match Line-Ups - June 2, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN. 2 June 2021.
- ^ "Darius Olaru, povestea impresionantă a noii vedete. Crescut fără părinți de bunicii mamei. Bunica a murit recent!" [Darius Olaru, the impressive story of the new star. He was raised by his mother's parents. The grandmother passed away recently] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
- ^ a b c Darius Olaru at Soccerway. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
- ^ "Darius Olaru". European Football. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
External links[]
- Darius Olaru at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian) and StatisticsFootball.com
- Darius Olaru at National-Football-Teams.com
- Darius Olaru – UEFA competition record (archive)
- 1998 births
- Living people
- People from Mediaș
- Romanian footballers
- Romania under-21 international footballers
- Romania international footballers
- Association football midfielders
- Association football wingers
- Liga I players
- Liga II players
- CS Gaz Metan Mediaș players
- FC Steaua București players