Daniel Prodan

Daniel Prodan
Personal information
Full name Daniel Claudiu Prodan
Date of birth (1972-03-23)23 March 1972
Place of birth Satu Mare, Romania
Date of death 16 November 2016(2016-11-16) (aged 44)
Place of death Voluntari, Romania
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1992 Olimpia Satu Mare
1992–1996 Steaua București 121 (10)
1997–1998 Atlético Madrid 34 (4)
1998–2001 Rangers 0 (0)
2000 → Steaua București (loan) 0 (0)
2000–2001 → Rocar București (loan) 15 (3)
2001 Naţional Bucureşti 5 (0)
2002 Messina 5 (1)
2002–2003 Naţional Bucureşti 7 (0)
Total 188 (18)
National team
1992–1993 Romania U21 10 (0)
1993–2001 Romania 54 (1)
Teams managed
2006 Romania U21
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Daniel Claudiu Prodan (23 March 1972 – 16 November 2016) was a Romanian footballer who played mainly as a central defender.

In a career marred by injuries, he played mainly for Steaua București and represented the Romania national team in one World Cup and one European Championship.

Club career

Born in Satu Mare, Prodan came to prominence with country giants FC Steaua București, having signed in late 1992 from hometown side FC Olimpia Satu Mare. With the capital club he won five consecutive Liga I titles, almost always as an undisputed starter, and his debut in the league came on 8 November in a 3–1 win at FC Farul Constanța, aged 20.[1]

In January 1997, Prodan moved to Spain with Atlético Madrid.[2] He scored four La Liga goals in only half-a-season (17 matches), and appeared in the same number of games in the following.[1]

In the 1998 summer, Prodan joined Rangers for £2.2 million, but made no first-team appearances in two-and-a-half years in Scotland due to a serious knee injury, which he sustained whilst with the Colchoneros.[3][4] Rangers' doctor, Stewart Hillis, later revealed that no medical had been conducted, and the transfer was rushed to completion on the strength of falsified documents;[5] the Glasgow club threatened to sue Atlético Madrid, but backed down and released the player in January 2001.[6]

During the last five years of his career – Rangers included – Prodan only appeared in 33 matches combined while representing four teams, retiring at the age of 31 with FC Progresul București.

International career

Prodan won 54 caps for Romania between 1993 and 2001,[7] and was in the squad for the 1994 FIFA World Cup (all complete matches for the quarter-finalists[8]) and UEFA Euro 1996. His only goal arrived on 12 November 1994, as he contributed to a 3–2 win in Bucharest against Slovakia for the latter competition's qualifiers.[9]

Personal life

Prodan's younger brother, Ciprian, was also a footballer.[10] On 16 November 2016, Daniel died of a heart attack at the age of 44.[11][12]

References

  1. 1 2 Daniel Prodan şi „golul de aur“. Are în palmares cinci titluri şi o Cupă a României cu Steaua (Daniel Prodan and the „golden goal“. He also won five titles and one Romanian Cup with Steaua); Adevărul, 10 June 2013 (in Romanian)
  2. ↑ El rumano Prodan confirma su fichaje (Romanian Prodan confirms his signing); El País, 23 December 1996 (in Spanish)
  3. ↑ Prodan pleads for Ibrox debut; BBC Sport, 13 December 2000
  4. ↑ Rangers release Prodan; BBC Sport, 1 February 2001
  5. ↑ Scotland doctor Professor Stewart Hillis has spent 40 years in the game, but knows he will always be remembered for Daniel Prodan’s transfer; Herald Scotland, 23 July 2010
  6. ↑ The longest wait for a new signing's debut; The Guardian, 17 August 2005
  7. ↑ "Daniel Claudiu Prodan – International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  8. ↑ Daniel Prodan – FIFA competition record
  9. ↑ Romania 3–2 Slovakia; UEFA.com, 12 November 1994
  10. ↑ "Fraţii Prodan îşi comemorează tatăl cu un turneu de fotbal" [The Prodan brothers commemorate their father with a football tournament] (in Romanian). Informația Zilei. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  11. ↑ "Veste tragică pentru fotbalul românesc. Didi Prodan a decedat la numai 44 de ani, după un infarct" [Tragic news for Romanian football. Didi Prodan died at only 44 years after a heart attack] (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  12. ↑ "Rangers signing who never played for first team dies, aged 44". BBC Sport. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
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