Răzvan Dincă Raț (; born 26 May 1981) is a Romanian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. He made a name for himself in Romania at

Rapid București Rapid(s) or RAPID may refer to: Hydrological features * Rapids, sections of a river with turbulent water flow * Rapid Creek (Iowa River tributary), Iowa, United States * Rapid Creek (South Dakota), United States, namesake of Rapid City Sport ...

, with whom he won two national titles, one

national cup The English National Cup is an annual basketball knock-out competition held between professional, semi-professional and amateur teams from the various divisions of the National Basketball League (England), National Basketball League. For most of th ...

and one supercup between 1998 and 2003. The latter year, Raț moved to

Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk () is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club that was based in the city of Donetsk until 2014 when, due to the War in Donbas (2014–2022), War in Donbas, the club was forced to move to Lvi ...

of Ukraine, where he won 15 domestic titles and one

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

over the course of ten seasons. In 2009, he came second in voting for the

Romanian Footballer of the Year The Romanian Footballer of the Year (), also known as the Nicolae Dobrin Trophy (), is an annual association football award given by the ''Gazeta Sporturilor'' newspaper to the Romanian player adjudged to have been the best during a calendar yea ...

award. He also represented

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in the Villa de Vallecas district of Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish foot ...

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

and

ACS Poli Timișoara Asociația Club Sportiv Poli Timișoara (), commonly known as ACS Poli Timișoara, Poli Timișoara or simply ACS Poli, was a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Timișoara, Timiș County. The team was founded in 2012, the ye ...

before retiring in 2018. Raț made his full debut for the Romania national team in 2002. He represented the nation in two

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

s. Raț is the fourth-most

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

Romanian international of all time, earning his 100th match in October 2014. He is a board member for the

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

club

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Club career

Early career

Born in Piatra-Olt, Raț began his football career when he joined the local team Rapid Piatra-Olt aged seven in a team trained by his father. In the summer of 1994, Raț went on a trial with Universitatea Craiova. He impressed coach Anghel Mităchescu and joined the club's

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

at age 13. When Mităchescu found out that he was going to be released from his duties by club president Rodion Cămătaru, he transferred the entire junior squad at the

Divizia B The Liga 2, most commonly spelled as Liga II, is the second level of the Romanian football league system. The league changed its name from Divizia B just before the start of the 2006–07 football season. It is currently sponsored by Casa Pariu ...

side Constructorul Craiova. Raț's career for Constructorul, however, ended shortly after due to the club's financial problems, in 1995. In the winter of that year, Raț was noticed by

Tudorel Stoica Tudorel Stoica (born 7 September 1954, in Brăila, Brăila County, Romania) is a Romanian former footballer who played as a midfielder. He is the most capped player in the history of Steaua București. He is one of the most famous and succe ...

, who attended a

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

l tournament held in

Balș Balș () is a town in Olt County, Oltenia, Romania. The town administers three villages: Corbeni, Româna, and Teiș. Geography The town is situated on the Wallachian Plain and lies on the banks of the river Olteț. It is located in the northwe ...

. Stoica wanted Raț to join Steaua București's youth system. Despite both Stoica and youth coach Bujor Hălmăgean being impressed by the young player, Raț never joined Steaua because according to his father, the club refused to pay the youth, Raț being forced to support himself in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

. Taking advice from his former coach Mităchescu, Raț joined Sporting Pitești, the team trained by former international player Nicolae Dobrin. In his first match, Raț was substituted for the last 10–15 minutes of the game after he had scored five or six goals. On 2 September 1996, after being noticed by Silviu Stănescu, Raț joined

side Cetatea Târgu Neamț. Despite being only 15 years old, Raț trained with the senior squad. On 19 November, the arrest of Cetatea's main sponsor led to the dissolution of Cetatea Târgu Neamț. Raț getting the chance to play only two matches for the juniors of Cetatea. He later rejoined Sporting Pitești. In June 1998,

Mircea Lucescu Mircea Lucescu (; born 29 July 1945) is a Romanian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, currently the head coach of the Romania national football team, Romania national team. He i ...

noticed Raț, and he signed his first professional contract with

on 26 June. He made his

Divizia A Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...

debut on 21 April 1999 in the 4–1 victory against Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț.

Shakhtar Donetsk

In 2003, Raț was signed by Ukrainian club

, where he became a key player. He played the whole game as Donetsk won the 2009 UEFA Cup Final.

West Ham United

On 21 May 2013, Raț signed for English

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

on a free transfer on a one-year contract, with the option to extend it. His West Ham debut came on 27 August 2013 in a League Cup game against

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

in which West Ham won the game 2–1. On 31 January 2014, Raț was released from his contract with West Ham by mutual consent. He had played 20 games in all competitions without scoring.

Late career

On 13 February 2014, Raț joined Spanish

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

until the end of the 2013–14 season. On 15 June 2014,

announced they had made a verbal agreement with Raț, who signed a two-year contract at the

Superleague Greece The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repl ...

club. On 20 August 2015, Raț returned to Rayo Vallecano after agreeing to a two-year deal. On 31 January 2018, after making no appearances during the campaign, he cut ties with the club. On 22 March 2018, Raț returned to Romania with

, totalling ten games before retiring.

International career

On 8 February 2002, Raț was called up to the Romania national team for the first time. Five days later, he made the starting lineup in his full debut in a Friendly against reigning world and European champions

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Raț played his first official match on 12 October, in a Euro 2004 qualifier match against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, playing as a left midfielder. Following the rise of

Cristian Chivu Cristian Eugen Chivu (; born 26 October 1980) is a Romanian professional football coach and former player who is the current head coach of Serie A club Inter Milan. A defender, he began his career with hometown club CSM Reșița before moving ...

in becoming first-choice in central defence, Raț became the first-choice left back for Romania. On 28 April 2004, Raț scored his first goal for the national squad in a 5–1 win against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in the worst away defeat for Germany in the past 65 years. On 31 May 2014, Raț scored only his second goal for Romania, but it was the winning goal in a 1–0 victory against

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

in a match played in

Yverdon-les-Bains Yverdon-les-Bains () (called Eburodunum and Ebredunum during the Ancient Rome, Roman era) is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Jura-North Vaudois District, Jura-Nord vaudois of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It ...

, Switzerland. 12-06-05-aut-rom-freundschaftsspiel-647

In 2008, Raț made the squad for the

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...

tournament. He helped Romania to a 0–0 draw against previous

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

finalists France and a 1–1 draw against world champions

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in the so-called "

group of death A group of death in a multi-stage tournament is a group which is unusually competitive, because the number of strong competitors in the group is greater than the number of qualifying places available for the next phase of the tournament. Thus, in ...

". Romania, however, were eliminated after a 2–0 loss to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Raț earned his 100th cap for Romania on 14 October 2014 in a 2–0 victory away to

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying The UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from September 2014 to November 2015 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams joining the automatically qualified host team France in the UEFA Euro 2 ...

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Rapid București *

: 1998–99, 2002–03 *

Cupa României The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...

: 2001–02 *

Supercupa României The Supercupa României () is a Romanian football (soccer), football championship contested by the winners of the Liga I and the Cupa României. It is usually played at the Arena Națională in Bucharest. The competition started off in 1994 Supe ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Shakhtar Donetsk *

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( ) or UPL is a professional association football league in Ukraine and the highest level of the Ukrainian football league system. Originally known as the Vyshcha Liha ( , ) it was formed in 1991 during the 1992 in ...

: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 2011–12, 2012–13 *

Ukrainian Cup The Ukrainian Cup ( ) is an association football national knockout cup competition run by the Ukrainian Association of Football. The competition is conducted almost exclusively among professional clubs. Since the 2003–04 season, the Cup winner qu ...

: 2003–04, 2007–08,

, 2011–12, 2012–13 *

Ukrainian Super Cup The Ukrainian Super Cup () is an association football game of the Ukrainian Premier League in traditional super cup format that acts as the grand-opening for every new football (soccer), football competition season in Ukraine. Originally it was s ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

: 2008–09 Individual *''

Gazeta Sporturilor Gazeta Sporturilor () is a Romanian sports website, originally founded in 1924 as a daily newspaper. It was the third-oldest daily newspaper in Europe, with 99 years of uninterrupted publication, before issuing its last edition on 31 October 2023. ...

runner-up: 2009; third place: 2010, 2014

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rat, Razvan 1981 births Living people Footballers from Olt County Romanian men's footballers Romania men's under-21 international footballers Romania men's international footballers Romanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Ukraine Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Expatriate men's footballers in England Romanian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Men's association football defenders FC Shakhtar Donetsk players UEFA Europa League–winning players FC Rapid București players FCM Bacău players West Ham United F.C. players Rayo Vallecano players PAOK FC players ACS Poli Timișoara players Liga I players Ukrainian Premier League players Premier League players La Liga players Segunda División players Super League Greece players UEFA Euro 2008 players FIFA Men's Century Club UEFA Euro 2016 players 21st-century Romanian sportsmen