Sorin Cătălin Frunză (born 29 March 1978) is a Romanian 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 plays as a
left midfielder
In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
for
Liga IV
Liga IV is the fourth level of the Romanian football league system and is run in all 41 counties and in the Municipality of Bucharest. It was known as the Regional Championship, County Championship, Divizia C – County Phase and Divizia D. Its ...
side
Avântul Valea Mărului.
Frunză began his career at
Dunărea Galați. After one year spent at
Cimentul Fieni and
Politehnica Timişoara and two one-year spells at
Dacia Unirea Brăila and
Jiul Petroşani, Frunză moved in 2002 to newly founded
Vaslui
Vaslui (), a city in eastern Romania, is the seat of Vaslui County, in the historical region of Western Moldavia. The city administers five villages: Bahnari, Brodoc, Moara Grecilor, Rediu, and Viișoara.
History
Archaeological surveys indicate t ...
, and spent two seasons at the club before a transfer to
Universitatea Craiova in the Romanian first division. However, following a dispute between Vaslui and Craiova over $50,000 that the former was to receive from the latter, Frunză returned to Vaslui after only six months. He was appointed team captain and helped Vaslui to gain a historical promotion in
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 ...
, after only three years since the club foundation.
On 30 March 2008, Frunză alongside team-mates Silviu Bălace and Daniel Sabou were accused by Adrian Porumboiu of fixing a match against Steaua București. As a consequence, he was relegated to Vaslui's second team and subsequently sold to
Unirea Urziceni
Fotbal Club Unirea Urziceni, commonly known as Unirea Urziceni (), was a Romanian professional Association football, football Club (organization), club based in Urziceni, Ialomița County. Unirea became Divizia A Final Tables, national champions ...
. He won the first and only league championship of his career with the ''Wolves'', as part of the squad that conquered
the season's
Liga I
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 ...
title. In 2010, as a result of Unirea Urziceni's decline, Frunză was released and subsequently moved to
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 ...
. He returned one year later at his youth club
Oțelul Galați, but he failed to make an impact. In 2012, he returned for a second spell at
Dacia Unirea Brăila in the Romanian second tier.
Career
Frunză started his professional career at
Oțelul Galați. He moved after that at
Cimentul Fieni,
Politehnica Timişoara and
Jiul Petroşani, before he signed for
FC Vaslui
Fotbal Club Vaslui, commonly known as FC Vaslui, or simply as Vaslui (), was a Romanian professional football club based in Vaslui, Vaslui County, founded in 2002 and dissolved in 2014. Its official club colours were yellow and green, hence t ...
, when the team was in the 3rd Division. He managed to win the promotion with Vaslui and became the team captain because of his good display.
Universitatea Craiova
In the 2004–05 summer, he was loaned to
U Craiova, but he stayed there only half of season, after that he returned at Vaslui, where he succeeded promotion for the first time in history club, in Liga I.
FC Vaslui
He played only half of the season at FC Vaslui in the 2005–06 season, an injury causing him troubles for playing in that season. In the next season, he played only two matches, because a conflict with the coach Viorel Hizo, and in the second part of the season, he was loaned to
FC Botoşani.
He returned in the next season, where he was chosen vice-captain from the team, after
Bogdan Panait. Because of his good performance, he was named captain of the team, and he was one of the best assisters from the Championship. He scored two goals in the
FC Vaslui
Fotbal Club Vaslui, commonly known as FC Vaslui, or simply as Vaslui (), was a Romanian professional football club based in Vaslui, Vaslui County, founded in 2002 and dissolved in 2014. Its official club colours were yellow and green, hence t ...
2–1 victory against the champions,
FC Dinamo București
FC Dinamo București, commonly known as Dinamo București () or simply Dinamo, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in Bucharest that competes in the Liga I.
Founded in 1948 as the team of the Ministry of Inter ...
, and he scored one of the most beautiful goals from the Romanian Championship history, against Universitatea Craiova, recovering in his own half, and after dribbling three players, he shot with his right foot, right to the bottom corner.
At the end of the season he was sold to
Unirea Urziceni
Fotbal Club Unirea Urziceni, commonly known as Unirea Urziceni (), was a Romanian professional Association football, football Club (organization), club based in Urziceni, Ialomița County. Unirea became Divizia A Final Tables, national champions ...
, for almost 200.000 $.
Unirea Urziceni
Frunză quickly established himself as a key member in
Dan Petrescu
Daniel "Dan" Vasile Petrescu (; born 22 December 1967) is a Romanian football manager and former player who is currently in charge of Liga I club CFR Cluj.
As a player, Petrescu was deployed as a full-back or a winger and began his career a ...
's team and helped the side to its first championship title in history in the 2008–09 season. Frunză was a starter in all six
Champions League matches for Unirea as the team finished third with eight points, behind
FC Sevilla and
Vfb Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...
, but ahead of
Rangers
A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...
. On 6 March 2010, Frunză was named best player of Unirea in the derby against
Steaua Bucharest after scoring once and providing an assist for team-mate
Marius Onofras.
Rapid București
After Unirea disbanded, Frunză joined
FC Rapid București
Fotbal Club Rapid 1923, commonly known as Rapid București () or simply as Rapid, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in Bucharest, that competes in the Liga I. It was founded in 1923 by employees of the Grivi� ...
, but failed to impress and ended his contract after only one season.
Oțelul Galați
In July 2012, Frunză signed up for
Oţelul Galaţi on a one-year-contract. He was on the bench for the
Romanian Supercup, game won by Oțelul against
FC Steaua București
Fotbal Club FCSB (), formerly named and still sometimes referred to as FC Steaua București, is a Romanian professional Association football, football club based in Bucharest. It has spent its entire history in the Liga I, the top flight of th ...
. At the end of his contract, in June 2012, he was released by Oțelul.
Dacia Unirea Brăila
After he was released by Oțelul, Sorin Frunză signed up for
Dacia Unirea Brăila the fierce rivals of
Oţelul Galaţi. He quickly established himself as a key member of the team.
Honours
;Unirea Urziceni
*
Liga I
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 ...
:
2008–09
;
Oțelul Galați
*
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 ...
:
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
;CSU Galați
*
Liga IV
Liga IV is the fourth level of the Romanian football league system and is run in all 41 counties and in the Municipality of Bucharest. It was known as the Regional Championship, County Championship, Divizia C – County Phase and Divizia D. Its ...
–
Galați County
Galați () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Moldavia region, with the capital city at Galați, between latitude, 45°25'N and latitude, 46°10'N latitude, longitude, 27°20'E and longitude, 28°10'E longitude. It borders the counties of Vaslu ...
:
2018–19
*
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 ...
–
Galați County
Galați () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Moldavia region, with the capital city at Galați, between latitude, 45°25'N and latitude, 46°10'N latitude, longitude, 27°20'E and longitude, 28°10'E longitude. It borders the counties of Vaslu ...
: 2018–19
Statistics
''Statistics accurate as of match played 9 December 2017''
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frunza, Sorin
1978 births
Living people
Footballers from Galați
Romanian men's footballers
Men's association football midfielders
Liga I players
Liga II players
FCM Dunărea Galați players
FC Politehnica Timișoara players
AFC Dacia Unirea Brăila players
CSM Jiul Petroșani players
FC Vaslui players
FC U Craiova 1948 players
FC Botoșani players
FC Unirea Urziceni players
FC Rapid București players
ASC Oțelul Galați players