Maximilian Nicu (born 25 November 1982) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder or centre-back. He spent most of his career in Germany, apart from two short spells in Romania and Cyprus. Born in Germany, he played for the Romania national team internationally, making three appearances in 2009.

Club career

Hertha BSC

Nicu made his first appearance with Hertha BSC on 31 July 2008 in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup first qualifying round second leg against FC Nistru Otaci. He made his Bundesliga debut on 17 August 2008 in Hertha's opening fixture against Eintracht Frankfurt. Nicu came on in the 71st minute as a substitute, replacing Patrick Ebert. After two seasons with Hertha, the club chose not to renew Nicu's contract following their relegation to the 2. Bundesliga.

SC Freiburg

On 1 July 2010, Nicu signed for SC Freiburg.[1]

1860 Munich

On 31 January 2012, Nicu signed for 2. Bundesliga side 1860 Munich.

Universitatea Cluj

On 14 January 2014 he signed a contract with Universitatea Cluj making it the first Romanian club in his career.

Aris Limassol

In July 2014, Nicu signed a one-year contract with Cypriot Second Division club Aris Limassol.[2]

SV Elversberg

In January 2015, after a year abroad, he returned to his native Germany and signed for fourth tier Regionalliga Südwest side SV Elversberg until 2016.[3]

SpVgg Unterhaching

In August 2015, Nicu joined SpVgg Unterhaching from Elversberg for a second stint at the club. In April 2018, Unterhaching announced Nicu would retire from professional football at the end of the 2017–18 season.[4]

International career

Nicu elected to play for the country of his parents, rather than his country of birth. In 2009, he requested a Romanian passport.[5] Nicu was called up for matches against Serbia and Austria. At first it appeared he would not be able to play, since he had not received his Romanian citizenship yet,[6] but on 17 March it was announced that Nicu had been granted citizenship and would be permitted to play.

On 20 March 2009, he pledged his vow to become a Romanian citizen.[7] He made his debut for Romania on 1 April 2009 against Austria.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
SpVgg Unterhaching 2002–03 Regionalliga Süd 23 2 3 0 — 26 2
2003–04 2. Bundesliga 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 23 2 3 0 0 0 26 2
Rot-Weiß Erfurt 2003–04 Regionalliga Süd 13 0 — — 13 0
Wehen Wiesbaden 2004–05 Regionalliga Süd 14 4 — — 14 4
2005–06 34 16 — — 34 16
Total 48 20 0 0 0 0 48 20
Wacker Burghausen 2006–07 2. Bundesliga 31 6 3 1 — 34 7
Wehen Wiesbaden 2007–08 2. Bundesliga 32 6 1 0 — 33 6
Hertha BSC 2008–09 Bundesliga 28 2 2 0 7[a] 1 37 3
2009–10 15 1 2 0 9[a] 0 26 1
Total 43 3 4 0 16 1 63 4
SC Freiburg 2010–11 Bundesliga 23 0 1 0 — 24 0
2011–12 4 0 1 0 — 5 0
Total 27 0 2 0 0 0 29 0
1860 Munich 2011–12 2. Bundesliga 15 0 0 0 — 15 0
2012–13 10 0 2 0 — 12 0
Total 25 0 2 0 0 0 27 0
Universitatea Cluj 2013–14 Liga I 8 2 0 0 — 8 2
Aris Limassol 2014–15 Cypriot Second Division 7 0 0 0 — 7 0
SV Elversberg 2014–15 Regionalliga Südwest 14 1 — — 14 1
2015–16 4 0 1 0 — 5 0
Total 18 1 1 0 0 0 19 1
SpVgg Unterhaching 2015–16 Regionalliga Bayern 21 4 2 0 — 23 4
2016–17 35 2 1 0 — 36 2
2017–18 3. Liga 14 1 0 0 — 7 0
Total 70 7 3 0 0 0 73 7
Career total 345 47 19 1 16 1 380 49
  1. ^ a b Appearances in the Europa League

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Romania
2009 3 0
Total 3 0

Honours

SpVgg Unterhaching

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Freiburg verpflichtet Nicu" (in German). DFL. 1 July 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
  2. ^ "Ανακοίνωση: Ποιότητα στην μεσαία γραμμή με… Maximilian Nicu" (in Greek). Aris Limassol FC. 29 July 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  3. ^ "SVE verpflichtet Nicu und Nagel" [SVE signs Nicu and Nagel] (in German). SV Elversberg. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  4. ^ "Haching verliert Nicu, Piller, Lux und Rosenzweig". kicker Online (in German). 4 April 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  5. ^ "Maximilian Nicu beantragt Pass für Rumänien" (in German). Berliner Morgenpost. 23 February 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  6. ^ ""STRANIERII" PENTRU JOCURILE CU SERBIA ŞI AUSTRIA" (in Romanian). 13 March 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  7. ^ "VIDEO » Max Nicu a depus jurămîntul". Archived from the original on 21 March 2009.
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Nicu
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