Marius Șumudică Explained

Fullname:Marius Ninel Șumudică
Birth Date:4 March 1971
Birth Place:Bucharest, Romania
Height:1.79 m
Currentclub:Rapid București (manager)
Position:Striker
Youthyears1:1978–1988
Youthclubs1:Sportul Studențesc
Years1:1989–1996
Clubs1:Sportul Studențesc
Caps1:127
Goals1:26
Years2:1992–1993
Clubs2:Dacia Unirea Brăila (loan)
Caps2:11
Goals2:1
Years3:1994
Clubs3:Corvinul Hunedoara (loan)
Caps3:6
Goals3:1
Years4:1996–1999
Clubs4:Rapid București
Caps4:70
Goals4:26
Years5:1999–2001
Clubs5:Marítimo
Caps5:50
Goals5:7
Years6:2001–2002
Clubs6:Rapid București
Caps6:26
Goals6:9
Years7:2002–2003
Clubs7:Debrecen
Caps7:39
Goals7:21
Years8:2004
Clubs8:Omonia
Caps8:9
Goals8:6
Years9:2004-2005
Clubs9:UTA Arad
Caps9:10
Goals9:3
Years10:2005
Clubs10:Gloria Bistrița
Caps10:2
Goals10:0
Totalcaps:350
Totalgoals:100
Manageryears1:2005
Managerclubs1:Rapid București (assistant)
Manageryears2:2005–2006
Managerclubs2:Rapid II București
Manageryears3:2006–2007
Managerclubs3:Rocar București
Manageryears4:2007
Managerclubs4:AS Dodu Berceni
Manageryears5:2008
Managerclubs5:Inter Gaz București
Manageryears6:2008
Managerclubs6:Progresul București
Manageryears7:2009
Managerclubs7:Astra Ploiești
Manageryears8:2009
Managerclubs8:Farul Constanța
Manageryears9:2010
Managerclubs9:Gloria Bistrița
Manageryears10:2010–2011
Managerclubs10:Rapid București
Manageryears11:2011
Managerclubs11:AO Kavala
Manageryears12:2011
Managerclubs12:Astra Ploiești
Manageryears13:2011–2012
Managerclubs13:FC Brașov
Manageryears14:2012
Managerclubs14:FC Vaslui
Manageryears15:2012
Managerclubs15:Universitatea Cluj
Manageryears16:2012–2013
Managerclubs16:Al-Shaab
Manageryears17:2014–2015
Managerclubs17:Concordia Chiajna
Manageryears18:2015–2017
Managerclubs18:Astra Giurgiu
Manageryears19:2017–2018
Managerclubs19:Kayserispor
Manageryears20:2018–2019
Managerclubs20:Al-Shabab
Manageryears21:2019–2021
Managerclubs21:Gaziantep
Manageryears22:2021
Managerclubs22:Çaykur Rizespor
Manageryears23:2021
Managerclubs23:CFR Cluj
Manageryears24:2021–2022
Managerclubs24:Yeni Malatyaspor
Manageryears25:2022
Managerclubs25:Al-Shabab
Manageryears26:2022–2023
Managerclubs26:Al-Raed
Manageryears27:2023–2024
Managerclubs27:Gaziantep
Manageryears28:2024–
Managerclubs28:Rapid București

Marius Ninel Șumudică (born 4 March 1971) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently managing Liga I club Rapid București.

Șumudică played as a striker and started out at Sportul Studențesc in 1989, going on to represent five other teams in his native country, as well as Marítimo, Debrecen, and Omonia abroad. In the 1998–99 season, he was part of Mircea Lucescu's Rapid București squad that won the national title, scoring 17 goals in the process. He also claimed two Cupa României trophies with "the White-Burgundies".

After retiring as a player, Șumudică returned to Rapid București as an assistant coach in 2005. He went on to manage numerous sides both home and abroad, notably bringing Astra Giurgiu its first Liga I title in the 2015–16 season at his third stint with the club. As a result, Șumudică was named the 2016 Romania Coach of the Year by the Gazeta Sporturilor newspaper. Apart from his time in Romania, he has coached teams in Greece, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.

Managerial career

Astra Giurgiu

On 28 April 2015, Șumudică was appointed as manager of Astra Giurgiu, following Dorinel Munteanu's resignation.[1] It was his third term at the club, after two short spells in 2009 and 2011. He led the team to a 4th-place finish, qualifying them for the UEFA Europa League. The European campaign was almost a success, as Astra stopped short of reaching the Europa League group stages after knocking out West Ham United in the third round, but lost to AZ Alkmaar in the play-offs.

Domestically, despite the poor start which saw Astra losing 1–5 to previous runner-ups ASA Targu Mures, Astra managed to finish the regular season on first place, 3 points above Dinamo București. However, Șumudică was suspended 6 months by the Romanian FA on charges of betting on football matches.[2] He later managed to have his sentence reduced to 2 months by appeal.[3] Despite his suspension, Astra kept their momentum during the play-offs, ending up in them being crowned Liga I champions for the first time in their history, also marking Șumudică's first domestic title as manager.

After a quick exit to Danish champions Copenhagen in the UEFA Champions League, Șumudică managed to guide Astra to 2016–17 UEFA Europa League group stage eliminating West Ham – for the second time in a row – along the way, after a 1–0 win in London. In the group stages, he faced Roma, Viktoria Plzeň and Austria Wien.[4] Despite losing the first two games of the group with Austria Wien (2–3 at Giurgiu) and Roma (0–4 in Italy), Astra managed two 2–1 away wins at Plzeň and Wien (along with a home draw with Viktoria) to stay in the race for a place in the knock-out stages. In the end, Astra's 0–0 draw with Roma and Austria Wien's failure against Plzeň in the last matchday secured Astra's place in the tournament's round of 32. There, they were eliminated by Belgian side Genk after a 2–2 draw at Giurgiu followed by 0–1 defeat in Belgium.

Astra's campaign in the league, meanwhile, was disappointing, with the team finishing 5th and losing the Romanian Cup final to FC Voluntari. However, due to Astra's position in the league and Voluntari not applying for a European license, the vacant spot was given to Astra, thus qualifying yet again in Europe.

Gaziantep

On 14 June 2019, Șumudică was appointed as manager of Turkish club Gaziantep.[5] In January 2021, following an away defeat in the Süper Lig against Sivasspor, the club announced that they had parted ways with the Romanian manager, following a few weeks of tension and public discussion about his contract.[6]

CFR Cluj

On 28 August 2021, CFR Cluj terminated the contract of Șumudică, ending his 3-month stint in charge after a disappointing campaign for Europe.[7]

Al-Shabab

On 23 March 2022, Șumudică returned to manage Al-Shabab until the end of the 2021–22 season.[8]

Al-Raed

On 30 June 2022, Șumudică was appointed as manager of Al-Raed.[9]

Career statistics

Managerial

Team!rowspan=2
CountryFromToRecord
Rocar București20062007
AS Dodu Berceni20072007
Inter Gaz București20082008
Progresul București27 February 200815 December 2008
Farul Constanța5 July 200915 November 2009
Gloria Bistrița4 January 201031 May 2010
Rapid București10 June 201028 April 2011
AO Kavala15 July 201110 August 2011
Astra Ploiești11 August 201131 October 2011
FC Brașov2 November 201116 April 2012
FC Vaslui11 July 201224 September 2012
Universitatea Cluj9 November 201215 November 2012
Al Shaab27 December 201231 December 2013
Concordia Chiajna13 March 20146 April 2015
Astra Giurgiu28 April 20158 June 2017
Kayserispor3 July 201715 May 2018
Al Shabab14 June 201813 June 2019
Gaziantep14 June 201911 January 2021
Çaykur Rizespor25 January 20214 March 2021
CFR Cluj2 June 202128 August 2021
Yeni Malatyaspor8 October 20217 February 2022
Al Shabab23 March 202228 June 2022
Al Raed1 July 20221 June 2023
Gaziantep7 September 20236 March 2024
Rapid București21 August 2024
Total

Honours

Player

Rapid București

1998–99

1997–98, 2001–02

Marítimo

Manager

Astra Giurgiu

2015–16

2016

CFR Cluj

Individual

December 2018[10]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Şumudică este noul antrenor al Astrei, după demisia lui Dorinel Munteanu: "Vreau să ne calificăm în Europa". Şumudică is Astra's new coach, after Dorinel Munteanu's resignation: "I want us to qualify for European cups". Digi Sport. ro. 28 April 2015. 3 July 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20150501010013/http://www.digisport.ro/Sport/FOTBAL/Competitii/Liga+1/Dorinel+Munteanu+si-a+dat+demisia+de+la+Astra+Da+este+adevarat+N. 1 May 2015. dmy-all.
  2. Web site: Marius Sumudica, prins si el la pariuri? Antrenorul Astrei va merge astazi la Comisia de Disciplina a FRF!. Șumudică, also caught betting? Astra's head coach will go to FRF's discipline committee today. SportTotal FM. ro. 10 February 2016. 3 July 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180501173157/https://sptfm.ro/2016/02/10/marius-sumudica-prins-si-el-la-pariuri-antrenorul-astrei-va-merge-astazi-la-comisia-de-disciplina-a-frf/. 1 May 2018. dmy-all.
  3. Web site: Pedeapsa lui Şumudică, redusă de la 6 la 2 luni: sancţiunea intră în vigoare începând cu sezonul 2016–2017! Reacţia antrenorului. Șumudică's sanction, reduced from 6 to 2 months: the suspension will be applied starting with the 2016–2017 season! The coach's reaction. ProSport. ro. 8 March 2016. 3 July 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160613044213/http://www.prosport.ro/fotbal-intern/liga-1/pedeapsa-lui-sumudica-redusa-de-la-6-la-2-luni-sanctiunea-intra-in-vigoare-incepand-cu-sezonul-2016-2017-reactia-antrenorului-15100266. 13 June 2016. dmy-all.
  4. Web site: Steaua și Astra și-au aflat adversarele din grupele Europa League. Steaua and Astra Europa League groups revealed. Digi24. ro. 26 August 2016. 3 July 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20161102001905/http://www.digi24.ro/stiri/sport/fotbal/steaua-si-astra-si-au-aflat-adversarele-din-grupele-europa-league-554000. 2 November 2016. dmy-all.
  5. News: Marius Șumudică este noul antrenor al lui Gazisehir Gaziantep. mediafax. 13 June 2019. 12 January 2021.
  6. News: Bașkanul lui Gaziantep a rupt tăcerea după despărțirea de Șumudică: "A depășit limita". GSP. 11 January 2021. 12 January 2021.
  7. News: Marius Șumudică, OUT de la CFR Cluj! Cum explică ardelenii despărțirea. digisport.ro. 28 August 2021. Ro.
  8. Web site: سوموديكا يعود إلى الشباب السعودي .
  9. Web site: سوموديكا يتولى تدريب الرائد بعد مغادرة الشباب .
  10. News: سوموديكا الشباب والمغربي حمدالله نجوم الدوري لشهر ديسمبر. SPL. 2 January 2019. 2 January 2019.