Marius Niculae - International Career

International Career

After representing Romania at the U-16 and U-18 levels, Niculae was promoted to the U-21 level. Niculae's form for Dinamo saw him selected for the Romania U-21 team to play Bulgaria U-21 on 3 March 1999, and he marked his debut with the second goal as Romania won 3–1. He played his first official match for Romania U-21 on 26 March, in a 0–1 defeat against Slovakia U-21, coming in as a substitute for Marius Luca in the second half. Despite he played all six remained qualifiers, Niculae hasn't scored a single goal as Romania failed to qualify at the European Championship. Since he was still eligible to play for Romania U-18, Niculae was called up by coach Gheorghe Cristoloveanu for 2000 European Under-18 Championship qualifiers. He scored a brace on the first match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in a 3–1 win, but he was sent off in the second match against Bulgaria alongside team-mates Adrian Olah and Tiberiu Bălan, ending his career for Romania U-18. Romania drew in the final match against Ukraine, thus failing to qualify for the play-off.

On 21 January 2000, Niculae was called up to the Romania national team for the first time. On 2 Fabruary, he was in the start-up team against Latvia, counting his debut for the senior squad, at only 18 years old. Same as he did while playing for Romania U-21, Niculae marked his debut for the senior squad with a goal, netting Romania's second in a 2–0 win. Despite he scored 20 goals for Dinamo in the 1999–00 season, Niculae was not included by Emerich Ienei in the preliminary squad for UEFA Euro 2000.

On 2 September, Niculae scored a brace for Romania U-21 against Lithuania in the first match from the 2002 European Championship qualifiers, counting his first goals in an official match. On 6 October, Niculae played his final match for the U-21 squad, netting Romania's only goal in the 1–1 draw against European Championship holders Italy.

On 5 December, Niculae scored his first brace for Romania in a 2–3 defeat against Algeria. Three days later, he scored another brace against the same opponent. On 24 March 2001, Niculae played his first qualifying match for Romania, in a 0–2 defeat against Italy. On 2 June, he scored another brace for Romania against Hungary. He scored his tenth international goal on 10 November in a 2002 World Cup Play-Off, where Romania lost 1–2 against Slovenia. Romania failed to qualify to the 2002 World Cup, since they managed only a draw in the second leg. On 20 August 2002, Niculae was recalled for Romania, ending a nine-month absence caused by a long-term injury.

On 28 April 2004, Niculae returned at the national team, coming as a late substitute in a 5–1 thrashing win against Germany national team, the worst away defeat for the Germans since the past 65 years. It was his first match for Romania since November 2002. On 8 September, Niculae scored a brace in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match against Andorra, ending a nearly three-year goalless strike for Romania.

On 12 March 2008, Niculae was recalled to play for Romania following a two-year break, last playing against Colombia on May 2006. He marked his return with an assist for Daniel Niculae and with a goal following Bănel Nicoliță's cross, winning against Russia with a crushing 3–0. On 15 May, he was included by Victor Pițurcă in the preliminary squad for UEFA Euro 2008. He was kept for the final 23-man squad, for Euro 2008, where he wore the number 18 shirt. He played his first match from the "Group of Death" in a goalless draw against France, coming in as a substitute for Adrian Mutu in the second half. On 17 June, he was in the start-up team from the third match of the group, against Netherlands. Romania lost 0–2, thus failing to advance further from the Group Stages.

On 27 January 2012, Niculae was handed the captaincy for the first time in a friendly against Turkmenistan, becoming the 89th captain for Romania of all-time. Romania won 4–0, with Niculae scoring a brace.