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.
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.
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.
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.
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. 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, 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. He made his debut for Romania on 1 April 2009 against Austria.
Career statistics
Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSpVgg Unterhaching2002–03Regionalliga Süd23230—2622003–042. Bundesliga0000—00Total2323000262Rot-Weiß Erfurt2003–04Regionalliga Süd130——130SV Wehen Wiesbaden2004–05Regionalliga Süd144——1442005–063416——3416Total482000004820Wacker Burghausen2006–072. Bundesliga31631—347SV Wehen Wiesbaden2007–082. Bundesliga32610—336Hertha BSC2008–09Bundesliga28220713732009–101512090261Total43340161634SC Freiburg2010–11Bundesliga23010—2402011–124010—50Total27020002901860 Munich2011–122. Bundesliga15000—1502012–1310020—120Total2502000270Universitatea Cluj2013–14Liga I8200—82Aris Limassol2014–15Cypriot Second Division7000—70SV Elversberg2014–15Regionalliga Südwest141——1412015–164010—50Total1811000191SpVgg Unterhaching2015–16Regionalliga Bayern21420—2342016–1735210—3622017–183. Liga14100—70Total7073000737Career total3454719116138049
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsRomania200930Total30
Honours SpVgg Unterhaching Regionalliga Süd: 2002–03
Individual Regionalliga Süd top scorer: 2005–06 (16 goals)
References
External links
Maximilian Nicu Interview