Cristian Nicolae Vlad (born 18 February 1977 in Boldești-Scăeni, Prahova County) is a retired Romanian football player who played as a midfielder.
Club career Vlad was born on 18 February 1977 in Boldești-Scăeni, Romania and began playing junior-level football at Petrolul Ploiești. In 1994, he went to play for his hometown club Petrolistul Boldești in Divizia C. Two years later, he came back to Petrolul, making his Divizia A debut on 17 May 1997 under coach Ioan Andone in a 4–2 home win over FC Brașov. In 1999, he scored a goal in a spectacular 5–1 victory against Steaua București.
In the middle of the 1999–2000 season, Vlad joined Dinamo București. Until the end of the season, he made 12 league appearances and scored one goal under coach Cornel Dinu as the team won The Double. Subsequently, he went to play for Oțelul Galați, before moving to Argeș Pitești. In 2003, Vlad played half a year for Divizia B club Inter Gaz București, returning afterwards to first league football, as he signed with Gloria Bistrița. There, he played in a 2–0 away loss to FC Thun in the 2004 Intertoto Cup.
In 2005, Vlad went to play in the second league, first for Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț and then for Unirea Urziceni, helping the latter earn promotion to the first league. On 10 December 2006, Vlad made his last Divizia A appearance in Unirea's 0–0 draw against CFR Cluj, totaling 152 matches with 11 goals in the competition. Subsequently, Vlad joined third-tier club CSM Ploiești, which he helped gain promotion to the second league under coach Valeriu Răchită. In 2009, Vlad returned to Petrolul, where he was coached once again by Răchită, managing to gain first-league promotion at the end of the 2010–11 season, retiring afterwards.
International career In 1999, Vlad played three matches for Romania's under-21 team.
Executive career After he ended his playing career, Vlad worked as Petrolul Ploiești's president between 2016 and 2019, a period in which the club managed two consecutive promotions from the fourth league to the third and then from the third to the second.
Honours Dinamo București Divizia A: 1999–2000 Cupa României: 1999–2000 CSM Ploiești Liga III: 2007–08 Petrolul Ploieşti Liga II: 2010–11
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