Photo: Luctor IV / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
What grabs me about Sanmartean is the weight of his label: being called Romania's most gifted player since Gheorghe Hagi is a blessing and a curse, and he carried it long enough to win Footballer of the Year in 2014. He never became a global household name, but a creative attacking midfielder who reads the game from the left is exactly the kind of unglamorous craftsman I respect. What I appreciate most is the second act, stepping into the under-21 setup as an assistant coach. Passing on that footballing intelligence to the next generation feels like the truest measure of his understanding of the game.
Overview
Lucian Iulian Sânmărtean (born 13 March 1980) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or a left winger, currently he is the assistant coach of the Romania national under-21 team. Regarded by coach Ioan Sabău as the country's most talented player after Gheorghe Hagi, he was awarded Romanian Footballer of the Year in 2014.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Lucian Sănmărtean
- Name (Japanese)
- ルチアン・スンマルテアン
- Reading
- るちあん・すんまるてあん
- Born
- March 13, 1980 (age 46)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Pisces / Monkey
- Origin
- Bistrița, Bistrița-Năsăud County, Romania
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 176 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- association football player / association football coach
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Association football player — see all → · Association football coach — see all → · More people from Romania →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.