Nicușor Bancu

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Nicușor Bancu
Bancu with Universitatea Craiova in 2025
Personal information
Full name Nicușor Silviu Bancu[1]
Date of birth (1992-09-18) 18 September 1992
Place of birth Crâmpoia, Romania
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Positions
Team information
Current team
 Universitatea Craiova
Number 11
Youth career
0000–2010 Rapid Piatra-Olt
2010–2011 Olt Piatra-Olt
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 Olt Slatina 68 (8)
2014– Universitatea Craiova 376 (26)
International career‡
2017– Romania 55 (2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 26 October 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 5 October 2026

Nicușor Silviu Bancu (Romanian pronunciation: [nikuˈʃor ˈsilvju ˈbaŋku]; born 18 September 1992) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a left-back or a left winger for Liga I club Universitatea Craiova, which he captains, and the Romania national team.

Club career

Bancu recorded his competitive debut for Universitatea Craiova on 16 July 2014, a 0–1 Cupa Ligii loss to Rapid București. His first Liga I match came nine days later in a 1–1 home draw with Pandurii Târgu Jiu.

He scored his first goal for the Alb-albaștrii on 9 September that year, in a 2–0 defeat of Universitatea Cluj. 29 October, Bancu was injured by Viitorul Constanța player Alin Șeroni in a Cupa României Round of 16 game, which ended 1–1 after 90 minutes. He suffered a broken tibia and was sidelined for around half a year.[2]

Bancu made 34 appearances in all competitions in the following season, as his team finished on the eighth place in the domestic league.

In 2019, it was announced that Lazio are keen on bringing Craiova captain Bancu to Stadio Olimpico. They have been monitoring his progress over the past few seasons. Former Biancocelesti captain, Cristiano Bergodi, likened Bancu to Senad Lulić.[3] Earlier, in 2016, Universitatea Craiova rejected an offer from PSV Eindhoven for Bancu.[4]

Career statistics

Club

As of 26 October 2026[5]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cupa României Cupa Ligii Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Olt Slatina 2011–12 Liga II 15100———151
2012–13 Liga II 23300———233
2013–14 Liga II 30410———314
Total 68810———698
Universitatea Craiova 2014–15 Liga I 1312010——161
2015–16 Liga I 3231010——343
2016–17 Liga I 3534010——403
2017–18 Liga I 34341—2[a]0—404
2018–19 Liga I 33452—2[a]01[b]0416
2019–20 Liga I 31430—6[a]1—131
2020–21 Liga I 35250—1[a]0—412
2021–22 Liga I 35230—2[c]000402
2022–23 Liga I 13000—6[c]1—191
2023–24 Liga I 36220——1[d]0392
2024–25 Liga I 36130—2[c]0—411
2025–26 Liga I 30150—10[c]0—451
2026–27 Liga I 13000—10[e]31[b]0243
Total 37626373304153046034
Career total 44434383304153052942
  1. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  2. Appearance in Supercupa României
  3. Appearances in UEFA Conference League
  4. Appearance in Liga I Conference League play-off
  5. Four appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, four appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Conference League

International

As of 5 October 2026[6]
Bancu with Romania in 2019
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Romania 201710
201860
201960
202040
202151
202261
202360
2024100
202560
202650
Total552
Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bancu goal.[6]
List of international goals scored by Nicușor Bancu
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 14 November 2021Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein22 Liechtenstein2–02–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 11 June 2022Stadionul Rapid-Giulești, Bucharest, Romania25 Finland1–01–0UEFA Nations League B

Honours

Universitatea Craiova

Individual

References

  1. "UEFA Nations League 2021: Booking List before League phase Matchday 6" (PDF). UEFA. 16 November 2020. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  2. "Accidentare-horror-lui-Nicusor-bancu". Archived from the original on 21 May 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  3. Italienii confirmă informațiile FANATIK. Nicușor Bancu, aproape de Lazio Roma
  4. "Bancu, ofertă de milioane de euro de la PSV. Cât cere Rotaru!". fanatik.ro (in Romanian). 27 June 2018.
  5. Nicușor Bancu at Soccerway. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  6. "Nicușor Bancu". European Football. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  7. "Universitatea Craiova, campioană după 35 de ani de așteptare". radioromania.ro (in Romanian). 17 May 2026. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  8. "U Cluj - Universitatea Craiova 0-0 (5-6 d.l.d.). Oltenii au câștigat Cupa României la loviturile de departajare". digisport.ro (in Romanian). 13 May 2026. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  9. "LPF a ales "echipa ideală" a sezonului din Liga 1! Care echipă a oferit cei mai mulți jucători" [LPF has chosen the "ideal team" of the Liga 1 season! Which team offers the most players] (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  10. "LLPF a anunțat echipa ideală a sezonului de Liga 1 » FCSB și CFR Cluj, reprezentate de câte 3 jucători" [LPF has chosen the "ideal team" of the Liga 1 season! Which team offers the most players] (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.