Between 1976 and 1981, he played 21 games for Romanian national team, during which he scored three goals.[1] He played nearly 80 matches scoring many goals for Romania's Under-16, U-18, national youth sides, respectively for the U-21 and U-23, being the team's best all-around player and also made two appearances for the Olympic team.
In 1980, he was voted as the best Romanian football player.
After playing for Steaua Bucureşti in the '70s, when he won two championships and also two Romanian Cups, Răducanu defected following a match in Dortmund, West Germany in 1981.[2] In his native Romania this act was considered a desertion, as he was a Captain in the Romanian army. Therefore he was sentenced to nearly six years in prison in his absence.[2]
Once in Germany he signed with both Hannover 96 and Borussia Dortmund clubs, and as a result was suspended by UEFA for one year.[3] In order to have his services, Borussia Dortmund paid half a million deutschmarks to the Hannover club, and Răducanu made his debut in Bundesliga in 1982. Between 1982 and 1988, he played a total of 163 games in the German federal league and scored 31 goals.[4] He also spent time in Switzerland at FC Zürich where he played until his retirement.[5]
Răducanu retired from football in 1990. Since 1994, he has run a football school in Dortmund. Mario Götze trained at his academy whe he was 10 years old.
