Bogdan Vătăjelu

Bogdan Vătăjelu
Vătăjelu captaining Universitatea Craiova in 2016
Personal information
Full name Bogdan Ilie Vătăjelu
Date of birth (1993-04-24) 24 April 1993
Place of birth Ostroveni, Romania
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position Left-back
Youth career
2003–2007 Sporting Râmnicu Vâlcea
2007–2009 Steaua București
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2011 Steaua II București 35 (0)
2011–2013 CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea 44 (1)
2013 Metalul Reșița 14 (0)
2014–2016 Universitatea Craiova 104 (8)
2017–2019 Sparta Prague 34 (0)
2019 → Jablonec (loan) 14 (2)
2019–2023 Universitatea Craiova 100 (3)
2023–2024 Universitatea Cluj 22 (0)
2024–2025 Aktobe 42 (1)
International career‡
2009–2010 Romania U17 6 (3)
2011–2012 Romania U19 4 (0)
2014–2022 Romania 3 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 24 August 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 17 November 2022

Bogdan Ilie Vătăjelu (born 24 April 1993) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a left-back.[1]

Club career

Early career

Vătăjelu is a product of the Steaua București youth academy and made his professional debut with the reserves in 2010.[2] Making 25 appearances for the reserves, he joined CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea in 2011 playing there until 2013 in Liga II.[3]

In 2013, he signed for Metalul Reșița where he had a brief spell playing in 14 outings. He was named the captain after playing just two matches.[3] During his time in the club, it was reported that Premier League club Sunderland, Championship club Watford and even Spanish club RCD Mallorca showed their interest in signing him.[4]

Universitatea Craiova

In January 2014, Vătăjelu penned a three-year deal with CS Universitatea Craiova, who were playing in the second league at that time.[5] He made 14 appearances in the remainder of the season and helped his team achieve promotion to the Liga I.

Vătăjelu was Universitatea's most featured player in the 2014–15 season and in 2016 he eventually gained team captaincy.[6] On 2 October 2016, he scored from action in a 1–2 loss against his former club Steaua București.[7]

Sparta Prague

On 27 December 2016, Vătăjelu signed a 3+1⁄2-year contract with Czech club Sparta Prague for an undisclosed transfer fee,[8] rumoured to be around €1.4 million.[9]

Return to Universitatea Craiova

On 26 June 2019, Vătăjelu rejoined Universitatea Craiova by signing a four-year contract.[10]

Universitatea Cluj

On 24 June 2023, Universitatea Cluj announced the signing of Bogdan Vătăjelu as a free agent, following his departure from CS Universitatea Craiova.[11]

During the 2023–24 season, Vătăjelu made several appearances for the club. In February 2024, his contract with Universitatea Cluj was terminated by mutual consent.[12]

FC Aktobe

Shortly after leaving the club, he signed with FC Aktobe in Kazakhstan, marking his first experience playing outside Romania.[13]

His contract with Aktobe expired at the end of 2025, and the club confirmed that he would not continue with the team for the 2026 season.[14]

International career

Between 2011 and 2012, he played for Romania under-19 team on four occasions. On 25 May 2014, while still in the second division, he was called to the senior national team for the friendlies against Algeria and Albania.[3]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 24 August 2025[15]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Steaua II București 2009–10 Liga II 10 0 — — — 10 0
2010–11 25 0 — — — 25 0
Total 35 0 — — — 35 0
CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea 2011–12 Liga II 22 1 0 0 — — 22 1
2012–13 22 0 0 0 — — 22 0
Total 44 1 0 0 — — 44 1
Metalul Reșița 2013–14 Liga II 14 0 1 0 — — 15 0
Universitatea Craiova 2013–14 Liga II 14 0 — — — 14 0
2014–15 Liga I 33 1 2 0 — 1[b] 0 36 1
2015–16 36 5 1 0 — 1[b] 0 38 5
2016–17 21 2 2 0 — 0 0 23 2
Total 104 8 5 0 — 2 0 111 8
Sparta Prague 2016–17 Czech First League 6 0 — 0 0 — 6 0
2017–18 19 0 2 1 1[c] 0 — 22 1
2018–19 9 0 1 0 1[c] 0 — 11 0
Total 34 0 3 1 2 0 — 39 1
Jablonec (loan) 2018–19 Czech First League 14 2 — — — 14 2
Universitatea Craiova 2019–20 Liga I 23 2 2 0 6[c] 1 — 31 2
2020–21 28 0 5 0 1[c] 0 — 34 0
2021–22 24 0 5 0 1[d] 0 2[e] 0 32 0
2022–23 25 1 2 1 2[d] 0 — 29 2
Total 100 3 14 1 10 1 2 0 126 5
Universitatea Cluj 2023–24 Liga I 22 0 3 0 — — 25 0
Aktobe 2024 Kazakhstan Premier League 24 1 5 0 2[d] 0 2[f] 0 33 1
2025 18 0 0 0 4[g] 0 1[h] 0 23 0
Total 42 1 5 0 6 0 3 0 56 1
Career total 409 15 31 2 18 2 7 0 465 19
  1. ^ Includes Cupa României, Czech Cup, Kazakhstan Cup
  2. ^ a b Appearances in Cupa Ligii
  3. ^ a b c d Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Conference League
  5. ^ One appearance in Supercupa României, one appearance in Liga I European play-offs
  6. ^ Appearance in Kazakhstan League Cup
  7. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Conference League
  8. ^ Appearance in Kazakhstan Super Cup

International

As of match played 17 November 2022[16]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Romania 2015 2 0
2022 1 0
Total 3 0

Honours

Universitatea Craiova

Aktobe

References

  1. ^ Bogdan Vătăjelu at Soccerway
  2. ^ "Vâlceanul Bogdan Vătăjelu, la prima echipă a Stelei [Bogdan Vătăjelu Valcea, the first team of the Star]". Arenavalceana. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "Povestea lui Bogdan Vătăjelu, jucătorul ajuns la lotul național din Liga a II-a! [Bogdan's story Vătăjelu, reached national team player in League II!]". Sportsnews. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  4. ^ "CSU Craiova l-a luat pe "noul Chivu"! Oltenii atacă promovarea cu Bogdan Vătăjelu, "viitorul fundaș stânga al Naționalei" [CSU Craiova took the 'new Chivu'! Oltenii attack Bogdan Vătăjelu promotion, "the future of the National Left Back"]". Stiridesport. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  5. ^ "Bogdan Vătăjelu vrea să-i calce pe urme lui Cristi Chivu" [Bogdan Vătăjelu wants to follow the footsteps of Cristi Chivu] (in Romanian). Gazeta de Sud. 16 January 2014. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  6. ^ "Bogdan Vătăjelu" (in Romanian). CS Universitatea Craiova. Archived from the original on 17 November 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  7. ^ "Liga 1: Steaua invinge pe CS U Craiova si se distanteaza in fruntea clasamentului" [Liga 1: Steaua defeats CS U Craiova and distances on the first place of the table] (in Romanian). Ziare. 2 October 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  8. ^ "Bogdan Vatajelu posílil Spartu" [Bogdan Vătăjelu strengthened Sparta] (in Czech). AC Sparta Prague. 27 December 2016. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  9. ^ "Cel mai tare transfer al iernii în Liga 1. Vătăjelu semnează azi şi Craiova dă lovitura" [The biggest transfer of the winter in Liga I. Vătăjelu signs today and Craiova hits the jackpot] (in Romanian). DigiSport. 27 December 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  10. ^ "#BineAiRevenitBogdan / Vătă se întoarce ACASĂ" (in Romanian). CS Universitatea Craiova. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  11. ^ "Bine ai venit la "U", Bogdan Vătăjelu!" [Welcome to "U", Bogdan Vătăjelu!] (in Romanian). fcucluj.ro. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Bogdan Vătăjelu a semnat și a fost prezentat la o zi de la despărțirea de U Cluj" (in Romanian). digisport.ro. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Bogdan Vătăjelu a semnat cu Aktobe" (in Romanian). digisport.ro. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Dinamo vrea să aducă un fost jucător din SuperLiga" (in Romanian). iamsport.ro. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
  15. ^ Bogdan Vătăjelu at Soccerway. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
  16. ^ "Profile of Bogdan Vătăjelu". Retrieved 3 January 2026.
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