 Romanian giants Steaua București paid €250,000 to sign him from Argeș Pitești in December 2003.He was transferred to Steaua after the recommendation of Victor Pițurcă and Mihai Stoica.He made his debut in Europe in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup season, when Steaua eliminated previous winners Valencia, en route to the Round of 16, where they were knocked out by another Spanish side Villareal.