Flavius Daniliuc came through the youth ranks at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. After his move to Basel, the Austrian established himself as the leader of the defense in Ludovic Magnin's team.
06.11.2025, 13:00
06.11.2025, 16:30
SDA
Two men in tracksuits sit in upholstered armchairs in the St. Jakob shopping center. Three other men in work clothes walk past. A cursory glance. Then another one. "Did you know them? They're two FCB players," says one of them to his colleagues. They shrug their shoulders. The players in question are Dominik Schmid and Albian Ajeti. Anyone who doesn't recognize the two figureheads of the Swiss champions is likely to raise their eyebrows as well as their shoulders at the sight of Flavius Daniliuc. Flavius who?
Once teammate of Jamal Musiala
Flavius Daniliuc was once regarded as one of the greatest talents in European football. The Austrian wanted to conquer the world of football from Vienna. Real Madrid secured his services when he was 10 years old. Five years later, he moved to the youth section of Bayern Munich, where he played with Jamal Musiala and Angelo Stiller.
However, it took another move to Nice for him to make the breakthrough into the professional game. Under coach Patrick Vieira, a World and European Champion with France and Champions League winner with Inter Milan, he made his debut in Ligue 1 five years ago alongside Dan Ndoye against Paris Saint-Germain with Kylian Mbappé, Angel Di Maria and Marquinhos.
The names alone show the spheres in which Daniliuc has already moved. After stops at Salernitana, RB Salzburg and Hellas Verona, he ended up in Basel. He would have earned more money in one of Europe's top leagues. "But it was more important to me to play for a club that has high ambitions and competes for titles," he revealed to "bz" after his arrival.
Learning from Paulo Sousa
Daniliuc, who speaks six languages, has found a new home in Basel. Integration was easy for him - also because his performances were right from the start. After just nine games in red and blue, Daniliuc has become an integral part of the Swiss champions' central defense and the defensive boss that coach Ludovic Magnin wanted. Once again, it seems, David Degen has shown a golden touch with a transfer.
Daniliuc is a communicative person and seems more mature than his age of 24 would suggest. He has seen a lot and traveled a lot. "The station in Nice, where I was given the chance to turn professional, had the biggest impact on me. And if I had to name a coach from whom I learned the most, I would say Paulo Sousa." The defender played under the former FCB coach for a year at Salernitana. "He taught me a lot about defensive work and tactics." FC Basel, where Daniliuc is under contract until the summer of 2028, is now benefiting from all of this.
When asked about his goals and dreams, the 1.88 m tall defender is evasive at first. "I learned relatively quickly that dreams and goals in football are quickly shattered, things often turn out differently than you think." In the end, he adds that he would like to play in the Champions League one day. "Why not here in Basel? With this team, with this environment, it's certainly possible." Without Daniliuc, who only moved to the Rheinknie on the last day of the transfer period, the Swiss champions missed out on qualifying for the top flight against Copenhagen.
The Romanian roots
On Thursday, they will face FCSB, the Romanian champions, in the Europa League. A special match for Daniliuc, whose parents come from Romania: "My whole family will be at the stadium, I've had lots of requests for tickets," he says. However, Daniliuc has no memories of the club that won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1986. He often used to go on vacation to Romania with his family. "A good, carefree time," he looks back. In recent years, visits to his parents' homeland have become less frequent.
His roots did not go unnoticed by the Romanian association. However, the courtship of the young defender was unsuccessful. "I grew up in Vienna, my parents have lived there for over 40 years and I played in Austria's junior national teams. That's why I made a conscious decision to play for this national team," says Daniliuc.
He has worn the jersey with the eagle crest on the chest three times so far. Most recently, national team coach Ralf Rangnick no longer called him up. The 24-year-old is also only on call-up for the last two World Cup qualifiers. If he continues to play at the club as he has done so far, it should only be a matter of time before he receives a call-up for the national team - and visitors to the St. Jakob shopping center will recognize the new face of FC Basel.
