Stanciu was born on 13 November 1973 in
Bucharest, Romania, growing up in the
Giulești neighborhood. He began playing junior-level football at local club
Rapid at age 10. His first performance with
The White-Burgundies was winning the
1997–98 Cupa României, being used by coach
Mircea Lucescu the entire match in the 1–0 win over
Universitatea Craiova in the
final. In the
following season he helped the club win the league title, appearing in 28 games in which he scored one goal. Stanciu then won the
1999 Supercupa României, Lucescu using him the full 90 minutes in the 5–0 victory against
rivals Steaua București. Stanciu's last trophy won with
The Railwaymen was the
2001–02 Cupa României, playing the entire match under coach
Mircea Rednic in the 2–1 win over
Dinamo București in the
final. During his years spent with Rapid, he also made 29 appearances with one goal in European competitions (including four matches in the
Intertoto Cup). Afterwards he returned to Romania, signing with
FC Oradea, making his last Divizia A appearance on 12 May 2004 in a 1–1 draw against
Oțelul Galați, totaling 345 matches with 13 goals in the competition. ==International career==