FCM Bacău Munteanu was born on 16 January 1981 in
Bacău, Romania. He began playing football at local club
FCM Bacău where he made his
Divizia A debut on 6 March 1999 under coach
Florin Halagian in a 2–0 home victory against
Astra Ploiești. He scored his first goal in the competition about one week later in a 1–0 win over
Universitatea Craiova.
Dinamo București After two seasons with FCM, he spent six seasons at
Dinamo București. In the
following season, Munteanu helped Dinamo win the title under coaches Dinu and
Marin Ion who gave him 19 appearances in which he scored five goals. During the same season he played a few games in the
second league at
Poiana Câmpina, then a satellite team of Dinamo. His next trophy won with
The Red Dogs was the
2002–03 Cupa României, as coach
Ioan Andone sent him in the 90+2 minute to replace
Florentin Petre in the 1–0 victory against
Național București in the
final. In the
2003–04 season, Munteanu helped the club win
The Double, appearing in 18 league games under Andone and scoring one goal. He also provided two perfect assists for goals by
Claudiu Niculescu and
Ianis Zicu in the 2–0 home victory against
Shakhtar Donetsk, which helped them eliminate the Ukrainians in the
UEFA Cup. After playing only a few games in the first half of the
2004–05 season, Andone informed Munteanu that he would not be part of his plans for the rest of the season, leading to a loan to
Național București. He returned to Dinamo for the
2005–06 season. In the
2005–06 UEFA Cup campaign, the team eliminated
Omonia Nicosia against whom Munteanu scored a goal, and
Everton with a historical 5–2 on aggregate, reaching the group stage. There, the campaign ended but he scored the only goal of a 1–0 victory against title holders
CSKA Moscow. During these years, he scored two league goals in the derby against Steaua which helped his side earn two draws, also netting two times in two victories in the
Cupa României.
Energie Cottbus In 2006, Munteanu signed with
Energie Cottbus of the German
Bundesliga. In the next round, he scored his first goal in a 2–2 draw against
Hamburg. With Munteanu's 11 goals and as Radu found the net 14 times, together they scored over half of the total 38 goals netted by the team that helped it avoid relegation. He made his
Ligue 1 debut on 9 February 2008 when coach Fernandez sent him in the 90th minute to replace
Kévin Lejeune in a 2–1 away victory against
Rennes. After only 12 appearances in all competitions, Munteanu returned to Wolfsburg, claiming he had problems adapting to French football's reliance on physical strength. Having been excluded from Magath's plans for
The Wolves in the
2008–09 season, playing only for the club's
satellite in the fourth division, he was loaned for the second half of the season to
Arminia Bielefeld. There, on 23 May 2009 he made his last Bundesliga appearance in a 2–2 draw against
Hannover 96, totaling 58 matches with 13 goals in the competition. The following season, Munteanu began by playing for Wolfsburg's satellite team in the first half, before being loaned to
2. Bundesliga club
FSV Frankfurt for the second half.
Late career In January 2011, he ended his contract with Wolfsburg and signed a deal with his old club, Dinamo, for six months. In 2013, after one season spent at
2. Bundesliga side
Erzgebirge Aue in which he made six appearances, Munteanu retired at age 32. ==International career==