Darius Olaru

3.1. Gaz Metan Mediaș

Olaru made his senior debut for Gaz Metan Mediaș on August 29, 2015, participating in a 2-1 away victory against UTA Arad in the Liga II, Romania's second division. During the 2015-16 campaign, he made 12 appearances and scored two goals, contributing to his hometown club's return to Liga I after just one season's absence. His Liga I debut occurred on September 19, 2016, in a 2-0 win against defending champions Astra Giurgiu. On May 23, 2017, Olaru scored his first league goal from the penalty spot in a 3-0 victory over Concordia Chiajna. Over his tenure at Gaz Metan Mediaș, he accumulated over 100 appearances in the Romanian top flight.

3.2. FCSB

In early 2018, Olaru signed a precontract with fellow Liga I club FCSB, but the transfer was initially stalled due to an inability to agree on a transfer fee. However, in May of the following year, the Bucharest-based club renewed its interest and successfully signed him for an undisclosed sum. The agreement stipulated that Olaru would join the FCSB squad at the beginning of 2020. Reports indicated that FCSB outbid CFR Cluj for Olaru's transfer, a player highly regarded by CFR Cluj's manager Dan Petrescu.

Olaru was officially introduced as an FCSB player on January 7, 2020, and was assigned the number 27 jersey. He made his first appearance for the Roș-albaștrii on February 2, in a 0-1 loss to CFR Cluj. Four days later, he scored his first goal for the club, netting the opener in a 2-1 win against Voluntari with an impressive volley in his first start. On August 27, 2020, Olaru made his debut in European competitions, starting and scoring in a 3-0 victory over Shirak in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.

Following the conclusion of his first full season with the club (2020-21), during which he played 30 matches and scored seven goals in the league, he was named to the 2020-21 Liga I Team of the Season by the Liga Profesionistă de Fotbal. He also received this individual honor for the 2021-22 Liga I and 2023-24 Liga I seasons. Additionally, he was recognized as Gazeta Sporturilor Romania Player of the Month in April 2022 and September 2023.

In the 2023-24 campaign, Olaru had a career-best season, contributing 15 goals in 36 league games as FCSB won its first national title in nine years. On July 9, 2024, he scored a hat-trick in a dominant 7-1 away victory against Virtus in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. He continued his impactful performances on August 13, scoring a goal and providing an assist against Sparta Prague in the second leg of the Champions League third qualifying round, though FCSB ultimately lost 2-3 at home, falling 3-4 on aggregate. Olaru maintained his goalscoring form in the Europa League play-off round, scoring the decisive goal in the second leg against LASK to secure his team's qualification for the league phase with a 2-1 aggregate win. With FCSB, Olaru has also won the 2019-20 Cupa României and the 2024 Supercupa României.

4.1. Youth National Teams

Olaru received his first call-up to the Romania national under-21 team in September 2018. On November 15 of that year, he scored in a 3-3 friendly draw against Belgium in Cluj-Napoca. He was subsequently selected by Mirel Rădoi for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. During this tournament, he played in two matches in the group stage and was an unused substitute in the 2-4 semi-final defeat to Germany. Olaru was also eligible for the 2021 edition of the European Championship, where head coach Adrian Mutu started him in all three group stage fixtures. Despite Romania finishing with the same number of points as the Netherlands and Germany, they failed to advance to the knockout stage due to an inferior head-to-head record and overall goal difference.

4.2. Senior National Team

Following his impressive performances during the 2020-21 club season, Mirel Rădoi, who had since been promoted to manage the senior national team, handed Olaru his full debut on June 2, 2021. This debut came in a 1-2 friendly loss to Georgia. Olaru featured in six matches during the Euro 2024 qualifiers, primarily entering as a substitute, as Romania successfully topped their group. On June 7, 2024, he was named in the squad for the final tournament. During Euro 2024, Olaru made substitute appearances in both the 0-2 group stage loss to Belgium and the 0-3 defeat to the Netherlands in the round of 16.

6.1. Club

6.2. International