Marian Cozma

On 6 February 2010 a statue of Cozma was unveiled at the Veszprém Aréna in Veszprém, from money donated by the Hungarian public.

At the time of his death, Cozma was allegedly in talks with several major handball clubs in Spain, including FC Barcelona. A few days before his death, he resigned from further participation in the Romanian national team after not getting enough opportunity to play on the 2009 World Men's Handball Championship from the federal captain, and it was mentioned that he might apply for Hungarian citizenship and play for Hungary in the future.

Cozma died on 8 February 2009 after a stabbing attack that happened in a bar in Veszprém, Hungary. The members of KC Veszprém were celebrating the birth of the son of a player and the birthday of another, when they got into an altercation with a gang of 25-30 Romani people. Cozma was stabbed to death, while two other teammates suffered critical injuries. As of 18 February, five people have been arrested in connection with the events.

On 10 February 2009 his body has been first taken from the mortuary to the Veszprém sports hall, from where it was subsequently transferred to Szeged, the home town of KC Veszprém's greatest rivals, where the Hungarian authorities held a goodbye ceremony. Then a few hours later the convoy entered Romania and went through Nădlac, Arad, Deva, Sibiu, Braşov and Ploieşti to the applause of tens of thousands of people all the way along, before arriving to Bucharest after an 18-hour long journey. The body was placed within club Dinamo’s trophy room, where supporters were able to pay their respects, from where on 13 February 2009 it was transferred to the church of the Teiul Doamnei parish for the funeral service. Approximately a thousand people attended the service including his former teammates from Veszprém and the youth and sports minister as well as the state secretary for sports of Romania. Cozma was finally laid to rest in the Pipera cemetery.

The handball match between "U" Transilvania and HC Odorheiu Secuiesc in February 2009 was dedicated to his memory.

A movie about the murder, Szíven szúrt ország ("A Country Stabbed in the Heart") premiered on May 7, 2009 in Veszprém.

The friendly football match from 12 August 2009 between Hungary and Romania was dedicated to his memory. Journalists nationals of Hungary and Romania, along with other guests from both countries have also organized a friendly match before the senior teams, a match against violence and in memory of Marian Cozma.

In 2006, he was transferred to MKB Veszprém. With his new team he participated in the EHF Champions League in the 2006-2007 season, scoring 17 goals in the tournament. In 2008, they won the Hungarian championship and also the EHF Cup Winners' Cup defeating Rhein-Neckar Löwen in the final.

He played in the Dinamo first squad from 2002 to 2006 and won the Romanian championship with the club in the 2004-2005 season.

Marian Cozma (8 September 1982 – 8 February 2009) was a Romanian handball player. He was born in Tei, Bucharest and died in Veszprém, Hungary after being attacked and stabbed in a nightclub fight. During his career he played for HC Dinamo Bucureşti and KC Veszprém and he was also a member of the Romanian national handball team.