Ștefan Radu

Ştefan Radu

Personal information
Full name	Ştefan Daniel Radu
Date of birth	22 October 1986 (1986-10-22)
Place of birth	Bucharest, Romania
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Center back / Left back
Club information
Current club	Lazio
Number	26
Youth career
	Dinamo Bucureşti
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–2008	Dinamo Bucureşti	61	(1)
2008–	Lazio	101	(0)
National team‡
2006–2008	Romania U-21	13	(1)
2006–	Romania	11	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 March 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2011

Ştefan Daniel Radu (born 22 October 1986 in Bucharest) is a Romanian football player who plays for Lazio, as a full back.

Club career

Dinamo Bucharest

Radu began his career with major Romanian club side Dinamo Bucureşti. Radu played four seasons of first team football with Dinamo, gaining a reputation as one of his country's brightest talents. However, he only became a key first team-player in the 2006–07 season, when the transfer period left a gap in Dinamo's central defense, a gap which Radu successfully covered, turning over the course of the season from a promising young player into one of the best central defenders in the league, helping Dinamo to win its 18th championship and gaining the attention of several western clubs.

He has often been considered "The new Chivu" by Romanian media. In January 2008, major Italian Serie A side Lazio came calling, and signed Radu on a loan deal until the end of the season, the loan fee was €1 million. Radu impressed and at was signed permanently in June, for a transfer fee of €3.5 million.

Lazio

Radu made his Lazio debut in a Coppa Italia match versus Fiorentina shortly after joining the team on loan. He has since been a revelation for Delio Rossi's team, as the young starlet has added extra quality to the backline and started all matches he featured in.

By the end of his loan spell, Radu impressed Rossi and club president Claudio Lotito enough to justify a transfer fee of €3.5 million, and has now joined the club on a permanent basis.

On 17 June 2011 he signed a new 5-year contract. Radu has become one of the most important players for Lazio, a team which he captained during the 2011-12 season. His role at Lazio is usually that of centre back though he has been used as a left back during the last two seasons under Edoardo Reja.

Statistics

Club	Season	League		Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Dinamo	2004–05	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	2005–06	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
	2006–07	32	1	2	0	12	1	0	0	46	2
	2007–08	19	0	0	0	4	0	1	0	24	0
	Total	61	1	2	0	16	1	1	0	80	2
Lazio	2007–08	11	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
	2008–09	19	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	19	0
	2009–10	28	0	2	0	6	0	0	0	36	0
	2010–11	26	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	27	0
	2011–12	15	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	19	0
	Total	99	0	5	0	10	0	0	0	114	0
Career total		164	1	7	0	26	1	1	0	194	2

Statistics accurate as of match played 28 October 2011

International career

Radu made his debut for the Romanian national team in 2006, following the country's failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in Germany.

Over the course of Euro 2008 qualifying, Radu gained international experience and was selected in the squad for the final tournament in Switzerland and Austria. At Euro 2008 however, Radu remained a substitute and did not see any game time.

On 25 March 2008 he was decorated by the president of Romania, Traian Băsescu for the results on Qualifying to EURO 2008 and qualification to UEFA Euro 2008 Group C with Medalia "Meritul Sportiv" — (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III.

Honours

Dinamo Bucureşti

• Romanian League: 2006–07
• Romanian Cup: 2004–05
• Romanian Supercup: 2005

Lazio

• Coppa Italia: 2008–09
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2009

External links

• Lazio Player Profile
• Ştefan Radu – UEFA competition record
• Ştefan Radu – FIFA competition record
• Ştefan Radu at Goal.com
• Ştefan Radu career stats at RomanianSoccer.ro