Iulian Cristea

Iulian Cristea
	Cristea with FCSB in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Lucian Iulian Cristea
Date of birth	17 July 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth	Mediaș, Romania
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back, defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Rapid București
Number	15
Youth career
2007–2013	Gaz Metan Mediaș
Senior career*
Years	Team
2014–2019	Gaz Metan Mediaș
2014	→ Metalurgistul Cugir (loan)
2019–2023	FCSB
2023–	Rapid București
International career‡
2014–2016	Romania U21
2019–	Romania
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 September 2023; ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 4 June 2022

Lucian Iulian Cristea (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈkriste̯a]; born 17 July 1994) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or a defensive midfielder for Liga I club Rapid București.

Club career

After playing over 110 matches for his hometown club Gaz Metan Mediaș, Cristea moved to fellow Liga I team FCSB on 26 February 2019.^[1] He signed a five-year contract for a €150,000 transfer fee.^[2]

On 13 June 2023, after being released by FCSB, Cristea moved to cross-town rivals Rapid București on a two-year deal.^[3]

International career

On 10 June 2019, Cristea made his debut for the Romania national team in a 4–0 win against Malta counting for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers.^[4]

Style of play

Cristea has been described as versatile, due to his ability to play equally well as either a centre-back or a defensive midfielder, and has been noted for his aerial prowess.^[5]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 28 September 2023^[6]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League		National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Gaz Metan Mediaș	2014–15	Liga I	15	0	1	0	0	0	—		—		16	0
	2015–16	Liga II	22	1	0	0	—		—		—		22	1
	2016–17	Liga I	28	1	1	0	0	0	—		—		29	1
	2017–18	Liga I	21	1	5	0	—		—		—		26	1
	2018–19	Liga I	23	3	1	0	—		—		—		24	3
	Total		109	6	8	0	—		—		—		117	6
FCSB	2018–19	Liga I	10	1	—		—		—		—		10	1
	2019–20	Liga I	28	1	3	0	—		7	1	—		38	2
	2020–21	Liga I	35	4	0	0	—		1	0	0	0	36	4
	2021–22	Liga I	33	2	1	0	—		1	0	—		35	2
	2022–23	Liga I	14	0	0	0	—		0	0	—		14	0
	Total		120	8	4	0	—		9	1	0	0	133	9
Rapid București	2023–24	Liga I	4	0	1	1	—		—		—		5	1
Career total			233	14	13	1	0	0	9	1	0	0	255	16

International

As of match played 4 June 2022^[7]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Romania
	2019	1	0
	2020	2	0
	2022	1	0
Total		4	0

Honours

Gaz Metan Mediaș^[6]

Liga II: 2015–16

FCSB^[6]

Cupa României: 2019–20
Supercupa României runner-up: 2020

Individual

Liga I Team of the Season: 2021–22^[8]

References

^ "Bine ai venit, Iulian Cristea!" [Welcome, Iulian Cristea!] (in Romanian). FCSB. 26 February 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
^ "Iulian Cristea a semnat în această seară cu FCSB! » Gigi Becali, pentru GSP.ro: "Băiatul vine de mâine la antrenament"" [Iulian Cristea signed with FCSB this evening! » Gigi Becali, for GSP.ro: "The boy is coming to training tomorrow"]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 25 February 2019.
^ "IULIAN CRISTEA ESTE NOUL FUNDAȘ AL RAPIDULUI" [IULIAN CRISTEA IS RAPID'S NEW DEFENDER] (in Romanian). FC Rapid București. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
^ "Misiune îndeplinită pentru tricolori în Malta: victorie cu 4-0!" [Mission accomplished for "the Tricolours" in Malta: a 4–0 victory!] (in Romanian). Romanian Football Federation. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
^ "EXCLUSIV Echipa din străinătate care l-a dorit pe Iulian Cristea, înainte să semneze cu Rapid" [EXCLUSIVE The foreign team that wanted Iulian Cristea, before he signed for Rapid] (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c Iulian Cristea at Soccerway. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
^ "Iulian Cristea". European Football. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
^ "LPF a anunțat echipa ideală a sezonului de Liga 1 » FCSB și CFR Cluj, reprezentate de câte 3 jucători" [LPF has chosen the "ideal team" of the Liga 1 season! Which team offers the most players] (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.

External links

Iulian Cristea at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
Iulian Cristea at National-Football-Teams.com

[1] "Bine ai venit, Iulian Cristea!" [Welcome, Iulian Cristea!] (in Romanian). FCSB. 26 February 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.

[2] "Iulian Cristea a semnat în această seară cu FCSB! » Gigi Becali, pentru GSP.ro: "Băiatul vine de mâine la antrenament"" [Iulian Cristea signed with FCSB this evening! » Gigi Becali, for GSP.ro: "The boy is coming to training tomorrow"]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 25 February 2019.

[3] "IULIAN CRISTEA ESTE NOUL FUNDAȘ AL RAPIDULUI" [IULIAN CRISTEA IS RAPID'S NEW DEFENDER] (in Romanian). FC Rapid București. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.

[4] "Misiune îndeplinită pentru tricolori în Malta: victorie cu 4-0!" [Mission accomplished for "the Tricolours" in Malta: a 4–0 victory!] (in Romanian). Romanian Football Federation. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.

[5] "EXCLUSIV Echipa din străinătate care l-a dorit pe Iulian Cristea, înainte să semneze cu Rapid" [EXCLUSIVE The foreign team that wanted Iulian Cristea, before he signed for Rapid] (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.

[SW-6] Iulian Cristea at Soccerway. Retrieved 16 March 2019.

[EU-7] "Iulian Cristea". European Football. Retrieved 27 May 2023.

[8] "LPF a anunțat echipa ideală a sezonului de Liga 1 » FCSB și CFR Cluj, reprezentate de câte 3 jucători" [LPF has chosen the "ideal team" of the Liga 1 season! Which team offers the most players] (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.

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