Ștefan Radu facts for kids
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Radu captaining Lazio in 2015
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 22 October 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Bucharest, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.83 m | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–2004 | Dinamo București | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2004–2005 | Dinamo II București | 23 | (1) |
| 2005–2008 | Dinamo București | 61 | (1) |
| 2008 | → Lazio (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2008–2023 | Lazio | 338 | (5) |
| Total | 433 | (7) | |
| National team | |||
| 2003 | Romania U17 | 1 | (0) |
| 2005 | Romania U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2006–2008 | Romania U21 | 13 | (1) |
| 2006–2013 | Romania | 13 | (0) |
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Ștefan Daniel Radu (born 22 October 1986) is a Romanian former professional footballer. He played as a defender, usually on the left side (a left-back) or in the center (a centre-back).
Ștefan Radu started his career in Romania with Dinamo București. There, he helped his team win three national awards, including one league title. In 2008, he moved to Lazio in Italy, first on a temporary deal.
He spent the rest of his football career with Lazio, a team often called the Biancocelesti (which means "white and sky blue"). He became a team captain and won the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) and the Supercoppa Italiana (Italian Supercup) three times each. In 2021, Radu became the player with the most appearances for Lazio in all games. He stopped playing football in 2023.
Radu also played for the Romanian national team. He made his first appearance in 2006. He played 13 games for his country before deciding to stop playing international football in 2013, when he was 26 years old.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
Starting at Dinamo București
Ștefan Radu was born in Bucharest, Romania, on October 22, 1986. He grew up in the Colentina area of the city. He played his first game for Dinamo București on April 27, 2005. His team won that league game 3–0 against FCM Bacău.
In the 2006–07 season, Dinamo București had many defenders who were injured. This helped Radu become a regular player in the team. He played in the center of the defense and helped his team win the Liga I trophy (the top Romanian league title) that season. They also did well in the 2006–07 UEFA Cup, reaching the round of 16 before being knocked out by Benfica.
The next season, Dinamo wanted to reach the Champions League group stage. In a game against Lazio Roma, Radu accidentally touched the ball with his hand in the penalty box. The other team got a penalty kick, but Dinamo's goalkeeper saved it. Even so, Dinamo lost the game and did not qualify for the Champions League.
Playing for Lazio
In January 2008, Lazio, a team from Italy's top league (Serie A), signed Radu. He joined them on a temporary loan deal for €1 million until the end of the 2007–08 season. Soon after joining, he played his first game for Lazio in a Coppa Italia match against Fiorentina. He quickly became a very good player for the team, making their defense stronger. He started in all the games he played. At the end of the season, Lazio bought Radu permanently for €3.5 million.
On June 17, 2011, Radu signed a new contract with Lazio for five more years. He became a very important player for the team and was even the captain during the 2011–12 season. Radu won his third trophy with Lazio in the 2012–13 season. They beat their rivals, Roma, in the Coppa Italia final.
In 2017, Lazio won the Supercoppa Italiana by beating Juventus 3–2. On May 15, 2019, Lazio won the 2018–19 Coppa Italia final against Atalanta. On December 22, 2019, Lazio, with Radu's help, beat Juventus again to win the 2019 Supercoppa Italiana. Ștefan Radu stopped playing football at the end of the 2022–23 season.
Playing for Romania
Ștefan Radu played 13 games for the Romanian national team. His first game was on November 15, 2006. The coach, Victor Pițurcă, put him into the game in the last minute of a friendly match against Spain, which Romania won 1–0.
He played in two games during the successful qualifying matches for UEFA Euro 2008. He was also part of the team that went to the main Euro 2008 tournament, but he did not play in any games there. He played one game in the qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. His last game for the national team was on March 22, 2013, in a 2–2 draw against Hungary during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
Radu decided to stop playing for the national team in April 2013. He mentioned that he had disagreements with the national football organization. Even though he continued to be one of the best Romanian players playing outside of Romania in later years, he never changed his mind about not playing for the national team again.
On March 25, 2008, the President of Romania, Traian Băsescu, gave him an award called the Medalia "Meritul Sportiv" (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III. This was for Romania's good performance in the Euro 2008 qualifying games.
Trophies and Awards
Dinamo București
- Liga I: 2006–07 (League Champions)
- Cupa României: 2004–05 (Romanian Cup)
- Supercupa României: 2005 (Romanian Supercup)
Lazio
- Coppa Italia: 2008–09, 2012–13, 2018–19 (Italian Cup)
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2009, 2017, 2019 (Italian Supercup)
Individual Awards
- Gazeta Sporturilor Romanian Footballer of the Year third place: 2017 (shared with Florin Niță)
Records
- Lazio all-time appearance holder: 427 games (most games played for Lazio)
- Lazio all-time Serie A appearance holder: 349 games (most games played for Lazio in Serie A)
See also
In Spanish: Ștefan Radu para niños
