Adrian Ilie facts for kids
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Ilie in 2018
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Bucurel Adrian Ilie | ||
| Date of birth | 20 April 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Craiova, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.80 m | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1992 | CSȘ Craiova | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1992–1993 | Electroputere Craiova | 31 | (12) |
| 1993–1996 | Steaua București | 85 | (28) |
| 1996–1997 | Galatasaray | 30 | (12) |
| 1998–2002 | Valencia | 84 | (29) |
| 2002–2004 | Alavés | 22 | (6) |
| 2004 | → Beşiktaş (loan) | 13 | (6) |
| 2004–2005 | Zürich | 23 | (7) |
| Total | 287 | (100) | |
| National team | |||
| 1992–1995 | Romania U21 | 17 | (21) |
| 1993–2005 | Romania | 55 | (13) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2007 | Steaua București (sporting director) | ||
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Bucurel Adrian Ilie (born 20 April 1974) is a Romanian former professional footballer. He played as a forward, which means he was a player who mainly tried to score goals.
People often called him The Cobra because he was very quick and dangerous when attacking. He is most famous for playing with Valencia in Spain.
Adrian Ilie also played for the Romanian national team. He represented his country in one World Cup and two European Championships.
Contents
Adrian Ilie's Club Career Highlights
Starting in Romania
Adrian Ilie started his football journey at his local club, Electroputere Craiova. After playing there for a short time, he moved to one of Romania's biggest clubs, Steaua Bucuresti, in 1993.
During his three years with Steaua, Ilie was a key player. He helped the team win the Romanian league title three times in a row. They also won the Romanian Cup in the 1995–96 season.
Moving to Turkey and Spain
In 1996, Adrian Ilie joined the Turkish team Galatasaray. He cost the club about €2.35 million. He quickly helped Galatasaray win the Turkish championship in the 1996–97 season.
After a great season in Turkey, he moved to Valencia CF in Spain. This move cost around US$7 million. At Valencia, he took the place of the famous Brazilian player Romário and wore his number 11 jersey.
Success at Valencia
Adrian Ilie made a big impact right away at Valencia. He scored twelve goals in his first 17 matches. This is when his coach, Claudio Ranieri, gave him the nickname "Cobra." The coach said he was "as lethal as a cobra" because of his scoring ability.
At Valencia's home stadium, the Mestalla, Ilie formed a strong attacking team with Claudio López. Together, they helped Valencia win the Spanish Cup in 1999.
In 2000, Valencia reached the final of the UEFA Champions League. This is one of the biggest club competitions in Europe. Ilie played in the final, but his team lost 3–0 to Real Madrid CF.
Two years later, in 2002, Ilie was part of the Valencia team that won the Spanish league title. However, he played fewer games that season due to injuries.
Later Career and Retirement
In 2002, Adrian Ilie left Valencia and joined Deportivo Alavés. Unfortunately, Alavés was moved down to a lower league in his only season there. He then went back to Turkey to play for Beşiktaş J.K. before moving to Switzerland to play for FC Zürich a year later.
In 2005, he signed with a Belgian team called Beerschot AC. But he never got to play for them because of a serious ankle injury. This injury forced him to stop playing football at the young age of 31.
In 2009, Ilie thought about coming back to professional football. He had talks with a Russian club, FC Terek Grozny. But he had to give up on the idea after he failed his medical tests.
Adrian Ilie's International Career
Adrian Ilie played for the Romanian national team 55 times. He scored 13 goals for his country.
He played in three major international tournaments:
- 1996 European Football Championship (Euro 1996)
- 1998 FIFA World Cup
- 2000 European Football Championship (Euro 2000)
At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, he scored a truly amazing goal against Colombia. It was one of the most exciting goals of the whole tournament. Between 1997 and 2000, Adrian Ilie was one of Romania's most important players, alongside Gheorghe Hagi. He scored crucial goals and showed off his great skills. In 1998, he was named Romania's Footballer of the Year.
Adrian Ilie's Family Life
Adrian Ilie has an older brother who is also a footballer. His brother's name is Sabin Ilie.
Adrian Ilie's Achievements
Adrian Ilie won many awards and titles during his football career:
With Steaua București
- Romanian League: 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96 (three times)
- Romanian Cup: 1995–96
- Romanian Supercup: 1994, 1995
With Galatasaray
- Turkish League: 1996–97
- Turkish Super Cup: 1997
With Valencia
- Spanish League: 2001–02
- Spanish Cup: 1998–99
- Spanish Super Cup: 1999
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1998
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 1999–2000, 2000–01 (reached the final twice)
With Zürich
- Swiss Cup: 2004–05
Individual Awards
- Gazeta Sporturilor Romanian Footballer of the Year: 1998
See also
In Spanish: Adrian Ilie para niños
