Adrian Mutu facts for kids
Mutu playing for Fiorentina in 2007
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 8 January 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Călinești, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward, attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1987–1996 | Argeș Pitești | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1996–1998 | Argeș Pitești | 41 | (11) |
| 1999 | Dinamo București | 33 | (22) |
| 2000 | Inter Milan | 10 | (1) |
| 2000–2002 | Hellas Verona | 57 | (16) |
| 2002–2003 | Parma | 31 | (18) |
| 2003–2004 | Chelsea | 27 | (6) |
| 2005 | Livorno | 0 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | Juventus | 33 | (7) |
| 2006–2011 | Fiorentina | 112 | (54) |
| 2011–2012 | Cesena | 28 | (8) |
| 2012–2014 | Ajaccio | 37 | (11) |
| 2014 | Petrolul Ploiești | 14 | (4) |
| 2015 | Pune City | 10 | (4) |
| 2016 | ASA Târgu Mureș | 4 | (0) |
| Total | 437 | (161) | |
| International career | |||
| 1995 | Romania U16 | 2 | (1) |
| 1996–1997 | Romania U18 | 14 | (8) |
| 1998–2000 | Romania U21 | 12 | (6) |
| 2000–2013 | Romania | 77 | (35) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2016 | ASA Târgu Mureș (player/assistant) | ||
| 2016–2017 | Dinamo București (general manager) | ||
| 2017–2018 | Romania (sporting director) | ||
| 2018 | Voluntari | ||
| 2018–2019 | Al Wahda U21 | ||
| 2020–2021 | Romania U21 | ||
| 2021 | FC U Craiova | ||
| 2022–2023 | Rapid București | ||
| 2023 | Neftchi Baku | ||
| 2024 | CFR Cluj | ||
| 2024–2025 | Petrolul Ploiești | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Adrian Mutu (born 8 January 1979) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player. During his time as a player, he was a forward or an attacking midfielder.
Mutu began his career playing for Argeș Pitești and Dinamo București. He then moved to Inter Milan in Italy in 2000. After playing for Hellas Verona and Parma, he scored many goals. This led to a big transfer to Chelsea in 2003. He was even nominated for the Ballon d'Or award that year.
Later, he faced some challenges and left Chelsea. He returned to Italy to play for Juventus. After some changes in Italian football, Mutu joined Fiorentina. He played there for five years. He also played for Cesena and French club Ajaccio. In 2014, he returned to Romania with Petrolul Ploiești. After short periods with Pune City and ASA Târgu Mureș, Mutu stopped playing professional football in 2016.
Adrian Mutu played 77 matches for the Romania national team. He scored 35 goals, which is a record he shares with Gheorghe Hagi. He played in the UEFA European Championship in 2000 and 2008. He won the Romanian Footballer of the Year award four times. Only Gheorghe Popescu and Gheorghe Hagi have won it more often.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting His Journey
Mutu started his professional football journey with Argeș Pitești. He then moved to Dinamo București in 1998. With Dinamo, he helped the team win the Cupa României. Around 2000, he signed with Inter in Italy.
He played 14 games for Inter and scored two goals in the Coppa Italia.
Playing for Verona
In 2000, Mutu joined Verona. He was part of a deal that also brought other talented players to the team. In February 2001, Mutu came off the bench in a tough match against Bari. He scored two goals, helping Verona win 3–2. The team managed to avoid being moved to a lower league that season.
Time at Chelsea
On 12 August 2003, Chelsea bought Mutu for a large amount of money. He signed a five-year contract with the club. He quickly made an impact, scoring the winning goal in his first game. He scored four goals in his first three matches for Chelsea.
In 2004, Mutu had some disagreements with Chelsea's new manager, José Mourinho. In September 2004, Mutu faced a ban from football for seven months due to a problem.
Contract Issues
Chelsea sought money from Mutu after his contract ended. A football committee decided that Mutu had broken his contract without a good reason. This meant Chelsea could ask for money. Mutu tried to appeal this decision many times.
On 7 May 2008, a football organization ordered Mutu to pay a large amount of money to Chelsea. This was for breaking his contract. The amount included money for his transfer fee and other costs. Mutu appealed this decision multiple times, but the courts upheld the order. This fine was the largest ever ordered by FIFA at the time.
In 2013, it was decided that other clubs, Livorno and Juventus, might also have to help pay. However, in 2015, a court ruled that Mutu was the only one responsible for paying the money. In 2018, the European Court of Human Rights also rejected Mutu's final appeal.
Joining Juventus
Mutu signed a five-year contract with Juventus on 12 January 2005. He was still banned from playing football until May of that year. To make the move possible, another Italian club, Livorno, first signed him and then immediately sold him to Juventus.
Playing for Fiorentina
On 8 July 2006, Fiorentina announced they had signed Mutu. In July 2008, another club, AS Roma, tried to sign him. However, Mutu decided to stay in Florence and signed a new contract until 2012.
On 29 January 2010, it was reported that Mutu had an issue after a Coppa Italia match. He received a nine-month ban, which was later reduced to six months. After the ban, Mutu was temporarily suspended by his club for not following rules. He later apologized and was allowed to rejoin the team.
Later Career Teams
On 23 June 2011, Cesena signed Mutu for two years. On 15 January, Mutu scored two goals, reaching 101 goals in Serie A. After Cesena was moved to a lower league, Mutu left the club.
In 2012, Mutu signed with AC Ajaccio in France. He said he liked the Italian culture there and was ready to score many goals. After his contract ended in January 2014, he joined Petrolul Ploiești in Romania. He scored important goals for them in the UEFA Europa League.
On 26 September 2014, Petrolul ended his contract. On 30 July 2015, Mutu signed with Indian Super League club FC Pune City. In January 2016, Mutu returned to Romania with ASA 2013 Târgu Mureș. He hoped to play well enough to join Romania's national team for UEFA Euro 2016.
International Career for Romania
Euro 2000 Participation
Adrian Mutu played in three of Romania's four matches at the UEFA Euro 2000 tournament. Romania reached the quarterfinals for the first time in their history during this competition.
Euro 2008 Performance
Mutu scored Romania's only goal in UEFA Euro 2008 during their second match against Italy. He also had a penalty kick saved in the same game. The match ended in a 1–1 draw.
After 2009, Romania's coach had some concerns about calling Mutu to the national team. However, due to fan pressure and team results, he was called up again. Mutu scored two goals in his first game back, helping Romania win 3–1. He also scored in the next game, a 3–0 win.
International Team Issues
On 11 August 2011, Mutu and his teammate Gabriel Tamaş were removed from the Romania national team. This happened after they were found breaking team rules. However, their suspension was lifted after only three games. On 21 November 2013, Mutu was again prevented from playing for the national team. This was after he posted an image of the manager that was not appropriate.
How Adrian Mutu Played
Adrian Mutu was a very skilled and creative player. He was good at scoring goals. He could play in many attacking positions. He played as a supporting forward, a main striker, a winger, and an attacking midfielder. This was because he could both score and help set up goals.
People often compared him to his countryman Gheorghe Hagi. When he was at his best, Mutu was fast and agile. He had excellent technical skills and was good at dribbling. He was also accurate at free kicks and penalty kicks. Despite his talent, he sometimes had injuries and was not always consistent. He was also known for his strong personality on the field. Because of these things, some people felt he did not reach his full potential.
Managerial Career
Mutu started his career as a manager in April 2018. He was appointed manager of Romanian club Voluntari. He signed a two-year contract. His time there lasted only two months. He helped the club avoid being moved to a lower league. However, the club's board decided to let him go on 14 June.
In July 2018, Mutu became the manager of the reserve team for Al Wahda in the United Arab Emirates. On 11 July 2023, Neftçi announced Mutu as their new Head Coach. He left Neftçi on 24 December 2023. On 24 January 2024, Mutu was appointed manager of CFR Cluj in Romania. He resigned from CFR Cluj on 3 April 2024.
Personal Life
Adrian Mutu has been married three times. From 2001 to 2003, he was married to Romanian actress Alexandra Dinu. They have a son named Mario, born in 2002.
In 2005, he married Consuelo Matos Gómez, a model from the Dominican Republic. They have two daughters, Adriana (born 2006) and Maya Vega (born 2008). They divorced in 2015.
In 2016, he married Sandra Bachici, who was also a model. They have a son named Tiago Adrian Mutu, born in 2017.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Argeș Pitești | 1996–97 | Divizia A | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||||
| 1997–98 | 21 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 21 | 4 | ||||||
| 1998–99 | 15 | 7 | — | — | 6 | 3 | — | 21 | 10 | |||||
| Total | 41 | 11 | — | — | 6 | 3 | — | 47 | 14 | |||||
| Dinamo București | 1998–99 | Divizia A | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 17 | 4 | |||
| 1999–2000 | 18 | 18 | 3 | 3 | — | 4 | 4 | — | 25 | 25 | ||||
| Total | 35 | 22 | 3 | 3 | — | 4 | 4 | — | 42 | 29 | ||||
| Inter Milan | 1999–2000 | Serie A | 10 | 0 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | 14 | 2 | |||
| Hellas Verona | 2000–01 | Serie A | 25 | 5 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 26 | 6 | |||
| 2001–02 | 32 | 12 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 34 | 12 | |||||
| Total | 57 | 17 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 60 | 18 | |||||
| Parma | 2002–03 | Serie A | 31 | 18 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 4 | — | 36 | 22 | ||
| Chelsea | 2003–04 | Premier League | 25 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | — | 36 | 10 | |
| 2004–05 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 27 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | — | 38 | 10 | |||
| Juventus | 2004–05 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2005–06 | 32 | 7 | 4 | 3 | — | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 11 | |||
| Total | 33 | 7 | 4 | 3 | — | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 11 | |||
| Fiorentina | 2006–07 | Serie A | 33 | 16 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 35 | 17 | |||
| 2007–08 | 29 | 17 | 1 | 0 | — | 10 | 6 | — | 40 | 23 | ||||
| 2008–09 | 19 | 13 | 1 | 0 | — | 9 | 2 | — | 29 | 15 | ||||
| 2009–10 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 4 | — | 6 | 3 | — | 19 | 11 | ||||
| 2010–11 | 20 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 4 | ||||||
| Total | 112 | 54 | 6 | 5 | — | 25 | 11 | — | 143 | 70 | ||||
| Cesena | 2011–12 | Serie A | 28 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 29 | 8 | |||
| Ajaccio | 2012–13 | Ligue 1 | 28 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 11 | ||
| 2013–14 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 37 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 11 | ||||
| Petrolul Ploiești | 2013–14 | Liga I | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 2 | |||
| 2014–15 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | — | 13 | 4 | |||
| Total | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | — | 21 | 6 | |||
| Pune City | 2015 | Indian Super League | 10 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 10 | 4 | ||||
| ASA Târgu Mureș | 2015–16 | Liga I | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 439 | 160 | 26 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 60 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 528 | 203 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | 2000 | 11 | 1 |
| 2001 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 10 | 7 | |
| 2004 | 5 | 4 | |
| 2005 | 5 | 5 | |
| 2006 | 6 | 3 | |
| 2007 | 9 | 6 | |
| 2008 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2009 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 5 | 5 | |
| 2012 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 2 | 1 | |
| Total | 77 | 35 | |
- Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mutu goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 April 2000 | Stadionul Farul, Constanța, Romania |  Cyprus |
1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 17 April 2002 | Zdzislaw Krzyszkowiak Stadium, Bydgoszcz, Poland |  Poland |
2–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 29 March 2003 | Stadionul Național, Bucharest, Romania |  Denmark |
1–0 | 2–5 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |
| 4 | 7 June 2003 | Stadionul Ion Oblemenco, Craiova, Romania |  Bosnia and Herzegovina |
1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |
| 5 | 20 August 2003 | Shakhtar Stadium, Donetsk, Ukraine |  Ukraine |
1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 6 | 2–0 | |||||
| 7 | 6 September 2003 | Astra Stadium, Ploiești, Romania |  Luxembourg |
1–0 | 4–0 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |
| 8 | 10 September 2003 | Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark | Denmark |
1–1 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |
| 9 | 11 October 2003 | Stadionul Dinamo, Bucharest, Romania |  Japan |
1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 10 | 18 February 2004 | GSZ Stadium, Larnaca, Cyprus |  Georgia |
1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 11 | 2–0 | |||||
| 12 | 18 August 2004 | Stadionul Giulești, Bucharest, Romania |  Finland |
1–0 | 2–1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 13 | 4 September 2004 | Stadionul Ion Oblemenco, Craiova, Romania |  Macedonia |
2–1 | 2–1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 14 | 17 August 2005 | Stadionul Farul, Constanța, Romania |  Andorra |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 15 | 2–0 | |||||
| 16 | 3 September 2005 | Stadionul Farul, Constanța, Romania |  Czech Republic |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 17 | 2–0 | |||||
| 18 | 8 October 2005 | Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland | Finland |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 19 | 16 August 2006 | Stadionul Farul, Constanța, Romania |  Cyprus |
2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 20 | 6 September 2006 | Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania |  Albania |
2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
| 21 | 7 October 2006 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania |  Belarus |
1–0 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
| 22 | 7 February 2007 | Stadionul Național, Bucharest, Romania |  Moldova |
2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 23 | 28 March 2007 | Stadionul Ceahlăul, Piatra Neamț, Romania | Luxembourg |
1–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
| 24 | 6 June 2007 | Stadionul Dan Păltinișanu, Timișoara, Romania |  Slovenia |
1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
| 25 | 22 August 2007 | Stadionul Național, Bucharest, Romania |  Turkey |
2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 26 | 8 September 2007 | Dinamo Stadium, Minsk, Belarus | Belarus |
1–0 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |
| 27 | 3–1 | |||||
| 28 | 31 May 2008 | Stadionul Național, Bucharest, Romania |  Montenegro |
1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 29 | 13 June 2008 | Letzigrund, Zürich, Switzerland |  Italy |
1–0 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 2008 |
| 30 | 29 March 2011 | Stadionul Ceahlăul, Piatra Neamț, Romania | Luxembourg |
1–1 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 31 | 2–1 | |||||
| 32 | 3 June 2011 | Stadionul Giulești, Bucharest, Romania | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
1–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 33 | 7 October 2011 | Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania | Belarus |
1–0 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 34 | 2–1 | |||||
| 35 | 22 March 2013 | Ferenc Puskás Stadium, Budapest, Hungary |  Hungary |
1–1 | 2–2 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Managerial statistics
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||
 Voluntari |
15 April 2018 | 14 June 2018 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 14 | +0 | 36.36 |
| Romania U21 |
14 January 2020 | 16 April 2021 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 42.86 |
| FC U Craiova |
29 May 2021 | 5 October 2021 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 13 | −4 | 25.00 |
| Rapid București |
2 March 2022 | 7 July 2023 | 54 | 27 | 12 | 15 | 87 | 56 | +31 | 50.00 |
 Neftchi Baku |
11 July 2023 | 24 December 2023 | 23 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 29 | 24 | +5 | 43.48 |
| CFR Cluj |
24 January 2024 | 3 April 2024 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 14 | +5 | 45.45 |
| Petrolul Ploiești |
31 December 2024 | 17 March 2025 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 20.00 |
| Total | 127 | 53 | 32 | 42 | 174 | 137 | +37 | 41.73 | ||
Honours
Player
Dinamo București
- Divizia A: 1999–2000
- Cupa României: 1999–2000
Inter Milan
- Coppa Italia runner-up: 1999–2000
Juventus
- Serie A: 2004–05, 2005–06 (both revoked due to the Calciopoli scandal)
- Supercoppa Italiana runner-up: 2005
Individual
- Gazeta Sporturilor Romanian Footballer of the Year: 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008
- Guerin d'Oro: 2007
- Coppa Italia top scorer: 2009–10
- Fiorentina All-time XI
- ACF Fiorentina Hall of Fame: 2024
Records
- The second player to score in European competitions with seven different teams.
Manager
- Gazeta Sporturilor Romania Coach of the Month: April 2022
See also
In Spanish: Adrian Mutu para niños
