Adrian Mutu

Adrian Mutu
Personal information
Full name	Adrian Mutu
Date of birth	8 January 1979 (1979-01-08) (age 30)
Place of birth	Calinesti, Romania
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Striker, Attacking Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Fiorentina
Number	10
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1996–1999 1999–2000 2000 2000–2002 2002–2003 2003–2005 2005–2006 2006–	FC Argeş Piteşti Dinamo Bucureşti Internazionale Verona Parma Chelsea Juventus Fiorentina	046 (14) 036 (27) 010 0(2) 057 (16) 036 (22) 038 (10) 044 0(9) 079 (41)
National team2
2000–	Romania	065 (29)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 18, 2008. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of October 11, 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Adrian Mutu (born 8 January 1979 in Călineşti, Argeş County) is a Romanian striker who plays for Italian Serie A club ACF Fiorentina and the Romanian national team.

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

Career

Club career

FC Argeş Piteşti

Mutu began his professional career with his home club FC Argeş Piteşti. He made his debut on March 15, 1997 against Oţelul Galaţi and went on to score 14 goals in 41 games before sealing a €600,000 ($922,000) transfer to Dinamo Bucharest.

Dinamo Bucureşti

His strong performances for Dinamo Bucharest meant that Mutu did not spend long playing in the Romanian capital. He scored 22 goals in 33 games in total and played an important role in Dinamo's league and Romanian Cup success. However by the time that Dinamo lifted these trophies Mutu had already left to play for Inter.

Inter

Having joined Inter midway through the season for €6.5m, Mutu failed to replicate his form in Serie A. He played only ten games for Inter and failed to score any goals. In 2000, he was loaned out to Hellas Verona F.C. before they paid €4m ($6.1m) to buy him outright.

In the 2001/02 season Parma paid €10m ($15.4m) for his services.

Chelsea

Chelsea paid Parma €29.4 million for Mutu's transfer as part of new owner Roman Abramovich's spending spree, which made him the most expensive Romanian football player at the time. He started with four goals in three matches, including two in a 4-2 victory over London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, but the goals dried up as the season progressed. In the 2004-05 season, Mutu had a difficult relationship with the club's new manager José Mourinho, with each accusing the other of lying about whether the player was injured for a World Cup qualifying match against the Czech Republic.^[1] In September 2004, he failed a drugs test for cocaine, and was sacked on 29 October 2004. He also received a 7-month ban and a £20,000 fine from the Football Association. The ban ended on 18 May 2005. On June 6, 2008 Mutu was ordered by FIFA to pay Chelsea £9.6 million (€12 million), to compensate for the transfer fee the club paid for him. His lawyer announced that Mutu would contest the fine in civil court. This fine was later increased, on appeal by the Dispute Resolution Chamber to £13.68m (€17,17 million). ^[2]

Juventus

Mutu signed a five-year contract with the Italian club Juventus on January 12, 2005, despite still being banned from football until May. He made his first appearance on May 29, 2005, coming on as a substitute in the 57th minute of the last match of the season, a 4-2 win over Cagliari. During the 2005/06 season, he scored seven goals in his 20 league match and 12 substitute appearances for Juventus. In the UEFA Champions League, he made three starts and five substitute appearances, and scored against SK Rapid Wien.

Fiorentina

On July 8, 2006, Fiorentina announced that they had signed Mutu for €8 million. This reunited Mutu with his former manager at Parma, Cesare Prandelli. Mutu formed a productive partnership with then Fiorentina striker Luca Toni (now at FC Bayern Munich)—the pair scored 32 goals in the 2006/07 season. He was named the best player of the season by “Il Calcio”, due to his 16 goals and eight assists in 33 games. This season led to interest from the Italian club AS Roma, the interest soon transformed into a transfer bid of €20 million. Mutu, however, ended up extending his contract with Fiorentina.

On 30 November, 2008, at his 200th match in Serie A, Mutu was chosen to captain Fiorentina in the game against AS Roma.

International career

As of 2007, Mutu has played for Romania 61 times, scoring 28 goals, 17 of which have come in qualifying games. Romania has only lost once when Mutu has scored for them. He is the vice-captain of Romania. His performances ( games, goals) with the Romanian national team earned him the Romanian Footballer of the Year award.

Euro 2008

Mutu scored Romania's only goal of Euro 2008 in the 55th minute of their second match against Italy, however in the same match he had a second-half penalty saved by Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, which could have sent Italy out of the competition, and would have guaranteed Romania a spot in the quarter finals. The game finished 1–1. ^[3]

International goals

Adrian Mutu: International Goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	April 26, 2000	Constanţa, Romania	Cyprus	2-0	Win	Friendly
2	April 17, 2002	Bydgoszcz, Poland	Poland	2-1	Win	Friendly
3	March 29, 2003	Bucharest, Romania	Denmark	2-5	Lose	UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.
4	June 7, 2003	Craiova, Romania	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2-0	Win	UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.
5	August 20, 2003	Donetsk, Ukraine	Ukraine	2-0	Win	Friendly
6	August 20, 2003	Donetsk, Ukraine	Ukraine	2-0	Win	Friendly
7	September 6, 2003	Ploieşti, Romania	Luxembourg	4-0	Win	UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.
8	September 10, 2003	Copenhagen, Denmark	Denmark	2-2	Draw	UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.
9	October 11, 2003	Bucharest, Romania	Japan	1-1	Draw	Friendly
10	February 18, 2004	Larnaca, Cyprus	Georgia	3-0	Win	Friendly
11	February 18, 2004	Larnaca, Cyprus	Georgia	3-0	Win	Friendly
12	August 18, 2004	Bucharest, Romania	Finland	2-1	Win	FIFA World Cup 2006 Qual.
13	September 4, 2004	Craiova, Romania	FYR Macedonia	2-1	Win	FIFA World Cup 2006 Qual.
14	August 17, 2005	Constanţa, Romania	Andorra	2-0	Win	FIFA World Cup 2006 Qual.
15	August 17, 2005	Constanţa, Romania	Andorra	2-0	Win	FIFA World Cup 2006 Qual.
16	September 3, 2005	Constanţa, Romania	Czech Republic	2-0	Win	FIFA World Cup 2006 Qual.
17	September 3, 2005	Constanţa, Romania	Czech Republic	2-0	Win	FIFA World Cup 2006 Qual.
18	October 8, 2005	Helsinki, Finland	Finland	1-0	Win	FIFA World Cup 2006 Qual.
19	August 16, 2006	Constanţa, Romania	Cyprus	2-0	Win	Friendly
20	September 6, 2006	Tirana, Albania	Albania	2-0	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
21	October 7, 2006	Bucharest, Romania	Belarus	3-1	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
22	February 7, 2007	Bucharest, Romania	Moldova	2-0	Win	Friendly
23	March 28, 2007	Piatra Neamt, Romania	Luxembourg	3-0	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
24	June 6, 2007	Timişoara, Romania	Slovenia	2-0	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
25	August 22, 2007	Bucharest, Romania	Turkey	2-0	Win	Friendly
26	September 8, 2007	Minsk, Belarus	Belarus	3-1	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
27	September 8, 2007	Minsk, Belarus	Belarus	3-1	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
28	May 31, 2008	Bucharest, Romania	Montenegro	4-0	Win	Friendly
29	June 13, 2008	Zurich, Switzerland	Italy	1-1	Draw	UEFA Euro 2008 Group C

Honours

Club

• Dinamo Bucureşti
  • Romanian League: (1999–00)

• Chelsea F.C.
  • Premier League: (2003-04) Runner-up
  • UEFA Champions League: (2003–04) Semi-finalist

• Juventus F.C.
  • Serie A: (2004-05)
  • UEFA Champions League: (2005–06) Quarter-finalist

• ACF Fiorentina
  • UEFA Cup: (2007-08) Semi-finalist

Individual

• Romanian Footballer of the Year 2003, 2005, 2007
• Mastino del Bentegodi Hellas Verona Football Club 2002
• Guerin d'Oro 2007
• Serie A Best player of Season 2006-2007 by Gazzetta dello Sport
• Sixth World's Most Popular Footballer by IFFHS 2007
• Ussi Toscana 2007
• Best Sportsman in Firenze 2007

Statistics

League clubs

Last updated August 12, 2008

References

External links

• Adrian Mutu - official site
• ADRIAN MUTU : Il Fenomeno (Italian Fansite)
• FootballDatabase provides Adrian Mutu's profile and stats
• Adrian Mutu - fan site
• About Adrian Mutu
• Daily news about Fiorentina on web

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Cristian Chivu	Romanian Footballer of the Year 2003	Succeeded by Ionel Dănciulescu

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Ionel Dănciulescu	Romanian Footballer of the Year 2005	Succeeded by Nicolae Dică

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Nicolae Dică	Romanian Footballer of the Year 2007	Succeeded by -

Romania squad – UEFA Euro 2000 1 Lobonţ • 2 Petrescu • 3 Ciobotariu • 4 Filipescu • 5 Gâlcă • 6 Popescu • 7 Mutu • 8 Munteanu • 9 Moldovan • 10 Hagi • 11 Ilie • 12 Stelea • 13 Chivu • 14 Petre • 15 Lupescu • 16 Roşu • 17 Belodedici • 18 Ganea • 19 Lincar • 20 Hîldan • 21 Prunea • 22 Contra • Coach: Jenei

Romania squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Lobonţ • 2 Contra • 3 Raţ • 4 Tamaş • 5 Chivu • 6 Rădoi • 7 Petre • 8 Codrea • 9 Marica • 10 Mutu • 11 Cociş • 12 Popa • 13 Săpunaru • 14 Ghionea • 15 Goian • 16 Nicoliţă • 17 Moţi • 18 M. Niculae • 19 Cristea • 20 Dică • 21 D. Niculae • 22 Radu • 23 Stăncioiu • Coach: Piţurcă