Adrian Popa (footballer, born 1988)
.jpg) Popa with Steaua București in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Adrian Dumitru Popa | ||
| Date of birth | 24 July 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Bucharest, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Playing position | Winger | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Reading | ||
| Number | 25 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2009 | Politehnica II Timișoara | 87 | (26) |
| 2008 | → Buftea (loan) | 11 | (2) |
| 2009 | → Gloria Buzău (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Universitatea Cluj | 24 | (3) |
| 2010–2012 | Concordia Chiajna | 60 | (10) |
| 2012–2017 | Steaua București | 137 | (20) |
| 2017– | Reading | 8 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2012– | Romania | 21 | (3) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 April 2017. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2016 | |||
Adrian "Adi" Dumitru Popa (born 24 July 1988) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a winger for English side Reading and the Romania national team.
Club career
Early years
Popa was one of the most proficient players of the Politehnica Timișoara reserve team, and was loaned to CS Buftea and Gloria Buzău.
Universitatea Cluj
In July 2009, Popa signed a contract with Universitatea Cluj. Although he showed impressive skills and helped the team get promoted to the first division, he left the club after one year.
Concordia Chiajna
In 2010, Popa joined Concordia Chiajna. He contributed to the club's promotion to the first division and was kept for the following season.
Steaua București
On 15 August 2012, Popa signed a five-year contract with Steaua București for an undisclosed transfer fee.[1][2] One week later, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 away win over FK Ekranas in the Europa League play-off round's first leg.[3]
He played over 200 games during his spell with the capital-based club.
Reading
On 27 January 2017, it was announced that Popa agreed to transfer to English team Reading after reaching the final six months of his contract with Steaua.[4] The transfer was made official three days later.[5]
His first goal came on 17 March 2017, scoring Reading's second in injury time in a 2–0 win over Sheffield Wednesday at the Hillsborough Stadium.[6]
International career
Popa made his debut for the Romania senior team in October 2012, in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Netherlands.[7]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 22 April 2017[8]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Politehnica II Timișoara | 2005–06 | ? | ? | ? | ? | – | – | – | ? | ? | ||||
| 2006–07 | ? | ? | ? | ? | – | – | – | ? | ? | |||||
| 2007–08 | ? | ? | ? | ? | – | – | – | ? | ? | |||||
| Total | 87 | 26 | ? | ? | – | – | – | – | – | – | 87 | 26 | ||
| Buftea (loan) | 2008–09 | 11 | 2 | ? | ? | – | – | – | 11 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 11 | 2 | ? | ? | – | – | – | – | – | – | 11 | 2 | ||
| Gloria Buzău (loan) | 2008–09 | 12 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 12 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 12 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12 | 0 | ||
| Universitatea Cluj | 2009–10 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 24 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 24 | 3 | ||
| Concordia Chiajna | 2011–12 | 27 | 4 | ? | ? | – | – | – | 27 | 4 | ||||
| 2011–12 | 29 | 3 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 30 | 4 | |||||
| 2012–13 | 4 | 3 | – | – | – | – | 4 | 3 | ||||||
| Total | 60 | 10 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 61 | 11 | ||
| Steaua București | 2012–13 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 11 | 1 | – | 43 | 2 | |||
| 2013–14 | 28 | 7 | 5 | 0 | – | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 7 | |||
| 2014–15 | 28 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 8 | ||
| 2015–16 | 32 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 5 | ||
| 2016–17 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | – | 31 | 3 | |||
| Total | 137 | 20 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 48 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 210 | 25 | ||
| Reading | 2016–17 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 1 | |||
| Total | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 8 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 339 | 62 | 18 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 48 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 413 | 68 | ||
International
- As of 15 November 2016[9]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | ||||
| 2012 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| 2013 | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| 2015 | 5 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| 2016 | 11 | 3 | 0.27 | |
| Total | 21 | 3 | 0.14 | |
International goals
- As of 15 November 2016 (Romania score listed first, score column indicates score after each Popa goal)[9]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 June 2016 | Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania | 14 |  Georgia | 1–0 | 5–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 4 September 2016 | Cluj Arena, Cluj-Napoca, Romania | 17 |  Montenegro | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 8 October 2016 | Vazgen Sargsyan, Yerevan, Armenia | 18 |  Armenia | 0–2 | 0–5 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Club
- Steaua București
- Liga I: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15
- Cupa României: 2014–15
- Cupa Ligii: 2014–15, 2015–16
- Supercupa României: 2013
References
- ↑ "Adrian Popa este noul jucător al Stelei!" [Adrian Popa is the new player of Steaua!] (in Romanian). FC Steaua București. 15 August 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
- ↑ "Astea-s contractele! » Gazeta are toate datele din acordurile pe care le-au semnat Adi Popa şi Szukala" [These are the contracts! » Gazeta has all the details about the agreements signed by Popa and Szukala] (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
- ↑ "Ekranas - Steaua 0-2! Kawasaki-vicius! Titular în premieră, Adi Popa a înscris PRIMUL său gol în tricoul grupării din Ghencea" [Ekranas – Steaua 0–2! Kawasaki-vicius! A starter for the first time, Adi Popa scored his FIRST goal for the Ghencea-based team] (in Romanian). Pro Sport. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
- ↑ "Despărțire emoționantă la Steaua! Adi Popa și-a luat "la revedere" de la colegi" [Heartwarming farewell at Steaua! Adi Popa said goodbye to his teammates] (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- ↑ "Royals complete Popa signing". Reading FC. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
- ↑ "Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Reading". BBC Sport. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- ↑ "Romania 1–4 Netherlands". FIFA.com. 16 October 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- ↑ "Adrian Popa". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
- 1 2 "Adrian Popa". European Football. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
External links
- RomanianSoccer profile and stats
- Adrian Popa at National-Football-Teams.com
- Adrian Popa – UEFA competition record
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