Ștefan Radu


Ștefan Daniel Radu is a Romanian professional footballer who plays for Italian Serie A club Lazio as a left back or a central defender.
Following three seasons in his home country with Dinamo București in which he earned three domestic honours, including the national title, Radu was transferred to Lazio in 2008. He has since spent his entire career at the Italian side, becoming captain in 2011 and winning three Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana trophies each.
Radu represented the Romania national team thirteen times between 2006 and 2013, after which he announced his early retirement.

Club career

Dinamo București

On 27 April 2005, Radu made his debut for Dinamo București in a 3–0 league victory over FCM Bacău. In the 2006–07 Liga I season, helped by the fact that Dinamo had a defender emergency, he established himself in the starting eleven and eventually managed to win the Liga I trophy that season.

Lazio

In January 2008, Italian Serie A side Lazio signed Radu on a €1 million loan deal until the end of the 2007–08 season. Shortly after joining the squad, he made his Lazio debut in a Coppa Italia match against Fiorentina. He was a revelation for Delio Rossi's team, as the young starlet added extra quality to the backline and started all the matches he featured in. At the end of the season, Radu signed with Lazio permanently for a €3.5 million transfer fee.
On 17 June 2011, Radu signed a five-year contract extension. He became an important player for Lazio, a team which he captained during the 2011–12 season. Radu won his third trophy with Lazio in the 2012–13 season when they defeated rivals Roma in the Coppa Italia final. In 2017, Lazio won the Supercoppa Italiana, as they beat Juventus 3–2. On 15 May 2019, Lazio beat Atalanta in the 2018–19 Coppa Italia final. On 22 December 2019, Lazio beat Juventus in the 2019 Supercoppa Italiana, with help from Radu.

International career

On 15 November 2006, after Romania failed to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Radu made his debut for the Romania national team, in a 1–0 victory against Spain.
Over the course of UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying, Radu gained international experience and was selected in the squad for the final tournament in Switzerland and Austria. At Euro 2008, however, Radu remained a substitute and did not see any game time. On 25 March 2008 he was decorated by President of Romania Traian Băsescu for Romania's successful Euro 2008 qualifying campaign with the Medalia "Meritul Sportiv" — class III.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Club

Dinamo București
Lazio