Adrian Ilie

Not to be confused with Adrian Ilie (footballer born 1981)
Adrian Ilie
Personal information
Full name Adrian Bucurel Ilie
Date of birth (1974-04-20) 20 April 1974
Place of birth Craiova, Romania
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position Left winger
Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1991–1993 Electroputere Craiova 31 (12)
1993–1996 Steaua Bucureşti 85 (28)
1996–1998 Galatasaray 30 (12)
1998–2002 Valencia 84 (29)
2002–2003 Deportivo Alavés 22 (6)
2003–2004 Beşiktaş 13 (6)
2004–2005 Zürich 23 (7)
Total 287 (100)
National team
1993–2005[1] Romania 55 (13)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

Adrian Bucurel Ilie (Romanian pronunciation: [adriˈan iˈlie]; born April 20, 1974) is a Romanian former international footballer. His nickname was Cobra, because of his skills to attack on the field.

Club career

Ilie began his career with his local club FC Electroputere Craiova before transferring to Romania's biggest club FC Steaua București in 1993. During his three years with Steaua, Ilie helped the club to three consecutive Romanian league titles and the 1995–96 Cupa României.

In 1996, Ilie was purchased by Turkish side Galatasaray for an amount of €2.35 million, where he won the Turkish championship in 1996–97. After an impressive season, he moved from Galatasaray to Valencia CF for a reported €4.7 million, where he replaced in the squad the Brazilian star Romário and took over his no. 11 jersey. At Valencia he impressed from his debut, scoring twelve goals in 17 matches, and thus getting the nickname of "Cobra" from coach Claudio Ranieri, because he was as "lethal as a cobra". At the Mestalla, Ilie made a remarkable attacking duo together with team mate Claudio López, helping Los Che to win the 1998–99 Copa del Rey. In 2000, under Héctor Cúper's command, Valencia reached the final of the UEFA Champions League, where Ilie appeared as a substitute for Gerardo in a 3–0 loss to Real Madrid CF. Two years later, Ilie was a member of Rafael Benítez's 2001–02 La Liga winning squad, scoring two goals in 10 matches.

In 2002, Ilie left Valencia to join Deportivo Alavés but the club was relegated to the Segunda División in his only season. He then returned to Turkey to play for Beşiktaş J.K. before transferring to Switzerland's FC Zürich a year later. In 2005, he signed with Belgian side Beerschot AC but never played with the club due to a severe ankle injury,[2] resulting in his retirement from football at the age of only 31.

He tried a comeback in 2009, at the Russian side Terek Grozny, but he didn't pass the physical tests.

International career

At the international level, Ilie won 55 caps for Romania, scoring 13 goals.[3] He played at the 1996 European Football Championship, 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2000 European Football Championship.[4] At 1998 FIFA World Cup, he scored against Colombia one of the most spectacular goals of the tournament. In the period between 1997-2000, alongside team mate Gheorghe Hagi, he was Romania's national team leader, scoring important goals and impressing with his skills. In 1998 he won the title of Romania's footballer of the year.

Honours

Club

FC Steaua București
Galatasaray S.K.
Valencia CF

Personal life

He is the brother of Sabin Ilie.

References

  1. ↑ "Adrian Bucurel Ilie - International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
  2. ↑ De Cobra stuurt zijn kat Het Nieuwsblad. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  3. ↑ Adrian Ilie at National-Football-Teams.com
  4. ↑ Adrian Ilie Statistics FIFA. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Ilie Dumitrescu		 Steaua Top Scorer
1994–1995 		Succeeded by
Ion Vlădoiu
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