Cristian Săpunaru

Cristian Săpunaru

Săpunaru training with Porto in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Ionuț Cristian Săpunaru
Date of birth	5 April 1984
Place of birth	Bucharest, Romania
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 1 ^1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current team	Pandurii
Number	19
Youth career
1990–2002	Național București
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2002–2006	Național București	34	(3)
2003–2004	→ Callatis Mangalia (loan)	10	(0)
2006–2008	Rapid București	51	(3)
2008–2012	Porto	67	(3)
2010	→ Rapid București (loan)	10	(3)
2012–2013	Zaragoza	29	(2)
2013–2014	Elche	8	(1)
2015	Rapid București	13	(4)
2015–	Pandurii	17	(5)
National team^‡
2006	Romania U21	3	(0)
2008–	Romania	10	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 March 2016. † Appearances (goals) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 27 March 2016

Ionuţ Cristian Săpunaru (born 5 April 1984) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays for CS Pandurii Târgu Jiu. Mainly a right back, he can also play as a central defender.

Club career

Early years / Porto

Săpunaru was born in Bucharest, Romania. A product of FC Național București, joining its youth system at the age of only 6, Săpunaru signed with FC Rapid București in July 2006. In the summer of 2008 he was sold for €2.5 million to FC Porto and signed a five-year contract,^[1] with the Primeira Liga club owning 50% of the player's rights – Romanian sources indicated the price was actually €6 million plus two players.^[2]

During his debut campaign Săpunaru was first-choice right-back, as the northerners achieved a double, and scored his first goal in a League Cup 1–2 away loss against C.D. Nacional.

In early February 2010, he was suspended in Portugal – as his teammate Hulk – following incidents during a 0–1 league loss against S.L. Benfica, so he returned to his country for a five-month loan and moved to former side Rapid.^[3] He did not manage to be played regularly at Porto during that time but, following his return for 2010–11, became a very important first-team unit as the team won three major titles, appearing in 40 official games in the process.

On 17 February 2014, Săpunaru was condemned to pay a €90,000 fine for his participation in the beating of two stewards at the Estádio da Luz on 20 December 2009.^[4][5][6]

Zaragoza

On 31 August 2012, Săpunaru signed a one-year contract with La Liga club Real Zaragoza.^[7] He made his official debut on 16 September, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–2 loss at Real Sociedad.^[8]

In his first season in Aragon, Săpunaru started but also suffered team relegation. He also entered his name in the competition's history books, after breaking the record for the most bookings in a single campaign (19 yellow cards and one red).^[9]

International career

Săpunaru made his debut for the Romanian national team on 31 May 2008 against Montenegro, and was selected to the nation's squad at UEFA Euro 2008, although he did not play in the final stages.

Club statistics

As of 1 June 2013^[10][11]

Club	Season	League		Cup		Europe		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Național București
	2002–03	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	2003–04	1	0	2	0	0	0	3	0
Callatis Mangalia
	2003–04	10	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
	Total	10	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
Național București
	2004–05	6	0	2	0	0	0	8	0
	2005–06	23	3	5	0	0	0	28	3
	Total	34	3	9	0	0	0	43	3
Rapid București
	2006–07	19	1	3	0	6	0	28	1
	2007–08	32	2	2	0	2	0	36	2
	Total	51	3	5	0	8	0	64	3
Porto
	2008–09	17	0	7	1	8	0	25	0
	2009–10	5	0	0	0	4	0	9	0
Rapid București
	2009–10	10	3	0	0	0	0	10	3
	Total	10	3	0	0	0	0	10	3
Porto
	2010–11	19	0	9	0	13	0	41	0
	2011–12	15	2	2	0	3	0	20	2
	Total	56	2	18	1	28	0	102	3
Zaragoza
	2012–13	29	2	6	0	0	0	35	2
	Total	29	2	6	0	0	0	35	2
Career total		190	13	38	1	36	0	264	14

Honours

Rapid Bucharest

• Cupa României: 2006–07
• Supercupa României: 2007

Porto

• UEFA Europa League: 2010–11
• Primeira Liga: 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12
• Taça de Portugal: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2009, 2010, 2011
• UEFA Super Cup: Runner-up 2011

References

1. Rapid's Săpunaru plumps for Porto; UEFA.com, 14 July 2008
2. Ce transfer!!! Sapunaru la FC Porto pentru 6 milioane + 2 jucatori (We have a transfer!!! Sapunaru to FC Porto for 6 million + 2 players); Sport Magazin, 9 July 2008 (Romanian)
3. Sapunaru to return on loan to Rapid Bucharest; Romanian Times, 1 February 2010
4. "Futebolistas do FC Porto condenados no caso do túnel da Luz" [FC Porto footballers condemned in tunnel of Luz case] (in Portuguese). Expresso. 17 February 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
5. "FC Porto: jogadores condenados no caso do "túnel da Luz"" [FC Porto: players condemned in the "tunnel of Luz" case] (in Portuguese). Relvado. 17 February 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
6. "Túnel da Luz. Futebolistas condenados a indemnizar "stewards"" [Tunnel of Luz. Footballers condemned to compensate stewards] (in Portuguese). iOnline. 17 February 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
7. "Cristian Sapunaru se une a la plantilla del Real Zaragoza" [Cristian Sapunaru joins Real Zaragoza roster] (in Spanish). Real Zaragoza. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
8. "La Real se aprovecha de un inocente Zaragoza" [Real takes advantage of innocent Zaragoza] (in Spanish). Marca. 16 September 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
9. "Sapu cel galben » Săpunaru a rămas în istoria Primera Division: a depăşit recordul de cartonaşe galbene" [Sapu the yellow » Săpunaru makes history in Primera Division: yellow cards record broken] (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. 28 May 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
10. "C. Săpunaru". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
11. "Cristian Sapunaru". Footballdatabase. Retrieved 16 February 2015.

External links

• RomanianSoccer profile and stats
• Cristian Săpunaru at footballzz.co.uk
• Cristian Săpunaru profile at ForaDeJogo
• Cristian Săpunaru profile at BDFutbol
• Cristian Săpunaru at National-Football-Teams.com
• Cristian Săpunaru – FIFA competition record
• Cristian Săpunaru – UEFA competition record