Craiova
Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
Ionescu is a product of Universitatea Craiova's youth system and has been a regular player for them. Rising through the ranks, he became captain of the side on several occasions. His talent caught the attention of Dutch club
PSV PSV may refer to:
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* Petit Saint Vincent, an island south of St. Vincent in the Grenadine islands
* Platform supply vessel, a specific typ ...
in 2004, where he spent one season in their academy. Ionescu has a lot of qualities his great passes and acceleration goes along with good dribbling attributes. He is also good-working player, who is battling for every ball in his reach.
He made his professional Liga I debut on 27 August 2006 in a 0–4 loss to
Dinamo București A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator.
Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to:
Places
* Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia
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. In his three seasons at Craiova, he played 54 matches and scored 4 goals.
Steaua București
On 24 August 2008, he signed a five-year contract with Steaua București. He is in co-ownership with Universitatea Craiova. The following two seasons saw Ionescu in and out of the squad, making only 18 league and cup appearances during the two years, mostly from the substitutes bench. After the arrival of new manager
Cristiano Bergodi
Cristiano Bergodi (born 14 October 1964) is an Italian former professional footballer and a professional football manager, currently in charge of Romanian side Sepsi OSK. He played as a defender.
Club career
Born in Bracciano, Lazio, Bergodi ...
, Ionescu became a regular starter for Steaua in the 2009–10
Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
season. He made his European debut on 16 July 2009 against Hungarian side Újpest in a 2–0 win. Struggling for first team opportunities, Ionescu was sent out on loan to Politehnica Iaşi on 10 February 2010 until the summer. During the 2010 summer transfer window, he was close to sign a loan deal with Turkish side
Mersin Ä°dmanyurdu
Mersin Talim Yurdu, formerly Mersin İdman Yurdu, is a Turkish sports club from Mersin, Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean Region. The team played in the Turkish first division for 15 seasons, and after the 1983–84 season the football team pla ...
. However, the transfer failed. In the winter of
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
season, Ionescu was demoted to the B squad.
In June 2011, Ionescu left Steaua.
Royal Antwerp
On 31 August 2011, the free agent signed a two-year contract with Belgian side Royal Antwerp.
Ferencváros Budapest
On 30 August 2012 he signed a contract with the Hungarian record champion Ferencváros Budapest.
Later years
In February 2016, 28-year-old Ionescu signed a four-month contract with Dutch Eerste Divisie club
Eindhoven
Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Voluntari.
Aizawl
Ionescu switched clubs and countries in August and signed for Indian I-League club
Aizawl FC
Aizawl FC is an Indian professional football club based in Aizawl, Mizoram, that competes in the I-League. Incorporated in 1984, the club earned the entry in India's top-tier league in 2015–16, after winning 2015 I-League 2nd Division. Nickn ...
. He scored a goal in the
2018 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs The 2018 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs were played from 16 to 30 January 2018. A total of 22 teams competed in the qualifying play-offs to decide eight of the 32 places in the group stage of the 2018 AFC Champions League.
Teams
The fol ...
against Zob Ahan and became the first player to score a goal for Aizawl in any continental competitions. Ionescu's powerful right-footer from the centre of the box beat Zob Ahan goalkeeper Mohammad Mazaheri after he connected cross delivered by Laldinliana Renthlei.
International career
Ionescu has played for Romania since the U-19 level and made his debut in September 2006 in a 4–2 win over Belgium. On 22 February 2006, he made his debut for the Romania U-21 squad in a friendly against Turkey.
Honours
Steaua București
*
Romanian Cup
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
:
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
Voluntari
*
Romanian Cup
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditional ...