David Raul Miculescu (born 2 May 2001) is a Romanian professional

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 ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

or an attacking midfielder for Liga I club FCSB. He started his senior career at

UTA Arad Uta or UTA may refer to: Universities *University of Texas at Arlington, in the United States * University of Tarapacá, in Chile *University of Tampere, in Finland Sports * FC UTA Arad, a Romanian football club based in the town of Arad * A ...

in 2017, amassing over 110 games in all competitions before being signed by FCSB five years later. Internationally, Miculescu has represented Romania at under-18, under-19, under-21 and under-23 levels.

Club career

Early career / UTA Arad

Miculescu joined the youth ranks of

in the spring of 2016, after having previously played for

Electrica Timișoara Electrica is a private company, listed on the Bucharest and London stock exchanges. Electrica is the only listed Romanian company in the field of electricity distribution and supply in Romania. Electrica Group is a key player in the electricity di ...

, the Gheorghe Hagi Academy and the

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

academy in Bucharest, respectively. He made his senior debut for UTA on 23 September 2017, aged 16, coming on as a 78th-minute substitute for Amir Jorza in a 0–1 Liga II loss at Olimpia Satu Mare. On 9 March 2019, Miculescu scored his first goal for the club by equalising in an eventual 2–1 home victory over

ACS Poli Timișoara Asociația Club Sportiv Poli Timișoara (), commonly known as ACS Poli Timișoara, Poli Timișoara or simply ACS Poli, was a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Timișoara, Timiș County. The team was founded in 2012, the yea ...

. In the 2019–20 season, he amassed three goals from 25 appearances as UTA became Liga II champion and achieved promotion to the top tier. Miculescu recorded his first match in the Liga I on 28 September 2020, in a 1–0 away defeat of

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 * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterinbu ...

, and netted for the first time on 20 April 2021 in another 1–0 win against the same opponent. On 2 October 2021, he scored his first career double in a 2–2 league draw also against Dinamo București. On 22 April 2022, Miculescu signed a contract extension that would have kept him at the club until 2024. On 25 July, he scored his first goals of the

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in a 2–0 home win over newly-promoted Petrolul Ploiești.

FCSB

On 1 August 2022, Miculescu was officially unveiled at FCSB after the club activated his €1.7 million

release clause A buyout clause or release clause refers to a clause in a contract that imposes an obligation on another organisation wishing to acquire the services of the employee under contract to pay the (usually substantial) fee of the clause to the organisati ...

. He signed a five-year contract and was assigned the number 11 shirt. Two days later, he registered his debut by starting in a 1–0 away win over DAC Dunajská Streda in the UEFA Europa Conference League third qualifying round. On his Liga I debut against Mioveni on 6 August 2022, Miculescu scored a header to seal a 1–1 draw. He failed to make an impact during his first season in Bucharest, totalling 36 league appearances—of which he only started 11—and scoring three goals.

Style of play

A tall and physical player, Miculescu can be deployed in an advanced midfield position or wide as a winger, preferably on the right flank.

Personal life

Miculescu's father,

Valentin Valentin is a male given name meaning "strong, healthy, power, rule, terco". It comes from the Latin name ''Valentinus'', as in Saint Valentin. Commonly found in Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Scandinavia, Latin America ...

, was also a professional footballer. A

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

, he too played for UTA Arad.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

UTA Arad * Liga II: 2019–20 FCSB * Liga I: 2023–24 *

Supercupa României The Supercupa României ( en, Romanian Supercup) is a Romanian football championship contested by the winners of the Liga I and the Cupa României. It is usually played at the Arena Națională in Bucharest. The competition started off in 1994, ...

2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***''Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney's fi ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Miculescu, David 2001 births Living people Footballers from Timișoara Romanian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Liga I players Liga II players FC UTA Arad players FCSB players Romania men's youth international footballers Romania men's under-21 international footballers Olympic footballers for Romania