Ionuț Andrei Radu (; born 28 May 1997), known as Ionuț Radu or Andrei Radu, 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

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for French club

Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are r ...

, on loan from

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...

. He also represents the

Romania national team Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. Radu began his professional career at Inter Milan, his senior output during his first stint consisting of only one match. He was loaned to

Avellino Avellino () is a town and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

in 2017, and the following year joined Genoa also on loan but with an obligation to buy. In the summer of 2019, the ''Nerazzurri'' activated his buy-back clause before loaning him again to the latter club and then to

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

and Cremonese. In international football, Radu led Romania under-21 to the semi-finals of the 2019 UEFA European Championship as their

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. That year, he was awarded the

Romanian Footballer of the Year The Romanian Footballer of the Year ( ro, Fotbalistul român al anului), also known as the Nicolae Dobrin Trophy ( ro, Trofeul Nicolae Dobrin), is an annual association football award given by the ''Gazeta Sporturilor'' newspaper to the Romanian ...

trophy.

Club career

Early career / Inter Milan

Radu began playing football at age eight with local Viitorul București, after his grandmother read a newspaper announcement. He was transferred to

FC Steaua București FC Steaua București was a Romanian professional football club of which two current entities are claiming the records. The original ''FC Steaua București'' team was part of the namesake CSA Steaua București sports club and belonged to the Ministry ...

in 2008, and left the club for

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

side

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 Yekaterin ...

three years later. In 2013, he relocated to Italy by briefly joining Pergolettese at the start of the year and then being assigned to

's junior squads in the summer. On 14 May 2016, during the last matchday of the

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

, Radu made his senior debut for Inter by entering as a 72nd-minute substitute for

Juan Pablo Carrizo Juan Pablo Carrizo (born 6 May 1984) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He started his professional career with River Plate, where he played until 2008, winning the 2008 Clausura. His performances earne ...

in a 3–1

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

away defeat to

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; egl, label=Modenese dialect, Modenese, Sasól ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town ...

. On 4 October that year, he penned down a new four-season deal with the ''Nerazzurri'' which would have ran until June 2020. Radu agreed to a one-

year A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hou ...

loan at

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...

club

with an option to buy on 15 July 2017. He made his debut in the second round of the

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

, a 1–0 home win over

Matera Matera (, ; Materano: ) is a city in the region of Basilicata, in Southern Italy. As the capital of the province of Matera, its original settlement lies in two canyons carved by the Gravina River. This area, the Sassi di Matera, is a comple ...

on 6 August. On 18 September, he made his Serie B debut in a 1–1 home draw with

Venezia Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islan ...

, and on 24 October kept his first

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

in a 1–0 home win over

Pro Vercelli Football Club Pro Vercelli 1892, commonly referred to as Pro Vercelli, is an Italian football club based in Vercelli, Piedmont. The club is mostly renowned as one of the most successful teams in the early football era of Italy, with seven natio ...

. Radu ended his loan with the ''Biancoverdi'' with 24 appearances, five clean sheets and 30 conceded goals.

Genoa

2018–2019: Breakthrough season

On 29 June 2018, 21-year-old Radu was loaned to

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

with an obligation to join them on a full transfer the following season. Genoa Chairman

Enrico Preziosi Enrico Preziosi is an Italian entrepreneur. He runs a number of businesses and is most famous for have been the chairman ( it, presidente) of football club Genoa. Toys Preziosi is the chairman ( it, presidente) of the board of directors of Gioch ...

claimed the subsequent fee was

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

9 million, which made Radu the most expensive Romanian goalkeeper, while the financial report of Inter showed €8 million. The deal also included an undisclosed buy-back clause. After

Federico Marchetti Federico Marchetti (; born 7 February 1983) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Spezia. Marchetti began his professional club career with Torino in 2002, and was subsequently loaned out to Pro Verce ...

was used as a starter in the first four games of the 2018–19 season, Radu made his debut on 26 September against

Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...

in the Serie A, managing to keep a clean sheet in the 2–0 victory. He was deemed at fault for several goals his team conceded in the next fixtures, including

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

's opener in a 1–1 draw with

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

on 20 October and

Alessio Romagnoli Alessio Romagnoli (born 12 January 1995) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Lazio and the Italy national team. Romagnoli began his career with Roma in 2012, and later spent a season on loan with Sampdor ...

's late volley in a 2–1 loss to

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...

on the 31st the same month; he was however encouraged by manager

Ivan Jurić Ivan Jurić (; born 25 August 1975) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Torino. Jurić spent most of his playing career, as a midfielder, and his entire managing career in Italy. Playing ca ...

, who blamed young age as the source of his errors. On 3 November, he conceded five goals in a loss to his parent club Inter. Radu was nominated for ''

Gazeta Sporturilor ''Gazeta Sporturilor'' ( en, The Sports Gazette) is a daily Romanian newspaper, and the country's largest and most read sports-related publication. It is owned by Ringier Sportal S.R.L—a joint venture of Ringier Romania S.R.L. and the Bulgarian ...

s 2018

award in late November. On 22 December, he saved one of the two

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

kicks awarded to

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...

in a 3–1 home victory at the

Stadio Luigi Ferraris The Stadio comunale Luigi Ferraris, also known as the Marassi from the name of the neighbourhood where it is located, is a multi-use stadium in Genoa, Italy. The home of Genoa C.F.C. and U.C. Sampdoria football clubs, it opened in 1911 and is ...

. In January 2019, he was included by ''

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

.com'' in a list of the 50 Best Young Footballers to watch for that year. Radu managed to stay the first-choice goalkeeper under three managers, and amassed 33 league appearances throughout the season.

2019–2020: Return and fall out of favour

In June 2019, after Genoa paid the transfer fee for Radu's permanent move, he was immediately bought back by Inter Milan for €12 million. He however continued at Genoa on another loan. In December, Radu was announced as the recipient of the 2019

award by the ''Gazeta Sporturilor'' daily. He appeared in 17 Serie A games before leaving Genoa in the 2020 winter

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer win ...

, as a result of some unconvincing performances.

Return to Inter Milan

Inter Milan loaned Radu out to

for the remainder of the 2019–20 season, but he did not play in any game during his stint at the

Stadio Ennio Tardini Stadio Ennio Tardini, commonly referred to as just Il Tardini, is a football stadium in Parma, Italy, located near the centre of Parma, between the town centre and the city walls. It is the home of Parma Calcio 1913. The stadium was built in 19 ...

. The next campaign, he appeared in two Serie A matches for Inter as they became national champions of Italy for the first time in 11 years. In a rare start on 27 April 2022, Radu committed an error which allowed

Nicola Sansone Nicola Domenico Sansone (; born 10 September 1991) is an Italian footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Bologna. Born in Germany, he has represented the Italian national team. Club career Sansone was born in Munich in Germany and ...

to score the winner in a 2–1 league loss to

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

. That result dropped Inter to second place in the table, where they remained for the rest of the season behind eventual champions

. On 8 July 2022, Radu joined

Cremonese Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' (Po Valley). It is the capital of the ...

on a

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

-long loan. On 25 January 2023, he moved on a new loan to

in France.

International career

Radu is a former Romania youth international at under-21 level, featuring for the side in the 2019 UEFA European Championship qualifiers. He made his debut on 13 June 2017, in a 2–0 away win over

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

. Radu captained both of the group matches in September 2018, saving a penalty to preserve a win against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and keeping a clean sheet in a victory over

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. The following month, ''Tricolorii mici'' finished on top of the group and qualified for the

final tournament Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. In May 2019, Radu was called up to the

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

senior squad for the approaching UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, but was not handed his full debut. In June, he started in all three group fixtures of the UEFA Under-21 Euro in Italy, keeping a clean sheet in a draw against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

which secured the first place for his nation. Romania were eventually eliminated by defending champions

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in the

semi-finals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

, after a 4–2 loss.

Personal life

Radu had an elder sister, who died in 2006 at age 14; he used to wear a t-shirt with a picture of her under the kit during the time he was a junior. He is the cousin of defender Andrei Radu, with whom he shares the same name.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Inter Milan *

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

: 2021–22 *

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seaso ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Individual *''

: 2019

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Radu, Andrei 1997 births Living people Footballers from Bucharest Romanian footballers Association football goalkeepers Serie A players Serie B players Inter Milan players U.S. Avellino 1912 players Genoa C.F.C. players Parma Calcio 1913 players U.S. Cremonese players AJ Auxerre players Romania under-21 international footballers Romania international footballers Romanian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in France Romanian expatriate sportspeople in France