Vlad Iulian Chiricheș (; born 14 November 1989) 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 lea ...

who plays for

Liga I Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...

club

FCSB Fotbal Club FCSB (), formerly named and still sometimes referred to as FC Steaua București, is a Romanian professional football club based in Bucharest. It has spent its entire history in the Liga I, the top flight of the Romanian football le ...

and the Romania national team. Primarily a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

, he can also be deployed as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

or a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. Chiricheș spent the first part of his senior career in Romania with Internațional Curtea de Argeș,

Pandurii Târgu Jiu The uprising of 1821 was a social and political rebellion in Wallachia, which was at the time a tributary state of the Ottoman Empire. It originated as a movement against the Phanariote administration, with backing from the more conservative b ...

, and Steaua București. He helped the latter to a Liga I title and a

Supercupa României The Supercupa României () is a Romanian football (soccer), 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 Supe ...

, before transferring to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

in 2013 in a then Romanian record sale of €9.5 million (£8.5 million). Chiricheș relocated to Italy after two years in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, representing

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

clubs

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; ) 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 is best known for being the centre of the Ita ...

, and

Cremonese Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

over the course of eight seasons. In 2023, he returned to Romania by re-signing for FCSB. A full international for Romania since September 2011, Chiricheș has earned over 70

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for his country and represented it in the

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's association football, football ch ...

Club career

Early career

Chiricheș began his youth career in his hometown as a midfielder at LPS Bacău, and even played as a striker a few years later when he moved to Ardealul Cluj. At the latter side, he was teammates with also future Romanian internationals

Mihai Răduț Mihai Cosmin Răduț (born 18 March 1990) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga II club FC U Craiova. Răduț started out at Internațional Curtea de Argeș in 2009, and one year later earned a transfer to S ...

and Alexandru Maxim. In 2007, Chiricheș moved to Portuguese team Benfica. Upon his return to Romania after twelve months spent in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, Chiricheș joined lower league club Internațional Curtea de Argeș and helped them achieve promotion to the top flight in 2009. In 2010, shortly after Internațional was dissolved, he moved alongside many of his teammates to

. Chiricheș was close to sign for

instead, but their coach

Victor Pițurcă Victor Pițurcă (; born 8 May 1956) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player. Club career Victor Pițurcă was born on 8 May 1956 in Orodel, Dolj County, Romania, starting to play football in 1964 at the youth center of U ...

did not agree with the transfer.

Steaua București

Testspiel Red Bull salzburg gegen Steaua Bukarest

After one season in

Târgu Jiu Târgu Jiu (, is the capital city, capital of Gorj County in the Oltenia region of Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathian Mountains, Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu (river), Jiu. Eight localities are administered by the ...

, Chiricheș eventually sealed a transfer to Steaua București for a reported sum of €700,000 plus 25% interest. FCSB paid €500,000 for the remaining procents of the co-ownership in August 2013, making the total transfer sum to €1.2 million. On 25 October 2012, he scored an overhead volley from near the penalty spot in a 2–0 win against

Molde Molde () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the seat of Molde Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Romsdal. It is located on the Romsdal Pen ...

in the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

, which put Steaua in control of

Group E Group E may refer to: * E-Group: E-Groups are unique architectural complexes found among a number of ancient Maya settlements * Group E (vase painting), a group of Attic vase painters of the black-figure style, active between 560 and 540 BC. * On ...

. Chiricheș scored from long range against

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

on 21 February 2013, canceling out a two-goal first-leg deficit as Steaua triumphed in the penalty shoot-out to set up a round of 16 meeting with 2012 Champions League winners Chelsea. He scored again away, an equalising goal to make it 1–1 with a fine close-range finish on the stroke of half-time in the 3–1 second leg loss against "the Blues" at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in ...

after FCSB won the first leg 1–0.

Tottenham Hotspur

On 30 August 2013, English team

paid €9.5 million (£8.5 million) for the signing of Chiricheș, making him the record transfer of the Romanian championship at the time. On 24 September, he made his competitive debut in a 4–0 League Cup victory over

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

. He registered his

debut against the same opponent, with fans voting him

Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

in the 2–0 away win on 20 October. On 4 December that year, Chiricheș scored his first goal by equalising from outside the penalty box in a 2–1 victory over

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

. Towards the end of the 2015 winter

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

, Italian side

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

offered €500,000 to take Chiricheș on a six-month loan, which was deemed too low and rejected by Tottenham. On 9 May 2015, he was sent off for two bookings as his team lost 0–3 to

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

at the

Britannia Stadium The bet365 Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of EFL Championship club Stoke City. The stadium was previously called the Britannia Stadium but was renamed on 1 June 2016 when the cl ...

Napoli

On 30 July 2015, Italian club

signed Chiricheș on a four-year deal for a £4.5 million transfer fee. He made his

debut for the club in a 1–2 home loss to

on 23 August. On 10 September 2018, Chiricheș suffered a damage to his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

which sidelined him for most of the

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 axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

Sassuolo

On 2 September 2019, Chiricheș moved to fellow Serie A club Sassuolo on a one-

loan with an obligation to buy. In the summer of 2020, Sassuolo paid the previously-agreed €11 million fee to Napoli.

Cremonese

On 8 July 2022, Chiricheș chose to stay in Italy and its Serie A by signing a one-year deal with

Return to FCSB

FCSB announced the return of Chiricheș on 25 July 2023, roughly ten years after his record sale to Tottenham Hotspur. He made his debut four days later by starting in a 2–0 away league win over Oțelul Galați. Chiricheș only played a further six matches—of which three in the

Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...

qualifiers—before suffering a long-term injury which kept him out of action until March 2024.

International career

On 2 September 2011, Chiricheș made his senior debut for

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

in a 2–0 away victory over

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

counting for the

UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2012 was a series of parallel association football competitions held across Europe between 2010 and 2011 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012. The draw for the qualifying rounds was held on 7 Febru ...

. On 14 August 2013, he served as captain for the first time in a 1–1 friendly draw with

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. His competitive debut as captain came on 6 September that year, in a 3–0 FIFA World Cup qualifier victory over

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. On 5 October 2017, Chiricheș reached his 50th cap for the national team in a 3–1 home defeat of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

FCSB *

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 2013–14, 2023–24, 2024–25 *

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Tottenham Hotspur * League Cup runner-up: 2014–15 Individual *''

Gazeta Sporturilor Gazeta Sporturilor () is a Romanian sports website, originally founded in 1924 as a daily newspaper. It was the third-oldest daily newspaper in Europe, with 99 years of uninterrupted publication, before issuing its last edition on 31 October 2023. ...

Romanian Footballer of the Year The Romanian Footballer of the Year (), also known as the Nicolae Dobrin Trophy (), is an annual association football award given by the ''Gazeta Sporturilor'' newspaper to the Romanian player adjudged to have been the best during a calendar yea ...

: 2013; runner-up: 2012

References

Notes Citations

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chiriches, Vlad Footballers from Bacău 1989 births Living people Romanian men's footballers Romanian expatriate men's footballers Romania men's international footballers Romania men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football central defenders Liga I players Liga II players Premier League players Serie A players S.L. Benfica footballers FC Internațional Curtea de Argeș players CS Pandurii Târgu Jiu players FCSB players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players SSC Napoli players US Sassuolo Calcio players US Cremonese players Romanian expatriate sportspeople in England Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Italy UEFA Euro 2016 players 21st-century Romanian sportsmen