Raul Rusescu

Raul Rusescu
Rusescu with Romania in 2014
Personal information
Full name Raul Andrei Rusescu
Date of birth (1988-07-09) 9 July 1988
Place of birth Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position Forward / Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
FCSB
Number 24
Youth career
1995–2004 Râmnicu Vâlcea
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2011 Unirea Urziceni 87 (18)
2006–2007Dunărea Giurgiu (loan) 31 (13)
2007–2008Otopeni (loan) 20 (4)
2011–2013 Steaua București 65 (34)
2013–2015 Sevilla 1 (0)
2013–2014Braga (loan) 13 (5)
2014–2015FCSB (loan) 21 (4)
2015–2018 Osmanlıspor 46 (10)
2018– FCSB 6 (1)
National team
2006–2007 Romania U19 6 (3)
2009–2010 Romania U21 6 (2)
2012– Romania 10 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 October 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 27 March 2016

Raul Andrei Rusescu (born 9 July 1988) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays for Romanian club FCSB as a forward or an attacking midfielder.

Club career

CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea

At age seven, Rusescu was spotted by Cristi Bora at a trial and brought to Râmnicu Vâlcea.[1] As a youth, he tore open his calf when he fell out of a bus, and then subsequently broke his tibia falling down on ice.[2] Here, he was a group teammate with later Steaua București colleague Mihai Costea. Although he went through the youth systems of CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea in 2005, the coach of the team at the time, Adrian Furnică, decided that the player did not have value and that he was not likely to grow.[3]

Unirea Urziceni

In 2005, Rusescu was brought to Liga II side Unirea Urziceni under the command of Dan Petrescu. He had limited playing time in his first year with the team while they earned promotion to the Liga I.

His team now being in the first tier of Romanian football, Rusescu was loaned to Dunărea Giurgiu.[4] Although not yet 18, he quickly became a starter and finished the season with 13 goals scored across all competitions.[5] For the 2007–08 season, however, he was again loaned out, to Liga II club CS Otopeni.[6] He helped the club gain promotion to the Liga I by scoring 4 goals in 20 matches.[7]

In his first year in Liga I with Unirea Urziceni, Rusescu helped his team win the 2008–09 league title, earning a place in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League.[8] He finished the season with 5 goals scored in 23 games.[9]

In the 2009–10 campaign, Rusescu scored 8 goals from 29 total appearances, helping Unirea Urziceni finish second in the league and gather eight points in the 2009–10 Champions League group stage.[10]

After manager Dan Petrescu left the club, Rusescu was used as a winger and did not perform as well as before.

Steaua București

On 4 May 2011, the owner of Steaua București announced at a televised show that Rusescu has signed with the club.[11] Rusescu made his Liga I debut with Steaua on 31 July against CS Mioveni, also scoring his first Steaua goal.[12] In the next match, Rusescu scored his second goal for the club against Universitatea Cluj. He scored his first European goal for Steaua against Schalke 04 in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League.[13]

On 5 December, Rusescu scored two sensational goals against Steaua's arch-rival Dinamo București, assuring his club a win in a match named by the two club's supporters the Eternal Derby and ending Steaua's seven-year winless streak on Dinamo's stadium. He has been deemed a hero by the Steaua supporters and the press.[14][15] In the next Europa League group stage match, Rusescu scored again for Steaua from a penalty kick, helping his club beat AEK Larnaca and qualifying for the round of 32.[16] At the end of 2011, Rusescu was Steaua's most prolific goalscorer with seven goals in Liga I and two in the Europa League group stage.[17]

On 7 March 2013, Rusescu scored from the penalty spot against Chelsea at the National Arena, to put Steaua 1–0 up in the Europa League round of 16.[18] On 12 March, Rusescu scored a goal against Universitatea Cluj.[19] He scored again, on 18 March, against Astra Ploiești in a game which finished 2–1, with teammate Paul Pârvulescu scoring the winning goal.[20] On 8 April, Rusescu scored the second goal from the 4–1 victory against Sportul Studențesc.[21]

Sevilla

On 13 June 2013, Rusescu completed a move to Spanish La Liga club Sevilla, signing a five-year contract which included a 40 million release clause.[22] On 20 August 2015, Sevilla announced that Rusescu had terminated his contract with the club.[23]

Loan to Braga

At the end of 2013, Rusescu was loaned at Portuguese Primeira Liga club Braga, with an option to purchase outright. He made his Braga debut on 6 January 2014 in a 2–0 win against Arouca in the Taça de Portugal. On 10 January, he scored two goals for Braga in his Primeira Liga debut, a 3–0 win over Vitória de Guimarães.

Loan to FCSB

On 1 September 2014, just one year after being sold by FCSB to Sevilla, Rusescu returned for a season-long loan.[24][25][26]

International career

Rusescu is an ex-Romania U-21 international, earning seven caps and scoring two goals.[27] He played in the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, losing in the play-offs against England.[28]

Career statistics

Club

As of 7 October 2018[29]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Dunărea Giurgiu (loan) 2006–07 3113113214
Total 3113113214
Otopeni (loan) 2007–08 204??-204
Total 204??204
Unirea Urziceni 2005–06 92??-92
2008–09 2350000235
2009–10 2680030298
2010–11 2931040343
Total 871810709518
FCSB 2011–12 31132092104315
2012–13 3421001354726
2014–15 2145232453313
2018–19 611130102
Total 9239833229121013356
Sevilla 2013–14 10204373
Total 10204373
Braga 2013–14 1354132208
Total 1354132208
Osmanlıspor 2015–16 249212610
2016–17 22152124397
Total 4610731246517
Career total2908923864521910372120

International goals

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.11 October 2014Arena Națională, Bucharest Hungary
1–1
1–1
Euro 2016 qualifier

Honours

Club

Unirea Urziceni

Steaua București

Sevilla

Individual

References

  1. Bora l-a vazut la un trial la doar 7 ani
  2. Ca junior s-a accidentat grav cazand din autobuz si pe gheata
  3. In 2005 a fost dat afara de la CSM RV
  4. Rusescu a fost imprumutat la Dunarea Giurgiu
  5. Rusescu a marcat 13 goluri pentru Dunarea Giurgiu
  6. Rusescu imprumutat la Otopeni
  7. Rusescu a promovat cu Otopeni
  8. Unirea Urziceni campioana romaniei
  9. Statistics of Rusescu at Urziceni
  10. Raul Rusescu statistici pentru Urziceni
  11. Steaua l-a luat si pe Ruesescu
  12. Cronica partidei Steaua-Mioveni
  13. Rusescu scores against Shalke 04
  14. Statistics for Steaua-Dinamo
  15. Steaua viseaza din nou la titlu dupa 3-1 cu Dinamo
  16. Rusescu scores against AEK Larnaca
  17. Rusescu este primul in topul marcatorilor la Steaua
  18. "Eroul Stelei e satisfăcut". Gazeta Sporturilor. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  19. Raul Rusescu deschide scorul cu Cluj
  20. Diagonala spre titlu
  21. Pass hattrick
  22. "Raul Rusescu, máximo goleador de la Liga rumana, firma por cinco campañas" (in Spanish). Sevilla FC Official Website. 13 June 2013. Archived from the original on 17 June 2013.
  23. "RAUL RUSESCU RESCINDE SU CONTRATO CON EL SEVILLA FC DE MUTUO ACUERDO" (in Spanish). Sevilla FC Official Website. 20 August 2015.
  24. "Bine ai revenit, Raul Rusescu!". Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  25. "Rusescu a semnat cu Steaua! A fost împrumutat un an de la Sevilla". Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  26. Oficial: Rusescu, la Steaua!, fanatik.ro
  27. National team statistics at soccerway
  28. Rusescu at U-21 European Championship
  29. "R. Rusescu". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
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