Adrian Ilie Explained

Adrian Ilie
Fullname:Bucurel Adrian Ilie[1]
Birth Date:20 April 1974
Birth Place:Craiova, Romania
Height:1.80 m
Position:Forward
Youthyears1:–1992
Youthclubs1:CSȘ Craiova
Years1:1992–1993
Clubs1:Electroputere Craiova
Caps1:31
Goals1:12
Years2:1993–1996
Clubs2:Steaua București
Caps2:85
Goals2:28
Years3:1996–1997
Clubs3:Galatasaray
Caps3:30
Goals3:12
Years4:1998–2002
Clubs4:Valencia
Caps4:84
Goals4:29
Years5:2002–2004
Clubs5:Alavés
Caps5:22
Goals5:6
Years6:2004
Clubs6:Beşiktaş (loan)
Caps6:13
Goals6:6
Years7:2004–2005
Clubs7:Zürich
Caps7:23
Goals7:7
Totalcaps:287
Totalgoals:100
Nationalyears1:1992–1995
Nationalteam1:Romania U21
Nationalcaps1:17
Nationalgoals1:21
Nationalyears2:1993–2005[2]
Nationalteam2:Romania
Nationalcaps2:55
Nationalgoals2:13
Manageryears1:2007
Managerclubs1:Steaua București (sporting director)

Bucurel Adrian Ilie (born 20 April 1974) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a forward.

Nicknamed The Cobra, he is best known for his spell with Valencia in Spain.

He played for the Romania national team in one World Cup and two European Championships.

Club career

Ilie began his career with his local club Electroputere Craiova before transferring to Romania's biggest club Steaua Bucuresti in 1993. During his three years with Steaua, Ilie helped the club to three consecutive Romanian league titles and the 1995–96 Cupa României.

In 1996, Ilie was purchased by Turkish side Galatasaray for an amount of €2.35 million, where he won the Turkish championship in 1996–97. After an impressive season, he moved from Galatasaray to Valencia CF for a reported US$ 7 million, where he replaced in the squad the Brazilian star Romário and took over his no. 11 jersey. At Valencia he impressed from his debut, scoring twelve goals in 17 matches, and thus getting the nickname of "Cobra" from coach Claudio Ranieri, because he was as "lethal as a cobra".[3] At the Mestalla, Ilie made a remarkable attacking duo together with teammate Claudio López, helping Los Che to win the 1998–99 Copa del Rey. In 2000, under Héctor Cúper's command, Valencia reached the final of the UEFA Champions League, where Ilie appeared as a substitute for Gerardo in a 3–0 loss to Real Madrid CF. Two years later, Ilie was a member of Rafael Benítez's 2001–02 La Liga winning squad, scoring only two goals in 10 matches because of injuries.

In 2002, Ilie left Valencia to join Deportivo Alavés but the club was relegated to the Segunda División in his only season. He then returned to Turkey to play for Beşiktaş J.K. before transferring to Switzerland's FC Zürich a year later. In 2005, he signed with Belgian side Beerschot AC but never played with the club due to a severe ankle injury,[4] resulting in his retirement from football at the age of only 31.

However, in 2009, he decided to come back into professional football after some discussions with Russian club FC Terek Grozny but he had to quit after failing his medical tests.

International career

At the international level, Ilie won 55 caps for Romania, scoring 13 goals. He played at the 1996 European Football Championship, 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2000 European Football Championship.[5] At 1998 FIFA World Cup, he scored against Colombia one of the most spectacular goals of the tournament. In the period between 1997 and 2000, alongside teammate Gheorghe Hagi, he was Romania's national team leader, scoring important goals and impressing with his skills. In 1998, he won the title of Romania's footballer of the year.

Personal life

He is the older brother of fellow footballer Sabin Ilie.[6]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueCupSupercupContinentalTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Electroputere Craiova1991–92Divizia A1010
1992–933012103112
Total3112103212
Steaua București1993–94Divizia A233040273
1994–95281110633514
1995–962413723114
1996–9710155156
Total852810221010838
Galatasaray1996–971.Lig18610196
1997–98126751911
Total301210753817
Valencia1997–98La Liga1712312013
1998–99241040523312
1999–002251010123368
2000–011001020130
2001–021020033135
Total8329911022811538
Alavés2002–03La Liga2261020256
Beşiktaş (loan)2003–04Süper Lig13620156
Zürich2004–05Swiss Super League237442711
Career total287100145305623360128

International stats

National teamYearAppsGoals
Romania199310
199691
199761
1998116
199962
200051
200192
200240
200320
200520
Total5513

Romania score listed first, score column indicates score after each Ilie goal.

List of international goals scored by Adrian Ilie
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1 14 August 1996 Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania 1–0 2–0 Friendly
2 30 April 1997 Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania 1–0 1–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
3 3 June 1998 Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania 1–0 3–2 Friendly
4 2–1
5 15 June 1998 Stade de Gerland, Lyon, France 1–0 1–0 1998 FIFA World Cup Group G
6 2 September 1998 Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania 3-07–0 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
74–0
85–0
9 5 June 1999 Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania 1–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
10 4 September 1999 Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia 0–1 1–5 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
11 16 August 2000 Stadionul Cotroceni, Bucharest, Romania 1–0 1–1 Friendly
12 6 June 2001 Darius and Girėnas Stadium, Kaunas, Lithuania, 0–1 1–2 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
13 5 September 2001 Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary 0–1 0–2 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Steaua București[7]

1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96

1995–96

1994, 1995

Galatasaray[8]

1996–97

1997

Valencia[9]

2001–02

1998–99

1999

1998

Zürich[10]

2004–05

Individual

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bucurel Adrian Ilie . Turkish Football Federation . 23 December 2020.
  2. News: Adrian Bucurel Ilie – International Appearances. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
  3. News: Adrian Ilie La 'Cobra' más letal del Valencia de Ranieri. 27 January 2015. 10 April 2015. Spanish. discoveryfootball.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20160807052343/http://www.discoveryfootball.com/especiales/?idc=18&sacc=read&idi=7605. 7 August 2016. dead.
  4. http://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/g0ah6ph0 De Cobra stuurt zijn kat
  5. https://web.archive.org/web/20080415081434/http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/players/player=157403/index.html Adrian Ilie Statistics
  6. News: Dinamo land Valencia striker Ilie. 21 September 2001. 10 July 2014. UEFA.
  7. Web site: Adrian Ilie. SteauaFC.com. Romanian. 24 November 2014. 3 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160803172733/http://www.steauafc.com/en/jucator/81/. dead.
  8. Web site: Ilie, Adrian. National-Football-Teams. 24 November 2014.
  9. Web site: Adrian Ilie. BDFutbol. 24 November 2014.
  10. Web site: Switzerland 2004/05. RSSSF. 24 November 2014.