Adrian Mutu

Adrian Mutu (born January 8 1979) is a Romanian footballer born in C?line?ti, Arge? county. A striker and captain of the Romanian national team, he is currently at Juventus. He was ineligible to play for Juve before May 18, 2005 because of a drug-related suspension.

Career

Arge? Pite?ti (1996-1999)

Mutu started his professional career at his home club of FC Arge? Dacia Pite?ti where he scored 11 goals in 41 games before sealing a ?600,000 ($760,000) transfer to Dinamo Bucharest.

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Dinamo Bucharest (1999-2000)

His superb performances for Dinamo meant that Mutu did not spend long playing in the Romanian capital. He scored 22 goals in 33 games in total and played an important role in Dinamo's league and Romanian Cup success. However by the time that Dinamo lifted these trophies Mutu had already left to play in Milan.

Related Topics:
Romania - Milan

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Inter Milan (2000)

Having joined Inter midway through the season for ?1.2m ($1.5m) Mutu failed to replicate his form in Serie A. He played only ten games for Inter which brought no goals. In 2000 he was loaned out to Hellas Verona FC before they paid ?4m ($5.1m) to buy him outright.

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Hellas Verona (2000-2002)

Mutu replicated his early promise with Verona, in the 2001/02 season he scored 12 goals in 32 games, a ratio which tempted Parma to pay ?10m ($12.7m) for his services.

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Parma (2002-2003)

Mutu's season with Parma is considered to be his most productive season in Italy and the best full season of his career. He scored 18 goals in 31 Serie A games for Parma, helping the club qualify for the UEFA Cup. Mutu was so successful that he was chosen to be Parma's club captain for the following season; however, before he could could captain Parma, he was signed by Chelsea as part of new owner Roman Abramovich's spending spree for £15.8m ($28.9m).

Related Topics:
UEFA Cup - Chelsea - Roman Abramovich

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Chelsea (2003-2004)

Four goals in three matches, including two in a 4-2 victory over London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, immediately adhered him to the Stamford Bridge faithful, but the goals dried up as the season progressed. In the 2004/05 season, Mutu has had a difficult relationship with the club's new manager José Mourinho, each accusing the other of lying about whether the player was injured for a World Cup qualifying match against the Czech Republic. In September 2004 he failed a drugs test for cocaine, and he was sacked on October 29 2004. He also received a 7-month ban and a £20,000 fine from The Football Association; the ban ended on 18 May 2005.

Related Topics:
Tottenham Hotspur - Stamford Bridge - 2004/05 season - José Mourinho - World Cup - Czech Republic - Cocaine - October 29 - 2004 - The Football Association - 18 May - 2005

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Juventus (2005-)

Mutu signed a five-year contract with the Italian club on January 12 2005, despite still being banned from football until May. During his ban he helped coach the Romanian national team.

Related Topics:
Italian - January 12 - 2005 - Romanian national team

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He made his first appearance for Juve on May 29, 2005, coming on as a substitute in the 57th minute of Juve's last match of the season, a 4-2 win over Cagliari.

Related Topics:
May 29 - 2005 - Cagliari

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International career

As of 2005, Mutu has played for Romania 38 times, scoring 13 goals. The only major tournament he has played in to date was {{Ec2|2000}}.

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Statistics

*League games only

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