Adrian Popa (footballer, born 1988)

Adrian Popa
Popa in 2021
Personal information
Date of birth (1988-07-24) 24 July 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth Bucharest, Romania
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 CSA Steaua București
Number 77
Youth career
0000–2005 CSȘ 1 Pajura
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2009 Politehnica II Timișoara 87 (26)
2007–2008 → CS Buftea (loan) 11 (2)
2009 → Gloria Buzău (loan) 12 (1)
2009–2010 Universitatea Cluj 24 (3)
2010–2012 Concordia Chiajna 60 (10)
2012–2017 Steaua București 137 (20)
2017–2020 Reading 15 (1)
2018 → Al-Taawoun (loan) 10 (2)
2019 → Ludogorets Razgrad (loan) 13 (0)
2019–2020 → FCSB (loan) 17 (2)
2020–2021 Voluntari 8 (2)
2021 Academica Clinceni 19 (2)
2021–2023 CSA Steaua București 47 (11)
2023–2024 Concordia Chiajna 5 (0)
2024– CSA Steaua București 17 (2)
International career
2012–2017 Romania 24 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 October 2024

Adrian Popa (born 24 July 1988) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Liga II club CSA Steaua București.

Club career

Early years

Popa was one of the most proficient players of the Politehnica Timișoara reserve team, and was loaned to CS Buftea and Gloria Buzău.

Universitatea Cluj

In July 2009, Popa signed a contract with Universitatea Cluj. Although he showed impressive skills and helped the team get promoted to the first division, he left the club after one year.

Concordia Chiajna

In 2010, Popa joined Concordia Chiajna. He contributed to the club's promotion to the first division and was kept for the following season.

FCSB

On 15 August 2012, Popa signed a five-year contract with FCSB for an undisclosed transfer fee.[1][2] One week later, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 away win over FK Ekranas in the Europa League play-off round's first leg.[3]

He played over 200 games during his spell with the capital-based club.

Reading

On 27 January 2017, it was announced that Popa agreed to transfer to English team Reading after reaching the final six months of his contract with FCSB.[4] The transfer was made official three days later, with Popa signing with Reading until the summer of 2020.[5]

His first goal came on 17 March 2017, scoring Reading's second in injury time in a 2–0 win over Sheffield Wednesday at the Hillsborough Stadium.[6]

Loan to Al-Taawon

On 29 January 2018, Reading confirmed that Popa had joined Saudi Arabian side Al-Taawon on loan until the end of the 2017–18 season.[7][8]

Loan to Ludogorets Razgrad

On 20 December 2018, Reading announced that Popa had moved to Ludogorets Razgrad on loan for the rest of the 2018–19 season.[9]

Voluntari

On 16 October 2020, Popa signed a one-year contract with FC Voluntari.[10]

Steaua București

On 22 September 2021, Popa signed a two-year contract with his childhood team, Steaua București.[11]

International career

Popa made his debut for the Romania senior team in October 2012, in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Netherlands.[12]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 26 October 2024[13]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
CS Buftea (loan) 2008–09 Liga II 11 2 0 0 – – – 11 2
Gloria Buzău (loan) 2008–09 Liga I 12 1 – – – – 12 1
Universitatea Cluj 2009–10 Liga II 24 3 0 0 – – – 24 3
Concordia Chiajna 2011–12 Liga II 27 4 0 0 – – – 27 4
2011–12 Liga I 29 3 1 1 – – – 30 4
2012–13 4 3 – – – – 4 3
Total 60 10 1 1 – – – – – – 61 11
Steaua București 2012–13 Liga I 30 1 2 0 – 11[a] 1 – 43 2
2013–14 28 7 5 0 – 11[b] 0 1[c] 0 45 7
2014–15 28 5 4 3 3 0 10[d] 0 0 0 45 8
2015–16 32 4 5 0 3 0 6[e] 1 0 0 46 5
2016–17 19 3 1 0 1 0 10[f] 0 – 31 3
Total 137 20 17 3 7 0 48 2 1 0 230 28
Reading 2016–17 Championship 8 1 0 0 0 0 – – 8 1
2017–18 6 0 0 0 2 0 – – 8 0
2018–19 1 0 0 0 0 0 – – 1 0
Total 15 1 0 0 2 0 – – 17 1
Al-Taawoun (loan) 2017–18 Saudi Professional League 9 0 0 0 – – – 9 0
Ludogorets Razgrad (loan) 2018–19 First League 13 0 1 0 – 0 0 0 0 14 0
FCSB (loan) 2019–20 Liga I 17 2 2 1 – 1[g] 0 – 20 3
Voluntari 2020–21 Liga I 8 2 0 0 – – – 8 2
Academica Clinceni 2020–21 Liga I 19 2 0 0 – – – 19 2
CSA Steaua București 2021–22 Liga II 19 5 0 0 – – – 19 5
2022–23 28 6 1 1 – – – 29 7
Total 47 11 1 1 – – – 49 12
Concordia Chiajna 2023–24 Liga II 5 0 0 0 – – – 5 0
CSA Steaua București 2023–24 Liga II 7 0 – – – – 7 0
2024–25 10 2 1 0 – – – 11 2
Total 17 2 1 0 – – – 18 2
Career total 396 54 23 6 9 0 49 2 1 0 476 62
  1. ^ Appearances in the Europa League
  2. ^ Appearances in the Champions League
  3. ^ Appearance in the Supercupa României
  4. ^ Five appearances in the Champions League and five in the Europa League
  5. ^ Four appearances in the Champions League and two in the Europa League
  6. ^ Four appearances in the Champions League and six in the Europa League
  7. ^ One appearance in the Europa League

International

[14]

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Romania 2012 1 0
2013 3 0
2014 1 0
2015 7 1
2016 11 3
2017 1 0
Total 24 4

[14]

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Popa goal.
List of international goals scored by Adrian Popa
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 14 February 2015 Mardan Sports Complex, Aksu, Turkey 7  Moldova 2–0 2–1 Friendly
2 3 June 2016 Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania 14  Georgia 1–0 5–1 Friendly
3 4 September 2016 Cluj Arena, Cluj-Napoca, Romania 17  Montenegro 1–0 1–1 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
4 8 October 2016 Vazgen Sargsyan, Yerevan, Armenia 18  Armenia 2–0 5–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

FCSB

Ludogorets Razgrad

References

  1. ^ "Adrian Popa este noul jucător al Stelei!" [Adrian Popa is the new player of Steaua!] (in Romanian). FC Steaua București. 15 August 2012. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  2. ^ "Astea-s contractele! » Gazeta are toate datele din acordurile pe care le-au semnat Adi Popa şi Szukala" [These are the contracts! » Gazeta has all the details about the agreements signed by Popa and Szukala] (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  3. ^ "Ekranas – Steaua 0–2! Kawasaki-vicius! Titular în premieră, Adi Popa a înscris PRIMUL său gol în tricoul grupării din Ghencea" [Ekranas – Steaua 0–2! Kawasaki-vicius! A starter for the first time, Adi Popa scored his FIRST goal for the Ghencea-based team] (in Romanian). Pro Sport. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  4. ^ "Despărțire emoționantă la Steaua! Adi Popa și-a luat "la revedere" de la colegi" [Heartwarming farewell at Steaua! Adi Popa said goodbye to his teammates] (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  5. ^ "Royals complete Popa signing". Reading FC. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  6. ^ "Sheffield Wednesday 0–2 Reading". BBC Sport. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Popa loan switch confirmed". Reading F.C. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Adrian Popa has left Reading FC to join Saudi Arabian side Al-Taawoun on loan". Reading chronicle. 28 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  9. ^ "Popa set to spend rest of season on loan at Ludogorets". readingfc.co.uk/. Reading F.C. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  10. ^ "OFICIAL". facebook.com/VoluntariFC/ (in Romanian). Voluntari FC Facebook. 16 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  11. ^ "Adi Popa, prezentat oficial la Steaua! Ce număr va purta".
  12. ^ "Romania 1–4 Netherlands". FIFA. 16 October 2012. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  13. ^ "Adrian Popa". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Adrian Popa". European Football. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
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