 Rusescu withRomania in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Raul Andrei Rusescu | ||
| Date of birth | (1988-07-09)9 July 1988 (age 37) | ||
| Place of birth | Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward,attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–2004 | FC Teleșpan | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2005 | CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea | ||
| 2005–2011 | Unirea Urziceni | 87 | (18) |
| 2006–2007 | →Dunărea Giurgiu (loan) | 31 | (13) |
| 2007–2008 | →Otopeni (loan) | 20 | (4) |
| 2011–2013 | Steaua București | 65 | (34) |
| 2013–2015 | Sevilla | 8 | (3) |
| 2014 | →Braga (loan) | 13 | (5) |
| 2014–2015 | →Steaua București (loan) | 21 | (4) |
| 2015–2018 | Osmanlıspor | 46 | (10) |
| 2018–2019 | FCSB | 19 | (4) |
| 2019–2020 | Giresunspor | 30 | (12) |
| 2020–2021 | Academica Clinceni | 29 | (6) |
| 2021–2022 | Lamezia Terme | 18 | (3) |
| 2022–2023 | Concordia Chiajna | 18 | (4) |
| Total | 398 | (117) | |
| International career | |||
| 2006–2007 | Romania U19 | 6 | (3) |
| 2008–2010 | Romania U21 | 7 | (2) |
| 2012–2016 | Romania | 12 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Raul Andrei Rusescu (born 9 July 1988) is a Romanian former professionalfootballer who played as aforward.
At age seven, Rusescu was spotted by Cristi Bora at a trial and brought toRâmnicu Vâlcea.[1] As a youth, he tore open his calf when he fell out of a bus, and then, subsequently, he broke histibia falling down on ice.[2] While at the club, he was group teammate with laterSteaua București colleagueMihai Costea. Although he went through the youth system ofCSM Râmnicu Vâlcea, in 2005 the coach of the team, Adrian Furnică, decided that Rusescu did not have enough value and that he was not likely to grow.[3]
In the summer of 2005, Rusescu was brought toLiga II sideUnirea Urziceni under the command ofDan Petrescu. He had limited playing time in his first year with the team while they earned promotion to theLiga I.
His team now being in the first tier of Romanian football, Rusescu was loaned toDunărea Giurgiu.[4] Although not yet 18, he quickly became a starter and finished the season with 13 goals scored across all competitions.[5] For the2007–08 season he was again loaned out, to Liga II clubCS 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 the2008–09 league title, earning a place in the group stages of theUEFA Champions League.[8] He finished the season with 5 goals scored in 23 games.[9]
In the2009–10 campaign, Rusescu scored 8 goals from 29 total appearances, helping Unirea Urziceni finish second in the league and gather eight points in the2009–10 Champions League group stage.[10]
After manager Dan Petrescu left the club, Rusescu was used as awinger and did not perform as well as before.
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 againstCS Mioveni, also scoring his first Steaua goal.[12] In the next match, Rusescu scored his second goal for the club againstUniversitatea Cluj. He scored his first European goal for Steaua againstSchalke 04 in the2011–12 UEFA Europa League.[13]
On 5 December, Rusescu scored two sensational goals against Steaua's arch-rivalDinamo București, assuring his club a win in a match named by the two club's supportersthe Eternal Derby and ending Steaua's seven-year winless streak onDinamo'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 beatAEK 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 theEuropa League group stage.[17]
On 7 March 2013, Rusescu scored from the penalty spot againstChelsea at theNational 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, againstAstra Ploiești in a game which finished 2–1, with teammatePaul Pârvulescu scoring the winning goal.[20] On 8 April, Rusescu scored the second goal from the 4–1 victory againstSportul Studențesc.[21]
On 13 June 2013, Rusescu completed a move to SpanishLa Liga clubSevilla, 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]
At the end of 2013, Rusescu was loaned at PortuguesePrimeira Liga clubBraga, with an option to purchase outright. He made his Braga debut on 6 January 2014 in a 2–0 win againstArouca in theTaça de Portugal. On 10 January, he scored two goals for Braga in his Primeira Liga debut, a 3–0 win overVitória de Guimarães.
On 1 September 2014, just one year after being sold by FCSB to Sevilla, Rusescu returned for a season-long loan.[24][25][26]
Rusescu is an ex-Romania U-21 international, earning seven caps and scoring two goals.[27] He played in the2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, losing in the play-offs againstEngland.[28]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Unirea Urziceni | 2005–06 | 9 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 9 | 2 | ||||
| 2008–09 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | 25 | 6 | ||||
| 2009–10 | 26 | 8 | 1 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | – | 30 | 8 | |||
| 2010–11 | 29 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | 4 | 0 | – | 34 | 3 | |||
| Total | 87 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 98 | 19 | |
| Dunărea Giurgiu (loan) | 2006–07 | 31 | 13 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 32 | 14 | |||
| Otopeni (loan) | 2007–08 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 20 | 4 | |||
| Steaua București | 2011–12 | 31 | 13 | 2 | 0 | – | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 15 | |
| 2012–13 | 34 | 21 | 0 | 0 | – | 13 | 5 | – | 47 | 26 | |||
| Total | 65 | 34 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 90 | 41 | |
| Sevilla | 2013–14 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 4 | 3 | – | 7 | 3 | ||
| Braga (loan) | 2013–14 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | – | – | 20 | 8 | ||
| Steaua București (loan) | 2014–15 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | – | 33 | 13 | |
| Osmanlıspor | 2015–16 | 24 | 9 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | 26 | 10 | |||
| 2016–17 | 22 | 1 | 5 | 2 | – | 12 | 4 | – | 39 | 7 | |||
| Total | 46 | 10 | 7 | 3 | – | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 17 | ||
| FCSB | 2018–19 | 19 | 4 | 2 | 1 | – | 3 | 0 | – | 24 | 5 | ||
| Giresunspor | 2019–20 | 30 | 12 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 32 | 12 | |||
| Academica Clinceni | 2020–21 | 29 | 6 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 30 | 6 | |||
| Lamezia Terme | 2021–22 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 19 | 3 | |||
| Concordia Chiajna | 2022–23 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 19 | 4 | |||
| Career total | 398 | 117 | 31 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 52 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 488 | 149 | |
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | 2012 | 1 | 0 |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 12 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 October 2014 | Arena Națională,Bucharest, Romania |  Hungary | 1–1 | 1–1 | Euro 2016 qualifying |
CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea
Unirea Urziceni
Steaua București
Individual