Arges
Dacia Pitesti (Romania), Dinamo Bucarest (Romania), Inter Milan
(Italy), Hellas Verona (Italy), AC Parma (Italy), Chelsea FC (England),
Juventus Turin (Italy)
Honours
2005
Premiership Champions (Chelsea) 2005 Serie A.. Champions (Juventus) 2000 Italian Cup Finals (Inter Milan)
Biography
Adrian Mutu (born January 8, 1979) is a Romanian footballer born
in Calinesti, Arges 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. Mutu is considered by many to be the
most talented Romanian player of his generation. In December
2005, he was awarded the Romanian Footballer of the Year title.
Arges Pitesti (1996-1999)
Mutu started his professional career at his home club of FC
Arges Dacia Pitesti where he scored 11 goals in 41 games before
sealing a €600,000 ($760,000) transfer to Dinamo Bucharest.
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.
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.
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.
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 captain Parma, he was signed by Chelsea
as part of new owner Roman Abramovich's spending spree for
£15.8m ($28.9m).
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.
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.
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. In the first half of the
2005/06 season, he initially started as a substitute, but his
quality performances (13 games, 5 goals with Juventus, and 4
games, 5 goals with the Romanian national team) progressively
earned him a place in the first 11.
National Team
As of 2005, Mutu has played for Romania 38 times, scoring 13
goals. The only major tournament he has played in to date was
Euro 2000.
