Adrian Popa (footballer, born 1988)
Quick Facts
Biography
Adrian "Adi" Dumitru Popa (born 24 July 1988) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a winger for English side Reading and the Romania national team.
Club career
Early years
Popa was one of the most proficient players of the FC Politehnica Timișoara reserve team, and was loaned to CS Buftea and FC Gloria Buzău.
Universitatea Cluj
In July 2009, Popa signed a contract with FC 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 CS Concordia Chiajna. He contributed to the club's promotion to the first division and was kept for the African Cup Of Nations even though he isn't African
Steaua București
On 15 August 2012, Popa signed a five-year contract with FC Steaua București for an undisclosed transfer fee. 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.
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 Steaua. The deal was made official three days later.
International career
Popa made his debut for the Romania senior team in October 2012, in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Netherlands.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 22 December 2016
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Politehnica II Timișoara | 2005–06 | ? | ? | ? | ? | – | – | – | ? | ? | ||||
| 2006–07 | ? | ? | ? | ? | – | – | – | ? | ? | |||||
| 2007–08 | ? | ? | ? | ? | – | – | – | ? | ? | |||||
| Total | 87 | 26 | ? | ? | – | – | – | – | – | – | 87 | 26 | ||
| Buftea (loan) | 2008–09 | 11 | 2 | ? | ? | – | – | – | 11 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 11 | 2 | ? | ? | – | – | – | – | – | – | 11 | 2 | ||
| Gloria Buzău (loan) | 2008–09 | 12 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 12 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 12 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12 | 0 | ||
| Universitatea Cluj | 2009–10 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 24 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 24 | 3 | ||
| Concordia Chiajna | 2011–12 | 27 | 4 | ? | ? | – | – | – | 27 | 4 | ||||
| 2011–12 | 29 | 3 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 30 | 4 | |||||
| 2012–13 | 4 | 3 | – | – | – | – | 4 | 3 | ||||||
| Total | 60 | 10 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 61 | 11 | ||
| Steaua București | 2012–13 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 11 | 1 | – | 43 | 2 | |||
| 2013–14 | 28 | 7 | 5 | 0 | – | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 7 | |||
| 2014–15 | 28 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 8 | ||
| 2015–16 | 32 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 5 | ||
| 2016–17 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | – | 31 | 3 | |||
| Total | 137 | 20 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 48 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 210 | 25 | ||
| Reading | 2016–17 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 331 | 61 | 18 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 48 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 405 | 67 | ||
International
- As of 15 November 2016
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | ||||
| 2012 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| 2013 | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| 2015 | 5 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| 2016 | 11 | 3 | 0.27 | |
| Total | 21 | 3 | 0.14 | |
International goals
- As of 15 November 2016 (Romania score listed first, score column indicates score after each Popa goal)
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 June 2016 | Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania | 14 |  Georgia | 1–0 | 5–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 4 September 2016 | Cluj Arena, Cluj-Napoca, Romania | 17 |  Montenegro | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 8 October 2016 | Vazgen Sargsyan, Yerevan, Armenia | 18 |  Armenia | 0–2 | 0–5 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Club
- Steaua București
- Liga I: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15
- Cupa României: 2014–15
- Cupa Ligii: 2014–15, 2015–16
- Supercupa României: 2013