Adrian Ionescu

Club career Ionescu was born on 17 May 1958 in Bucharest, Romania and began playing junior-level football at local club Steaua under the guidance of coach Nicolae Tătaru. In the 1977–78 season, Ionescu helped the club win the title, netting one goal in the 17 matches that Jenei used him. In 1979 he won the Cupa României trophy, coach Gheorghe Constantin using him the full 90 minutes in the 3–0 win over Sportul Studențesc București in the final. In the 1979–80 season, Ionescu scored a personal record of 10 goals, including one in a 1–1 draw against rivals Dinamo București. He reached another Cupa României final in 1980, coach Gheorghe Constantin using him the entire match in the 2–1 loss to Politehnica Timișoara. In his six-season spell with The Military Men he also played seven matches in European competitions.

In 1981, while playing for Steaua in a match against Corvinul Hunedoara, Ionescu was hit by opponent Ioan Andone in the right knee which led to an anterior cruciate ligament injury that ended his professional career at age 23.

He played three friendly games for Romania, making his debut on 18 May 1980 under coach Ștefan Kovács in a 2–1 loss against Czechoslovakia in which he scored his side's goal. His following games were a 2–1 loss to Belgium and a 2–1 victory against Bulgaria.

International goals Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first. "Score" column indicates the score after each Adrian Ionescu goal. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition1. 18 May 1980 Za Lužánkami Stadium, Brno, Czechoslovakia 1–11–2 Friendly

Managerial career After he ended his playing career, Ionescu worked as a manager in the Romanian lower leagues for teams such as Anticoroziv, Midia Năvodari or CSS Nucet. He also had spells for teams in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Honours Steaua București Divizia A: 1977–78 Cupa României: 1978–79, runner-up 1976–77, 1979–80