Adrian Popescu

Adrian Mihai Popescu (born 26 July 1960) is a former Romanian footballer who played as a right-back.

Club career Popescu was born on 26 July 1960 in Craiova, Romania and began playing junior-level football at local club Universitatea. He made his Divizia A debut on 14 March 1981 under coach Ion Oblemenco in a 2–1 away loss to Jiul Petroșani. That was his only appearance during that season, as the club won The Double. Subsequently, he helped the club win the 1982–83 Cupa României, as coach Constantin Oțet sent him in the 63rd minute to replace Ion Geolgău in the 2–1 win over Politehnica Timișoara in the final.

Popescu was a member of the "Craiova Maxima" generation and made 21 appearances with one goal for "U" Craiova in European competitions. Contributing three matches to the 1984–85 UEFA Cup run, he helped Universitatea get past Real Betis before they ultimately fell to Željezničar in the round of 16. He also played in a 3–0 win over AS Monaco in the second leg of the first round of the 1985–86 European Cup Winners' Cup, after losing the first leg 2–0. However, they were eliminated in the following round by the eventual winners of the competition, Dynamo Kyiv.

In 1992, Popescu joined Swiss club Locarno. Three years later, he returned to Romania to make a comeback with Universitatea Craiova. He was selected by Jenei to be part of the 1990 World Cup squad, as Miodrag Belodedici, Ștefan Iovan and Dan Petrescu were unavailable, but did not play in a single game there. Subsequently, he played two matches in the Euro 1992 qualifiers, a 1–0 win over Switzerland and a 1–1 draw against Bulgaria, scoring once against the latter.

Personal life In 2003, Popescu received the Honorary Citizen of Craiova title.

Career statistics

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Popescu goal.

+ List of international goals scored by Adrian Popescu Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 20 November 1991 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria 1–0 1–1 Euro 1992 qualifiers

Honours Universitatea Craiova Divizia A: 1980–81, 1990–91 Cupa României: 1980–81, 1982–83, 1990–91 Constructorul Craiova Divizia D – Dolj County: 1997–98