Ionuț Mazilu

Ionuț Costinel Mazilu (born 9 February 1982) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a forward, currently he is the assistant coach at Liga II club Gloria Bistrița.

Club career Sportul Studențesc Mazilu was born on 9 February 1982 in Bucharest, Romania. He began playing football for Sportul Studențesc during the 1999–2000 Divizia B season. At the end of the 2002–03 season, the team suffered relegation. In the 2005–06 season, he scored 22 goals, including two hat-tricks in victories against Farul Constanța and Dinamo București, and became the Divizia A top-scorer.

Rapid București In 2006, Mazilu went from Sportul Studențesc to Rapid București for a €1.5 million transfer fee. On 5 November 2006, he scored his first goals for Rapid by netting a brace in a 7–0 victory against Oțelul Galați. Two weeks later, he scored another double in a 3–0 win over Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț. The team reached the 2007 Cupa României final, where Mazilu played as a starter before coach Răzvan Lucescu substituted him in the 82nd minute with Viorel Moldovan in the 2–0 victory over Politehnica Timișoara. Subsequently, he played the entire match under coach Cristiano Bergodi in Rapid's victory at the penalty shoot-out against Dinamo București in the 2007 Supercupa României. Mazilu also played in both legs of the 2007–08 UEFA Cup first round, where they were eliminated on the away goals rule after 2–2 on aggregate by 1. FC Nürnberg. He made his last Liga I appearance on 9 December 2007 in a 2–0 victory over Dacia Mioveni, totaling 141 matches with 60 goals in the competition. He made his Vyshcha Liha debut on 9 March under coach Oleh Protasov in a 1–1 draw against Naftovyk Okhtyrka. He scored his first goal in the competition on 4 May in a 1–0 away win over Tavriya Simferopol.

Arsenal Kyiv In January 2009, Mazilu was close to a move to CFR Cluj, but was eventually sent on loan by Dnipro to Arsenal Kyiv. In his first league match for his new team, he scored the only goal in the 1–0 victory against FC Kharkiv. He also scored in the following two matches, a 1–0 win over Zorya Luhansk and a 1–1 draw against Tavriya Simferopol. In the 2009–10 season, Mazilu scored nine league goals, which included one goal in a 1–1 draw against the team he belonged to, Dnipro, and two doubles in wins over Vorskla Poltava and Illichivets Mariupol. In the following season, he netted seven league goals, including a brace in a 3–1 home win over Illichivets Mariupol. After his loan spell from Dnipro concluded, Mazilu joined Arsenal Kyiv on a permanent transfer. He opened the 2012–13 season by scoring twice in a 3–3 draw against Dnipro. Mazilu later equalized in the final minutes to secure a 1–1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk, before he capped off the campaign by netting another brace in a 3–0 success over Karpaty Lviv. In the first leg of the third qualifying round of the 2012–13 Europa League, he opened the scoring for Arsenal Kyiv in a 3–0 victory against ND Mura 05; however, the match was later declared a 3–0 forfeit loss against Arsenal due to the club fielding an ineligible player. Mazilu also featured in the second-leg 2–0 win, which ultimately proved insufficient for the squad to progress. During his time at Arsenal Kyiv, Mazilu was teammates for several years with compatriots Florin Șoavă and George Florescu.

International career Mazilu played 17 matches and scored three goals for Romania, making his debut on 9 February 2005, when coach Victor Pițurcă sent him in the 83rd minute to replace Dorinel Munteanu in a 3–0 win against Armenia in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. In those qualifiers, he appeared in two more victories against Czech Republic and Finland. Afterwards, he worked from 2017 to 2021 as a junior coach for Rapid București. He served as an assistant coach to Nicolae Grigore for Romania's under-16 and under-17 national teams, a role he continued in September 2025 when the pair was appointed to manage Liga II club Gloria Bistrița.

Career statistics

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

+ List of international goals scored by Ionuț Mazilu # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 28 February 2006 GSZ Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus 1–0 2–0 Friendly 2 7 February 2007 Stadionul Lia Manoliu, Bucharest, Romania 1–0 2–0 Friendly 3 7 February 2007 Stadionul Ceahlăul, Piatra Neamț, Romania 3–1 3–1 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying

Honours Sportul Studențesc Divizia B: 2000–01, 2003–04 Rapid București Cupa României: 2006–07 Supercupa României: 2007 Individual Divizia A top scorer: 2005–06 (22 goals)