Ștefan Radu

Ștefan Daniel Radu (; born 22 October 1986) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a left-back or a centre-back and spent the majority of his professional career with Lazio.

After a stint in his home country with Dinamo București during which he earned three domestic honours, including one national title, Radu moved to Lazio on an initial loan in 2008. He spent the rest of his career with the Biancocelesti, gaining team captaincy and winning the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana on three occasions each. Radu became the leading appearance maker for Lazio in all competitions in 2021, and two years later retired from football.

Radu registered his senior debut for the Romania national team in 2006, and made thirteen appearances before retiring early in 2013, at age 26.

Club career Dinamo București Radu was born on 22 October 1986 in Bucharest, Romania and grew up in the Colentina neighborhood. On 27 April 2005, Radu made his Liga I debut for Dinamo București under coach Ioan Andone in a 3–0 victory over FCM Bacău. They also managed to get past the group stage of the 2006–07 UEFA Cup, reaching the round of 32 where the team was eliminated with 3–1 on aggregate by Benfica. However, the qualification was lost after the 3–1 defeat in the second leg.

Lazio

In January 2008, Italian Serie A side Lazio signed Radu on a €1 million loan deal until the end of the 2007–08 season. Shortly after joining the squad, he made his Lazio debut in a Coppa Italia match against Fiorentina. He was a revelation for Delio Rossi's team, as the young starlet added extra quality to the backline and started all the matches he featured in. At the end of the season, Radu signed with Lazio permanently for a €3.5 million transfer fee.

On 17 June 2011, Radu signed a five-year contract extension. He became an important player for Lazio, a team which he captained during the 2011–12 season. Radu won his third trophy with Lazio in the 2012–13 season when they defeated rivals Roma in the Coppa Italia final. In 2017, Lazio won the Supercoppa Italiana, as they beat Juventus 3–2. On 15 May 2019, Lazio beat Atalanta in the 2018–19 Coppa Italia final.

He is the player with more appearances than any other in the history of the club: 427 (349 in Serie A, 25 in Coppa Italia, 3 in Champions League, 46 in Europa League and four Super Coppa Finals) with 8 goals (5 in Serie A, 2 in Coppa Italia and one in Europa League) and six trophies (Coppa Italia 2008-09, 2012–13 and 2018–19, Super Coppa 2009, 2017 and 2019).

International career Radu played 13 games for Romania, making his debut on 15 November 2006 under coach Victor Pițurcă who sent him in the 89th minute to replace Răzvan Raț in a 1–0 friendly victory against Spain. He played two matches in successful Euro 2008 qualifiers. He played one game during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, a 3–0 home loss to Lithuania.

On 25 March 2008, he was decorated by President of Romania Traian Băsescu for Romania's successful Euro 2008 qualifying campaign with the Medalia "Meritul Sportiv" – (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III.

Controversies On 6 April 2024, during a football match between Roma and Lazio, Radu was spotted in attendance wearing an S.S. Lazio emblazoned hoodie where the "S.S." was spelled "SS" and stylized in the same manner as the Nazi paramilitary organization Schutzstaffel. It was placed within the context of far-right extremism in football, which has attracted more attention in the 2020s.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Dinamo București Liga I: 2006–07 Cupa României: 2004–05 Supercupa României: 2005

Lazio Coppa Italia: 2008–09, 2012–13, 2018–19 Supercoppa Italiana: 2009, 2017, 2019

Records Lazio all-time appearance holder: 427 Lazio all-time Serie A appearance holder: 349