Stefan Radu: Lazio’s Romanian veteran

Passionate, loyal, consistent, solid. All of these words describe Lazio’s most capped currently active player, Stefan Radu. Radu is an unsung hero and a left-sided defender who rarely has a bad game. Since arriving at Lazio in January of 2008, the Romanian international has since become a first-team regular and has even sporadically worn the armband for the Biancoceleste.

Background

Stefan Daniel Radu was born on the 22nd of October, 1986 in the Romanian capital of Bucharest. At the age of just 13, he was signed to the youth team of the Romanian giants, Dinamo București and was there until he got promoted to the senior team five years later. He spent four seasons there amassing 61 caps and gained national attention as a great talent by the Romanian media. His performances at center-back for Dinamo helped them win their 18th league title.

869109-ms-0777radu-stefan
Radu in a Dinamo București shirt playing against his future club, Source: gap.ro
Arrival to Lazio

Lazio signed the largely coveted defender on loan for €1M in the winter of the following season. Radu made his debut in a 2-1 win over Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia. He did very well in his loan spell and as a result, earned a permanent €3.5M move to the capital club. In his first full season with Lazio, manager Delio Rossi had faith in Stefan, playing him in 21 games in all competitions. This faith paid off as Radu helped Lazio win their 5th Coppa Italia and then their 3rd Supercoppa Italiana a few months later.

Background, History, Accomplishments

In the following 2009-10 season, despite Lazio finishing 12th in the Serie A, Radu was named among the 10 best defenders in Italy by Castrol. His solid performances even piqued the interest of Palermo, Inter, and Bayern Munich, but fortunately for us Laziali he stayed put. Radu’s fourth season with the Biancoceleste saw manager Edy Reja convert him to left-back in a four-at-the-back formation. Unfortunately, his season was interrupted by a meniscus injury. Radu then returned to help Lazio achieve a very impressive fifth place finish. In June of 2011, the Romanian international renewed his contract with Lazio until 2016. In the following season, he appeared in 21 Serie A and five Europa League matches, finishing with a very respectable average rating of 7.15 and one MOTM performance.

Bologna+FC+v+SS+Lazio+Serie+A+QAA-MIcC-GIm
Radu in his earlier years with Lazio, Source: zimbio.com
The 2012-13 season was Radu’s best season statistically. He managed a Serie A rating of 7.19 (fifth best on the team) and a Europa League rating of 7.47 (second best on the team) according to whoscored.com. He also managed to score his first ever goal for the Biancoceleste in a Europa League win over Maribor. He then he went on to score in the Coppa Italia and in the Serie A later that season as well. Radu also got two assists and another MOTM in addition to being a crucial part of Lazio’s sixth Coppa Italia win. The next season was also successful for Radu as he had the 4th highest average rating on the team (7.11) and contributed with his second career Serie A goal and his 3rd career MOTM performance. In the 2014-15 season, Radu was a big part of Lazio’s impressive third-place finish and Coppa Italia run, contributing with two assists and a goal in the Coppa Italia finals. At the end of the season, he extended his contract once again for another 5 years. Lazio had a disappointing 2015-16 season, finishing eighth. I believe this is partly due to Radu only making 13 Serie A appearances. Stefan managed one assist and another MOTM in these 13 games and had his first red card in five years.
url
Stefan Radu wearing the armband for the biancoceleste, Source: pulse.ng
The following season was much better for Lazio as they finished fifth in the league and runners-up once again in the Coppa Italia. Unsurprisingly Radu appeared in 31 games, scoring twice and assisting once. Last season, a big reason why Lazio had the success that they had is Radu appeared in 41 games in all competitions; a career high. Out of these 41 games, he had the highest rating out of Lazio’s three defenders more occasions than any other defender. On October 25th, 2017, he surpassed Idilio Cei for 10th most Lazio appearances of all time. Finally, as we approach the midway point in this rollercoaster season, Stefan Radu continues to rack up appearances for Lazio. He has had an up-and-down season putting in an average match rating of 6.73 but it’s not hard to see why Simone Inzaghi continues to trust the consistent Romanian on the left side of Lazio’s three-man defense.
Statistics

Goals: 7

Assists: 18

Own Goals: 0

Yellow Cards: 82

Red Cards: 4

Career tackles/game: 1.7

Career interceptions/game: 2.6

Career clearances/game: 4.1

MOTM: 5

Average Rating: 7.02

Serie A appearances: 264 (8th all time)

UEFA appearances: 41 (10th all time)

Domestic cup appearances: 25

Total Lazio appearances: 330(7th all time)

Minutes played: 28,273

Trophies: 4 (Coppa Italia x2, Supercoppa Italiana x2)

(Sources: transfermarkt.co.uk, whoscored.com: for Lazio as of December 25th, 2018)

Final Notes

I believe there’s a clear correlation between Lazio’s success and how often Radu plays. For example, in 2015-16 Radu had 13 Serie A caps and Lazio finished a measly eighth, but the season before and after that one he made 24 and 29 appearances respectively and Lazio did much better, placing third the year before and fifth the year later. Furthermore, his old club Dinamo Bucuresti have not won a league title since leaving the club more than 10 years ago. This is no coincidence.

Captain Radu celebrates his goal, Source: Getty Images

Radu is a quiet difference maker. He puts in his all for the biancoceleste and is as dependable as they get. Stefan Radu is not flashy by any means, but he does his job and he does it well. He is the club’s most capped non-Italian and with 330 appearances under his belt (and counting), Lazio’s Mr. Consistent defenceman is sure to become a club legend when he retires.

Tags Castrol Coppa Italia Delio Rossi Lazio Romanian Stefan Radu