Adrian Mutu Football player, main forward of the Romanian national team Date of Birth: 08.01.1979 Country: Romania

Adrian Mutu: A Talented Romanian Footballer

Adrian Mutu, the main forward of the Romanian national team, has had such a diverse sporting career that some people would consider them enough for a lifetime. Euro 2008 is expected to help Mutu finally forget about his past troubles and make fans talk about him primarily as a gifted footballer. In the late 90s, Adrian Mutu was considered the most talented Romanian player of his generation. In 2000, he moved from Bucharest's "Dinamo" to Inter Milan, but at that time, the level of the European super club proved to be unattainable for the striker. After playing a year at Verona (where he was soon sent by Inter), Mutu ended up at Parma, which was then a serious contender for victory in all the tournaments it played in. In the 2002/03 Serie A season, the forward scored 18 goals, and in the summer of 2003, he became one of Roman Abramovich's purchases when the Russian billionaire acquired Chelsea. In his first three matches for the English team, Mutu scored four goals, but then the Romanian striker's aim was lost for a long time. The footballer began to conflict with the club's head coach, Jose Mourinho, who did not include him in the starting lineup. In September 2004, Mutu failed a doping test that revealed traces of cocaine in his body. The forward was fired from Chelsea, received a seven-month ban, and many experts wrote off his career. However, Fabio Capello, who was coaching Juventus at the time, held a different opinion. The Turin club signed a contract with the Romanian before the end of his suspension. Mutu returned to the Italian league in May 2005. In the 2005/06 season, the forward scored only seven goals but always received good press when he came on the field. In the summer of 2006, Mutu and Juventus were stripped of the Italian championship title, and soon Adrian moved to Fiorentina. Surprisingly, this transfer was not associated with the infamous corruption scandal and Juventus's relegation to Serie B. Fiorentina turned out to be the perfect place for Mutu to work. In the 2006/07 Serie A season, the forward scored 18 goals, and in the following season, his club entered the race for a place in the Champions League. After the departure of the Italian national team striker Luca Toni to Bayern Munich, Mutu became the main star of Fiorentina and feels very comfortable in this role. Mutu made his debut for the Romanian national team in March 2000, and just three months later, he played in the European Championship. Mutu did not shine at Euro 2000, and the cocaine incident kept him out of the national team for a long time. His full return to the national team happened in the Euro 2008 qualifying tournament, where the forward scored four goals in nine matches. In the group stage of the European Championship, Romania's opponents will be France, Italy, and the Netherlands, with each of these teams hoping to secure three points against the Romanian national team. Whether the Romanians can disrupt the plans of their star-studded competitors largely depends on Mutu.