Artur Ioniță

Artur Ioniță (Romanian pronunciation: [arˈtur joˈnitsə]; born 17 August 1990) is a Moldovan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Italian club Benevento and the Moldova national team.[1]

Artur Ioniță
Ioniță playing for Moldova in 2014
Personal information
Full name Artur Ioniță
Date of birth (1990-08-17) 17 August 1990
Place of birth Chișinău, Moldova
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Benevento
Number 29
Youth career
1997–2007 Zimbru Chișinău
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007 Zimbru Chișinău 3 (1)
2008–2009 Iskra-Stal Rîbnița 41 (11)
2009–2014 Aarau 142 (16)
2014–2016 Hellas Verona 49 (6)
2016–2020 Cagliari 132 (6)
2020– Benevento 14 (0)
National team‡
2009–2012 Moldova U/21 22 (5)
2009– Moldova 54 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 31, 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 July 2020

Club career

Artur Ioniță made his professional debut at the Moldovan Divizia Națională club Zimbru Chișinău in 2007. In the 2008–09 season he played for FC Iskra-Stal Rîbniţa.

From 2009 to 2014 he played for the Swiss team FC Aarau, with which he transferred from the Swiss Challenge League to the Swiss Super League.

Ioniță was then transferred to Italian Serie A club Hellas Verona in July 2014 on a free transfer.[2] He made his début against Atalanta, as a substitute for Mounir Obbadi. At Hellas Verona, Ioniță became teammates with one of his idols Rafael Márquez.[3]

Ioniță scored his first goal for Hellas during his second appearance for the club, as a substitute in the second half of the match and securing a goal against Torino F.C. on the 65th minute giving his team a 1–0 win. This made him the first Moldovan footballer to score a goal in Seria A.

He scored his second goal for Hellas Verona in a game against Genoa, playing the full 90 minutes of the game; also providing an assist for Panagiotis Tachtsidis on the 52nd minute.

After an impressive 2015–16 season in Serie A in which he scored 4 goals and provided 2 assists in 31 matches, Ioniță was targeted by Juventus, Napoli and Swansea.[4][5]

In July 2016, Ioniță transferred to newly promoted Serie A club, Cagliari.[6]

On 20 August 2020, Ioniță signed a contract with Benevento ahead of their return to Serie A.[7]

International career

Ioniță made his debut appearance for Moldova in 2009, in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Switzerland. Moldova lost the match 0–2. He scored his first international goal during a 5–2 win in Podgorica against Montenegro and then scored again in a 1–1 draw at home to Lithuania.

Between 2009 and 2012 Ioniță played for the U-21 team of Moldova.

Career statistics

Under-21
Scores and results list Moldova U21s' goal tally first.[8]

Senior team
Scores and results list Moldova's goal tally first.[8]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.15 October 2013Stadion Pod Goricom, Podgorica, Montenegro Montenegro4–15–22014 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.18 November 2013Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău, Moldova Lithuania1–11–1Friendly
3.27 March 2018Stade Pierre Brisson, Beauvais, France Ivory Coast1–2 1–2Friendly

Honours

Club

Aarau

Individual

References
  1. Calciomercato Cagliari, Ionita sorpassa Rincon, corrieredellosport.it, 30 June 2016
  2. "Ufficiale: Artur Ionita in gialloblù da luglio" (in Italian). Hellas Verona F.C. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  3. Internaţionalul moldovean Artur Ioniţă s-a ales cu un coleg celebru la Verona
  4. Juventus rival Napoli for €8m Verona midfielder
  5. Swansea City linked with Verona midfielder Artur Ionita – but face serious competition
  6. Chi è Artur Ionita, nuovo centrocampista del Cagliari
  7. "Artur Ionita è un giocatore del Benevento" (in Italian). Benevento Calcio. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  8. "Moldova - A. Ioniţă". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  9. Artur Ionița – cel mai bun în 2014 (video) Archived 15 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  10. S-au dat marele premii! Artur Ionita, desemnat de Federatia Moldoveneasca de Fotbal jucatorul anului 2014
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