Artur Ioniță
Ioniță with Moldova in 2014
Personal information
Date of birth (1990-08-17) 17 August 1990
Place of birth Chișinău, SSR Moldova, Soviet Union
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Lecco
Number 27
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)
2020–2022 Benevento 78 (4)
2022– Pisa 16 (1)
2023 → Modena (loan) 10 (0)
2023– → Lecco (loan) 19 (3)
International career‡
2009–2012 Moldova U21 22 (5)
2009– Moldova 67 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 January 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 November 2023

Artur Ioniță (Romanian pronunciation: [arˈtur joˈnitsə]; born 17 August 1990) is a Moldovan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Italian Serie B club Lecco, on loan from Pisa, and the Moldova national team.

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.[1] 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.[2]

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 Serie 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.[3][4]

In July 2016, Ioniță transferred to newly promoted Serie A club, Cagliari.[5]

On 20 August 2020, Ioniță signed a contract with Benevento ahead of their return to Serie A.[6]

On 11 August 2022, Ioniță moved to Pisa on a two-year contract.[7] On 31 January 2023, he was loaned to Modena.[8] On 1 September 2023, Ioniță joined Lecco on loan with an option to buy.[9]

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.

Career statistics

International goals

Scores and results list Moldova's goal tally first.[10]
#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 Coast1–21–2Friendly

Honours

Aarau

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Ufficiale: Artur Ionita in gialloblù da luglio" (in Italian). Hellas Verona F.C. 12 February 2014. Archived from the original on 11 September 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  2. ↑ Internaţionalul moldovean Artur Ioniţă s-a ales cu un coleg celebru la Verona
  3. ↑ Juventus rival Napoli for €8m Verona midfielder
  4. ↑ Swansea City linked with Verona midfielder Artur Ionita – but face serious competition
  5. ↑ Chi è Artur Ionita, nuovo centrocampista del Cagliari
  6. ↑ "Artur Ionita è un giocatore del Benevento" (in Italian). Benevento Calcio. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  7. ↑ "Artur Ionita è Nerazzurro" (in Italian). Pisa. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  8. ↑ "CALCIOMERCATO: ARTUR IONITA È GIALLOBLÙ" (in Italian). Modena. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  9. ↑ "Ufficiale: arriva Artur Ionita a titolo temporaneo" [Official: Artur Ionita arrives on a temporary basis] (in Italian). Lecco. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  10. ↑ Artur Ioniță at Soccerway
  11. ↑ Artur Ionița – cel mai bun în 2014 (video) Archived 15 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ "Gala Fotbalului 2019: Cine sunt cei mai buni jucători din Moldova". www.stiri.md. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
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