Horațiu Moldovan
Horațiu Alexandru Moldovan (born 20 January 1998) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Liga I club Rapid București and the Romania national team.
 Moldovan with Romania in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Horațiu Alexandru Moldovan | ||
| Date of birth | 20 January 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Cluj-Napoca, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Rapid București | ||
| Number | 31 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010–2017 | CFR Cluj | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2019 | CFR Cluj | 0 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | → Hermannstadt (loan) | 16 | (0) |
| 2018 | → Energeticianul (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2019 | Ripensia Timișoara | 15 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Sepsi OSK | 0 | (0) |
| 2020 | Ripensia Timișoara | 3 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | UTA Arad | 4 | (0) |
| 2021– | Rapid București | 103 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022– | Romania | 7 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 October 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15 October 2023 | |||
A youth product of CFR Cluj, Moldovan represented several teams during the first part of his career before becoming a starter at Rapid București in 2021.
Internationally, Moldovan earned his first cap for Romania in November 2022, in a 1–2 friendly loss to Slovenia.
Early life
Before turning to junior football, Moldovan was passionate about kart racing, engines and speed. He stated that he saw his first football at age seven, and "From that moment on, football was everything".[1]
Club career
Early career
Moldovan started his football career at his hometown club CFR Cluj, but did not make his senior debut there and was instead loaned out to Hermannstadt and Energeticianul, respectively. Between 2019 and 2020, Moldovan had a series of transfers; he initially signed for Ripensia Timișoara, then moved to Sepsi OSK, and subsequently returned to Ripensia Timișoara.
UTA Arad
On 10 August 2020, Moldovan joined UTA Arad.[2] Twelve days later, he made his Liga I debut in a 1–1 away draw at Viitorul Constanța.[1] He assumed a substitute role at the team, only recording three additional appearances throughout the remainder of his spell.
Rapid București
On 6 January 2021, Moldovan moved to Liga II side Rapid București on a one-and-a-half-year contract,[3] establishing himself as a regular starter. After Rapid's promotion to the top tier, he played 37 league matches and managed to keep 11 clean sheets in the 2021–22 season, his consistency being significant for the team's performance throughout the year.
On 21 May 2023, Moldovan agreed to a one-year contract extension which would keep him at the club until the summer of 2025.[4]
International career
On 17 November 2022, Moldovan made his debut for the Romania national team in a 1–2 friendly loss to Slovenia at Cluj Arena.[5]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 20 October 2023[6]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hermannstadt (loan) | 2016–17 | Liga III | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | Liga II | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 0 | ||||
| Energeticianul (loan) | 2018–19 | Liga II | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Ripensia Timișoara | 2018–19 | Liga II | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| Sepsi OSK | 2019–20 | Liga I | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Ripensia Timișoara | 2019–20 | Liga II | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| UTA Arad | 2020–21 | Liga I | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Rapid București | 2020–21 | Liga II | 14 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | Liga I | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | Liga I | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | Liga I | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| Total | 103 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 103 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 146 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 149 | 0 | ||
International
- As of match played 15 October 2023
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | |||
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 0 | |
References
- "Navas de la UTA » Horațiu Moldovan, surpriza primei etape din Liga 1" [Navas from UTA » Horațiu Moldovan, the surprise of the first fixture of the Liga 1]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 26 August 2020.
- "Tânărul Horațiu Moldovan va fi al treilea portar al UTA-ei" [The young Horațiu Moldovan will be UTA's third goalkeeper] (in Romanian). Arad Obiectiv. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
- "OFICIAL | Rapid a transferat un portar din Liga 1! Concurență pentru Drăghia" [OFFICIAL | Rapid transferred a goalkeeper from Liga 1! Competition for Drăghia] (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 6 January 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
- "HORAȚIU A SEMNAT PÂNĂ ÎN 2025" [HORAȚIU SIGNED UNTIL 2025] (in Romanian). FC Rapid București. 21 May 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
- "Rapidiștii sunt în extaz! Horațiu Moldovan debutează la echipa națională ca titular în România – Slovenia" [Rapidiștii are ecstatic! Horațiu Moldovan makes his debut for the national team as a starter in Romania - Slovenia] (in Romanian). ProSport. 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
- Horațiu Moldovan at Soccerway. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
External links
- Horațiu Moldovan at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
- Horațiu Moldovan at National-Football-Teams.com
- Rapid București official profile (in Romanian)