 Moldovan with Rapid București in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Horațiu Alexandru Moldovan | ||
| Date of birth | 20 January 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Cluj-Napoca, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.83 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 | 111 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022– | Romania | 9 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 December 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21 November 2023 | |||
Horațiu Alexandru Moldovan (Romanian pronunciation: [hoˈrat͡sju alekˈsandru moldoˈvan]; 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.
A youth product of his hometown club CFR Cluj, Moldovan briefly represented several sides 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 team 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 kept 11 clean sheets in the 2021–22 season, his consistency aiding the team to finish ninth overall.
On 14 December 2022, Moldovan saved a penalty kick in a 3–1 derby win over Petrolul Ploiești.[4] On 21 May 2023, he agreed to a one-year contract extension lasting until the summer of 2025.[5] On 21 December that year, the Gazeta Sporturilor newspaper announced that Moldovan came fourth in voting for the 2023 Romanian Footballer of the Year award.[6]
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.[7] The following year, he appeared in eight matches of the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers, aiding his nation in winning its group undefeated.[8]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 20 December 2023[9]
| 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 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | |||
| Total | 111 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 112 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 154 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 158 | 0 | ||
International
- As of match played 21 November 2023[10]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | |||
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 9 | 0 | |
Honours
Hermannstadt
Individual
- Gazeta Sporturilor Romania Player of the Month: November 2023,
- Gazeta Sporturilor Romania Player of the Year (Fourth Place): 2023[11],
References
- 1 2 "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.
- ↑ "Rapid - Petrolul 3-1. Spectacol total! Giuleștenii câștigă "Primvs Derby"" [Rapid - Petrolul 3–1. Total show! Giuleștenii win the "Primvs Derby"] (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
- ↑ "HORAȚIU A SEMNAT PÂNĂ ÎN 2025" [HORAȚIU SIGNED UNTIL 2025] (in Romanian). FC Rapid București. 21 May 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
- ↑ "EXCLUSIV / VIDEO Radu Drăgușin este "Fotbalistul anului" în Ancheta Gazetei Sporturilor 2023: "Sunt fericit și mândru! O bucurie pentru că evoluția mea în fotbal este una corectă și frumoasă"" [EXCLUSIVE / VIDEO Radu Drăgușin is the "Footballer of the Year" in the 2023 Gazeta Sporturilor Survey: "I am happy and proud! It's a joy because my growth in football is a correct and beautiful one"]. Gazeta Sporturilor]lang=ro. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "VICTORIE cu Elveția și mergem la EURO 2024 de pe primul loc în grupă!" [WIN against Switzerland and we go to EURO 2024 from first place in the group!] (in Romanian). Romanian Football Federation. 21 November 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
- ↑ Horațiu Moldovan at Soccerway. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- ↑ "Horațiu Moldovan". European Football. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
- ↑ "EXCLUSIV / VIDEO Radu Drăgușin este "Fotbalistul anului" în Ancheta Gazetei Sporturilor 2023: "Sunt fericit și mândru! O bucurie pentru că evoluția mea în fotbal este una corectă și frumoasă"" [EXCLUSIVE / VIDEO Radu Drăgușin is the "Footballer of the Year" in the 2023 Gazeta Sporturilor Survey: "I am happy and proud! It's a joy because my growth in football is a correct and beautiful one"]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 21 December 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
External links
- Horațiu Moldovan at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
- Horațiu Moldovan at National-Football-Teams.com
- Rapid București official profile (in Romanian)