Raul Rusescu

CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea

At age seven, Rusescu was spotted by Cristi Bora at a trial and brought to Râmnicu Vâlcea. As a youth, he tore open his calf when he fell out of a bus, and then, subsequently, he broke his tibia falling down on ice. While at the club, he was group teammate with later Steaua București colleague Mihai Costea. Although he went through the youth system of CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea, in 2005 the coach of the team, Adrian Furnică, decided that Rusescu did not have enough value and that he was not likely to grow.

Unirea Urziceni

In the summer of 2005, Rusescu was brought to Liga II side Unirea Urziceni under the command of Dan Petrescu. He had limited playing time in his first year with the team while they earned promotion to the Liga I. His team now being in the first tier of Romanian football, Rusescu was loaned to Dunărea Giurgiu. Although not yet 18, he quickly became a starter and finished the season with 13 goals scored across all competitions. For the 2007–08 season he was again loaned out, to Liga II club CS Otopeni. He helped the club gain promotion to the Liga I by scoring 4 goals in 20 matches. In his first year in Liga I with Unirea Urziceni, Rusescu helped his team win the 2008–09 league title, earning a place in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. He finished the season with 5 goals scored in 23 games. In the 2009–10 campaign, Rusescu scored 8 goals from 29 total appearances, helping Unirea Urziceni finish second in the league…

Rusescu is an ex-Romania U-21 international, earning seven caps and scoring two goals. He played in the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, losing in the play-offs against England.

Club

International

Score and result list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Rusescu goal.

CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea

Divizia C: 2004–05 Unirea Urziceni

Liga I: 2008–09 Supercupa României runner-up: 2009, 2010 Steaua București

Liga I: 2012–13, 2014–15 Cupa României: 2014–15 Cupa Ligii: 2014–15 Supercupa României runner-up: 2011 Sevilla

UEFA Europa League: 2013–14 Individual

Gazeta Sporturilor Romanian Footballer of the Year: 2012 Liga I top scorer: 2012–13 (21 goals)