Adrian Ionescu (born 17 May 1958) is a Romanian former football forward and coach.
Ionescu was born on 17 May 1958 in Bucharest, Romania and began playing junior-level football at local club Steaua under the guidance of coach Nicolae TÃÂtaru. In 1975 he won the national junior championship with Steaua, netting two goals in the 8âÂÂ1 win in the final against FCM BacÃÂu.
On 24 October 1976, at age 16, he made his Divizia A debut under coach Emerich Jenei in Steaua's 2âÂÂ1 home win against Bihor Oradea. In the 1977âÂÂ78 season, Ionescu helped the club win the title, netting one goal in the 17 matches that Jenei used him. In 1979 he won the Cupa României trophy, coach Gheorghe Constantin using him the full 90 minutes in the 3âÂÂ0 win over Sportul StudenÃÂesc BucureÃÂti in the final. In the 1979âÂÂ80 season, Ionescu scored a personal record of 10 goals, including one in a 1âÂÂ1 draw against rivals Dinamo BucureÃÂti. He reached another Cupa României final in 1980, coach Gheorghe Constantin using him the entire match in the 2âÂÂ1 loss to Politehnica TimiÃÂoara. In his six-season spell with The Military Men he also played seven matches in European competitions. Most notably getting past Young Boys with a 8âÂÂ2 aggregate win in the first round of the 1979âÂÂ80 European Cup Winners' Cup, being eliminated in the following one by Nantes against whom he scored once.
In 1981, while playing for Steaua in a match against Corvinul Hunedoara, Ionescu was hit by opponent Ioan Andone in the right knee which led to an anterior cruciate ligament injury that ended his professional career at age 23. In 1985 he tried to make a comeback, playing in the second league for MecanicÃÂ FinÃÂ BucureÃÂti and Farul ConstanÃÂa, but retired after two years. He made a total 108 Divizia A appearances with 18 goals netted, all of them for Steaua.
Between 1977 and 1979, Ionescu made eight appearances for Romania's under-21 squad.
He played three friendly games for Romania, making his debut on 18 May 1980 under coach ÃÂtefan Kovács in a 2âÂÂ1 loss against Czechoslovakia in which he scored his side's goal. His following games were a 2âÂÂ1 loss to Belgium and a 2âÂÂ1 victory against Bulgaria.
After he ended his playing career, Ionescu worked as a manager in the Romanian lower leagues for teams such as Anticoroziv, Midia NÃÂvodari or CSS Nucet. He also had spells for teams in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Steaua BucureÃÂti