Ștefan Radu

Ștefan Daniel Radu (born 22 October 1986) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a left-back or a centre-back.

After a stint in his home country with Dinamo București during which he earned three domestic honours, including one national title, Radu moved to Lazio on an initial loan in 2008. He spent the rest of his career with the Biancocelesti, gaining team captaincy and winning the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana on three occasions each. Radu became the leading appearance maker for Lazio in all competitions in 2021, and two years later retired from football.

Radu registered his senior debut for the Romania national team in 2006, and made thirteen appearances before retiring early in 2013, at age 26.

Dinamo București
Ștefan Radu was born on 22 October 1986 in Bucharest, growing up in the Colentina neighborhood. On 27 April 2005, Radu made his debut for Dinamo București under coach Ioan Andone in a 3–0 league victory over FCM Bacău. In the 2006–07 Liga I season, helped by the fact that Dinamo had a defender emergency, he was established in the starting eleven by coach Mircea Rednic, making couple in the central defense alongside Cosmin Moți and eventually managing to win the Liga I trophy that season, also managing to pass the group stage of the 2006–07 UEFA Cup, reaching the sixteenths-finals where the team was eliminated with 3–1 on aggregate by Benfica. In the following season Dinamo had the objective of reaching the Champions League group stage, in the 1–1 draw from the first leg of the third qualifying round against Lazio Roma, Radu touched the ball with his hand in the penalty box after a corner kick but goalkeeper Bogdan Lobonț saved the penalty kick executed by Tommaso Rocchi. However the qualification was lost after the 3–1 defeat from the second leg.

Lazio
In January 2008, Italian Serie A side Lazio signed Radu on a €1 million loan deal until the end of the 2007–08 season. Shortly after joining the squad, he made his Lazio debut in a Coppa Italia match against Fiorentina. He was a revelation for Delio Rossi's team, as the young starlet added extra quality to the backline and started all the matches he featured in. At the end of the season, Radu signed with Lazio permanently for a €3.5 million transfer fee.

On 17 June 2011, Radu signed a five-year contract extension. He became an important player for Lazio, a team which he captained during the 2011–12 season. Radu won his third trophy with Lazio in the 2012–13 season when they defeated rivals Roma in the Coppa Italia final. In 2017, Lazio won the Supercoppa Italiana, as they beat Juventus 3–2. On 15 May 2019, Lazio beat Atalanta in the 2018–19 Coppa Italia final. On 22 December 2019, Lazio beat Juventus in the 2019 Supercoppa Italiana, with help from Radu. He retired at the end of the 2022–23 season.

International career
Ștefan Radu played 13 games at international level for Romania, making his debut on 15 November 2006 under coach Victor Pițurcă who sent him on the field in the 89th minute in order to replace Răzvan Raț in a friendly which ended with a 1–0 victory against Spain. He played two games at successful Euro 2008 qualifiers, being also part of the squad that went to the final tournament without playing. He also played one game at the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, making his last appearance for the national team on 22 March 2013 in a 2–2 against Hungary at the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. Radu retired from international football in April 2013, citing his strained relationship with the national football federation. Despite continuing to be one of the most prominent Romanian expatriate players in later years, he did not reverse his decision.

On 25 March 2008 he was decorated by President of Romania Traian Băsescu for Romania's successful Euro 2008 qualifying campaign with the Medalia "Meritul Sportiv" – (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III.

Controversies
On 6 April 2024, during a football match between Roma and Lazio, Radu was spotted in attendance wearing an S.S. Lazio emblazoned hoodie where the "S.S." was spelled "SS" and stylized in the same manner as the Nazi paramilitary organization Schutzstaffel. Whether the invocation of Schutzstaffel was intentional by Radu is unknown as of 7 April 2024.

Honours
Dinamo București
 * Liga I: 2006–07
 * Cupa României: 2004–05
 * Supercupa României: 2005

Lazio
 * Coppa Italia: 2008–09, 2012–13, 2018–19
 * Supercoppa Italiana: 2009, 2017, 2019

Records
 * Lazio all-time appearance holder: 427
 * Lazio all-time Serie A appearance holder: 349