Florinel Coman

Florinel Teodor Coman (born 10 April 1998) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Qatar Stars League club Al-Gharafa and the Romania national team.

Coman began his career at Viitorul Constanța in 2015, winning a national championship in his second full season with the club. In 2017, he transferred to FCSB in a deal eventually worth €3 million, representing the then-highest fee paid by a Liga I side. With FCSB, Coman won the Cupa României in 2019 and secured another national title in the 2023–24 campaign, during which he was the league's top scorer and named Player of the Season. Shortly after, he earned a €5.25 million transfer to Qatari team Al-Gharafa.

Coman made his senior debut for Romania in October 2019, after previously being capped at under-17, under-19, and under-21 levels. He competed for the country in the UEFA Euro 2024, where the team won their group and reached the round of 16.

Early life
Coman was born in the city of Brăila and grew up as a Dinamo București supporter. His first coach, Nicușor Baldovin, stated that after Dinamo won the 2006–07 league championship, Coman was trying to emulate Claudiu Niculescu's free kicks.

Viitorul Constanța
Coman was selected from Viitorul Constanța's academy by first-team manager and owner Gheorghe Hagi, and made his professional debut by coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 Liga I win against Astra Giurgiu on 18 March 2015. On 14 August 2016, aged 18, he scored his first goal in a 3–1 league victory over ASA Târgu Mureș.

Coman was named the Liga I Player of the Month for February 2017 after scoring in wins against Dinamo București (2–1), Pandurii Târgu Jiu (3–0) and ACS Poli Timișoara (5–0), respectively. He was once again on the scoresheet on 18 March, opening a 3–1 home victory against FCSB. In the final fixture against CFR Cluj on 13 May, Coman won the penalty from which Gabriel Iancu netted the only goal of the match, thus being decisive in Viitorul's first national title conquest.

On 26 July 2017, Coman registered his debut in European competitions by coming on as a 66th-minute substitute in a 1–0 home win over APOEL in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.

2017–2020: Adjustment to Bucharest and development
After Portuguese side Benfica showed interest in acquiring Coman, on 21 August 2017 he moved to fellow league team FCSB for a reported €2 million and 20% interest, plus €500,000 in add-ons. His release clause was set at a Romanian record €100 million. In November that year, Viitorul's remaining economic rights were redeemed for €1 million, with the total €3 million fee making Coman the then-most expensive signing of the Liga I, tied with Cristian Fabbiani's move from Lanús to CFR Cluj in 2007.

Coman scored his first two goals for the Roș-albaștrii on 22 October 2017, in a 7–0 thrashing of ACS Poli Timișoara. On 2 November, he recorded his first European goal in a 1–1 draw with Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the Europa League group stage. Also in the latter competition, Coman entered the pitch after half-time in a 1–5 round of 32 loss to Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico and contributed to Harlem Gnohéré's goal, on 22 February 2018.

On 29 July 2018, in the second match of the 2018–19 Liga I, Coman scored a double in a 3–3 derby draw to Dinamo București. After an inconsistent start at FCSB, he cemented his place in the starting eleven in his second season in Bucharest, with twelve goals from 38 appearances in all competitions.

On 14 July 2019, in the opening fixture of the campaign, Coman scored and provided an assist in a 4–3 victory over Hermannstadt. He then went on to net one each in the tie against Alashkert in the Europa League second qualifying round, which his team won 5–3 on aggregate. FCSB failed to qualify for the group stage for a second year in a row after losing to Vitória Guimarães in the play-off round; Coman however rose to prominence individually, as he became the top scorer of the domestic league by the turn of the year with ten goals. His good form earned him the fifth place in Gazeta Sporturilor's 2019 Romanian Footballer of the Year award, tied with Ianis Hagi.

2020–2022: Struggles with injuries
Coman spent roughly half of 2020 without playing, initially due to the setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and then after being injured in a match against TSC Bačka Topola in the Europa League qualifiers in September. He returned from the sidelines on 6 December 2020, coming on as a substitute and scoring a goal in a 3–0 win over UTA Arad; he broke down in tears and dedicated the goal to his late grandfather. He however picked up another injury in March 2021, and one more in August that year which required surgical intervention.

2022–2024: Return to form
On 28 July 2022, Coman netted for the first time in almost a year in a 4–2 home defeat of Saburtalo Tbilisi counting for the Europa Conference League qualifiers. In the same match, he was also handed the captain armband as a result of Florin Tănase's imminent departure. On 9 October, he doubled the lead in a 2–0 away victory over newly-promoted Petrolul Ploiești, representing his first Liga I goal in 22 months.

In April 2023, Coman scored in three successive league matches—namely against Sepsi OSK (2–1 win), CFR Cluj (1–1 draw) and Farul Constanța (2–1 win)—and was named the Romania Player of the Month by the Gazeta Sporturilor daily. His performances saw him earn a contract extension lasting until 2027, with his release clause dropping to €5 million in order to facilitate a transfer abroad. On 14 May, he scored again against CFR Cluj in a 1–0 home success. One week later, Coman assisted FCSB's second goal in a 2–3 away loss to eventual champions Farul Constanța.

On 16 July 2023, Coman converted a penalty in a 3–1 win against FC U Craiova in the campaign's opener. The next fixture, he netted to help to a 2–1 derby defeat of Dinamo București. On the 26th, he scored the only goal of a Europa Conference League second qualifying round victory against CSKA 1948. Due to his exploits, Coman was named the Gazeta Sporturilor Romania Player of the Month for July 2023. On 26 November, Coman scored again in a derby against Dinamo București, his converted free kick representing the only goal of the game. On 21 December that year, the Gazeta Sporturilor newspaper announced that he came fifth in voting for the 2023 Romanian Footballer of the Year award, repeating his performance from 2019.

In April 2024, Coman converted free kicks in consecutive wins against title contenders Universitatea Craiova (2–0) and CFR Cluj (1–0), and earned his third Gazeta Sporturilor Player of the Month award. Later that month, FCSB secured its first league title in nine years, and Coman went on to finish the season as top scorer with 18 goals, shared with CFR Cluj's Philip Otele.

Al-Gharafa
On 3 July 2024, FCSB owner Gigi Becali announced that he accepted a €5.25 million transfer offer for Coman from Al-Gharafa. Coman travelled to Doha to undergo a medical on 7 July, and one day later signed a three-year contract with the option of another year for the Qatar Stars League club.

Youth
Coman featured for the Romania national under-21 team in the 2019 UEFA European Championship, mostly as a second-half substitute. In the group fixture on 21 June, he entered in the 63rd minute for Andrei Ivan, obtained a penalty and scored a double to help to a 4–2 victory against England. He then earned his first and only start in a goalless draw with France, with both teams progressing to the semi-finals, where Romania suffered a 2–4 defeat to Germany.

Senior
Coman made his full debut for Romania on 12 October 2019, starting in a Euro 2020 qualifier against the Faroe Islands. He was replaced after 69 minutes by Alexandru Mitriță in the eventual 3–0 away victory of his nation.

On 15 October 2023, Coman scored his first senior international goal in a 4–0 Euro 2024 qualifier win against Andorra. He amassed seven appearances in the competition, including a start in the final 1–0 victory over Switzerland, which secured Romania first place in Group I.

On 7 June 2024, Coman was selected in the squad for the Euro 2024. He started in the opening group match against Ukraine, contributing to a 3–0 win that marked his nation's first European Championship victory in 24 years. He was an unused substitute in the 0–2 loss to Belgium, then started again in the 1–1 draw with Slovakia, as Romania topped its group. Coman missed the 0–3 loss to the Netherlands in the round of 16 due to a muscular injury.

Style of play
Coman is typically deployed as a left winger and has been praised for his pace and technical ability.

Personal life
On 22 February 2021, Coman was pulled over by the Romanian Police for exceeding the speed limit while driving on the A2 motorway. Upon inspection, they discovered that he had a fake Ukrainian license. If found guilty of operating a vehicle without a license, he could face from one to five years in prison.

Coman married his girlfriend Ioana Timofeciuc in June 2022. The following month, she gave birth to a girl whom they named Kasia.

International

 * Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Coman goal.

Honours
Viitorul Constanța
 * Liga I: 2016–17
 * Supercupa României runner-up: 2017

FCSB
 * Liga I: 2023–24
 * Cupa României: 2019–20
 * Supercupa României: 2024; runner-up: 2020

Individual
 * Gazeta Sporturilor Romanian Footballer of the Year fifth place: 2019, 2023
 * Gazeta Sporturilor Romania Player of the Month: April 2023, July 2023, April 2024
 * Liga I top scorer: 2023–24 (shared with Philip Otele)
 * Liga I Player of the Season: 2023–24
 * Liga I Team of the Season: 2016–17, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2022–23, 2023–24
 * Liga I Team of the Championship Play-Offs: 2018–19
 * DigiSport Liga I Player of the Month: February 2017