Raul Axente Ciupe (born 24 November 1983) is a Romanian former footballer who played as a right back or midfielder for teams such as Sportul Studențesc, Universitatea Cluj or Sănătatea Cluj, among others.

Raul Ciupe
Personal information
Full name Raul Axente Ciupe
Date of birth (1983-11-24) 24 November 1983 (age 41)
Place of birth Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Right back / Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2004 Gaz Metan Mediaș 11 (0)
2004–2011 Sportul Studențesc 120 (1)
2011–2012 FC Brașov 14 (0)
2012–2015 Universitatea Cluj 73 (1)
2015 Viitorul Constanța 6 (0)
2016 Universitatea Cluj 11 (2)
2016–2021 Sănătatea Cluj 88 (12)
Total 323 (16)
International career
2004–2005 Romania U-21 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:24, 5 October 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14:24, 5 October 2021 (UTC)

Career

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After playing for Gaz Metan Mediaș in Divizia B, Ciupe made his top-flight debut on 31 July 2004 as a Sportul Studențesc player, in a match against Unirea Alba-Iulia.

Playing for the Romania national under-21 football team in a match against Macedonia, he was fouled by Goran Popov and suffered a broken tibia.[1] Minutes earlier, another Macedonian player, Hristijan Kirovski, was sent off after also fouling Ciupe. The right-back completely missed the 2005–2006 season because of the injury.

Ciupe played seven years for Sportul Studențesc before joining FC Brașov in November 2011.[2] In June 2012 he was transferred by his hometown team Universitatea Cluj[3] for whom he managed to score his first goals in Liga I, against Astra Ploiești and the local rivals from CFR Cluj.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Evidence of Raul Ciupe's injury
  2. ^ "Primul transfer al lui Şumudică la Braşov! "Joacă pe postul de fundaş dreapta, este un jucător cu calitaţi, care ne poate ajuta"" (in Romanian). prosport.ro. 8 November 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  3. ^ "Raul Ciupe se întoarce acasă" (in Romanian). napocanews.ro. 20 July 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  4. ^ "Raul Ciupe, omul care a schimbat istoria pentru "U": "Pentru clipa asta m-am apucat de fotbal"" (in Romanian). prosport.ro. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
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