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George Pușcaș

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For the American sports writer, see George Puscas (sports writer).

George Alexandru Pușcaș (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈdʒe̯ordʒe alekˈsandru ˈpuʃkaʃ]; born 8 April 1996) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Süper Lig club Bodrum and the Romania national team.

George Pușcaș
Pușcaș with Romania in 2019
Personal information
Full name George Alexandru Pușcaș[1]
Date of birth (1996-04-08) 8 April 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Marghita, Romania
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Bodrum
Number 9
Youth career
2008–2012 Liberty Oradea
2013–2014 → Inter Milan (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Bihor Oradea 13 (2)
2014–2018 Inter Milan 4 (0)
2015–2016 → Bari (loan) 16 (4)
2016–2018 → Benevento (loan) 28 (5)
2018 → Novara (loan) 19 (9)
2018–2019 Palermo 33 (9)
2019 Inter Milan 0 (0)
2019–2023 Reading 84 (17)
2022 → Pisa (loan) 18 (8)
2022–2023 → Genoa (loan) 25 (4)
2023–2024 Genoa 8 (0)
2024 → Bari (loan) 15 (4)
2024– Bodrum 10 (3)
International career‡
2011–2012 Romania U17 5 (0)
2014 Romania U19 9 (5)
2014–2019 Romania U21 25 (18)
2018– Romania 46 (11)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 November 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 October 2024

Club career

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Inter Milan

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Pușcaș made his Internazionale debut on 1 February 2015 by appearing in the last minutes of a 3–1 loss to Sassuolo in the 2014–15 Serie A matchday 21.[3] On 26 February 2015, he made his UEFA Europa League debut as a substitute replacing Rodrigo Palacio in the 89th minute of a 1–0 home win over Celtic.[4] On 4 April 2014, Pușcaș played his first match as a starter for Internazionale, a 1–1 home draw against Parma, he was replaced by Mateo Kovačić in the 46th minute.[5]

Various loans

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On 4 August 2015, Pușcaș, along with his teammate Gaston Camara, were sent on loan at Serie B for the 2015–16 season.[6] On 9 August he made his debut for Bari as a substitute replacing Anthony Partipilo in the 60th minute of a 2–1 home defeat against Foggia in the second round of Coppa Italia.[7] He played his first Serie B match later on 22 September 2015 in the 4–1 away loss to Crotone, starting and playing for 57 minutes.[8] On 22 February he played his first entire match for Bari, a 1–0 away defeat against Virtus Lanciano.[9] On 1 March, Pușcaș scored twice in a 4–0 home win over Ternana.[10] Pușcaș ended his loan to Bari with 18 appearances, 5 goals and 1 assist.

On 15 July, Pușcaș was loaned to Serie B side Benevento on a two-year loan deal. On 7 August he made his debut in a match loss 4–2 at penalties after a 0–0 home draw against Salernitana in the second round of Coppa Italia; he was replaced by Fabio Mazzeo in the 68th minute.[11] On 27 August he made his Serie B debut for Benevento as a substitute replacing Fabio Ceravolo in the 71st minute and scoring his first goal eight minutes later in a 2–0 home win over SPAL.[12] On 20 September he played his first entire match for Benevento, a 1–1 home draw against Pro Vercelli.[13] On 19 November, Pușcaș scored his second goal, again as a substitute, in the 89th minute of a 4–0 home win over Brescia.[14] In June 2017 he scored the goal that sealed Benevento's promotion to Serie A.[15]

Pușcaș started his second season with Benevento by playing 80 minutes in a 4–0 home defeat against Perugia in the third round of Coppa Italia.[16] On 20 August, Pușcaș made his Serie A debut for Benevento in a 2–1 away defeat against Sampdoria.[17] On 3 December 2017, Pușcaș scored his first Serie A goal in the 2–2 home draw versus Milan that gave Benevento their first ever point in the top flight.[18] In January 2018 he was recalled by Inter, thus leaving Benevento with a total of 34 appearances and 8 goals.[19]

On 29 January 2018, Pușcaș was again sent on loan, this time returning at Serie B to Novara.[19][20] He debuted for his new team five days later in the 2–1 home defeat to Ascoli, netting his team's only goal in the first half.[21] The following week, in his second appearance, Pușcaș scored his first career hat-trick to give his side the 3–1 win at Cittadella.[22]

Palermo

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On 8 August 2018, Pușcaș joined Palermo and subsequently signed a four-year contract.[23][24] The deal was reported to be worth €3.25 million plus bonuses.[25][26] On 3 November 2018, he registered his first league goal for the Sicilian team by scoring in the 90th minute of a 2–1 victory over Cosenza.[27] At the end of the season, with Palermo relegated to Serie D, Internazionale exercised their buy back option for the Romanian forward.[28]

Reading

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On 7 August 2019, Pușcaș signed for Reading on a five-year contract from Inter Milan for €7.5 million plus €2 million in bonuses, becoming Reading's most expensive signing in history.[29][30] He scored his first goal for Reading in an EFL Cup tie against Wycombe Wanderers on 13 August 2019, and also went on to score one of the penalties as Reading won the shoot-out.[31] On 18 August 2019, he scored two goals on his home league debut for the Royals against Cardiff City.[32] Pușcaș scored his first EFL Championship hat-trick against Wigan Athletic on 30 November 2019 in a 3–1 victory, with the goals all coming in the space of 4 minutes 54 seconds.[33]

Loan to Pisa

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On 31 January 2022, Pușcaș returned to Italy, joining Pisa on loan with a conditional obligation to buy.[34]

Genoa

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On 25 August 2022, Pușcaș moved on a new Italian loan at Genoa.[35] At the end of the season, Pușcaș was signed on permanent basis by Genoa.[36] The agreed buying fee from Reading was €1.8 million.[37]

On 19 January 2024, Pușcaș returned to Bari in Serie B on loan.[38]

International career

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Because of his Hungarian ancestry, Pușcaș could have represented Hungary via naturalisation. In 2013, the then-Hungarian head coach Sándor Egervári went to watch him play in the Romanian second division, but gave up on him[39] by saying that there are already players of his ability in Hungary.[40]

Pușcaș scored seven times for Romania under-21 in the 2019 UEFA European Championship qualifiers, as his side won its group and progressed to the final tournament in Italy. On 18 June 2019, he obtained the penalty from which he scored the opener in a 4–1 victory over Croatia.[41] He netted again in the next group game against England, surpassing Ionuț Luțu as the highest scorer of the Tricolorii mici.[42] Pușcaș then gave Romania a half-time lead after scoring a double against Germany in the semi-finals, but Romania eventually lost the match 4–2.[43]

Pușcaș earned his first full cap for Romania on 23 May 2018, entering in the 74th minute of a 3–2 win against Chile.[44] On 17 November that year, he scored his first goal in a 3–0 UEFA Nations League defeat of Lithuania.[45]

Personal life

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Born in Marghita, Pușcaș is of partial Hungarian descent[46] and can understand the Hungarian language.[47] His family name, Pușcaș, originates from the Hungarian Puskás.[48]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 4 November 2024[49][50]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bihor Oradea 2012–13 Liga II 13 2 0 0 — — — 13 2
Inter Milan 2014–15 Serie A 4 0 2 0 — 1[a] 0 — 7 0
Bari (loan) 2015–16 Serie B 16 4 1 0 — — 1[b] 1 18 5
Benevento (loan) 2016–17 Serie B 17 4 1 0 — — 4[b] 3 22 7
2017–18 Serie A 11 1 1 0 — — — 12 1
Total 28 5 2 0 — — 4 3 34 8
Novara (loan) 2017–18 Serie B 19 9 0 0 — — — 19 9
Palermo 2018–19 Serie B 33 9 0 0 — — — 33 9
Reading 2019–20 Championship 38 12 2 1 2 1 — — 42 14
2020–21 21 4 0 0 1 0 — — 22 4
2021–22 25 1 1 1 1 0 — — 27 2
Total 84 17 3 2 4 1 — — 91 20
Pisa (loan) 2021–22 Serie B 18 8 — — — 4[b] 0 22 8
Genoa (loan) 2022–23 Serie B 25 4 2 0 — — — 27 4
Genoa 2023–24 Serie A 8 0 2 0 — — — 10 0
Bari (loan) 2023–24 Serie B 15 4 — — — 2[c] 0 17 4
Bodrum 2024–25 Süper Lig 10 3 0 0 — — — 10 3
Career total 273 65 12 2 4 1 1 0 11 4 301 72
  1. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ a b c Appearances in Serie B – Promotion play-offs
  3. ^ Appearances in Serie B – Relegation play-outs

International

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As of match played 12 October 2024[51]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Romania
2018 4 1
2019 10 5
2020 6 2
2021 6 0
2022 8 2
2023 6 1
2024 6 0
Total 46 11
As of 18 November 2023[51]
Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pușcaș goal.
List of international goals scored by George Pușcaș
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 17 November 2018 Stadionul Ilie Oană, Ploiești, Romania 3   Lithuania 1–0 3–0 2018–19 UEFA Nations League C
2 26 March 2019 Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu, Cluj-Napoca, Romania 6   Faroe Islands 4–1 4–1 UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
3 10 June 2019 National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta 8   Malta
1–0
 4–0
4
2–0
5 8 September 2019 Stadionul Ilie Oană, Ploiești, Romania 10   Malta 1–0 1–0
6 12 October 2019 Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands 11   Faroe Islands 1–0 3–0
7 4 September 2020 Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania 15   Northern Ireland 1–0 1–1 2020–21 UEFA Nations League B
8 11 November 2020 Stadionul Ilie Oană, Ploiești, Romania 20   Belarus 4–0 5–3 Friendly
9 26 September 2022 Stadionul Rapid-Giulești, Bucharest, Romania 32   Bosnia and Herzegovina
2–0
 4–1 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B
10
4–1
11 18 November 2023 Pancho Aréna, Felcsút, Hungary 39   Israel 1–1 2–1 UEFA Euro 2024 qualification

Honours

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Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Reading" (PDF). English Football League. p. 59. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  2. ^ "George Pușcaș". Genoa CFC. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Sassuolo 3–1 Inter Milan". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  4. ^ "Internazionale vs. Celtic – 26 February 2015 – Soccerway". Soccerway. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  5. ^ "Internazionale vs. Parma 1 – 1". Soccerway. 4 April 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  6. ^ "CAMARA AND PUSCAS TO BARI". inter.it. 4 August 2015. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  7. ^ "Bari 1908 vs. Foggia 1 – 2". Soccerway. 9 August 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  8. ^ "Crotone vs. Bari 4 – 1". Soccerway. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  9. ^ "Virtus Lanciano vs. Bari 1908 1 – 0". Soccerway. 27 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  10. ^ "Bari 1908 vs. Ternana 4 – 0". Soccerway. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  11. ^ "Benevento vs. Salernitana 0 – 0". Soccerway. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  12. ^ "Benevento vs. SPAL 2 – 0". Soccerway. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  13. ^ "Benevento vs. Pro Vercelli 1 – 1". Soccerway. 20 September 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  14. ^ "Benevento vs. Brescia 4 – 0". Soccerway. 19 November 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  15. ^ "BENEVENTO CLINCH SERIE A PROMOTION FOR FIRST TIME". goal.com. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  16. ^ "Benevento vs. Perugia 0 – 4". Soccerway. 12 August 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  17. ^ "Sampdoria vs. Benevento 2 – 1". Soccerway. 20 August 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  18. ^ "Benevento 2–2 AC Milan". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 December 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  19. ^ a b "PUSCAS MOVES TO NOVARA". inter.it. 29 January 2018. Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  20. ^ "Inter, Puscas torna dal Benevento e va subito al Novara" [Inter, Puscas returns from Benevento and goes straight to Novara] (in Italian). Gazzetta.it. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  21. ^ "Novara vs. Ascoli 1 – 2". Soccerway. 3 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  22. ^ "Serie B, Cittadella-Novara 1–3. Super Puscas, è tripletta" [Serie B, Cittadella-Novara 1–3. Super Puscas, the treble] (in Italian). Gazzetta.it. 11 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  23. ^ "UFFICIALE: Palermo, colpo in attacco: arriva Puscas". Tutto Mercato Web (in Italian). TC&C S.r.l. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  24. ^ "Palermo sign George Puscas" (Press release). Palermo. 8 August 2018. Archived from the original on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  25. ^ "Palermo l-a transferat pe George Pușcaș". stiripesurse.ro (in Romanian). 8 August 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  26. ^ "Inter îl vinde pe George Puscaș pe 3 milioane de euro. Unde va juca atacantul român". Digi Sport (in Romanian). RCS-RDS S.A. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  27. ^ "Puscas regala la vittoria al Palermo al 90'" (in Italian). Eurosport. 3 November 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  28. ^ "George Puscas: Reading sign Inter Milan striker on five-year deal". www.bbc.com. BBC. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  29. ^ "George Pușcaș signs permanently from Inter Milan". readingfc.co.uk/. Reading F.C. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  30. ^ "George Pușcaș a semnat cu Reading! E cel mai scump transfer din istoria formației engleze + Ce salariu va avea românul". Gazeta Sporturilor. 7 August 2019.
  31. ^ "Rafael heroics earn Royals shootout win". readingfc.co.uk. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  32. ^ "George Puscas scores two goals as Reading crush Cardiff City 3-0 to claim their first Championship win of the season". bbc.com. 18 August 2019.
  33. ^ "Home of the Royals!".
  34. ^ "GEORGE PUSCAS È NERAZZURRO" (Press release) (in Italian). Pisa. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  35. ^ "GEORGE JOINS GENOA ON SEASON-LONG LOAN". Reading. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  36. ^ "George Pușcaș a semnat: "Vreau să înscriu peste 100 de goluri în Serie A" » Detaliile contractului". Gazeta Sporturilor. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  37. ^ "Pușcaș, la reducere! Adevărata sumă plătită de Genoa pentru transferul atacantului român". Gazeta Sporturilor. 3 June 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  38. ^ "Bentornato George Alexandru Pușcaș !" (in Italian). Bari. 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  39. ^ "Puscas továbbra is szorgalmasan lövöldözi a gólokat" [Puscas continues to score goals diligently]. Magyar Nemzet (in Hungarian). Mediaworks Hungary. 18 July 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  40. ^ "Puscas bemutatkozott az Interben" [Puscas makes his Inter debut]. Index (in Hungarian). 3 February 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  41. ^ "Romania 4–1 Croatia". UEFA.com. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  42. ^ "VIDEO George Pușcaș l-a depășit pe Ionuț Luțu în topul marcatorilor naționalei de tineret și "mai are "gloanțe""!" [George Pușcaș surpassed Ionuț Luțu as the top scorer of the under-21 national team and he "still has bullets"!]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 24 June 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
  43. ^ "Germany 4–2 Romania". UEFA.com. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  44. ^ "România – Chile 3–2. Rezerva Budescu a adus victoria tricolorilor. Sud-americanii au jucat o oră în 10" [Romania – Chile 3–2. Substitute Budescu brought victory for "the Tricolours". The South Americans played for an hour in ten men] (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  45. ^ "Pușcaș a marcat primul gol pentru națională, după 7 minute de la debutul într-un meci oficial" [Pușcaș scored his first goal for the national team, seve minutes into his official debut] (in Romanian). Digi Sport. 17 November 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  46. ^ "Puscas bemutatkozott az Interben" [Puscas makes his Inter debut]. Index (in Hungarian). 3 February 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2022. A magyar származású, 187 centis játékos Margittán született, Nagyváradon nevelkedett, 16 évesen már az FC Bihor felnőtt csapatában futballozott. [The 187 cm tall player of Hungarian descent was born in Marghita, grew up in Oradea, and at the age of 16 was already playing football for the senior team of FC Bihor.]
  47. ^ "Puscas legyőzte a Puskást" [Puscas defeated Puskás]. Puskás Akadémia (in Hungarian). A Felcsúti Utánpótlás Neveléséért Alapítvány. 5 September 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2022. Egy nagyszalontai illetőségű, magyarul is értő fiatalember, George Puscas góljával nyert a román U16-os válogatott akadémistáink ellen a Konstancán zajló Kelet Csillagai Kupa első napján egy nagy iramú, kőkemény meccsen. [A goal by George Puscas, a youngster from Salonta who also understands Hungarian, won the Romanian U16 team a hard-fought, high-paced match against our academy players on the first day of the Eastern Stars Cup in Constanța.]
  48. ^ Kocsis, Zoltán (8 March 2020). "Így lett Puskásból és Peléből 61 év után Puscas és Pele" [How Puskás and Pelé became Puscas and Pele after 61 years]. Sport Határok Nélkül (in Hungarian). Final Score Média. Retrieved 12 June 2022. A Puskás név nem román, hanem magyar. [The name Puskás is not Romanian, but Hungarian.]
  49. ^ George Pușcaș at Soccerway
  50. ^ "George Pușcaș". inter.it. Archived from the original on 23 May 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  51. ^ a b "George Pușcaș". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
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