Cosmin Moți

Cosmin Moți

File:K. moti 2014.jpg Moți with Ludogorets in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Cosmin Iosif Moți
Date of birth	(1984-12-03) 3 December 1984
Place of birth	Reșița, Romania
Height
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Ludogorets Razgrad
Number	27
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2002–2005	Universitatea Craiova	39	(0)
2005–2012	Dinamo București	177	(6)
2008–2009	→ Siena (loan)	4	(0)
2012–	Ludogorets Razgrad	103	(12)
International career‡
2003–2006	Romania U-21	21	(1)
2008–	Romania	7	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 May 2016 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 March 2016

Cosmin Iosif Moți (born 3 December 1984 in Reșița) is a Romanian football defender who currently plays for Ludogorets Razgrad in the Bulgarian A Group.

Career

Moți started his career at Universitatea Craiova, before moved to Dinamo București in 2005.

Dinamo București

Moți made his competitive debut for Dinamo in the 2005 Supercupa României against Steaua București on 31 July. Moți was included in the starting line-up and played full 90 minutes.

In June 2008, he had been linked with a move to Lazio. Lazio's president, Claudio Lotito, came to Romania to discuss the transfer with Dinamo Bucharest's officials but the move fell through.

Siena (loan)

On 1 September 2008, Moți was surprisingly sent on loan to Siena, two days after he said he didn't want to leave Dinamo Bucharest unless Everton were interested. He made his Serie A debut on 25 October, coming on as a second-half substitute for Daniele Ficagna. Moți made his first start for Siena in a 1–1 home draw against Bologna on 16 November. On 2 February 2009, his loan was cancelled by Siena and he returned to Dinamo Bucharest.

Ludogorets Razgrad

On 28 June 2012, Moți signed with Bulgarian club Ludogorets Razgrad. He made his debut on 18 July, in a 1–1 home draw against Dinamo Zagreb in the second qualifying round of the Champions League, coming on as a substitute for Svetoslav Dyakov. A months later, on 19 August, he made his A Group debut in a 3–1 home win over Beroe Stara Zagora. With his wholehearted attitude and commitment to the team, he quickly established himself as a first-team regular. Moți scored his first goal for Ludogorets on 4 November, during a 4–0 home win against Etar 1924.

On 27 August 2014, Moți played as the goalkeeper for the final minutes in the Champions League play-off round against Steaua București after regular goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov was sent off for a tactical foul in the closing stages of extra time. Moți scored the first penalty kick in the penalty shoot-out and went on to save two penalties as Ludogorets advanced to the group stage for the first time in their history. Moți's heroics earned him cult status among Razgrad fans and he had one of the stadium stands named after him. His performance in the memorable encounter also generated headlines in the main international sports media across Europe and the world, with some analyzers considering the match one of the most dramatic in the history of the Champions League.

International career

Moți made his debut for the Romanian national football team on 31 May 2008, coming on for the second half in a friendly game against Montenegro that finished with a convincing 4–0 win for Romania. He then came on in the 17th minute of a 1–0 friendly win against Latvia on 20 August 2008, replacing the injured Gabriel Tamaș. On 10 September 2008, Moți took part in his first official game for the national team, coming on in the 68th minute in an away qualifier for the 2010 World Cup against the Faroe Islands that Romania won 1–0. After this first spell Moți did not get called back to the national team until October 2011, when he played his first full 90 minutes as Romania and Belarus finished 2–2 in Bucharest.

Because of his part in Ludogorets Razgrad's entry into the Champions League group stage, Moți was once more recalled into the national team to face regional rivals Greece in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier on 7 September 2014.

Career statistics

As of 12 May 2016

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Universitatea Craiova	2002–03	Liga I	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	2003–04		17	0	1	0	0	0	18	0
	2004–05		20	0	4	0	0	0	24	0
	Total		39	0	5	0	0	0	44	0
Dinamo Bucureşti	2005–06	Liga I	27	0	3	0	7	0	37	0
	2006–07		29	1	1	0	10	0	40	1
	2007–08		23	1	2	0	1	0	26	1
	2008–09		21	0	2	0	0	0	23	0
Siena (loan)	2008–09	Serie A	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Dinamo Bucureşti	2009–10	Liga I	24	0	3	0	4	0	31	0
	2010–11		28	0	4	1	3	0	35	1
	2011–12		25	2	4	0	4	1	33	3
	Total		177	4	19	1	29	1	225	6
Ludogorets Razgrad	2012–13	A Group	21	1	0	0	2	0	23	1
	2013–14		29	3	9	3	13	0	51	6
	2014–15		23	3	4	0	12	0	39	3
	2015–16		30	5	1	0	2	0	33	5
	Total		103	12	14	3	29	0	146	15
Career total			323	15	38	4	58	1	419	21

Honours

Club

Dinamo București

• Liga I (1): 2006–07
• Cupa României (1): 2012
• Supercupa României (1): 2005

Ludogorets Razgrad

• Bulgarian A Group (4): 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16
• Bulgarian Cup (1): 2013–14
• Bulgarian Supercup (2): 2012, 2014

Individual

• Fans' Player of the Year - 2014
• Bulgarian A Group Defender of the Year (1): 2014
• Best foreign player in the Bulgarian A Group - 2014

External links

• Cosmin Moți at Soccerway
• (Romanian) Profile on fcdinamo.ro
• (Romanian) Profile on romaniansoccer.ro