In 2017, Ianis Stoica (20) became the youngest goalscorer in FCSB history after a goal in the Romanian Cup against Sanatatii Cluj. Stoica was just 14 years old, and his performance made headlines around the world.
Stoica now plays for Universitatea Cluj where he is on loan until the summer from FCSB, and he dreams of making Europe talk about him again.
The footballer to whom Gigi Becali set a €500 million termination clause in 2018. spoke to Emanuel Rosu of Tribalfootball.com partners Flashscore in an exclusive interview of how close he actually came to an extraordinary transfer to Arsenal two years ago.
If you look at your journey so far, do you think it's done you any good or harm that you started so young and there was all that attention on you after the goal you scored at 14?
Ianis Stoica: "There was a lot of pressure on me. If I had ended up playing in the Premier League, they would have said I was lost.
"There was a lot of pressure, especially as I sometimes played for the junior side. Teammates and opponents looked at me differently, some even saw me as an example. That made me grow up, I had to put things in order from a very young age."
Did you enjoy that or did it put too much pressure on you?
Stoica: "I loved it! It made me responsible, I had a clear schedule. I knew when I had to go to training, when I had to go to the gym and when I had to eat. I had an organised life and that helped me a lot.
"If I hadn't got the lifestyle right early on, maybe today I wouldn't have been able to cope in the top division."
We've talked about the past, but if I were to ask you a job interview-style question, "Where do you see yourself in five years?", what would you answer?
Stoica: "I would love to move abroad,
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