Ionuț Bălan (born 2 March 1978) is a Romanian former football right defender.
Career Bălan was born on 2 March 1978 in Bucharest, Romania and began playing junior-level football at local club Dinamo where he was coached by Ionuț Chirilă. He started his senior career in 1998 at Divizia B club ARO Câmpulung. Midway through the 2000–01 season, he moved to FC Baia Mare. In 2002, Bălan joined Farul Constanța, making his Divizia A debut on 30 August 2002 under coach Viorel Hizo in a 1–0 victory against UTA Arad. On 19 October 2003, he scored his first goal in the competition in a 3–1 away win over Gloria Bistrița.
In 2004, Bălan went to play for Dinamo. He played three matches in the 2004–05 Champions League qualifying rounds, as they got past Žilina in the second round before they were defeated by Manchester United in the following round. Subsequently, he played in a 3–1 away loss to Partizan in the first round of the 2004–05 UEFA Cup. On 4 May 2005, he scored a goal from a 25-meter free kick in a 1–0 victory against Politehnica Timișoara. Dinamo reached the 2005 Cupa României final, where coach Ioan Andone sent Bălan to replace Adrian Mihalcea in the 70th minute of the 1–0 victory against Farul Constanța. Afterwards, he played two matches in the 2005–06 UEFA Cup campaign, including a 1–0 victory against title holders CSKA Moscow in the group stage.
In 2006, Bălan went to play for UTA Arad. The club suffered relegation at the end of the 2007–08 season, but he stayed with the team for another half a year. Afterwards, he joined Unirea Alba Iulia, helping the club gain promotion to the first league. However, the team was relegated back to the second league following the 2009–10 season. Bălan made his last Liga I appearance on 15 May 2010 in Unirea's 5–0 away loss to Gaz Metan Mediaș, totaling 153 matches with three goals in the competition. From 2010 to 2012, he played in the second league for Juventus București and UTA. Bălan ended his career one year later after playing for Szeged 2011.
Honours Dinamo București Cupa României: 2004–05 Unirea Alba Iulia Liga II: 2008–09
References
External links
Ionuț Bălan at Labtof.ro