Cosmin Marius Contra (born 15 December 1975 in Timişoara) is a Romanian footballer who currently plays for Getafe CF, usually as a right defender.

Offensive-minded, he can also appear as a midfielder.

[edit] Club career

Contra started his footballing career at FC Politehnica Timişoara, and moved in January 1996 to arch-rivals FC Dinamo Bucureşti.

After three 1/2 seasons with the capital-based team, he was transferred for 800.000 dollars to Deportivo Alavés, where he was a vital player in the Basque side's UEFA Cup runner-up campaign, his performances earning him in a place in the season's UEFA Team of the Year;^[1] he also added five league goals in his two seasons combined.

Contra then managed yet another excellent move, as Italian giants A.C. Milan bought him, but his spell there lasted only one season. In September 2002 he changed clubs once more and went to Atlético de Madrid,^[2] playing with the colchoneros two seasons (though he played very rarely in his second year, due to a serious ankle condition^[3]). A player of character, Contra was involved, while still with Milan, in an incident with Juventus player Edgar Davids,^[4] this being pointed as one of the reasons for his quick departure from Milan.

Contra moved to West Bromwich Albion on loan in August 2004,^[5] making his debut in a 2–1 League Cup defeat to Colchester United on 21 September.^[6] His league debut came almost two months later, when Albion lost 2–1 at home to Middlesbrough.^[7] The loan was not particularly successful, with Contra playing just six times and receiving a red card in the last game of his spell, in a 5–0 home defeat to Liverpool. He then returned to the Romanian first division, at the club which brought him up as a player, Politehnica Timisoara, where he managed to be recalled to the national side due to his good performances.

In August 2005, Contra returned to Spain, penning a season-long loan with Getafe CF^[8](which was made permanent at the season's end); with the side from the Madrid outskirts, he was used regularly, battling for position with David Cortés.

In the 2007-08 UEFA Cup, Contra scored in both legs in an epic quarterfinal bout against FC Bayern Munich, which ended in an extra time 4-4 aggregate elimination.^[9] Earlier in the competition, he scored a penalty kick against AEK Athens,^[10] appearing in that match even though his father had died just hours before. Since September 2006, he also became a naturalized Spanish citizen.

[edit] International career

Contra played for Romania 72 times, netting seven goals. He played for his country at UEFA Euro 2000 and 2008.

On 1 April 2009, after a match with Austria, Contra announced his retirement from international football.

[edit] International goals

Scores and results table. Romania's goal tally first:

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	28 March 2001	Boris Paichadze Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia	Georgia	2-0	2-0	World Cup 2002 Qual.
2	14 November 2001	Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania	Slovenia	1-1	1-1	World Cup 2002 Qual. Play-off
3	16 October 2002	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	4-0	7-0	UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.
4	16 October 2002	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	5-0	7-0	UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.
5	16 October 2002	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	7-0	7-0	UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.
6	28 March 2007	Stadionul Ceahlăul, Piatra Neamţ, Romania	Luxembourg	2-0	3-0	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
7	6 June 2007	Stadionul Dan Păltinişanu, Timişoara, Romania	Slovenia	2-0	2-0	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.

[edit] Honours

• Dinamo Bucureşti:
  • Romanian League: Runner-up: 1998–99

• Deportivo Alavés:
  • UEFA Cup Runner-up: 2000-01

• Getafe CF:
  • Spanish Cup: Runner-up: 2006–07, 2007–08

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• RomanianSoccer profile
• BDFutbol profile
• Cosmin Contra career stats at Soccerbase

Romanian football portal

v • d • e Romania squad – UEFA Euro 2000 1 Lobonţ • 2 Petrescu • 3 Ciobotariu • 4 Filipescu • 5 Gâlcă • 6 Popescu • 7 Mutu • 8 Munteanu • 9 Moldovan • 10 Hagi • 11 Ilie • 12 Stelea • 13 Chivu • 14 Petre • 15 Lupescu • 16 Roşu • 17 Belodedici • 18 Ganea • 19 Lincar • 20 Hîldan • 21 Prunea • 22 Contra • Coach: Jenei

v • d • e Romania squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Lobonţ • 2 Contra • 3 Raţ • 4 Tamaş • 5 Chivu • 6 Rădoi • 7 Petre • 8 Codrea • 9 Marica • 10 Mutu • 11 Cociş • 12 Popa • 13 Săpunaru • 14 Ghionea • 15 Goian • 16 Nicoliţă • 17 Moţi • 18 M. Niculae • 19 Cristea • 20 Dică • 21 D. Niculae • 22 Radu • 23 Stăncioiu • Coach: Piţurcă