# Artur Ioniță

Artur Ioniță (Romanian pronunciation:; born 17 August 1990) is a Moldovan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie C club Triestina and the Moldova national team.

## Club career

Artur Ioniță made his professional debut at the Moldovan Divizia Națională club Zimbru Chișinău in 2007. In the 2008–09 season he played for FC Iskra-Stal Rîbniţa.
From 2009 to 2014 he played for the Swiss team FC Aarau, with which he transferred from the Swiss Challenge League to the Swiss Super League.
Ioniță was then transferred to Italian Serie A club Hellas Verona in July 2014 on a free transfer. He made his début against Atalanta, as a substitute for Mounir Obbadi. At Hellas Verona, Ioniță became teammates with one of his idols Rafael Márquez.
Ioniță scored his first goal for Hellas during his second appearance for the club, as a substitute in the second half of the match and securing a goal against Torino F.C. on the 65th minute giving his team a 1–0 win. This made him the first Moldovan footballer to score a goal in Serie A.
He scored his second goal for Hellas Verona in a game against Genoa, playing the full 90 minutes of the game; also providing an assist for Panagiotis Tachtsidis on the 52nd minute.
After an impressive 2015–16 season in Serie A in which he scored 4 goals and provided 2 assists in 31 matches, Ioniță was targeted by Juventus, Napoli and Swansea.
In July 2016, Ioniță transferred to newly promoted Serie A club, Cagliari.
On 20 August 2020, Ioniță signed a contract with Benevento ahead of their return to Serie A.
On 11 August 2022, Ioniță moved to Pisa on a two-year contract. On 31 January 2023, he was loaned to Modena. On 1 September 2023, Ioniță joined Lecco on loan with an option to buy. After being a free agent for two months, he signed a new contract with Lecco on 30 September 2024.
On 30 January 2025, Ioniță signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with Triestina in Serie C.

## International career

Ioniță made his debut appearance for Moldova in 2009, in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Switzerland. Moldova lost the match 0–2. He scored his first international goal during a 5–2 win in Podgorica against Montenegro and then scored again in a 1–1 draw at home to Lithuania.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 4 October 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Zimbru Chișinău | 2007–08 | Moldovan National Division | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 3 | 0 |
| Iskra-Stal | 2008–09 | Moldovan National Division | 41 | 11 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 41 | 11 |
| Aarau | 2009–10 | Swiss Super League | 8 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 8 | 0 |
| Aarau | 2010–11 | Swiss Challenge League | 25 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 25 | 0 |
| Aarau | 2011–12 | Swiss Challenge League | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 4 |
| Aarau | 2012–13 | Swiss Challenge League | 35 | 5 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 37 | 6 |
| Aarau | 2013–14 | Swiss Super League | 34 | 6 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 36 | 6 |
| Aarau | Total | Total | 129 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 135 | 16 |
| Hellas Verona | 2014–15 | Serie A | 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 2 |
| Hellas Verona | 2015–16 | Serie A | 31 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 35 | 4 |
| Hellas Verona | Total | Total | 49 | 6 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 54 | 6 |
| Cagliari | 2016–17 | Serie A | 18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 3 |
| Cagliari | 2017–18 | Serie A | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 14 | 0 |
| Cagliari | 2018–19 | Serie A | 37 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 39 | 3 |
| Cagliari | 2019–20 | Serie A | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 37 | 0 |
| Cagliari | Total | Total | 102 | 6 | 7 | 0 | – | – | 109 | 6 |
| Benevento | 2020–21 | Serie A | 36 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 37 | 2 |
| Benevento | 2021–22 | Serie B | 39 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 41 | 2 |
| Benevento | Total | Total | 75 | 4 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 78 | 4 |
| Pisa | 2022–23 | Serie B | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 1 |
| Modena (loan) | 2022–23 | Serie B | 10 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 10 | 0 |
| Lecco (loan) | 2023–24 | Serie B | 36 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 36 | 4 |
| Lecco | 2024–25 | Serie C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| Lecco | Total | Total | 37 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 37 | 4 |
| Career totals | Career totals | Career totals | 449 | 47 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 469 | 48 |
* ↑ Appearance in promotion/relegation playoff

### International

    As of match played 10 October 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Moldova | 2009 | 1 | 0 |
| Moldova | 2013 | 9 | 2 |
| Moldova | 2014 | 8 | 0 |
| Moldova | 2015 | 1 | 0 |
| Moldova | 2016 | 5 | 0 |
| Moldova | 2017 | 5 | 0 |
| Moldova | 2018 | 7 | 1 |
| Moldova | 2019 | 9 | 0 |
| Moldova | 2020 | 8 | 0 |
| Moldova | 2021 | 8 | 0 |
| Moldova | 2022 | 6 | 0 |
| Moldova | 2024 | 7 | 2 |
| Total | Total | 74 | 5 |
    Scores and results list Moldova's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1. | 15 October 2013 | Stadion Pod Goricom, Podgorica, Montenegro | Montenegro | 4–1 | 5–2 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2. | 18 November 2013 | Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău, Moldova | Lithuania | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 3. | 27 March 2018 | Stade Pierre Brisson, Beauvais, France | Ivory Coast | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 4. | 26 March 2024 | Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey | Cayman Islands | 2–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 5. | 10 October 2024 | Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău, Moldova | Andorra | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2024–25 UEFA Nations League |

## Honours

Aarau
* Swiss Challenge League: 2012–13
Individual
* Moldovan Footballer of the Year: 2014, 2019