Costel Pantilimon
Costel Fane Pantilimon (Romanian pronunciation: [kosˈtel pantiliˈmon]; born 1 February 1987) is a Romanian former professional footballer and the general manager of Liga III club Politehnica Timișoara.
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Pantilimon with Romania in June 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Costel Fane Pantilimon | ||
| Date of birth | 1 February 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Bacău, Romania | ||
| Height | 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Politehnica Timișoara (general manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1993–2003 | Aerostar Bacău | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2006 | Aerostar Bacău | ||
| 2006–2008 | Politehnica II Timișoara | 26 | (0) |
| 2006–2012 | Politehnica Timișoara | 93 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | → Manchester City (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2012–2014 | Manchester City | 7 | (0) |
| 2014–2016 | Sunderland | 45 | (0) |
| 2016–2018 | Watford | 2 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | → Deportivo La Coruña (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2018 | → Nottingham Forest (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2018–2020 | Nottingham Forest | 44 | (0) |
| 2020 | → Omonia (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Denizlispor | 15 | (0) |
| Total | 257 | (0) | |
| International career | |||
| 2003–2004 | Romania U17 | 5 | (0) |
| 2005 | Romania U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2006–2008 | Romania U21 | 12 | (0) |
| 2008–2019 | Romania | 27 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
As a player, Pantilimon was deployed as a goalkeeper and began his career at Politehnica Timișoara. In 2011, he signed for Premier League team Manchester City on an initial loan, serving as a backup to Joe Hart. Pantilimon was first choice for City in their 2013–14 League Cup conquest, after which he promptly moved to Sunderland. He transferred to Watford in 2016, but only made two Premier League appearances before being loaned to Deportivo La Coruña and Nottingham Forest. Pantilimon signed a permanent deal with Forest in 2018, and spent his later years at Omonia and Denizlispor before retiring.
Pantilimon was an international for Romania from 2008 to 2017, being capped 27 times during the period. He was selected by the country in their UEFA Euro 2016 squad, but did not play in any game.