Costel Pantilimon

At 37 years old, Costel Pantilimon has this physical status:

Fane Pantilimon (Romanian pronunciation: [kostel pantilimon]; born 1 February 1987) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He is now a free agent.

Pantilimon began his senior work at Politehnica Timișoara. On an initial loan, he signed for Manchester City in 2011, assisting as a back-up to Joe Hart. Pantilimon was the first pick for City in the 2013–14 League Cup, which they then went on to win. He remained in the Premier League with Sunderland for one-and-a-half seasons before a move to Watford in 2016.

Pantilimon was a Romanian footballer from 2008 to 2017, and was selected for UEFA Euro 2016.

Personal life

Pantilimon is the hearing child of two deaf parents. In 2013, Andree Berbece married Andreea Berbece.

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Club career

Pantilimon, a born in Bacescu, began his career at Aerostar Bacău and saw his share of lime light with the Romania national under-19 team before transferring to Politehnica Timișoara on February 1, 2006, his 19th birthday.

Pantilimon was Timișoara's second-choice goalkeeper, behind Marius Popa. However, in May 2008, the club's owner, Marian Iancu, promoted Popa to the second team, and Pantilimon took the pole position. In March 2007, he made his debut in the Romanian Liga 1 against Dinamo București.

Pantilimon captained the team for the first time after Dan Alexa, Gigel Bucur, and Arman Karamyan, as well as his brother Artavazd were on the bench for the match against Ceahlăul on October 17th.

Pantilimon was a member of the Timișoara team that beat Shakhtar Donetsk in the qualifying rounds of the 2009–10 Champions League tournament. Both legs were played for 90 minutes.

Following Shay Given's departure, Pantilimon joined Manchester City on a one-year loan contract from Politehnica Timișoara to act as a backup for Joe Hart.

Pantilimon's first appearance was against Birmingham City, a League Cup victory. His next match was against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the same tournament, where City fielded a second-string team but then triumphed 5–2. Pantilimon got his next Manchester City start after defeating Arsenal 1–0 in the quarter-finals at the Emirates Stadium. He was named Man of the Match in the Arsenal match, making two saves in the first half. Wayne Rooney's penalty was saved in the third round of the FA Cup against Manchester United at the City of Manchester Stadium on 8 January 2012, but Manchester City was unable to save the game 3–2.

Pantilimon's loan agreement was made permanent thanks to an undisclosed fee. He was unemployed in City until 2016. He kept four clean sheets in a row during the 2012–13 FA Cup, and he put on a superb display against Chelsea in the semi-finals, losing only one goal in five games. In reaction to this result, city manager Roberto Mancini told the Romanian that he will keep his position as the team returns to Wembley Stadium to face Wigan Athletic on May 11th. However, he was a replacement in the final, with Joe Hart starting; Manchester City lost 1–0 to Wigan. Later discovered that Mancini had promised the Romanians to play on the eve of the FA Cup Final, but then chastised the goalkeeping coach on match day morning to announce that there had been a change of strategy.

Pantilimon was given his first game of the 2013–14 season for the city in the Football League Cup third-round match against Wigan, which City defeated 5–0; manager Manuel Pellegrini praised him for keeping a clean sheet. Pantilimon was also selected to play in the upcoming League Cup match against Newcastle United on October 30th; once more, he conceded no goals as City defeated 2–0 and advanced to the last eight of the competition. In an emphatic 7-0 win, he made his Premier League debut at home to Norwich City, keeping his third clean sheet in a row. He started playing in Champions League against CSKA Moscow on November 7, 2013, which resulted in City winning 5–2. On the 10th of November 2013, he appeared in his second Premier League game against Sunderland, which resulted in a 0–1 loss.

Pantilimon debuted at Wembley Stadium in March 2nd, 2014. With goals from Yaya Touré, Samir Nasri, and Jess Navas, the team defeated Sunderland 3–1.

Pantilimon made seven appearances in the 2013–14 Premier League season, including three clean sheets as Manchester City claimed their second league title in three years. In addition, he was the team's first-choice goalkeeper for their League Cup and FA Cup games.

Pantilimon joined Sunderland on a free transfer from Manchester City on June 16, 2014. In a 3–0 victory at St Andrew's on August 27, he made his first appearance for the club in the second round of the League Cup second round against Birmingham City. Pantilimon started the season as back-up for Vito Mannone after losing 8–0 to Southampton and a 2–0 loss to Arsenal, but Pantilimon was later disbanded and Pantilimon made his Premier League debut in a 3–1 victory at Crystal Palace on November 3, 2014, becoming the club's first choice keeper for the remainder of the season. He started the season as the first choice before losing his position to Mannone, eventually falling to third place behind Jordan Pickford.

Pantilimon joined Watford in a three-and-a-half contract for an undisclosed fee on January 19, 2016. In the FA Cup Fourth Round win over Nottingham Forest on January 30, he made his first appearance for the Hornets. He also started the game against Leeds United in the Fifth Round. In both games, he kept clean sheets. He made his Premier League debut with the Hornets in a humiliating 6–1 loss at Liverpool on November 6, 2016.

Pantilimon joined Deportivo La Corua on a one-year loan from Watford, which would have ended on May 20th. Rubén's long-term injury in preparation prompted the signing. Pantilimon made his Galician debut against Real Betis on September 16th. Pantilimon won by 1–0 over Alavés the following week, his first clean sheet was released.

Pantilimon left Spain on January 31 to return to England and sign on loan for Nottingham Forest, an EFL Championship team, until the end of the 2017–18 season. On February 3rd, he made his full debut at Fulham. He made his home debut against Hull City the following week, saving a penalty from Jon Toral. After delivering a clean sheet at Burton Albion when Forest were limited to ten men for a large portion of the match on February 17th, he made the English Football League Team of the Week.

Pantilimon signed a three-year contract with Forest on July 3rd.

Pantilimon was loaned to Omonia, the Cypriot First Division team, for the remainder of the season on January 30.

Pantilimon joined Turkish Süper Lig side Denizlispor on September 4, 2020, after a mutually agreed termination of his employment with Nottingham Forest.

International career

Pantilimon is a former Romanian under the age of 21. In a friendly against Georgia on November 19, 2008, he made his debut for the senior Romania national team. Pantilimon was selected in the final 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016, but he did not appear in any matches during the tournament; Romanian coach Anghel Iordescu used Ciprian Tătăruşanu as the country's first-choice on May 31.

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