Vlad Iulian Chiricheș (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈvlad ˈkirikeʃ]; born 14 November 1989) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays for Serie A club Sassuolo and captains the Romania national team. Primarily a centre-back, he can also be deployed as a right-back or a defensive midfielder. A full international for Romania since September 2011, he has earned over 60 caps for the country and represented it at the UEFA Euro 2016.